diff options
Diffstat (limited to '21758.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 21758.txt | 8745 |
1 files changed, 8745 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/21758.txt b/21758.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c8607d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/21758.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8745 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hudson Bay, by R.M. Ballantyne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hudson Bay + +Author: R.M. Ballantyne + +Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21758] +[Last updated: April 1, 2017] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUDSON BAY *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +HUDSON BAY, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. + + + +PREFACE. + +In publishing the present work, the Author rests his hopes of its +favourable reception chiefly upon the fact that its subject is +comparatively new. Although touched upon by other writers in narratives +of Arctic discovery, and in works of general information, the very +nature of those publications prohibited a lengthened or minute +description of that EVERYDAY LIFE whose delineation is the chief aim of +the following pages. + + + +PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION. + +Since this book was written, very considerable changes have taken place +in the affairs and management of the Hudson Bay Company. The original +charter of the Company is now extinct. Red River Settlement has become +a much more important colony than it was, and bids fair to become still +more important--for railway communication will doubtless, ere long, +connect it with Canada on the one hand and the Pacific seaboard on the +other, while the presence of gold in the Saskatchewan and elsewhere has +already made the country much more generally known than it was when the +Author sojourned there. Nevertheless, all these changes--actual and +prospective--have only scratched the skirt of the vast wilderness +occupied by the fur-traders; and as these still continue their work at +the numerous and distant outposts in much the same style as in days of +yore, it has been deemed advisable to reprint the book almost without +alteration, but with a few corrections. + +R.M. Ballantyne. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +APPOINTMENT TO THE SERVICE OF THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY--THE "PRINCE +RUPERT"--THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE "H.B.C."--FELLOW-VOYAGERS--THREATENING +WEATHER--A SQUALL--ISLAND OF LEWIS. + +Reader,--I take for granted that you are tolerably well acquainted with +the different modes of life and travelling peculiar to European nations. +I also presume that you know something of the inhabitants of the East; +and, it may be, a good deal of the Americans in general. But I +suspect--at least I would fain hope--that you have only a vague and +indefinite knowledge of life in those wild, uncivilised regions of the +northern continent of America that surround the shores of Hudson Bay. I +would fain hope this, I say, that I may have the satisfaction of giving +you information on the subject, and of showing you that there is a body +of civilised men who move, and breathe (pretty cool air, by the way!), +and spend their lives in a quarter of the globe as totally different, in +most respects, from the part you inhabit, as a beaver, roaming among the +ponds and marshes of his native home, is from that sagacious animal when +converted into a fashionable hat. + +About the middle of May eighteen hundred and forty-one, I was thrown +into a state of ecstatic joy by the arrival of a letter appointing me to +the enviable situation of apprentice clerk in the service of the +Honourable Hudson Bay Company. To describe the immense extent to which +I expanded, both mentally and bodily, upon the receipt of this letter, +is impossible; it is sufficient to know that from that moment I fancied +myself a complete man of business, and treated my old companions with +the condescending suavity of one who knows that he is talking to his +inferiors. + +A few days after, however, my pride was brought very low indeed, as I +lay tossing about in my berth on the tumbling waves of the German Ocean, +eschewing breakfast as a dangerous meal, and looking upon dinner with a +species of horror utterly incomprehensible by those who have not +experienced an attack of sea-sickness. Miseries of this description, +fortunately, do not last long. In a couple of days we got into the +comparatively still water of the Thames; and I, with a host of +pale-faced young ladies and cadaverous-looking young gentlemen, emerged +for the first time from the interior of the ship, to behold the beauties +and wonders of the great metropolis, as we glided slowly up the crowded +river. + +Leave-taking is a disagreeable subject either to reflect upon or to +write about, so we will skip that part of the business and proceed at +once to Gravesend, where I stood (having parted from all my friends) on +the deck of the good ship _Prince Rupert_, contemplating the boats and +crowds of shipping that passed continually before me, and thinking how +soon I was to leave the scenes to which I had been so long accustomed +for a far-distant land. I was a boy, however; and this, I think, is +equivalent to saying that I did not sorrow long. My future companion +and fellow-clerk, Mr Wiseacre, was pacing the deck near me. This +turned my thoughts into another channel, and set me speculating upon his +probable temper, qualities, and age; whether or not he was strong enough +to thrash me, and if we were likely to be good friends. The captain, +too, was chatting and laughing with the doctor as carelessly as if he +had not the great responsibility of taking a huge ship across a +boundless waste of waters, and through fields and islands of ice, to a +distant country some three thousand miles to the north-west of England. +Thus encouraged, my spirits began to rise, and when the cry arose on +deck that the steamer containing the committee of the Honourable Hudson +Bay Company was in sight, I sprang up the companion-ladder in a state of +mind, if not happy, at least as nearly so as under the circumstances +could be expected. + +Upon gaining the deck, I beheld a small steamboat passing close under +our stern, filled with a number of elderly-looking gentlemen, who eyed +us with a very critical expression of countenance. I had a pretty good +guess who these gentlemen were; but had I been entirely ignorant, I +should soon have been enlightened by the remark of a sailor, who +whispered to his comrade, "I say, Bill, them's the great guns!" + +I suppose the fact of their being so had a sympathetic effect upon the +guns of the Company's three ships--the _Prince Rupert, Prince Albert_, +and _Prince of Wales_--for they all three fired a salute of blank +cartridge at the steamer as she passed them in succession. The steamer +then ranged alongside of us, and the elderly gentlemen came on board and +shook hands with the captain and officers, smiling blandly as they +observed the neat, trim appearance of the three fine vessels, which, +with everything in readiness for setting sail on the following morning, +strained at their cables, as if anxious to commence their struggle with +the waves. + +It is a custom of the directors of the Hudson Bay Company to give a +public dinner annually to the officers of their ships upon the eve of +their departure from Gravesend. Accordingly, one of the gentlemen of +the committee, before leaving the vessel, invited the captain and +officers to attend; and, to my astonishment and delight, also _begged +me_ to honour them with my company. I accepted the invitation with +extreme politeness; and, from inability to express my joy in any other +way, winked to my friend Wiseacre, with whom I had become, by this time, +pretty familiar. He, being also invited, winked in return to me; and +having disposed of this piece of juvenile freemasonry to our +satisfaction, we assisted the crew in giving three hearty cheers, as the +little steamer darted from the side and proceeded to the shore. + +The dinner, like all other public dinners, was as good and substantial +as a lavish expenditure of cash could make it; but really my +recollections of it are very indistinct. The ceaseless din of plates, +glasses, knives, forks, and tongues was tremendous; and this, together +with the novelty of the scene, the heat of the room, and excellence of +the viands, tended to render me oblivious of much that took place. +Almost all the faces present were strange to me. Who were, and who were +not, the gentlemen of the committee, was to me matter of the most +perfect indifference; and as no one took the trouble to address me in +particular, I confined myself to the interesting occupation of trying to +make sense of a conversation held by upwards of fifty pairs of lungs at +one and the same time. Nothing intelligible, however, was to be heard, +except when a sudden lull in the noise gave a bald-headed old gentleman +near the head of the table an opportunity of drinking the health of a +red-faced old gentleman near the foot, upon whom he bestowed an amount +of flattery perfectly bewildering; and after making the unfortunate +red-faced gentleman writhe for half an hour in a fever of modesty, sat +down amid thunders of applause. Whether the applause, by the way, was +intended for the speaker or the _speakee_, I do not know; but being +quite indifferent, I clapped my hands with the rest. The red-faced +gentleman, now purple with excitement, then rose, and during a solemn +silence delivered himself of a speech, to the effect that the day then +passing was certainly the happiest in his mortal career, that he could +not find words adequately to express the varied feelings which swelled +his throbbing bosom, and that he felt quite faint with the mighty load +of honour just thrown upon his delighted shoulders by his bald-headed +friend. The red-faced gentleman then sat down to the national air of +rat-tat-tat, played in full chorus with knives, forks, spoons, +nut-crackers, and knuckles on the polished surface of the mahogany +table. + +We left the dinner-table at a late hour, and after I, in company with +some other youngsters, had done as much mischief as we conveniently +could without risking our detention by the strong arm of the law, we +went down to the beach and embarked in a boat with the captain for the +ship. How the sailors ever found her in the impenetrable darkness which +prevailed all around is a mystery to me to this day. Find her, however, +they did; and in half an hour I was in the land of Nod. + +The sun was blazing high in the heavens next morning when I awoke, and +gazed around for a few moments to discover where I was; but the rattling +of ropes and blocks, the stamping of feet overhead, the shouts of gruff +voices, and, above all, a certain strange and disagreeable motion in my +dormitory, soon enlightened me on that point. We were going rapidly +down the Thames with a fair breeze, and had actually set sail for the +distant shores of Hudson Bay. + +What took place during the next five or six days I know not. The demon +of sea-sickness had completely prostrated my faculties, bodily and +mental. Some faint recollections I have of stormy weather, horrible +noises, and hurried dinners; but the greater part of that period is a +miserable blank in my memory. Towards the sixth day, however, the +savoury flavour of a splendid salmon-trout floated past my dried-up +nostrils like "Afric's spicy gale," and caused my collapsed stomach to +yearn with strong emotion. The ship, too, was going more quietly +through the water; and a broad stream of sunshine shot through the small +window of my berth, penetrated my breast, and went down into the centre +of my heart, filling it with a calm, complacent pleasure quite +indescribable. Sounds, however, of an attack upon the trout roused me, +and with a mighty effort I tumbled out of bed, donned my clothes, and +seated myself for the first time at the cabin table. + +Our party consisted of the captain; Mr Carles, a chief factor in the +Company's service; the doctor; young Mr Wiseacre, afore-mentioned; the +first and second mates; and myself. The captain was a thin, +middle-sized, offhand man; thoroughly acquainted with his profession; +good-humoured and gruff by turns; and he always spoke with the air of an +oracle. Mr Carles was a mild, good-natured man, of about fifty-five, +with a smooth, bald head, encircled by a growth of long, thin hair. He +was stoutly built, and possessed of that truly amiable and captivating +disposition which enters earnestly and kindly into the affairs of +others, and totally repudiates self. From early manhood he had roughed +life in the very roughest and wildest scenes of the wilderness, and was +now returning to those scenes after a short visit to his native land. +The doctor was a nondescript; a compound of gravity, fun, seriousness, +and humbug--the latter predominating. He had been everywhere (at least, +so he said), had seen everything, knew everybody, and played the fiddle. +It cannot be said, I fear, that he played it well; but, amid the +various vicissitudes of his chequered life, the doctor had frequently +found himself in company where his violin was almost idolised and +himself deified; especially when the place chanced to be the American +backwoods, where violins are scarce, the auditors semi-barbarous +Highlanders, and the music Scotch reels. Mr Wiseacre was nothing! He +never spoke except when compelled to do so; never read, and never cared +for anything or anybody; wore very long hair, which almost hid his face, +owing to a habit which he had of holding his head always down: and +apparently lived but to eat, drink, and sleep. Sometimes, though very +rarely, he became so far facetious as to indulge in a wink and a low +giggle; but beyond this he seldom soared. The two mates were simply +_mates_. Those who know the population of the sea will understand the +description sufficiently; those who don't, will never, I fear, be made +to understand by description. They worked the ship, hove the log, +changed the watch, turned out and tumbled in, with the callous +indifference and stern regularity of clock work; inhabited tarpaulin +dreadnoughts and sou'-westers; came down to meals with modest +diffidence, and walked the deck with bantam-cock-like assurance. +Nevertheless, they were warm-hearted fellows, both of them, although the +heat didn't often come to the surface. The first mate was a _broad_ +Scotchman, in every sense of the term; the second was a burly little +Englishman. + +"How's the wind, Collins?" said the captain, as the second mate sat down +at the dinner-table, and brushed the spray from his face with the back +of his brown hand. + +"Changed a point to the s'uthard o' sou'-west, sir," he answered, "and +looks as if it would blow hard." + +"Humph!" ejaculated the captain, while he proceeded to help the fish. +"I hope it'll only keep quiet till we get into blue water, and then it +may blow like blazes for all I care,--Take some trout, doctor? It's the +last you'll put your teeth through for six weeks to come, _I_ know; so +make the most of it.--I wish I were only through the Pentland Firth, and +scudding under full sail for the ice--I do." And the captain looked +fiercely at the compass which hung over his head, as if he had said +something worthy of being recorded in history, and began to eat. + +After a pause of five minutes or so--during which time the knives and +forks had been clattering pretty vigorously, and the trout had become a +miserable skeleton--the captain resumed his discourse. + +"I tell you what it is now, gentlemen; if there's not going to be a +change of some sort or other, I'm no sailor." + +"It does look very threatening," said Mr Carles, peering through the +stern window. "I don't much like the look of these clouds behind us. +Look there, doctor!" he continued, pointing towards the window. "What +do you think of that?" + +"Nothing!" replied the doctor, through a mouthful of duff and potatoes. +"A squall, I fancy; wish it'd only wait till after dinner." + +"It never does," said the captain. "I've been to sea these fifteen +years, and I always find that squalls come on at breakfast or dinner, +like an unwelcome visitor. They've got a thorough contempt for tea-- +seem to know it's but swipes, and not worth pitching into one's lap; but +dinner's sure to bring 'em on, if they're in the neighbourhood, and make +'em bu'st their cheeks at you. Remember once, when I was cruising in +the Mediterranean, in Lord P---'s yacht, we'd been stewing on deck under +an awning the whole forenoon, scarce able to breathe, when the bell rang +for dinner. Well, down we all tumbled--about ten ladies and fifteen +gentlemen, or thereabouts--and seated ourselves round the table. There +was no end of grub of every kind. Lord P--- was eccentric in that way, +and was always at some new dodge or other in the way of cookery. At +this time he had invented a new dumpling. Its jacket was much the same +as usual--inch-thick duff; but its contents were beyond anything I ever +saw, except the maw of an old shark. Well, just as the steward took off +the cover, _hiss-iss_ went the wind overhead, and one of those horrible +squalls that come rattling down without a moment's warning in those +parts, struck the ship, and gave her a heel over that sent the +salt-cellars chasing the tumblers like all-possessed; and the great +dumpling gave a heavy lurch to leeward, rolled fairly over on its +beam-ends, and began to course straight down the table quite sedate and +quiet-like. Several dives were made at it by the gentlemen as it +passed, but they all missed; and finally, just as a youngster made a +grab at it with both hands that bid fair to be successful, another howl +of the squall changed its course, and sent it like a cannon-shot +straight into the face of the steward, where it split its sides, and +scattered its contents right and left. I don't know how it ended, for I +bolted up the companion, and saw the squall splitting away to leeward, +shrieking as it went, just as if it were rejoicing at the mischief it +had done." + +The laugh which greeted the captain's anecdote had scarce subsided when +the tough sides of the good _Prince Rupert_ gave a gentle creak, and the +angle at which the active steward perambulated the cabin became absurdly +acute. + +Just then the doctor cast his eye up at the compass suspended above the +captain's head. "Hallo!" said he--But before he could give utterance to +the sentiments to which "hallo" was the preface, the hoarse voice of the +first mate came rolling down the companion-hatch,--"A squall, sir! +scoorin' doon like mad! Wund's veered richt roond to the nor'-east." + +The captain and second mate sprang hastily to their feet and rushed upon +deck, where the rest of us joined them as speedily as possible. + +On gaining the quarter-deck, the scene that presented itself was truly +grand. Thick black clouds rolled heavily overhead, and cast a gloom +upon the sea which caused it to look like ink. Not a breath of wind +swelled the sails, which the men were actively engaged in taking in. +Far away on our weather-quarter the clouds were thicker and darker; and +just where they met the sea there was seen a bright streak of white, +which rapidly grew broader and brighter, until we could perceive that it +was the sea lashed into a seething foam by the gale which was sweeping +over it. + +"Mind your helm!" shouted the captain. + +"Ay, ay, sir!" sang out the man at the wheel. And in another moment the +squall burst upon us with all its fury, laying the huge vessel over on +its side as if it had been a feather on the wave, and causing her to fly +through the black water like a dolphin. + +In a few minutes the first violence of the squall passed away, and was +succeeded by a steady breeze, which bore us merrily along over the +swelling billows. + +"A stiff one, that," said the captain, turning to the doctor, who, with +imperturbable nonchalance, was standing near him, holding on to a +stanchion with one hand, while the other reposed in his breeches pocket. + +"I hope it will last," replied the doctor. "If it does, we'll not be +long of reaching the blue water you long so much for." + +Young Wiseacre, who during the squall had been clutching the +weather-shrouds with the tenacity of a drowning man, opened his eyes +very wide on hearing this, to him, insane wish, and said to me in an +undertone, "I say, do you think the doctor is quite right in his mind?" + +"I have no doubt of it," replied I. "Why do you ask?" + +"Because I heard him say to the captain he wished that this would last." + +"Is that all?" said I, while a very vile spirit of vanity took +possession of me, inducing me to speak in a tone which indicated a +tranquillity of mind that I certainly did not enjoy. "Oh, this is +nothing at all! I see you've never been on salt water before. Just +wait a bit, old fellow!" And having given utterance to this somewhat +dark and mysterious expression, I staggered across the deck, and amused +myself in watching the thick volumes of spray that flew at every plunge +from the sides of the bounding vessel. + +The doctor's wish was granted. The breeze continued steady and strong, +sending us through the Pentland Firth in grand style, and carrying us in +a short time to the island of Lewis, where we hove-to for a pilot. +After a little signalising we obtained one, who steered our good ship in +safety through the narrow entrance to the bay of Stornoway into whose +quiet waters we finally dropped our anchor. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +STORNOWAY--THE BALL--AT SEA--GO OUT TO TEA ON THE ATLANTIC--AMONG THE +ICE--SIGHTING LAND--A SLEEPY SIGHT--YORK FACTORY AND BACHELORS' HALL. + +The harbour of Stornoway is surrounded by high hills, except at the +entrance, where a passage--not more, I should think, than three hundred +yards wide--admits vessels of any tonnage into its sheltering bosom. +Stornoway, a pretty, modest-looking town, apparently pleased with its +lot, and contented to be far away from the busy and bustling world, lies +snugly at the bottom of the bay. Here we remained upwards of a week, +engaging men for the wild Nor'-West, and cultivating the acquaintance of +the people, who were extremely kind and very hospitable. Occasionally +Wiseacre and I amused ourselves with fishing excursions to the middle of +the bay in small boats; in which excursions we were usually accompanied +by two or three very ragged little boys from the town. Our sport was +generally good, and rendered extremely interesting by our uncertainty as +to which of the monsters of the deep would first attack our hooks. +Rock-codlings and flounders appeared the most voracious, and +occasionally a skate or long-legged crab came struggling to the surface. + +Just before leaving this peaceful little spot, our captain gave a grand +ball on board, to which were invited the _elite_ of Stornoway. Great +preparations were made for the occasion. The quarter-deck was well +washed and scrubbed; an awning was spread over it, which formed a +capital ceiling; and representatives of almost every flag that waves +formed the walls of the large and airy apartment. Oil lamps, placed +upon the skylights, companion, and capstan, shed a mellow light upon the +scene, the romantic effect of which was greatly heightened by a few +flickering rays of the moon, which shot through various openings in the +drapery, and disported playfully upon the deck. At an early and very +unfashionable hour on the evening of the appointed night the guests +arrived in detachments; and while the gentlemen scrambled up the side of +the vessel, the ladies, amid a good deal of blushing and hesitation, +were hoisted on board in a chair. Tea was served on deck; and after +half an hour's laughing and chatting, during which time our +violin-player was endeavouring to coax his first string to the proper +pitch without breaking, the ball opened with a Scotch reel. Every one +knows what Scotch reels are, but every one does not know how the belles +of the Western Isles can dance them. + +"Just look at that slip of thread-paper," said the doctor to the +captain, pointing to a thin, flat young lady, still in her teens. "I've +watched her from the first. She's been up at six successive rounds, +flinging her shanks about worse than a teething baby; and she's up again +for another, just as cool and serene as a night in the latter end of +October. I wonder what she's made of?" + +"Leather, p'r'aps, or gutta-percha," suggested the captain, who had +himself been "flinging his legs" about pretty violently during the +previous half-hour. "I wish that she had been my partner instead of the +heavy fair one that you see over there leaning against the mizzen +belaying-pins." + +"Which?" inquired the doctor. "The old lady with the stu'n-sails set on +her shoulders?" + +"No, no," replied the captain--"the _young_ lady; fat--_very_ fat--fair, +and twenty, with the big blue eyes like signal-lamps on a locomotive. +She twisted me round just as if I'd been a fathom of pump-water, +shouting and laughing all the time in my face, like a sou'-west gale, +and never looking a bit where she was going till she pitched +head-foremost into the union-jack, carrying it and me along with her off +the quarter-deck and half-way down the companion. It's a blessing she +fell undermost, else I should have been spread all over the deck like a +capsized pail of slops." + +"Hallo!" exclaimed the doctor; "what's wrong with the old lady over +there? She's making very uncommon faces." + +"She's sea-sick, I do believe," cried the captain, rushing across the +deck towards her. + +And, without doubt, the old lady in question was showing symptoms of +that terrible malady, although the bay was as smooth as a mill-pond, and +the _Prince Rupert_ reposed on its quiet bosom without the slightest +perceptible motion. With impressive nautical politeness the captain +handed her below, and in the sudden sympathy of his heart proposed as a +remedy a stiff glass of brandy and water. + +"Or a pipe of cavendish," suggested the second mate, who met them on the +ladder as they descended, and could not refrain from a facetious remark, +even although he knew it would, as it did, call forth a thundering +command from his superior to go on deck and mind his own business. + +"Isn't it jolly," said a young Stornowite, coming up to Wiseacre, with a +face blazing with glee--"isn't it jolly, Mr Wiseacre?" + +"Oh, very!" replied Wiseacre, in a voice of such dismal melancholy that +the young Stornowite's countenance instantly went out, and he wheeled +suddenly round to light it again at the visage of some more sympathising +companion. + +Just at this point of the revelry the fiddler's first string, which had +endured with a dogged tenacity that was wonderful even for catgut, gave +way with a loud bang, causing an abrupt termination to the uproar, and +producing a dead silence. A few minutes, however, soon rectified this +mischance. The discordant tones of the violin, as the new string was +tortured into tune, once more opened the safety-valve, and the ball +began _de novo_. + +Great was the fun, and numerous were the ludicrous incidents that +happened during that eventful night; and loud were the noise and +merriment of the dancers as they went with vigorous energy through the +bewildering evolutions of country-dance and reel. Immense was the +delight of the company when the funniest old gentleman there volunteered +a song; and ecstatic the joy when he followed it up by a speech upon +every subject that an ordinary mind could possibly embrace in a quarter +of an hour. But who can describe the scene that ensued when supper was +reported ready in the cabin!--a cabin that was very small indeed, with a +stair leading down to it so steep that those who were pretty high up +could have easily stepped upon the shoulders of those who were near the +foot; and the unpleasant idea was painfully suggested that if any one of +the heavy ladies (there were several of them) was to slip her foot on +commencing the descent, she would infallibly sweep them all down in a +mass, and cram them into the cook's pantry, the door of which stood +wickedly open at the foot of the stair, as if it anticipated some such +catastrophe. Such pushing, squeezing, laughing, shrieking, and joking, +in the vain attempt made to get upwards of thirty people crammed into a +room of twelve feet by ten! Such droll and cutting remarks as were made +when they were at last requested to sup in detachments! All this, +however, was nothing to what ensued after supper, when the fiddler +became more energetic, and the dancers more vigorous than ever. But +enough. The first grey streaks of morning glimmered in the east ere the +joyous party "tumbled down the sides" and departed to their homes. + +There is a sweet yet melancholy pleasure, when far away from friends and +home, in thinking over happy days gone by, and dwelling on the scenes +and pleasures that have passed away, perhaps for ever. So I thought and +felt as I recalled to mind the fun and frolic of the Stornoway ball, and +the graver mirth of the Gravesend dinner, until memory traced my course +backward, step by step, to the peaceful time when I dwelt in Scotland, +surrounded by the gentle inmates of my happy home. We had left the +shores and the green water behind us, and were now ploughing through the +blue waves of the wide Atlantic; and when I turned my straining eyes +towards the faint blue line of the lessening hills, "a tear unbidden +trembled" as the thought arose that I looked perhaps for the last time +upon my dear native land. + +The sea has ever been an inexhaustible subject for the pens of most +classes of writers. The poet, the traveller, and the novelist has each +devoted a portion of his time and talents to the mighty ocean; but that +part of it which it has fallen to my lot to describe is very different +from those portions about which poets have sung with rapture. Here, +none of the many wonders of the tropical latitudes beguile the tedium of +the voyage; no glittering dolphins force the winged inhabitants of the +deep to seek shelter on the vessel's deck; no ravenous sharks follow in +our wake to eat us if we chance to fall overboard, or amuse us by +swallowing our baited hook; no passing vessel cheers us with the +knowledge that there are others besides ourselves roaming over the +interminable waste of waters. All was dreary and monotonous; the same +unvarying expanse of sky and water met our gaze each morning as we +ascended to the deck, to walk for half an hour before breakfast, except +when the topsails of the other two vessels fluttered for a moment on the +distant horizon. Occasionally we approached closer to each other, and +once or twice hailed with the trumpet; but these breaks in the solitude +of our existence were few and far between. + +Towards the end of July we approached Hudson Straits, having seen +nothing on the way worth mentioning, except one whale, which passed +close under the stern of the ship. This was a great novelty to me, +being the first that I had ever seen, and it gave me something to talk +of and think about for the next four days. + +The ships now began to close in, as we neared the entrance of the +straits, and we had the pleasure of sailing in company for a few days. +The shores of the straits became visible occasionally, and soon we +passed with perfect confidence and security among those narrow channels +and mountains of ice that damped the ardour and retarded the progress of +Hudson, Button, Gibbons, and other navigators in days of yore. + +One day, during a dead calm, our ship and the _Prince of Wales_ lay +close to each other, rolling in the swell of the glassy ocean. There +seemed to be no prospect of a breeze, so the captain ordered his gig to +be launched, and invited the doctor, Mr Carles, and myself to go on +board the _Prince of Wales_ with him. We accepted his offer, and were +soon alongside. Old Captain Ryle, a veteran in the Company's service, +received us kindly, and insisted on our staying to tea. The passengers +on board were--a chief factor, [_The chief factorship is the highest +rank attainable in the service, the chief trader being next_] who had +been home on leave of absence, and was returning to end his days, +perhaps, in the North-West; and Mr John Leagues, a young apprentice +clerk, going, like myself, to try his fortune in Hudson Bay. He was a +fine, candid young fellow, full of spirit, with a kind, engaging +disposition. From the first moment I saw him I formed a friendship for +him, which was destined to ripen into a lasting one many years after. I +sighed on parting from him that evening, thinking that we should never +meet again; but about six years from the time I bade him farewell in +Hudson Straits, I again grasped his hand on the shores of the mighty St. +Lawrence, and renewed a friendship which afforded me the greatest +pleasure I enjoyed in the country, and which, I trust, neither time nor +distance will ever lessen or destroy. + +We spent the evening delightfully, the more so that we were not likely +to have such an opportunity again, as the _Prince of Wales_ would +shortly part company from us, and direct her course to Moose Factory, in +James Bay, while we should proceed across Hudson Bay to York Factory. +We left the ship just as a few cats-paws on the surface of the water +gave indications of a coming breeze. + +Ice now began to surround us in all directions; and soon after this I +saw, for the first time, that monster of the Polar Seas, an iceberg. It +was a noble sight. We passed quite close, and had a fine opportunity of +observing it. Though not so large as they are frequently seen, it was +beautifully and fantastically formed. High peaks rose from it on +various places, and down its sides streams of water and miniature +cataracts flowed in torrents. The whole mass was of a delicate +greenish-white colour, and its lofty pinnacles sparkled in the moonbeams +as it floated past, bending majestically in the swell of the ocean. +About this time, too, we met numerous fields and floes of ice, to get +through which we often experienced considerable difficulty. + +My favourite amusement, as we thus threaded our way through the ice, was +to ascend to the royal-yard, and there to sit and cogitate whilst gazing +on the most beautiful and romantic scenes. + +It is impossible to convey a correct idea of the beauty, the +magnificence, of some of the scenes through which we passed. Sometimes +thousands of the most grotesque, fanciful, and beautiful icebergs and +icefields surrounded us on all sides, intersected by numerous serpentine +canals, which glittered in the sun (for the weather was fine nearly all +the time we were in the straits), like threads of silver twining round +ruined palaces of crystal. The masses assumed every variety of form and +size; and many of them bore such a striking resemblance to cathedrals, +churches, columns, arches, and spires, that I could almost fancy we had +been transported to one of the floating cities of Fairyland. The rapid +motion, too, of our ship, in what appeared a dead calm, added much to +the magical effect of the scene. A light but steady breeze urged her +along with considerable velocity through a maze of ponds and canals, +which, from the immense quantity of ice that surrounded them, were calm +and unruffled as the surface of a mill-pond. + +Not a sound disturbed the delightful stillness of nature, save the +gentle rippling of the vessel's bow as she sped on her way, or the +occasional puffing of a lazy whale, awakened from a nap by our +unceremonious intrusion on his domains. Now and then, however, my +reveries were interrupted by the ship coming into sudden contact with +huge lumps of ice. This happened occasionally when we arrived at the +termination of one of those natural canals through which we passed, and +found it necessary to force our way into the next. These concussions +were occasionally very severe--so much so, at times, as to make the +ship's bell ring; but we heeded this little, as the vessel was provided +with huge blocks of timber on her bows, called ice-pieces, and was, +besides, built expressly for sailing in the northern seas. It only +became annoying at meal-times, when a spoonful of soup would sometimes +make a little private excursion of its own over the shoulder of the +owner instead of into his mouth. + +As we proceeded, the ice became more closely packed, and at last +compelled us to bore through it. The ship, however, was never +altogether arrested, though often much retarded. I recollect, while +thus surrounded, filling a bucket with water from a pool on the ice, to +see whether it was fresh or not, as I had been rather sceptical upon +this point. It was excellent, and might almost compete with the water +from the famous spring of Crawley. In a few days we got out of the ice +altogether; and in this, as the ships are frequently detained for weeks +in the straits, we considered ourselves very fortunate. + +We all experienced at this time a severe disappointment in the +non-appearance of the Esquimaux from the coast. The captain said they +would be sure to come off to us, as they had always been in the habit of +doing so, for the purpose of exchanging ivory and oil for saws, files, +needles, etcetera, a large chestful of which is put on board annually +for this purpose. The ivory usually procured from them is walrus tusks. +These are not very large, and are of inferior quality. + +As we approached the shores of the straits, we shortened sail and fired +three or four guns, but no noisy "_chimo_" floated across the water in +answer to our salute; still we lingered for a while, but, as there was +no sign of the natives on shore, the captain concluded they had gone off +to the interior, and he steered out to sea again. I was very much +disappointed at this, as it was wholly unexpected, and Wiseacre and I +had promised ourselves much pleasure in trading with them; for which +purpose all the buttons of our old waistcoats had been amputated. It +was useless, however, to repine, so I contented myself with the hope +that they would yet visit us in some other part of the straits. We +afterwards learned that our guns had attracted them to the coast in time +to board the _Prince Albert_ (which was out of sight astern), though too +late for us. + +The passage across Hudson Bay was stormy, but no one on board cared for +this, all having become accustomed to rough weather. For my part, I had +become quite a sailor, and could ascend and descend easily to the truck +without creeping through the _lubber's hole_. I shall not forget the +first time I attempted this: our youngest apprentice had challenged me +to try it, so up we went together--he on the fore and I on the main +mast. The tops were gained easily, and we even made two or three steps +up the top-mast shrouds with affected indifference; but, alas! our +courage was failing--at least _mine_ was--very fast. However, we gained +the cross-trees pretty well, and then sat down for a little to recover +breath. The topgallant-mast still reared its taper form high above me, +and the worst was yet to come. The top-gallant shrouds had no ratlines +on them, so I was obliged to _shin_ up; and, as I worked myself up the +two small ropes, the tenacity with which I grasped them was fearful. At +last I reached the top, and with my feet on the small collar that +fastens the ropes to the mast, and my arms circling the mast itself--for +nothing but a bare pole, crossed by the royal-yard, now rose above me--I +glanced upwards. After taking a long breath, and screwing up my +courage, I slowly shinned up the slender pole, and, standing on the +royal-yard, laid my hand upon the _truck_. After a time I became +accustomed to it, and thought nothing of taking an airing on the +royal-yard after breakfast. + +About the 5th or 6th of August, the captain said we must be near the +land. The deep-sea lead was rigged, and a sharp lookout kept, but no +land appeared. At last, one fine day, while at the mast-head, I saw +something like land on the horizon, and told them so on deck. They saw +it too, but gave me no answer. Soon a hurried order to "Dowse +top-gallant-sails and reef top-sails" made me slide down rather hastily +from my elevated position. I had scarcely gained the deck, when a +squall, the severest we had yet encountered, struck the ship, laying her +almost on her beam-ends; and the sea, which had been nearly calm a few +minutes before, foamed and hissed like a seething caldron, and became +white as snow. This, I believe, was what sailors call a _white squall_. +It was as short as it was severe, and great was our relief when the +ship regained her natural position in the water. Next day we saw land +in earnest, and in the afternoon anchored in "Five Fathom Hole," after +passing in safety a sandbar, which renders the entrance into this +roadstead rather difficult. + +Here, then, for the first time I beheld the shores of Hudson Bay; and +truly their appearance was anything but prepossessing. Though only at +the distance of two miles, so low and flat was the land, that it +appeared ten miles off, and scarcely a tree was to be seen. We could +just see the tops of one or two houses in York Factory, the principal +depot of the country, which was seven miles up the river at the mouth of +which we lay. In a short time the sails of a small schooner came in +sight, and in half an hour more the _Frances_ (named after the amiable +lady of the governor, Sir George Simpson) was riding alongside. + +The skipper came on board, and immediately there commenced between him +and the captain a sharp fire of questions and answers, which roused me +from a slumber in which I had been indulging, and hurried me on deck. +Here the face of things had changed. The hatches were off, and bales of +goods were scattered about in all directions. Another small schooner +had arrived, and the process of discharging the vessel was going rapidly +forward. A boat was then dispatched to the factory with the packet-box +and letter-bag, and soon after the _Frances_ stood in for the shore. + +The _Prince Albert_ had arrived almost at the same moment with the +_Prince Rupert_, and was now visited by the second schooner, which soon +returned to our ship to take the passengers on shore. The passengers +who came out in the _Prince Albert_ were on board--namely, the Reverend +Mr Gowley, a clergyman of the Church of England, and his lady; and Mr +Rob, a sort of catechist, or semi-clerical schoolmaster. They were +missionaries bound for Red River Colony; and as I had some prospect of +going there myself, I was delighted to have the probable chance of +travelling with companions who, from the short survey I had of them +while they conversed with the captain and Mr Carles, seemed +good-natured and agreeable. + +Mr Carles, Mr Wiseacre, and I now bade adieu to the good ship which +had been our home for such a length of time (but I must say I did not +regret the parting), and followed our baggage on board the schooner, +expecting to reach the factory before dusk. "There's many a slip 'twixt +the cup and the lip," is a proverb well authenticated and often quoted, +and on the present occasion its truth was verified. We had not been +long under weigh before the ebb tide began to run so strong against us +as to preclude the possibility of our reaching the shore that night. +There was no help for it, however; so down went the anchor to the +bottom, and down went I to the cabin. + +Such a cabin! A good-sized trunk, with a small table in it, and the lid +shut down, had about as much right to the name. It was awfully small-- +even _I_ could not stand upright in it, though at the time I had +scarcely attained to the altitude of five feet; yet here were we +destined to pass the night--and a wretched night we did pass. We got +over the first part tolerably, but as it grew late our eyes grew heavy. +We yawned, fidgeted and made superhuman efforts to keep awake and seem +happy; but it would not do. There were only two berths in the cabin; +and, as so many gentlemen were present, Mrs Gowley would not get into +either of them, but declared she would sit up all night. The gentlemen, +on the other hand, could not be so ungallant as to go to sleep while the +only lady present sat up. The case was desperate, and so I went off to +the hold, intending to lie down on a bale, if I could find one. In my +search I tumbled over something soft, which gave vent to a frightful +howl, and proved to be no less a personage than Mr Wiseacre, who had +anticipated me, and found a convenient place whereon to lie. My search, +however, was less successful. Not a corner big enough for a cat to +sleep in was to be found, all the goods having been flung hastily into +the hold, so that it was a chaos of box corners, stove legs, edges of +kegs and casks, which presented a surface that put to flight all hope of +horizontal repose; so I was obliged to return to the cabin, where I +found the unhappy inmates winking and blinking at each other like owls +in the sunshine. + +"You had better make use of one of these berths, my young friend," said +Mr Gowley, with a bland smile, as I entered; "you seem very much +overcome with sleep, and _we_ have resolved to sit up all night." + +"Do get in," urged Mrs Gowley, who was a sweet, gentle creature, and +seemed much too delicate and fragile to stand the rough life that was +likely to be the lot of the wife of a missionary to the Red men of the +Far North; "I do not intend to lie down to-night; and besides, it will +soon be morning." A sweet but very sleepy smile flitted across her face +as she spoke. + +Of course, I protested against this with great vehemence, assuring them +that I could not think of anything so ungallant, and that I meant to sit +it out manfully with the rest. Mr Rob, who was a comical little +Welshman, of about thirty years of age, with a sharp, snub nose, which +was decorated with spectacles, sat huddled up in a corner, immersed in +sleepiness to such an extent that he would not have smiled for worlds, +and spent the weary hours in vain efforts to keep his head on his +shoulders--an object, apparently, of some difficulty, seeing that it +swayed backwards and forwards and round about like that of a Chinese +mandarin! For a few minutes I sat gazing steadfastly at the revolving +object before me, when my own head became similarly affected, and fell +suddenly back against the bulk-head with a tremendous crash, wakening +them all up, and causing Mr Rob to stare at me with an expression of +vacant gravity, mingled with surprise, which slowly and gradually faded +away again as sleep reasserted its irresistible power. + +Flesh and blood could not stand this. I would have lain down on the +table, but poor Mrs Gowley's head already covered the greater part of +that; or on the floor, but, alas! it was too small. At last I began to +reason thus with myself: "Here are two capital beds, with nobody in +them; it is the height of folly to permit them to remain empty; but +then, what a selfish-looking thing to leave Mrs Gowley sitting up! +After all, she _won't_ go to bed. Oh dear! what _is_ to be done?" +(Bang went the head again.) "You'd better turn in," said Mr Gowley. +Again I protested that I could not think of it; but my eyes would not +keep open to look him in the face. At last my scruples--I blush to say +it--were overcome, and I allowed myself to be half forced into the +berth; while Mr Rob, whose self-denial could endure no longer, took +advantage of the confusion thus occasioned, and vanished into the other +like a harlequin. Poor Mr and Mrs Gowley laid their innocent heads +side by side upon the table, and snored in concert. + +How long I slept I know not, but long before day a tremendous thumping +awoke me, and after I had collected my faculties enough to understand +it, I found that the schooner was grounding as the tide receded. "Oh!" +thought I; and, being utterly incapable of thinking more, I fell back on +the pillow again, sound asleep, and did not awake till long after +daybreak. + +Next morning was beautiful; but we were still aground, and, from what +the skipper said, there appeared to be no prospect of getting ashore +till the afternoon. Our patience, however, was not tried so long; for, +early in the day, a boat came off from the factory to take us ashore: +but the missionaries preferred remaining in the schooner. Mr Carles, +young Wiseacre, and I gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity, and +were soon sailing with a fair breeze up Hayes River. We approached to +within a few yards of the shore; and I formed, at first sight, a very +poor opinion of the country which, two years later, I was destined to +traverse full many a mile in search of the feathered inhabitants of the +marshes. + +The Point of Marsh, which was the first land we made, was quite low-- +only a few feet above the sea--and studded here and there with thick +willows, but not a single tree. Long lank grass covered it in every +place, affording ducks and geese shelter, in the autumn and spring. In +the centre of it stood the ship-beacon--a tall, ungainly-looking pile, +which rose upwards like a monster out of the water. Altogether, a more +desolate prospect could not well be imagined. + +The banks of Hayes River are formed of clay, and they improved a little +in verdure as we ascended; but still, wherever the eye turned, the same +universal flatness met the gaze. The river was here about two miles +wide, and filled with shallows and sandbanks, which render the +navigation difficult for vessels above fifty tons. + +As we proceeded, a small bark canoe, with an Indian and his wife in it, +glided swiftly past us; and this was the first Indian, and the first of +these slender craft, I had seen. Afterwards, I became more intimately +acquainted with them than was altogether agreeable. + +In a short time we reached the wooden wharf, which, owing to the +smallness of everything else in the vicinity, had rather an imposing +look, and projected a long way into the water; but our boat passed this +and made for a small slip, on which two or three gentlemen waited to +receive us. + +My voyage was ended. The boat's keel grated harshly on the gravel; the +next moment my feet once more pressed _terra firma_, and I stood at last +on the shores of the New World, a stranger in a strange land. + +I do not intend to give a minute description of York Factory here, as a +full account of it will be found in a succeeding chapter, and shall, +therefore, confine myself to a slight sketch of the establishment, and +our proceedings there during a stay of about three weeks. + +York Factory is the principal depot of the Northern department, from +whence all the supplies for the trade are issued, and where all the furs +of the district are collected and shipped for England. As may be +supposed, then, the establishment is a large one. There are always +between thirty and forty men resident at the post, [_The word "_post_," +used here and elsewhere throughout the book, signifies an establishment +of any kind, small or great, and has no reference whatever to the +"_post_" of epistolary notoriety_.] summer and winter; generally four or +five clerks, a postmaster, and a skipper for the small schooners. The +whole is under the direction and superintendence of a chief factor, or +chief trader. + +As the winter is very long (nearly eight months), and the summer very +short, all the transport of goods to, and returns from, the interior +must necessarily be effected as quickly as possible. The consequence +is, that great numbers of men and boats are constantly arriving from the +inland posts, and departing again, during the summer; and as each +brigade is commanded by a chief factor, trader, or clerk, there is a +constant succession of new faces, which, after a long and dreary winter, +during which the inhabitants never see a stranger, renders the summer at +York Factory the most agreeable part of the year. The arrival of the +ship from England, too, delights those inhabitants of the wilderness +with letters from _home_, which can only be received twice a year-- +namely, at the time now alluded to, by the ship; and again in December, +when letters and accounts are conveyed throughout the interior by means +of sledges drawn by men. + +The fort (as all establishments in the Indian country, whether small or +great, are sometimes called) is a large square, I should think about six +or seven acres, enclosed within high stockades, and planted on the banks +of Hayes River, nearly five miles from its mouth. The houses are all of +wood, and, of course, have no pretension to architectural beauty; but +their clean, white appearance and regularity have a pleasing effect on +the eye. Before the front gate stand four large brass field-pieces; but +these warlike instruments are only used for the purpose of saluting the +ship with blank cartridge on her arrival and departure, the decayed +state of the carriages rendering it dangerous to load the guns with a +full charge. + +The country, as I said before, is flat and swampy, and the only objects +that rise very prominently above the rest, and catch the wandering eye, +are a lofty "outlook," or scaffolding of wood, painted black, from which +to watch for the arrival of the ship; and a flagstaff, from whose peak, +on Sundays, the snowy folds of St. George's flag flutter in the breeze. + +Such was York Factory in 1841; and as this description is sufficient to +give a general idea of the place, I shall conclude it, and proceed with +my narrative. + +Mr Grave, the chief factor then in charge, received us very kindly, and +introduced us to some of the gentlemen standing beside him on the wharf. +Mr Carles, being also a chief factor, was taken by him to the +_commissioned gentlemen's house_; while Wiseacre and I, being apprentice +clerks, were shown the young gentlemen's house--or, as the young +gentlemen themselves called it, Bachelors' Hall--and were told to make +ourselves at home. To Bachelors' Hall, then, we proceeded, and +introduced ourselves. The persons assembled there were--the accountant, +five clerks, the postmaster, and one or two others. Some of them were +smoking, and some talking; and a pretty considerable noise they made. +Bachelors' Hall, indeed, was worthy of its name, being a place that +would have killed any woman, so full was it of smoke, noise, and +confusion. + +After having made ourselves acquainted with everybody, I thought it time +to present a letter of introduction I had to Mrs Grave, the wife of the +gentleman in charge, who received me very kindly. I was much indebted +to this lady for supplying me with several pairs of moccasins for my +further voyage, and much useful information, without which I should have +been badly off indeed. Had it not been for her kindness, I should in +all probability have been allowed to depart very ill provided for the +journey to Red River, for which I was desired to hold myself in +readiness. Young Wiseacre, on the other hand, learned that he was to +remain at York Factory that winter, and was placed in the office the day +after our arrival, where he commenced _work_ for the first time. We had +a long and sage conversation upon the subject the same evening, and I +well remember congratulating him, with an extremely grave face, upon his +having now begun to _do for himself_. Poor fellow! his subsequent +travels in the country were long and perilous. + +But let us pause here a while. The reader has been landed in a new +country, and it may be well, before describing our voyage to Red River, +to make him acquainted with the peculiarities of the service, and the +people with whom he will in imagination have to associate. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +DESCRIPTION OF THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY--THEIR FORTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS-- +FOOD--ARTICLES OF TRADE AND MANNER OF TRADING. + +In the year 1669, a Company was formed in London, under the direction of +Prince Rupert, for the purpose of prosecuting the fur-trade in the +regions surrounding Hudson Bay. This Company obtained a charter from +Charles the Second, granting to them and their successors, under the +name of "The Governor and Company of Adventurers trading into Hudson's +Bay," the sole right of trading in all the country watered by rivers +flowing into Hudson Bay. The charter also authorised them to build and +fit out men-of-war, establish forts, prevent any other company from +carrying on trade with the natives in their territories, and required +that they should do all in their power to promote Discovery. + +Armed with these powers, then, the Hudson Bay Company established a fort +near the head of James Bay. Soon afterwards, several others were built +in different parts of the country; and before long the Company spread +and grew wealthy, and eventually extended their trade far beyond the +chartered limits. + +With the internal economy of the Company under the superintendence of +Prince Rupert, however, I am not acquainted; but as it will be necessary +to the reader's forming a correct idea of the peculiarities of the +country and service, that he should know something of its character +under the direction of Sir George Simpson, I shall give a brief outline +of its arrangements. + +Reader, you will materially assist me in my description if you will +endeavour to draw the following landscape on the retina of your mind's +eye. + +Imagine an immense extent of country, many hundred miles broad and many +hundred miles long, covered with dense forests, expanded lakes, broad +rivers, wide prairies, swamps, and mighty mountains: and all in a state +of primeval simplicity--undefaced by the axe of civilised man, and +untenanted by aught save a few roving hordes of Red Indians and myriads +of wild animals. Imagine amid this wilderness a number of small +squares, each enclosing half a dozen wooden houses and about a dozen +men, and between each of these establishments a space of forest varying +from fifty to three hundred miles in length; and you will have a pretty +correct idea of the Hudson Bay Company's territories, and of the number +of and distance between their forts. The idea, however, may be still +more correctly obtained by imagining populous Great Britain converted +into a wilderness and planted in the middle of Rupert's Land. The +Company, in that case, would build _three_ forts in it--one at the +Land's End, one in Wales, and one in the Highlands; so that in Britain +there would be but three hamlets, with a population of some thirty men, +half a dozen women, and a few children! The Company's posts extend, +with these intervals between, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, +and from within the Arctic Circle to the northern boundaries of the +United States. + +Throughout this immense country there are probably not more ladies than +would suffice to form half a dozen quadrilles; and these--poor banished +creatures!--are chiefly the wives of the principal gentlemen connected +with the fur-trade. The rest of the female population consists chiefly +of half-breeds and Indians; the latter entirely devoid of education, and +the former as much enlightened as can be expected from those whose life +is spent in such a country. Even these are not very numerous; and yet +without them the men would be in a sad condition, for they are the only +tailors and washer-women in the country, and make all the mittens, +moccasins, fur caps, deer-skin coats, etcetera, etcetera, worn in the +land. + +There are one or two favoured spots, however, into which a missionary or +two have penetrated; and in Red River Settlement (the only colony in the +Company's territories) there are several churches and clergymen, both +Protestant and Roman Catholic. + +The country is divided into four large departments: the Northern +department, which includes all the establishments in the far north and +frozen regions; the Southern department, including those to the south +and east of this, the post at the head of James Bay, and along the +shores of Lake Superior; the Montreal department, including the country +in the neighbourhood of Montreal, up the Ottawa River, and along the +north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Esquimaux Bay; and the +Columbia department, which comprehends an immense extent of country to +the west of the Rocky Mountains, including the Oregon territory, which, +although the Hudson Bay Company still trade in it, now belongs to the +Americans. + +These departments are divided into a number of districts, each under the +direction of an influential officer; and these again are subdivided into +numerous establishments, forts, posts, and outposts. + +The name of _fort_, as already remarked, is given to all the posts in +the country; but some of them certainly do not merit the name--indeed, +few of them do. The only two in the country that are real, _bona fide_ +forts, are Fort Garry and the Stone Fort in the colony of Red River, +which are surrounded by stone walls with bastions at the corners. The +others are merely defended by wooden pickets or stockades; and a few, +where the Indians are quiet and harmless, are entirely destitute of +defence of any kind. Some of the chief posts have a complement of about +thirty or forty men; but most of them have only ten, five, four, and +even _two_, besides the gentleman in charge. As in most instances these +posts are planted in a wilderness far from men, and the inhabitants have +only the society of each other, some idea may be formed of the solitary +life led by many of the Company's servants. + +The following is a list of the forts in the four different departments, +as correctly given as possible; but, owing to the great number in the +country, the constant abandoning of old and establishing of new forts, +it is difficult to get at a perfectly correct knowledge of their number +and names:-- + +NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. + + York Fort (the depot). + Churchill. + Severn. + Oxford House. + Trout Lake House. + Norway House. + Nelson River House. + Berens River House. + Red River Colony. + Fort Garry. + Stone Fort. + Manitoba House. + Fort Pelly. + Cumberland House. + Carlton House. + Fort Pitt. + Edmonton. + Rocky Mountain House. + Fort Aminaboine. + Jasper's House. + Henry's House. + Fort Chipewyan. + Fort Vermilion. + Fort Dunvegan. + Fort Simpson. + Fort Norman. + Fort Good Hope. + Fort Halkett. + Fort Resolution. + Peel's River. + Fort Alexander. + Rat Portage House. + Fort Frances. + Isle a la Crosse. + +SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT. + + Moose Factory (the depot). + Rupert's House. + Fort George. + Michiskau. + Albany. + Lac Seul + Kinogomousse. + Matawagamingue. + Kuckatoosh. + New Brunswick. + Abitibi. + Temiscamingue. + Grand Lac. + Trout Lake. + Matarva. + Canasicomica. + Lacloche. + Sault de Ste. Maria. + Fort William. + Pic House. + Michipicoton. + Bachiwino. + Nepigon. + Washwonaby. + Pike Lake. + Temagamy. + Green Lake. + Missisague. + +MONTREAL DEPARTMENT. + + Lachine (the depot). + Riviere du Moine. + Lac des Allumettes. + Fort Coulonge. + Riviere Desert. + Lac des Sables. + Lake of Two Mountains. + Kikandatch. + Weymontachingue. + Rat River. + Ashabmoushwan. + Chicoutimie. + Lake St. John's. + Tadousac. + Isle Jeremie. + Port Neuf. + Goodbout. + Trinity River. + Seven Islands. + Mingan. + Nabisippi. + Natoequene. + Musquarro. + Fort Nasoopie. + Mainewan Lake. + Sandy Banks. + Gull Islands. + North-west River. + Rigolet. + Kiboksk. + Eyelick. + +COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT. + + Fort Vancouver (the depot). + Fort George. + Nez Perce. + Ockanagan. + Colville. + Fort Hall. + Thompson's River. + Fort Langley. + Cootanies. + Flat-head Post. + Nisqually. + Alexandria. + Fort Chilcotin. + Fort James. + Fort Fluz Cuz. + Babine Lake. + And an agency in the Sandwich Islands. + +There are seven different grades in the service. First, the labourer, +who is ready to turn his hand to anything; to become a trapper, +fisherman, or rough carpenter at the shortest notice. He is generally +employed in cutting firewood for the consumption of the establishment at +which he is stationed, shovelling snow from before the doors, mending +all sorts of damages to all sorts of things, and, during the summer +months, in transporting furs and goods between his post and the nearest +depot. Next in rank is the interpreter. He is, for the most part, an +intelligent labourer, of pretty long standing in the service, who, +having picked up a smattering of Indian, is consequently very useful in +trading with the natives. After the interpreter comes the postmaster; +usually a promoted labourer, who, for good behaviour or valuable +services, has been put upon a footing with the gentlemen of the service, +in the same manner that a private soldier in the army is sometimes +raised to the rank of a commissioned officer. At whatever station a +postmaster may happen to be placed, he is generally the most useful and +active man there. He is often placed in charge of one of the many small +stations, or outposts, throughout the country. Next are the apprentice +clerks--raw lads, who come out fresh from school, with their mouths +agape at the wonders they behold in Hudson Bay. They generally, for the +purpose of appearing manly, acquire all the bad habits of the country as +quickly as possible, and are stuffed full of what they call fun, with a +strong spice of mischief. They become more sensible and sedate before +they get through the first five years of their apprenticeship, after +which they attain to the rank of clerks. The clerk, after a number of +years' service (averaging from thirteen to twenty), becomes a chief +trader (or half-shareholder), and in a few years more he attains the +highest rank to which any one can rise in the service, that of chief +factor (or shareholder). + +It is a strange fact that three-fourths of the Company's servants are +Scotch Highlanders and Orkneymen. There are very few Irishmen, and +still fewer English. A great number, however, are half-breeds and +French Canadians, especially among the labourers and _voyageurs_. + +From the great extent, and variety of feature, in the country occupied +by the fur-traders, they subsist, as may be supposed, on widely +different kinds of food. In the prairie, or plain countries, animal +food is chiefly used, as there thousands of deer and bisons wander +about, while the woods are stocked with game and wild-fowl. In other +places, however, where deer are scarce and game not so abundant, fish of +various kinds are caught in the rivers and lakes; and in other parts of +the country they live partly upon fish and partly upon animal food. +Vegetables are very scarce in the more northern posts, owing to the +severity of the winter, and consequent shortness of summer. As the +Company's servants are liable, on the shortest notice, to be sent from +one end of the continent to another, they are quite accustomed to change +of diet;--one year rejoicing in buffalo-humps and marrow-bones, in the +prairies of the Saskatchewan, and the next devouring hung white-fish and +scarce venison, in the sterile regions of Mackenzie River, or varying +the meal with a little of that delectable substance often spoken of by +Franklin, Back, and Richardson as their only dish--namely, +_tripe-de-roche_, a lichen or moss which grows on the most barren rocks, +and is only used as food in the absence of all other provisions. + +During the first years of the Company, they were much censured for not +carrying out the provision contained in the royal charter, that they +should prosecute Discovery as much as possible; and it was even alleged +that they endeavoured to prevent adventurers, not connected with +themselves, from advancing in their researches. There is every reason +to believe, however, that this censure was undeserved. A new company, +recently formed in a wild country, could not at first be expected to +have time or funds to advance the arduous and expensive cause of +Discovery. With regard to their having impeded the attempts of others, +it is doubtful whether any one in the service ever did so; but even had +such been the case, the unauthorised and dishonourable conduct of one or +two of their servants does not sanction the condemnation of the whole +Company. Besides, the cause of Discovery was effectively advanced in +former days by Herne, and in later years by Dease and Simpson, Dr Rae, +and others; so that, whatever might have been the case at first, there +can be no doubt that the Company have done much for the cause of late +years. + +The trade carried on by the Company is in peltries of all sorts, oil, +dried and salted fish, feathers, quills, etcetera. A list of some of +their principal articles of commerce is subjoined:-- + + Beaver-skins. + Bear-skins, Black. + Bear-skins, Brown. + Bear-skins, White or Polar. + Bear-skins, Grizzly. + Badger-skins. + Buffalo or Bison Robes (see note below). + Castorum, a substance procured from the body of the beaver. + Deer-skins, Rein. + Deer-skins, Red. + Deer-skins, Moose or Elk. + Deer-skins, parchment. + Feathers of all kinds. + Fisher-skins. + Fox-skins, Black. + Fox-skins, Silver. + Fox-skins, Cross. + Fox-skins, Red. + Fox-skins, White. + Fox-skins, Blue. + Goose-skins. + Ivory (tusks of the Walrus). + Lynx-skins. + Marten-skins. + Musquash-skins. + Otter-skins. + Oil, Seal. + Oil, Whale. + Swan-skins. + Salmon, salted. + Seal-skins. + Wolf-skins + Wolverine-skins. + +Note. The hide of the bison--or, as it is called by the fur-traders, +the buffalo--when dressed on one side and the hair left on the other, is +called a robe. Great numbers are sent to Canada, where they are used +for sleigh wrappers in winter. In the Indian county they are often used +instead of blankets. + +The most valuable of the furs mentioned in the above list is that of the +_black fox_. This beautiful animal resembles in shape the common fox of +England, but it is much larger, and jet-black, with the exception of one +or two white hairs along the back-bone and a pure white tuft on the end +of the tail. A single skin sometimes brings from twenty-five to thirty +guineas in the British market; but, unfortunately, they are very scarce. +The _silver fox_ differs from the black fox only in the number of white +hairs with which its fur is sprinkled; and the more numerous the white +hairs, the less valuable does it become. The _cross fox_ is a cross +between the black or silver and the red fox. The _red fox_ bears a much +inferior fur to the other kinds; yet it is a good article of trade, as +this species is very numerous. These four kinds of foxes are sometimes +produced in the same litter, the mother being a red fox. The _white +fox_ is of less value than the red, and is also very numerous, +particularly on the shores of Hudson Bay. The variety termed the _blue +fox_ is neither numerous nor valuable. It is of a dirty bluish-grey +colour, and seldom makes its appearance at the Company's posts. + +Beaver, in days of yore, was the staple fur of the country; but, alas! +the silk hat has given it its death-blow, and the star of the beaver has +now probably set for ever--that is to say, with regard to men; probably +the animals themselves fancy that their lucky star has just risen. The +most profitable fur in the country is that of the marten. It somewhat +resembles the Russian sable, and generally maintains a steady price. +These animals, moreover, are very numerous throughout most part of the +Company's territories, particularly in Mackenzie River, whence great +numbers are annually sent to England. + +All the above animals and a few others are caught in steel and wooden +traps by the natives; while deer, buffaloes, etcetera, are run down, +shot, and snared in various ways, the details of which will be found in +another part of this volume. + +Trade is carried on with the natives by means of a standard valuation, +called in some parts of the country a _castor_. This is to obviate the +necessity of circulating money, of which there is little or none, +excepting in the colony of Red River. Thus, an Indian arrives at a fort +with a bundle of furs, with which he proceeds to the Indian +trading-room. There the trader separates the furs into different lots, +and, valuing each at the standard valuation, adds the amount together, +and tells the Indian (who has looked on the while with great interest +and anxiety) that he has got fifty or sixty casters; at the same time he +hands the Indian fifty or sixty little bits of wood in lieu of cash, so +that the latter may know, by returning these in payment of the goods for +which he really exchanges his skins, how fast his funds decrease. The +Indian then looks round upon the bales of cloth, powder-horns, guns, +blankets, knives, etcetera, with which the shop is filled, and after a +good while makes up his mind to have a small blanket. This being given +him, the trader tells him that the price is six castors; the purchaser +hands back six of his little bits of wood, and selects something else. +In this way he goes on till all his wooden cash is expended; and then, +packing up his goods, departs to show his treasures to his wife, and +another Indian takes his place. The value of a castor is from one to +two shillings. The natives generally visit the establishments of the +Company twice a year--once in October, when they bring in the produce of +their autumn hunts; and again in March, when they come in with that of +the great winter hunt. + +The number of castors that an Indian makes in a winter hunt varies from +fifty to two hundred, according to his perseverance and activity, and +the part of the country in which he hunts. The largest amount I ever +heard of was made by a man called Piaquata-Kiscum, who brought in furs +on one occasion to the value of two hundred and sixty castors. The poor +fellow was soon afterwards poisoned by his relatives, who were jealous +of his superior abilities as a hunter, and envious of the favour shown +him by the white men. + +After the furs are collected in spring at all the different outposts, +they are packed in conveniently-sized bales, and forwarded, by means of +boats and canoes, to the three chief depots on the sea-coast--namely, +Fort Vancouver, at the mouth of the Columbia River, on the shores of the +Pacific; York Fort, on the shores of Hudson Bay; and Moose Factory, on +the shores of James Bay--whence they are transported in the Company's +ships to England. The whole country in summer is, consequently, in +commotion with the passing and repassing of brigades of boats laden with +bales of merchandise and furs; the still waters of the lakes and rivers +are rippled by the paddle and the oar; and the long-silent echoes which +have slumbered in the icy embrace of a dreary winter, are now once more +awakened by the merry voice and tuneful song of the hardy _voyageur_. + +This slight sketch of the Hudson Bay Company and of the territories +occupied by them may, for the present, serve to give some idea of the +nature of the service and the appearance of the country. We shall now +proceed to write of the Indiana inhabiting these wild regions. + +[Doubtless the reader is aware that the chartered rights of the Hudson +Bay Company now (1875) no longer exist; nevertheless their operations +are still conducted in the same manner as of old, so that the above +description is applicable in almost all respects to the greater part of +the country at the present time.] + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +NORTH AMERICAS INDIANS--THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS--COSTUME, DWELLINGS, +IMPLEMENTS, ETCETERA.--A TALE OF MURDER AND CANNIBALISM--A NIGHT +EXCURSION WITH AN INDIAN--A DEER HUNT. + +The aborigines of North America are divided into a great number of +nations or tribes, differing not only in outward appearance but also in +customs and modes of life, and in some instances entertaining for each +other a bitter and implacable hatred. + +To describe the leading peculiarities of some of these tribes, +particularly those called Crees, will be my object in the present +chapter. + +Some of the tribes are known by the following names:--Crees, Seauteaux, +Stone Indians, Sioux, Blackfeet, Chipewyans, Slave Indians, Crows, +Flatheads, etcetera. Of these, the Crees are the quietest and most +inoffensive; they inhabit the woody country surrounding Hudson Bay; +dwell in tents; never go to war; and spend their time in trapping, +shooting, and fishing. The Seauteaux are similar to the Crees in many +respects, and inhabit the country further in the interior. The Stone +Indians, Sioux, Blackfeet, Slave Indians, Crows, and Flatheads inhabit +the vast plains and forests in the interior of America, on the east and +west of the Rocky Mountains, and live chiefly by the produce of the +chase. Their country swarms with bisons, and varieties of deer, bears, +etcetera, which they hunt, shoot, snare, and kill in various ways. Some +of these tribes are well supplied with horses, with which they hunt the +buffalo. This is a wild, inspiriting chase, and the natives are very +fond of it. They use the gun a good deal, but prefer the bow and arrow +(in the use of which they are very expert) for the chase, and reserve +the gun for warfare,--many of them being constantly engaged in +skirmishing with their enemies. As the Crees were the Indians with whom +I had the most intercourse, I shall endeavour to describe my old friends +more at length. + +The personal appearance of the men of this tribe is not bad. Although +they have not the bold, daring carriage of the wilder tribes, yet they +have active-looking figures, intelligent countenances, and a peculiar +brightness in their dark eyes, which, from a constant habit of looking +around them while travelling through the woods, are seldom for a moment +at rest. Their jet-black hair generally hangs in straight matted locks +over their shoulders, sometimes ornamented with beads and pieces of +metal, and occasionally with a few partridge feathers; but they seldom +wear a hat or cap of any kind, except in winter, when they make clumsy +imitations of foraging-caps with furs--preferring, if the weather be +warm, to go about without any head-dress at all; or, if it be cold, +using the large hood of their capotes as a covering. They are thin, +wiry men, not generally very muscular in their proportions, but yet +capable of enduring great fatigue. Their average height is about five +feet five inches; and one rarely meets with individuals varying much +from this average, nor with deformed people, among them. The step of a +Cree Indian is much longer than that of a European; owing, probably, to +his being so much accustomed to walking through swamps and forests, +where it is necessary to take long strides. This peculiarity becomes +apparent when an Indian arrives at a fort, and walks along the hard +ground inside the walls with the trader, whose short, bustling, active +step contrasts oddly with the long, solemn, ostrich-like stride of the +savage; which, however appropriate in the woods, is certainly strange +and ungraceful on a good road. + +The summer dress of the Indian is almost entirely provided for him by +the Hudson Bay Company. It consists chiefly of a blue or grey cloth, or +else a blanket capote reaching below the knee, made much too loose for +the figure, and strapped round the waist with a scarlet or crimson +worsted belt. A very coarse blue striped cotton shirt is all the +underclothing they wear, holding trousers to be quite superfluous; in +lieu of which they make leggins of various kinds of cloth, which reach +from a few inches above the knee down to the ankle. These leggins are +sometimes very tastefully decorated with bead-work, particularly those +of the women, and are provided with flaps or wings on either side. + +The costume, however, is slightly varied in winter. The blanket or +cloth capote is then laid aside for one of smoked red-deer skin, which +has very much the appearance of chamois leather. This is lined with +flannel, or some other thick, warm substance, and edged with fur (more +for ornament, however, than warmth) of different kinds. Fingerless +mittens, with a place for the thumb, are also adopted; and shoes or +moccasins of the same soft material. The moccasins are very beautiful, +fitting the feet as tightly as a glove, and are tastefully ornamented +with dyed porcupine quills and silk thread of various colours, at which +work the women are particularly _au fait_. As the leather of the +moccasin is very thin [see note 1], blanket and flannel socks are worn +underneath--one, two, or even four pairs, according to the degree of +cold; and in proportion as these socks are increased in number, the +moccasin, of course, loses its elegant appearance. + +The Indian women are not so good-looking as the men. They have an +awkward, slouching gait, and a downcast look--arising, probably, from +the rude treatment they experience from their husbands; for the North +American Indians, like all other savages, make complete drudges of their +women, obliging them to do all the laborious and dirty work, while they +reserve the pleasures of the chase for themselves. Their features are +sometimes good; but I never saw a really pretty woman among the Crees. +Their colour, as well as that of the men, is a dingy brown, which, +together with their extreme filthiness, renders them anything but +attractive. They are, however, quiet, sweet-tempered, and inoffensive +creatures, destitute as well of artificial manners as of _stays_. Their +dress is a gown, made without sleeves, and very scanty in the skirt, of +coarse blue or green cloth; it reaches down to a little under the knee, +below which their limbs are cased in leggins beautifully ornamented. +Their whole costume, however, like that of the men, is almost always hid +from sight by a thick blanket, without which the Indian seldom ventures +abroad. The women usually make the top of the blanket answer the +purpose of a head-dress; but when they wish to appear very much to +advantage, they put on a cap. It is a square piece of blue cloth, +profusely decorated with different-coloured beads, and merely sewed up +at the top. They wear their hair in long straggling locks, which have +not the slightest tendency to curl, and occasionally in queues or +pigtails behind; but in this respect, as in every other, they are very +careless of their personal appearance. + +These primitive children of the forest live in tents of deerskin or +bark; and sometimes, where skins are scarce, of branches of trees. They +are conically shaped, and are constructed thus:--The Indian with his +family (probably two wives and three or four children) arrives in his +bark canoe at a pretty level spot, sheltered from the north wind, and +conveniently situated on the banks of a small stream, where the fish are +plentiful, and pine branches (or brush), for the floor of the tent, +abundant. Here he runs his canoe ashore, and carries his goods and +chattels up the bank. His first business is to cut a number of long +poles, and tie three of them at the top, spreading them out in the form +of a tripod. He then piles all the other poles round these, at half a +foot distance from each other, and thus encloses a circle of between +fifteen and twenty feet in diameter. Over the poles (if he is a good +hunter, and has plenty of deer-skins) he spreads the skin tent, leaving +an opening at the top for the egress of the smoke. If the tent be a +birch-bark one, he has it in separate rolls, which are spread over the +poles till the whole is covered. A small opening is left facing the +river or lake, which serves for a doorway; and this is covered with an +old blanket, a piece of deer-skin, or, in some instances, by bison-skin +or buffalo robe. The floor is covered with a layer of small pine +branches, which serve for carpet and mattress; and in the centre is +placed the wood fire, which, when blazing brightly, gives a warmth and +comfort to the slight habitation that could scarcely be believed. Here +the Indian spends a few days or weeks, according to the amount of game +in the vicinity, and then removes to some other place, carrying with him +the covering of the tent, but leaving the poles standing, as they would +be cumbrous to carry in his small canoe, and thousands may be had at +every place where he may wish to land. + +The Indian canoe is an exceedingly light and graceful little craft, and +well adapted for travelling in through a wild country, where the rivers +are obstructed by long rapids, waterfalls, and shallows. It is so light +that one man can easily carry it on his shoulders over the land, when a +waterfall obstructs his progress; and as it only sinks about four or six +inches in the water, few places are too shallow to float it. The birch +bark of which it is made is about a quarter of an inch thick; and the +inside is lined with extremely thin flakes of wood, over which a number +of light timbers are driven, to give strength and tightness to the +machine. In this frail bark, which measures from twelve, fifteen, +thirty, to forty feet long, and from two to four feet broad in the +middle, a whole Indian family of eight or ten souls will travel hundreds +of miles, over rivers and lakes innumerable; now floating swiftly down a +foaming rapid, and anon gliding over the surface of a quiet lake, or +_making a portage_ overland when a rapid is too dangerous to descend; +and, while the elders of the family assist in carrying the canoe, the +youngsters run about plucking berries, and the shaggy little curs (one +or two of which are possessed by every Indian family) search for food, +or bask in the sun at the foot of the baby's cradle, which stands bolt +upright against a tree, while the child gazes upon all these operations +with serene indifference. + +Not less elegant and useful than the canoe is the snowshoe, without +which the Indian would be badly off indeed. It is not, as many suppose, +used as a kind of _skate_, with which to _slide_ over the snow, but as a +machine to prevent, by its size and breadth, the wearer from sinking +into the snow; which is so deep that, without the assistance of the +snowshoe, no one could walk a quarter of a mile through the woods in +winter without being utterly exhausted. + +It is formed of two thin pieces of light wood, tied at both ends, and +spread out near the middle, thus making a kind of long oval, the +interior of which is filled up with network of deer-skin threads. +Strength is given to the frame by placing wooden bars across; and it is +fastened _loosely_ to the foot by a slight line going over the toe. In +case, however, it may be supposed that by a shoe I mean an article +something the size of a man's foot, it may be as well to state that +snow-shoes measure from _four_ to _six feet_ long, and from thirteen to +twenty inches wide. Notwithstanding their great size, the extreme +lightness of their materials prevents them being cumbrous; and, after a +little practice, a traveller forgets that he has them on, if the weather +be good for such walking. Frosty weather is the best for snow-shoe +travelling, as the snow is fine and dust-like, and falls through the +net-work. If the weather be warm, the wet snow renders the shoe heavy, +and the lines soon begin to gall the feet. On these shoes an Indian +will travel between twenty and thirty miles a day; and they often +accomplish from thirty to forty when hard pressed. + +The food of the Indian varies according to circumstances. Sometimes he +luxuriates on deer, partridges, and fat beaver; whilst at others he is +obliged to live almost entirely on fish, and not unfrequently on +_tripe-de-roche_. This substance, however, does no more than retard his +ultimate destruction by starvation; and unless he meets with something +more nourishing, it cannot prevent it. When starving, the Indian will +not hesitate to appease the cravings of hunger by resorting to +cannibalism; and there were some old dames with whom I was myself +acquainted, who had at different periods eaten several of their +children. Indeed, some of them, it was said, had also eaten their +husbands! + +The following anecdote, related to me by my friend Carles, who spent +many years of his life among the North American Indians, depicts one of +the worst of these cases of cannibalism. + +It was in the spring of 18 hundred and something that Mr Carles stood +in the Indian Hall of one of the far-distant posts in Athabasca, +conversing with a party of Chipewyan Indians, who had just arrived with +furs from their winter hunting-grounds. The large fires of wood, +sparkling and blazing cheerfully up the wide chimney, cast a bright +light round the room, and shone upon the dusky countenances of the +Chipewyans, as they sat gravely on the floor, smoking their spwagans in +silence. A dark shade lowered upon every face, as if thoughts of an +unpleasant nature disturbed their minds; and so it was. A deed of the +most revolting description had been perpetrated by an Indian of the Cree +tribe, and they were about to relate the story to Mr Carles. + +After a short silence, an old Indian removed his pipe, and, looking +round upon the others, as if to ask their consent to his becoming +spokesman, related the particulars of the story, the substance of which +I now give. + +Towards the middle of winter, Wisagun, a Cree Indian, removed his +encampment to another part of the country, as game was scarce in the +place where he had been residing. His family consisted of a wife, a son +of eight or nine years of age, and two or three children, besides +several of his relations; in all, ten souls, including himself. In a +few days they arrived at their new encamping ground, after having +suffered a great deal of misery by the way from starvation. They were +all much exhausted and worn out, but hoped, having heard of buffaloes in +the vicinity, that their sufferings would soon be relieved. + +Here they remained several days without finding any game, and were +reduced to the necessity of devouring their moccasins and leathern +coats, rendered eatable by being singed over the fire. Soon this +wretched resource was also gone, and they were reduced to the greatest +extremity, when a herd of buffaloes was descried far away in the +prairie, on the edge of which they were encamped. All were instantly on +the _qui vive_. Guns were loaded, snow-shoes put on, and in ten minutes +the males of the hungry party set off after the herd, leaving Wisagun's +wife and children with another girl in the tent. It was not long, +however, before the famished party began to grow tired. Some of the +weakest dropped behind; while Wisagun, with his son Natappe, gave up the +chase, and returned to the encampment. They soon arrived at it, and +Wisagun, peeping in between the chinks of the tent to see what the women +were doing, saw his wife engaged in cutting up one of her own children, +preparatory to cooking it. In a transport of passion, the Indian rushed +forward and stabbed her, and also the other woman; and then, fearing the +wrath of the other Indians, he fled to the woods. It may be conceived +what were the feelings of the remainder of the party when they returned +and found their relatives murdered. They were so much exhausted, +however, by previous suffering, that they could only sit down and gaze +on the mutilated bodies in despair. During the night, Wisagun and +Natappe returned stealthily to the tent, and, under cover of the +darkness, murdered the whole party as they lay asleep. Soon after this +the two Indians were met by another party of savages, in _good +condition_, although, from the scarcity of game, the others were +starving. The former accounted for this, however, by saying that they +had fallen in with a deer not long ago; but that, before this had +happened, all the rest of the family had died of starvation. + +It was the party who had met the two Indians wandering in the plains +that now sat round the fire relating the story to Mr Carles. + +The tale was still telling when the hall door slowly opened, and +Wisagun, gaunt and cadaverous, the very impersonation of famine, slunk +into the room, along with Natappe, and seated himself in a corner near +the fire. Mr Carles soon obtained from his own lips confirmation of +the horrible deed, which he excused by saying that _most_ of his +relations had died before he ate them. + +In a few days after this, the party of Indians took their departure from +the house, to proceed to their village in the forest; and shortly after +Wisagun and Natappe also left, to rejoin their tribe. The news of their +deeds, however, had preceded them, so they were received very coldly; +and soon after Wisagun pitched his tent, the other Indians removed, with +one accord, to another place, as though it were impossible to live +happily under the shadow of the same trees. This exasperated Wisagun so +much that he packed up his tent and goods, launched his canoe, and then, +before starting, went up to the village, and told them it was true he +had killed all his relatives; and that he was a conjurer, and had both +power and inclination to conjure them to death too. He then strode down +to the banks of the river, and, embarking with his son, shot out into +the stream. The unhappy man had acted rashly in his wrath. There is +nothing more dangerous than to threaten to kill a savage, as he will +certainly endeavour to kill the person who threatens him, in order to +render the execution of his purpose impossible. Wisagun and his son had +no sooner departed than two men coolly took up their guns, entered a +canoe, and followed them. Upon arriving at a secluded spot, one of them +raised his gun and fired at Wisagun, who fell over the side of the +canoe, and sank to rise no more. With the rapidity of thought, Natappe +seized his father's gun, sprang ashore, and bounded up the bank; a shot +was fired which went through the fleshy part of his arm, and the next +moment he was behind a tree. Here he called out to the Indians, who +were reloading their guns, not to kill him, and he would tell them all. +After a little consideration, they agreed to spare him; he embarked with +them, and was taken afterwards to the fort, where he remained many years +in the Company's service. + +Although instances of cannibalism are not unusual among the Indian +tribes, they do not resort to it from choice, but only when urged by the +irrepressible cravings of hunger. + +All the Indian tribes are fond of spirits; and in former times, when the +distribution of rum to the natives was found necessary to compete with +other companies, the use of the "fire-water" was carried to a fearful +extent. Since Sir George Simpson became governor, however, the +distribution of spirits has been almost entirely given up; and this has +proved a most beneficial measure for the poor Indians. + +Tobacco also is consumed by them in great quantities; indeed, the pipe +is seldom out of the Indian's mouth. If he is not hunting, sleeping, or +eating, he is sure to be smoking. A peculiar kind of shrub is much used +by them, mixed with tobacco--partly for the purpose of making it go far, +and partly because they can smoke more of it at a time with impunity. + +The Indian is generally very lazy, but can endure, when requisite, great +fatigue and much privation. He can go longer without eating than a +European, and, from the frequent fasts he has to sustain, he becomes +accustomed, without injury, to eat more at a meal than would kill a +white man. The Indian children exhibit this power in a very +extraordinary degree, looking sometimes wretchedly thin and miserable, +and an hour or two afterwards waddling about with their little stomachs +swollen almost to bursting! + +When an Indian wants a wife, he goes to the _fair_ one's father, and +asks his consent. This being obtained, he informs the young lady of the +circumstance, and then returns to his wigwam, whither the bride follows +him, and installs herself as mistress of the house without further +ceremony. Generally speaking, Indians content themselves with one wife, +but it is looked upon as neither unusual nor improper to take two, or +even three wives. The great point to settle is the husband's ability to +support them. Thus, a bad hunter can only afford one wife, whilst a +good one may have three or four. + +If an old man or woman of the tribe becomes infirm, and unable to +proceed with the rest when travelling, he or she, as the case may be, is +left behind in a small tent made of willows, in which are placed a +little firewood, some provisions, and a vessel of water. Here the +unhappy wretch remains in solitude till the fuel and provisions are +exhausted, and then dies. Should the tribe be in their encampment when +an Indian dies, the deceased is buried, sometimes in the ground, and +sometimes in a rough wooden coffin raised a few feet above it. They do +not now bury guns, knives, etcetera, with their dead, as they once did, +probably owing to their intercourse with white men. + +The Supreme Being among the Indians is called Manitou; but He can +scarcely be said to be worshipped by them, and the few ideas they have +of His attributes are imperfect and erroneous. Indeed, no religious +rites exist among them, unless the unmeaning mummery of the medicine +tent can be looked upon as such. Of late years, however, missionaries, +both of the Church of England and the Wesleyans, have exerted themselves +to spread the Christian religion among these tribes, than whom few +savages can be more unenlightened or morally degraded; and there is +reason to believe that the light of the gospel is now beginning to shine +upon them with beneficial influence. + +There is no music in the soul of a Cree, and the only time they attempt +it is when gambling--of which they are passionately fond--when they sing +a kind of monotonous chant, accompanied with a noisy rattling on a tin +kettle. The celebrated war-dance is now no longer in existence among +this tribe. They have wisely renounced both war and its horrors long +ago. Among the wilder inhabitants of the prairies, however, it is still +in vogue, with all the dismal accompaniments of killing, scalping, +roasting, and torturing that distinguished American warfare a hundred +years ago. + +The different methods by which the Indian succeeds in snaring and +trapping animals are numerous. A good idea of these may be had by +following an Indian in his rounds. + +Suppose yourself, gentle reader, standing at the gate of one of the +forts in Hudson Bay, watching a savage arranging his snow-shoes, +preparatory to entering the gloomy forest. Let us walk with this Indian +on a visit to his traps. + +The night is very dark, as the moon is hid by thick clouds, yet it +occasionally breaks out sufficiently to illumine our path to Stemaw's +wigwam, and to throw the shadows of the neighbouring trees upon the pale +snow, which _crunches_ under our feet as we advance, owing to the +intense cold. No wind breaks the stillness of the night, or shakes the +lumps of snow off the branches of the neighbouring pines or willows; and +nothing is heard save the occasional crackling of the trees as the +severe frost acts upon their branches. The tent, at which we soon +arrive, is pitched at the foot of an immense tree, which stands in a +little hollow where the willows and pines are luxuriant enough to afford +a shelter from the north wind. Just in front, a small path leads to the +river, of which an extensive view is had through the opening, showing +the long fantastic shadows of huge blocks and mounds of ice cast upon +the white snow by the flickering moonlight. A huge chasm, filled with +fallen trees and mounds of snow, yawns on the left of the tent; and the +ruddy sparks of fire which issue from a hole in its top throw this and +the surrounding forest into deeper gloom. The effect of this wintry +scene upon the mind is melancholy in the extreme--causing it to speed +across the bleak and frozen plains, and visit again the warm fireside +and happy faces in a far-distant home; and yet there is a strange +romantic attraction in the wild woods that gradually brings it back +again, and makes us impatient to begin our walk with the Indian. +Suddenly the deer-skin robe that covers the aperture of the wigwam is +raised, and a bright stream of warm light gushes out, tipping the +dark-green points of the opposite trees, and mingling strangely with the +paler light of the moon--and Stemaw stands erect in front of his +solitary home, to gaze a few moments on the sky and judge of the +weather, as he intends to take a long walk before laying his head upon +his capote for the night. He is in the usual costume of the Cree +Indians: a large leathern coat, very much overlapped in front, and +fastened round his waist with a scarlet belt, protects his body from the +cold. A small rat-skin cap covers his head, and his legs are cased in +the ordinary blue cloth leggins. Large moccasins, with two or three +pair of blanket socks, clothe his feet; and fingerless mittens, made of +deer-skin, complete his costume. After a few minutes passed in +contemplation of the heavens, the Indian prepares himself for the walk. +First he sticks a small axe in his belt, serving as a counterpoise to a +large hunting-knife and fire-bag which depend from the other side. He +then slips his feet through the lines of his snow-shoes, and throws the +line of a small hand-sledge over his shoulder. The hand-sledge is a +thin, flat slip or plank of wood, from five to six feet long by one foot +broad, and is turned up at one end. It is extremely light, and Indians +invariably use it when visiting their traps, for the purpose of dragging +home the animals or game they may have caught. Having attached this +sledge to his back, he stoops to receive his gun from his faithful +_squaw_ [see note 2], who has been watching his operations through a +hole in the tent; and throwing it on his shoulder, strides off, without +uttering a word, across the moonlit space in front of the tent, turns +into a narrow track that leads down the dark ravine, and disappears in +the shades of the forest. Soon he reaches the termination of the track +(made for the purpose of reaching some good dry trees for firewood), and +stepping into the deep snow with the long, regular, firm tread of one +accustomed to snow-shoe walking, he winds his way rapidly through the +thick stems of the surrounding trees, and turns aside the smaller +branches of the bushes. + +The forest is now almost dark, the foliage overhead having become so +dense that the moon only penetrates through it in a few places, causing +the spots on which it falls to shine with a strange phosphoric light, +and rendering the surrounding masses darker by contrast. The faint +outline, of an old snowshoe track, at first discernible, is now quite +invisible; but still Stemaw moves forward with rapid, noiseless step, as +sure of his way as if a broad beaten track lay before him. In this +manner he moves on for nearly two miles, sometimes stooping to examine +closely the newly-made track of some wild animal, and occasionally +giving a glance at the sky through the openings in the leafy canopy +above him, when a faint sound in the bushes ahead brings him to a full +stop. He listens attentively, and a noise, like the rattling of a +chain, is heard proceeding from the recesses of a dark, wild-looking +hollow a few paces in front. Another moment, and the rattle is again +distinctly heard; a slight smile of satisfaction crosses Stemaw's dark +visage, for one of his traps is set in that place, and he knows that +something is caught. Quickly descending the slope, he enters the bushes +whence the sound proceeds, and pauses when within a yard or two of his +trap, to peer through the gloom. A cloud passes off the moon, and a +faint ray reveals, it may be, a beautiful black fox caught in the snare. +A slight blow on the snout from Stemaw's axe-handle kills the +unfortunate animal; in ten minutes more it is tied to his sledge, the +trap is reset and again covered over with snow, so that it is almost +impossible to tell that anything is there; and the Indian pursues his +way. + +The steel-trap used by the Indians is almost similar to the ordinary +rat-trap of England, with this difference, that it is a little larger, +is destitute of teeth, and has two springs in place of one. A chain is +attached to one spring for the purpose of fixing a weight to the trap, +so that the animal caught may not be able to drag it far from the place +where it was set. The track in the snow enables the hunter to find his +trap again. It is generally set so that the jaws, when spread out flat, +are exactly on a level with the snow. The chain and weight are both +hid, and a thin layer of snow spread on top of the trap. The bait +(which generally consists of chips of a frozen partridge, rabbit, or +fish) is then scattered around in every direction; and, with the +exception of this, nothing distinguishes the spot. Foxes, beavers, +wolves, lynx, and other animals are caught in this way, sometimes by a +fore leg, sometimes by a hind leg, and sometimes by two legs at once, +and occasionally by the nose. Of all these ways the Indians prefer +catching by two legs, as there is then not the slightest possibility of +the animal escaping. When foxes are caught by one leg, they often _eat +it off_ close to the trap, and escape on the other three. I have +frequently seen this happen; and I once saw a fox caught which had +evidently escaped in this way, as one of its legs was gone, and the +stump healed up and covered again with hair. When they are caught by +the nose they are almost sure to escape, unless taken out of the trap +very soon after being caught, as their snouts are so sharp or wedge-like +that they can pull them from between the jaws of the trap without much +difficulty. + +Having now described the way of using this machine, we will rejoin +Stemaw, whom we left on his way to the next trap. There he goes, moving +swiftly over the snow mile after mile, as if he could not feel fatigue, +turning aside now and then to visit a trap, and giving a short grunt +when nothing is in it, or killing the animal when caught, and tying it +on the sledge. Towards midnight, however, he begins to walk more +cautiously, examines the priming of his gun, and moves the axe in his +belt, as if he expected to meet some enemy suddenly. The fact is, that +close to where he now stands are two traps which he set in the morning +close to each other for the purpose of catching one of the formidable +coast wolves. These animals are so sagacious that they will scrape all +round a trap, let it be ever so well set, and after eating all the bait, +walk away unhurt. Indians consequently endeavour in every possible way +to catch them--and, among others, by setting _two_ traps close together; +so that, while the wolf scrapes at one, he may perhaps put his foot in +the other. It is in this way that Stemaw's traps are set, and he now +proceeds cautiously towards them, his gun in the hollow of his left arm. +Slowly he advances, peering through the bushes, but nothing is visible; +suddenly a branch crashes under his snow-shoe, and with a savage growl a +large wolf bounds towards him, landing almost at his feet. A single +glance, however, shows the Indian that both traps are on his legs, and +that the chains prevent his further advance. He places his gun against +a tree, draws his axe from the belt, and advances to kill the animal. +It is an undertaking, however, of some difficulty. The fierce brute, +which is larger than a Newfoundland dog, strains every nerve and sinew +to break its chains; while its eyes glisten in the uncertain light, and +foam curls from its blood-red mouth. Now it retreats as the Indian +advances, grinning horribly as it goes; and anon, as the chains check +its further retreat, it springs with fearful growl towards Stemaw, who +slightly wounds it with his axe, as he jumps backward just in time to +save himself from the infuriated animal, which catches in its fangs the +flap of his leggin, and tears it from his limb. Again Stemaw advances, +and the wolf retreats and again springs on him, but without success. At +last, as the wolf glances for a moment to one side--apparently to see if +there is no way of escape--quick as lightning the axe descends with +stunning violence on its head; another blow follows; and in five minutes +more Stemaw heaves the huge brute across his shoulders, and carries it +to his sledge. + +This, however, has turned out a more exhausting business than Stemaw +expected; so he determines to encamp and rest for a few hours. +Selecting a large pine, whose spreading branches cover a patch of ground +free from underwood, he scrapes away the snow with his snow-shoe. +Silently but busily he labours for a quarter of an hour; and then, +having cleared a space seven or eight feet in diameter, and nearly four +feet deep, he cuts down a number of small branches, which he strews at +the bottom of the hollow, till all the snow is covered. This done, he +fells two or three of the nearest trees, cuts them up into lengths of +about five feet long, and piles them at the root of the tree. A light +is soon applied to the pile, and up glances the ruddy flame, crackling +among the branches overhead, and sending thousands of bright sparks into +the air. No one who has not seen it can have the least idea of the +change that takes place in the appearance of the woods at night when a +large fire is suddenly lighted. Before, all was cold, silent, chilling, +gloomy, and desolate, and the pale snow looked unearthly in the dark. +Now, a bright ruddy glow falls upon the thick stems of the trees, and +penetrates through the branches overhead, tipping those nearest the fire +with a ruby tinge, the mere sight of which warms one. The white snow +changes to a beautiful pink, whilst the stems of the trees, bright and +clearly visible near at hand, become more and more indistinct in the +distance, till they are lost in the black background. The darkness, +however, need not be seen from the encampment; for, when the Indian lies +down, he will be surrounded by the snow walls, which sparkle in the +firelight as if set with diamonds. These do not melt, as might be +expected. The frost is much too intense for that, and nothing melts +except the snow quite close to the fire. Stemaw has now concluded his +arrangements: a small piece of dried deer's meat warms before the blaze; +and, meanwhile, he spreads his green blanket on the ground, and fills a +stone calumet (or pipe with a wooden stem) with tobacco, mixed with a +kind of weed prepared by himself. The white smoke from this soon +mingles with the thicker volumes from the fire, which curl up through +the branches into the sky, now shrouding him in their wreaths, and then, +as the bright flame obtains the mastery, leaving his dark face and +coal-black eyes shining in the warm light. No one enjoys a pipe more +than an Indian; and Stemaw's tranquil visage, wreathed in tobacco smoke, +as he reclines at full length under the spreading branches of the pine, +and allows the white vapour to pass slowly out of his mouth _and nose_, +certainly gives one an excellent idea of savage enjoyment. + +Leaving him here, then, to solace himself with a pipe preparatory to +resting his wearied limbs for the night, we will change the hour, and +conduct the reader to a different scene. + +It is now day. The upper edge of the sun has just risen, red and +frosty-looking, in the east, and countless myriads of icy particles +glitter on every tree and bush in its red rays; while the white tops of +the snow-drifts, which dot the surface of the small lake at which we +have just arrived, are tipped with the same rosy hue. The lake is of +considerable breadth, and the woods on its opposite shore are barely +visible. An unbroken coat of pure white snow covers its entire surface, +whilst here and there a small islet, covered with luxuriant evergreens, +attracts the eye, and breaks the sameness of the scene. At the extreme +left of the lake, where the points of a few bulrushes and sedgy plants +appear above the snow, are seen a number of small earthy mounds, in the +immediate vicinity of which the trees and bushes are cut and barked in +many places, while some of them are nearly cut down. This is a colony +of beavers. In the warm months of summer and autumn, this spot is a +lively, stirring place, as the beavers are then employed _nibbling_ down +trees and bushes, for the purpose of repairing their dams, and supplying +their storehouses with food. The bark of willows is their chief food, +and all the bushes in the vicinity are more or less cut through by these +persevering little animals. Their dams, however (which are made for the +purpose of securing to themselves a constant sufficiency of water), are +made with large trees; and stumps will be found, if you choose to look +for them, as thick as a man's leg, which the beavers have entirely +nibbled through, and dragged by their united efforts many yards from +where they grew. + +Now, however, no sign of animal life is to be seen, as the beavers keep +within doors all winter; yet I venture to state that there are many now +asleep under the snow before us. It is not, reader, merely for the +purpose of showing you the outside of a beaver-lodge that I have brought +you such a distance from human habitations. Be patient, and you shall +soon see more. Do you observe that small black speck moving over the +white surface of the lake, far away on the horizon? It looks like a +crow, but the forward motion is much too steady and constant for that. +As it approaches, it assumes the form of a man; and at last the figure +of Stemaw, dragging his empty sleigh behind him (for he has left his +wolf and foxes in the last night's encampment, to be taken up when +returning home), becomes clearly distinguishable through the dreamy haze +of the cold wintry morning. He arrives at the beaver-lodges, and, I +warrant, will soon play havoc among the inmates. + +His first proceeding is to cut down several stakes, which he points at +the ends. These are driven, after he has cut away a good deal of ice +from around the beaver-lodge, into the ground between it and the shore. +This is to prevent the beaver from running along the passage they always +have from their lodges to the shore, where their storehouse is kept, +which would make it necessary to excavate the whole passage. The +beaver, if there are any, being thus imprisoned in the lodge, the hunter +next stakes up the opening into the storehouse on shore, and so +imprisons those that may have fled there for shelter on hearing the +noise of his axe at the other house. Things being thus arranged to his +entire satisfaction, he takes an instrument called an ice-chisel--which +is a bit of steel about a foot long by one inch broad, fastened to the +end of a stout pole--wherewith he proceeds to dig through the lodge. +This is by no means an easy operation; and although he covers the snow +around him with great quantities of frozen mud and sticks, yet his work +is not half finished. At last, however, the interior of the hut is laid +bare; and the Indian, stooping down, gives a great pull, when out comes +a large, fat, sleepy beaver, which he flings sprawling on the snow. +Being thus unceremoniously awakened from its winter nap, the shivering +animal looks languidly around, and even goes the length of grinning at +Stemaw, by way of showing its teeth, for which it is rewarded with a +blow on the head from the pole of the ice-chisel, which puts an end to +it. In this way several more are killed, and packed on the sleigh. +Stemaw then turns his face towards his encampment, where he collects the +game left there; and away he goes at a tremendous pace, dashing the snow +in clouds from his snow-shoes, as he hurries over the trackless +wilderness to his forest home. + +Near his tent, he makes a detour to visit a marten trap; where, however, +he finds nothing. This trap is of the simplest construction, being +composed of two logs, the one of which is supported over the other by +means of a small stick, in such a manner that when the marten creeps +between the two and pulls the bait, the support is removed, and the +upper log falls on and crushes it to death. + +In half an hour the Indian arrives at his tent, where the dark eyes of +his wife are seen gazing through a chink in the covering, with an +expression that denotes immense joy at the prospect of gorging for many +days on fat beaver, and having wherewithal to purchase beads and a +variety of ornaments from the white men, upon the occasion of her +husband and herself visiting the posts of the fur-traders in the +following spring. + +But some of the tribes have a more sociable as well as a more productive +way of conducting business, at least as regards venison; for they catch +the deer in a "pound." + +"Their mode of accomplishing this is to select a well-frequented +deer-path, and enclose with a strong fence of twisted trees and +brushwood a space about a mile in circumference, and sometimes more. +The entrance of the pound is not larger than a common gate, and its +inside is crowded with innumerable small hedges, in the openings of +which are fixed snares of strong well-twisted thongs. One end is +generally fastened to a growing tree; and as all the wood and jungle +within the enclosure is left standing, its interior forms a complete +labyrinth. On each side of the door a line of small trees, stuck up in +the snow fifteen or twenty yards apart, form two sides of an acute +angle, widening gradually from the entrance, from which they sometimes +extend two or three miles. Between these rows of brushwood runs the +path frequented by the deer. When all things are prepared, the Indians +take their station on some eminence commanding a prospect of this path, +and the moment any deer are seen going that way, the whole encampment-- +men, women, and children--steal under cover of the woods till they get +behind them. They then show themselves in the open ground, and, drawing +up in the form of a crescent, advance with shouts. The deer finding +themselves pursued, and at the same time imagining the rows of brushy +poles to be people stationed to prevent their passing on either side, +run straight forward till they get into the pound. The Indians +instantly close in, block up the entrance, and whilst the women and +children run round the outside to prevent them from breaking or leaping +the fence, the men enter with their spears and bows, and speedily +dispatch such as are caught in the snares or are running loose." [see +"Hearne's Journey." pages 78 to 80]. + +"McLean, a gentleman who spent twenty-five years in the Hudson Bay +territories, assures us that on one occasion he and a party of men +entrapped and slaughtered in this way a herd of three hundred deer in +two hours." + +I must crave the reader's pardon for this long digression, and beg him +to recollect that at the end of the second chapter I left myself +awaiting orders to depart for Red River, to which settlement we will now +proceed. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Many people at home have asked me how such _thin things_ can +keep out the wet of the snow. The reader must bear in mind that the +snow, for nearly seven months, is not even _damp_ for five minutes, so +constant is the frost. When it becomes wet in spring, Europeans adopt +ordinary English shoes, and Indians do not mind the wet. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. _Squeiaw_ is the Indian for a woman. _Squaw_ is the English +corruption of the word, and is used to signify a wife. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +VOYAGE FROM YORK FACTORY TO RED RIVER--VOYAGE BEGUN--OUR MANNER OF +TRAVELLING--ENCAMPING IN THE WOODS--PORTAGING AND SHOOTING WILDFOWL-- +WHISKY-JACKS--A STORM--LAKE WINNIPEG--ARRIVAL AT RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. + +Somewhere about the beginning of September, Mr Carles, Mr and Mrs +Gowley, Mr Rob, and myself set out with the _Portage La Loche_ brigade, +for the distant colony of Red River. The Portage la Loche brigade +usually numbers six or seven boats, adapted for inland travelling where +the navigation is obstructed by rapids, waterfalls, and cataracts, to +surmount which, boats and cargo are carried overland by the crews. +These carrying places are called _portages_; and between York Factory +and Red River there are upwards of thirty-six, of various lengths. +Besides these, there are innumerable rapids, up which the boats have to +be pushed inch by inch with poles, for miles together; so that we had to +look forward to a long and tedious voyage. + +The brigade with which we left York Factory usually leaves Red River +about the end of May, and proceeds to Norway House, where it receives +Athabasca and Mackenzie River outfits. It then sets out for the +interior; and upon arriving at Portage la Loche, the different boats +land their cargoes, while the Mackenzie River boats, which came to meet +them, exchange their furs for the outfits. The brigade then begins to +retrace its way, and returns to Norway House, whence it proceeds to York +Factory, where it arrives about the commencement of September, lands the +furs, and receives part of the Red River outfit, with which it sets out +for that place as soon as possible. + +With this brigade, then, we started from York Factory, with a cheering +song from the men in full chorus. They were in good spirits, being +about to finish the long voyage, and return to their families at Red +River, after an absence of nearly five months, during which time they +had encountered and overcome difficulties that would have cooled the +most sanguine temperament; but these hardy Canadians and half-breeds are +accustomed to such voyages from the age of fifteen or sixteen, and think +no more of them than other men do of ordinary work. + +Mr Carles and I travelled together in the guide's boat; Mr and Mrs +Gowley in another; and Mr Rob in a third by himself. We took the lead, +and the others followed as they best could. Such was the order of march +in which we commenced the ascent of Hayes River. + +It may not be uninteresting here to describe the _materiel_ of our +voyage. + +Our boat, which was the counterpart of the rest, was long, broad, and +shallow, capable of carrying forty hundredweight, and nine men, besides +three or four passengers, with provisions for themselves and the crew. +It did not, I suppose, draw more than three feet of water when loaded, +perhaps less, and was, moreover, very light for its size. The cargo +consisted of bales, being the goods intended for the Red River sale-room +and trading-shop. A rude mast and tattered sail lay along the seats, +ready for use, should a favourable breeze spring up; but this seldom +occurred, the oars being our chief dependence during the greater part of +the voyage. + +The provisions of the men consisted of pemmican and flour; while the +passengers revelled in the enjoyment of a ham, several cured +buffalo-tongues, tea, sugar, butter, and biscuit, and a little brandy +and wine, wherewith to warm us in cold weather, and to cheer the crew +with a dram after a day of unusual exertion. All our provisions were +snugly packed in a case and basket, made expressly for the purpose. + +Pemmican being a kind of food with which people in the civilised world +are not generally acquainted, I may as well describe it here. + +It is made by the buffalo-hunters of the Red River, Swan River, and +Saskatchewan prairies; more particularly by those of Red River, where +many of the colonists spend a great part of the year in pursuit of the +buffalo. They make it thus: Having shot a buffalo (or bison), they cut +off lumps of his flesh, and slitting it up into flakes or layers, hang +it up in the sun to dry. In this state it is often made up into packs, +and sent about the country to be consumed as dried meat; but when +_pemmican_ is wanted, it has to go through another process. When dry, +the meat is pounded between two stones till it is broken into small +pieces; these are put into a bag made of the animal's hide, with the +hair on the outside, and well mixed with melted grease; the top of the +bag is then sewn up, and the pemmican allowed to cool. In this state it +may be eaten uncooked; but the _voyageurs_, who subsist on it when +travelling, mix it with a little flour and water, and then boil it; in +which state it is known throughout the country by the elegant name of +_robbiboo_. Pemmican is good wholesome food, will keep fresh for a +great length of time, and were it not for its unprepossessing +appearance, and a good many buffalo hairs mixed with it, through the +carelessness of the hunters, would be very palatable. After a time, +however, one becomes accustomed to those little peculiarities. + +It was late in the afternoon when we left York Factory; and after +travelling a few miles up Hayes River, put ashore for the night. + +We encamped upon a rough, gravelly piece of ground, as there was no +better in the neighbourhood; so that my first night in the woods did not +hold out the prospect of being a very agreeable one. The huge log +fires, however, soon blazed cheerily up, casting a ruddy glow upon the +surrounding foliage and the wild uncouth figures of the _voyageurs_, +who, with their long dark hair hanging in luxuriant masses over their +bronzed faces, sat or reclined round the fires, smoking their pipes, and +chatting with as much carelessness and good-humour as if the long and +arduous journey before them never once entered their minds. The tents +were pitched on the most convenient spot we could find; and when supper +was spread out, and a candle lighted (which, by the way, the strong +blaze of our camp-fire rendered quite unnecessary), and Mr Carles, +seating himself upon a pile of cloaks, blankets, and cushions, looked up +with a broad grin on his cheerful, good-humoured countenance, and called +me to supper, I began to think that if all travelling in Hudson Bay were +like this, a voyage of discovery to the North Pole would be a mere +pleasure trip! Alas! in after-years I found it was not always thus. + +Supper was soon disposed of, and having warmed ourselves at the fire, +and ventured a few rash prophecies on the probable weather of the +morrow, we spread our blankets over an oiled cloth, and lay lovingly +down together; Mr Carles to snore vociferously, and I to dream of home. + +At the first blush of day I was awakened by the loud halloo of the +guide, who, with a voice of a Stentor, gave vent to a "_Leve! Leve! +leve_!" that roused the whole camp in less than two minutes. Five +minutes more sufficed to finish our toilet (for, be it known, Mr Carles +and I had only taken off our coats), tie up our blankets, and embark. +In ten minutes we were once more pulling slowly up the current of Hayes +River. + +The missionaries turned out to be capital travellers, and never delayed +the boats a moment; which is saying a good deal for them, considering +the short space of time allowed for dressing. As for the hardy +_voyageurs_, they slept in the same clothes in which they had wrought +during the day, each with a single blanket round him, in the most +convenient spot he could find. A few slept in pairs, but all reposed +under the wide canopy of heaven. + +Early morning is always the most disagreeable part of the traveller's +day. The cold dews of the past night render the air chilly, and the +gloom of departing night tends greatly to depress the spirits. As I +became acquainted with this mode of travelling, I became more knowing; +and, when there was not much probability of being interrupted by +portages, I used to spread out my blanket in the stern of the boat, and +snooze till breakfast-time. The hour for breakfast used to vary, +according as we arrived late or early at an eligible spot. It was +seldom earlier than seven, or later than nine o'clock. + +Upon the occasion of our first breakfast in the woods, we were +fortunate. The sun shone brightly on the surrounding trees and bushes; +the fires blazed and crackled; pots boiled, and cooks worked busily on a +green spot, at the side of a small bay or creek, in which the boats +quietly floated, scarce rippling the surface of the limpid water. A +little apart from the men, two white napkins marked our breakfast-place, +and the busy appearance of our cook gave hopes that our fast was nearly +over. The whole scene was indescribably romantic and picturesque, and +worthy of delineation by a more experienced pencil than mine. Breakfast +was a repetition of the supper of the preceding night; the only +difference being, that we ate it by daylight, in the open air, instead +of by candlelight, under the folds of our canvas tent. After it was +over, we again embarked, and proceeded on our way. + +The men used to row for a space of time denominated a _pipe_; so called +from the circumstance of their taking a smoke at the end of it. Each +_spell_ lasted for nearly two hours, during which time they rowed +without intermission. The _smoke_ usually occupied five or ten minutes, +after which they pulled again for two hours more; and so on. While +travelling in boats, it is only allowable to put ashore for breakfast; +so, about noon, we had a cold dinner in the boat: and, with appetites +sharpened by exposure to the fresh air, we enjoyed it pretty well. + +In a couple of days we branched off into Steel River, and began its +ascent. The current here was more rapid than in Hayes River; so rapid, +indeed, that, our oars being useless, we were obliged to send the men +ashore with the tracking-line. Tracking, as it is called, is dreadfully +harassing work. Half of the crew go ashore, and drag the boat slowly +along, while the other half go to sleep. After an hour's walk, the +others then take their turn; and so on, alternately, during the whole +day. + +The banks of the river were high, and very precipitous; so that the poor +fellows had to scramble along, sometimes close to the water's edge, and +sometimes high up the bank, on ledges so narrow that they could scarcely +find a footing, and where they looked like flies on a wall. The banks, +too, being composed of clay or mud, were very soft, rendering the work +disagreeable and tiresome; but the light-hearted _voyageurs_ seemed to +be quite in their element, and laughed and joked while they toiled +along, playing tricks with each other, and plunging occasionally up to +the middle in mud, or to the neck in water, with as much nonchalance as +if they were jumping into bed. + +On the fifth day after leaving York Factory, we arrived at the Rock +Portage. This is the first on the route, and it is a very short one. A +perpendicular waterfall, eight or ten feet high, forms an effectual +barrier to the upward progress of the boats by water; so that the only +way to overcome the difficulty is to carry everything across the flat +rock, from which the portage derives its name, and reload at the upper +end. + +Upon arriving, a novel and animating scene took place. Some of the men, +jumping ashore, ran briskly to and fro with enormous burdens on their +backs; whilst others hauled and pulled the heavy boats slowly up the +cataract, hallooing and shouting all the time, as if they wished to +drown the thundering noise of the water, which boiled and hissed +furiously around the rocks on which we stood. In about an hour our +boat, and one or two others, had passed the falls; and we proceeded +merrily on our way, with spirits elevated in proportion to the elevation +of our bodies. + +It was here that I killed my first duck; and well do I remember the +feeling of pride with which I contemplated the achievement. That I had +shot her sitting about five yards from the muzzle of my gun, which was +loaded with an enormous charge of shot, is undeniable; but this did not +lessen my exultation a whit. The sparrows I used to kill in days of +yore, with inexpressible delight, grew "small by degrees" and comically +less before the plump inhabitant of the marshes, till they dwindled into +nothing; and the joy and fuss with which I hailed the destruction of the +unfortunate bird can only be compared to, and equalled by, the crowing +and flurry with which a hen is accustomed to announce the production of +her first egg. + +During the voyage, we often disturbed large flocks of geese, and +sometimes shot a few. When we chanced to come within sight of them +before they saw us, the boats all put ashore; and L'Esperance, our +guide, went round through the bushes, to the place where they were, and +seldom failed in rendering at least one of the flock _hors de combat_. +At first I would as soon have volunteered to shoot a lion in Africa, +with a Bushman beside me, as have presumed to attempt to kill geese +while L'Esperance was present--so poor an opinion had I of my skill as a +marksman; but, as I became more accustomed to seeing them killed, I +waxed bolder; and at last, one day, having come in sight of a flock, I +begged to be allowed to try my hand. The request was granted; +L'Esperance lent me his gun, and away I went cautiously through the +bushes. After a short walk, I came close to where they were swimming +about in the water; and cocking my gun, I rushed furiously down the +bank, breaking everything before me, and tumbling over half a dozen +fallen trees in my haste, till I cleared the bushes; and then, scarcely +taking time to raise the gun to my shoulder, banged right into the +middle of the flock, just as they were taking wing. All rose; but they +had not gone far when one began to waver a little, and finally sat down +in the water again--a sure sign of being badly wounded. Before the +boats came up, however, he had swam to the opposite bank, and hid +himself among the bushes; so that, much to my disappointment, I had not +the pleasure of handling this new trophy of my prowess. + +Upon one occasion, while sauntering along the banks of the river in +search of ducks and geese, while the boats were slowly ascending against +the strong current, I happened to cast my eyes across the stream, and +there, to my amazement, beheld a large black bear bounding over the +rocks with the ease and agility of a cat. He was not within shot, +however, and I was obliged to content myself with seeing him run before +me for a quarter of a mile, and then turn off into the forest. + +This was truly the happiest time I ever spent in the Nor'-West. +Everything was full of novelty and excitement. Rapid succeeded rapid, +and portage followed portage in endless succession--giving me abundance +of opportunities to range about in search of ducks and geese, which were +very numerous, while the men were dragging the boats, and carrying the +goods over the portages. The weather was beautiful, and it was just the +season of the year when the slight frost in the mornings and evenings +renders the blazing camp-fire agreeable, and destroys those little +wretches, the mosquitoes. My friend Mr Carles was a kind and indulgent +companion, bearing good-naturedly with my boyish pranks, and cautioning +me, of course ineffectually, against running into danger. I had just +left home and the restraint of school, and was now entering upon a wild +and romantic career. In short, every thing combined to render this a +most agreeable and interesting voyage. I have spent many a day of +amusement and excitement in the country, but on none can I look back +with so much pleasure as on the time spent in this journey to Red River. + +The scenery through which we passed was pretty and romantic, but there +was nothing grand about it. The country generally was low and swampy; +the highest ground being the banks of the river, which sometimes rose to +from sixty to seventy feet. Our progress in Hill River was slow and +tedious, owing to the number of rapids encountered on the way. The hill +from which the river derives its name is a small, insignificant mound, +and owes its importance to the flatness of the surrounding country. + +Besides the larger wild-fowl, small birds of many kinds were very +numerous. The most curious, and at the same time the most impudent, +among the latter were the whisky-jacks. They always hovered round us at +breakfast, ready to snap up anything that came within their reach-- +advancing sometimes to within a yard or two of our feet, and looking at +us with a very comical expression of countenance. One of the men told +me that he had often caught them in his hand, with a piece of pemmican +for a bait; so one morning after breakfast I went a little to one side +of our camp, and covering my face with leaves, extended my hand with a +few crumbs in the open palm. In five minutes a whisky-jack jumped upon +a branch over my head, and after reconnoitring a minute or so, lit upon +my hand, and began to breakfast forthwith. You may be sure the _trap_ +was not long in going off; and the screeching that Mr Jack set up on +finding my fingers firmly closed upon his toes was tremendous. I never +saw a more passionate little creature in my life: it screamed, +struggled, and bit unceasingly, until I let it go; and even then it +lighted on a tree close by, and looked at me as impudently as ever. The +same day I observed that when the men were ashore the whisky-jacks used +to eat out of the pemmican bags left in the boats; so I lay down close +to one, under cover of a buffalo-skin, and in three minutes had made +prisoner of another of these little inhabitants of the forest. They are +of a bluish-grey colour, and nearly the size of a blackbird; but they +are such a bundle of feathers that when plucked they do not look much +larger than a sparrow. They live apparently on animal food (at least, +they are very fond of it), and are not considered very agreeable eating. + +We advanced very slowly up Hill River. Sometimes, after a day of the +most toilsome exertions, during which the men were constantly pushing +the boats up long rapids, with poles, at a very slow pace, we found +ourselves only four or five miles ahead of the last night's encampment. +As we ascended higher up the country, however, travelling became more +easy. Sometimes small lakes and tranquil rivers allowed us to use the +oars--and even the sails, when a puff of fair wind arose. Occasionally +we were sweeping rapidly across the placid water; anon buffeting with, +and advancing against, the foaming current of a powerful river, whose +raging torrent seemed to bid defiance to our further progress: now +dragging boats and cargoes over rocks, and through the deep shades of +the forest, when a waterfall checked us on our way; and again dashing +across a lake with favouring breeze; and sometimes, though rarely, were +wind-bound on a small islet or point of land. + +Our progress was slow, but full of interest, novelty, and amusement. My +fellow-travellers seemed to enjoy the voyage very much; and even Mrs +Gowley, to whom hardships were new, liked it exceedingly. + +On our way we passed Oxford House--a small outpost of York Factory +district. It is built on the brow of a grassy hill, which rises +gradually from the margin of Oxford Lake. Like most of the posts in the +country, it is composed of a collection of wooden houses, built in the +form of a square, and surrounded by tall stockades, pointed at the tops. +These, however, are more for ornament than defence. A small flag-staff +towers above the buildings; from which, upon the occasion of an arrival, +a little red Hudson Bay Company's flag waves its folds in the gentle +current of an evening breeze. There were only two or three men at the +place; and not a human being, save one or two wandering Indians, was to +be found within hundreds of miles of this desolate spot. After a stay +here of about half an hour, we proceeded on our way. + +Few things are more beautiful or delightful than crossing a lake in the +woods on a lovely morning at sunrise. The brilliant sun, rising in a +flood of light, pierces through the thin haze of morning, converting the +countless myriads of dewdrops that hang on tree and bush into sparkling +diamonds, and burnishing the motionless flood of water, till a new and +mighty firmament is reflected in the wave; as if Nature, rising early +from her couch, paused to gaze with admiration on her resplendent image +reflected in the depths of her own matchless mirror. The profound +stillness, too, broken only by the measured sweep of the oars, fills the +soul with awe; whilst a tranquil but unbounded happiness steals over the +heart of the traveller as he gazes out upon the distant horizon, broken +here and there by small verdant islets, floating as it were in air. He +wanders back in thought to far-distant climes; or wishes, mayhap, that +it were possible to dwell in scenes like this with those he loves for +ever. + +As the day advances, the scene, though slightly changed, is still most +beautiful. The increasing heat, dispelling the mists, reveals in all +its beauty the deep blue sky speckled with thin fleecy clouds, and, +imparting a genial warmth to the body, creates a sympathetic glow in the +soul. Flocks of snow-white gulls sail in graceful evolutions round the +boats, dipping lightly in the water as if to kiss their reflected +images; and, rising suddenly in long rapid flights, mount in circles up +high above the tranquil world into the azure sky, till small white +specks alone are visible in the distance. Up, up they rise on sportive +wing, till the straining eye can no longer distinguish them, and they +are gone! Ducks, too, whir past in rapid flight, steering wide of the +boats, and again bending in long graceful curves into their course. The +sweet, plaintive cry of the whip-poor-will rings along the shore; and +the faint answer of his mate floats over the lake, mellowed by distance +to a long tiny note. The air is motionless as the water; and the +enraptured eye gazes in dreamy enjoyment on all that is lovely and +peaceful in nature. + +These are the _pleasures_ of travelling in the wilderness. Let us +change the picture. + +The sun no longer shines upon the tranquil scene. Dark, heavy clouds +obscure the sky; a suffocating heat depresses the spirits and enervates +the frame; sharp, short gusts of wind now ruffle the inky waters, and +the floating islands sink into insignificance as the deceptive haze +which elevated them flies before the approaching storm. The ducks are +gone, and the plaintive notes of the whip-poor-will are hushed as the +increasing breeze rustles the leafy drapery of the forest. The gulls +wheel round still, but in more rapid and uncertain flight, accompanying +their motions with shrill and mournful cries, like the dismal wailings +of the spirit of the storm. A few drops of rain patter on the boats, or +plump like stones into the water, and the distant melancholy growl of +thunder swells upon the coming gale. Uneasy glances are cast, ever and +anon, towards clouds and shore, and grumbling sentences are uttered by +the men. Suddenly a hissing sound is heard, a loud clap of thunder +growls overhead, and the gale, dashing the white spray wildly before it, +rushes down upon the boats. + +"_A terre! a terre_!" shout the men. The boats are turned towards the +shore, and the bending oars creak and groan as they pull swiftly on. +Hiss! whir! the gale bursts forth, dashing clouds of spray into the air, +twisting and curling the foaming water in its fury. The thunder crashes +with fearful noise, and the lightning gleams in fitful lurid streaks +across the inky sky. Presently the shore is gained, amid a deluge of +rain which saturates everything with water in a few minutes. The tents +are pitched, but the fires will scarcely burn, and are at last allowed +to go out. The men seek shelter under the oiled cloths of the boats; +while the travellers, rolled up in damp blankets, with the rain oozing +through the tents upon their couches, gaze mournfully upon the dismal +scene, and ponder sadly on the shortness of the step between happiness +and misery. + +Nearly eighteen days after we left York Factory we arrived in safety at +the depot of Norway House. This fort is built at the mouth of a small +and sluggish stream, known by the name of Jack River. The houses are +ranged in the form of a square; none of them exceed one story in height, +and most of them are whitewashed. The ground on which it stands is +rocky; and a small garden, composed chiefly of sand, juts out from the +stockades like a strange excrescence. A large, rugged mass of rocks +rises up between the fort and Playgreen Lake, which stretches out to the +horizon on the other side of them. On the top of these rocks stands a +flagstaff, as a beacon to guide the traveller; for Norway House is so +ingeniously hid in a hollow that it cannot be seen from the lake till +the boat almost touches the wharf. On the left side of the building +extends a flat grassy park or green, upon which during the summer months +there is often a picturesque and interesting scene. Spread out to dry +in the sun may be seen the snowy tent of the chief factor, lately +arrived. A little further off, on the rising ground, stands a dark and +almost imperceptible wigwam, the small wreath of white smoke issuing +from the top proving that it is inhabited. On the river bank three or +four boats and a north canoe are hauled up; and just above them a number +of sunburned _voyageurs_ and a few Indians amuse themselves with various +games, or recline upon the grass, basking in the sunshine. Behind the +fort stretches the thick forest, its outline broken here and there by +cuttings of firewood or small clearings for farming. + +Such was Norway House in 1841. The rocks were crowded when we arrived, +and we received a hearty welcome from Mr Russ--the chief factor in +charge--and his amiable family. As it was too late to proceed any +further that day, we determined to remain here all night. + +From the rocks before mentioned, on which the flagstaff stands, we had a +fine view of Playgreen Lake. There was nothing striking or bold in the +scene, the country being low and swampy, and no hills rose on the +horizon or cast their shadows on the lake; but it was pleasing and +tranquil, and enlivened by one or two boats sailing about on the water. + +We spent an agreeable evening; and early on the following morning +started again on our journey, having received an agreeable addition to +our party in the person of Miss Jessie Russ, second daughter of Mr +Russ, from whom we had just parted. + +On the evening of the first day after our departure from Norway House, +we encamped on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. This immense body of fresh +water is about three hundred miles long by about fifty broad. The +shores are generally flat and uninteresting, and the water shallow; yet +here and there a few pretty spots may be seen at the head of a small bay +or inlet, where the ground is a little more elevated and fertile. + +Nothing particular occurred during our voyage along the shores of the +lake, except that we hoisted our sails oftener to a favourable breeze, +and had a good deal more night travelling than heretofore. In about +five days after leaving Norway House we arrived at the mouth of Red +River; and a very swampy, sedgy, flat-looking mouth it was, covered with +tall bulrushes and swarming with water-fowl. The banks, too, were low +and swampy; but as we ascended they gradually became more woody and +elevated, till we arrived at the Stone Fort--twenty miles up the river-- +where they were tolerably high. + +A few miles below this we passed an Indian settlement, the cultivated +fields and white houses of which, with the church spire in the midst, +quite refreshed our eyes, after being so long accustomed to the shades +of the primeval forest. + +The Stone Fort is a substantial fortification, surrounded by high walls +and flanked with bastions, and has a fine appearance from the river. + +Here my friend and fellow-traveller, Mr Carles, hearing of his wife's +illness, left us, and proceeded up the settlement on horseback. The +missionaries also disembarked, and I was left alone, to be rowed slowly +to Fort Garry, nearly twenty miles further up the river. + +The river banks were lined all the way along with the houses and farms +of the colonists, which had a thriving, cleanly appearance; and from the +quantity of live stock in the farmyards, the number of pigs along the +banks, and the healthy appearance of the children who ran out of the +cottages to gaze upon us as we passed, I inferred that the settlers +generally were well-to-do in the world. The houses of some of the more +wealthy inhabitants were very handsome-looking buildings, particularly +that of Mr McAllum, where in a few hours I landed. This gentleman was +the superintendent of the Red River Academy, where the children of the +wealthier colonists and those of the gentlemen belonging to the Hudson +Bay Company are instructed in the various branches of English +literature, and made to comprehend how the world was convulsed in days +of yore by the mighty deeds of the heroes of ancient Greece and Rome. + +Here I was hospitably treated to an excellent breakfast, and then +proceeded on foot with Mr Carles--who rejoined me here--to Fort Garry, +which lay about two miles distant. Upon arriving I was introduced to +Mr Finlayson, the chief factor in charge, who received me very kindly, +and introduced me to my fellow-clerks in the office. Thus terminated my +first inland journey. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +RED RIVER SETTLEMENT--ORIGIN OF THE COLONY--OPPOSITION TIMES AND +ANECDOTES--THE FLOOD OF 1826--CLIMATE--BEING BROKEN-IN--MR. SIMPSON, THE +ARCTIC DISCOVERER--THE MACKENZIE RIVER BRIGADE. + +Red River Settlement is, to use a high-flown expression, an oasis in the +desert, and may be likened to a spot upon the moon or a solitary ship +upon the ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement on the +borders of one of the vast prairies of North America. It is situated +partly on the banks of Red River, and partly on the banks of a smaller +stream called the Assinaboine, in latitude 50 degrees, and extends +upwards of fifty miles along the banks of these two streams. The +country around it is a vast treeless prairie, upon which scarcely a +shrub is to be seen; but a thick coat of grass covers it throughout its +entire extent, with the exception of a few spots where the hollowness of +the ground has collected a little moisture, or the meandering of some +small stream or rivulet enriches the soil, and covers its banks with +verdant shrubs and trees. + +The banks of the Red and Assinaboine Rivers are covered with a thick +belt of woodland--which does not, however, extend far back into the +plains. It is composed of oak, poplar, willows, etcetera, the first of +which is much used for fire-wood by the settlers. The larger timber in +the adjacent woods is thus being rapidly thinned. + +The settlers are a mixture of French Canadians, Scotchmen, and Indians. +The first of these occupy the upper part of the settlement, the second +live near the middle, and the Indians inhabit a village at its lower +extremity. + +There are four Protestant churches: the upper, middle, and lower +churches, and one at the Indian settlement. There are also two Roman +Catholic chapels, some priests, and a Roman Catholic bishop resident in +the colony, besides one or two schools; the principal being, as before +mentioned, under the superintendence of Mr McAllum, who has since been +ordained by the Bishop of Montreal, during that prelate's visit to Red +River [see note 1]. + +For the preservation of the peace, and the punishment of evil-doers, a +Recorder and body of magistrates are provided, who assemble every +quarter at Fort Garry, the seat of the court-house, for the purpose of +redressing wrongs, punishing crimes, giving good advice, and eating an +excellent dinner at the Company's table. There was once, also, a body +of policemen; but, strange to say, they were chosen from among the most +turbulent of the settlers, and were never expected to be on duty except +when a riot took place: the policemen themselves generally being the +ringleaders on those occasions, it may be supposed they did not +materially assist in quelling disturbances. + +The Scotch and Indian settlers cultivate wheat, barley, and Indian corn +in abundance; for which the only market is that afforded by the Company, +the more wealthy settlers, and retired chief factors. This market, +however, is a poor one, and in years of plenty the settlers find it +difficult to dispose of their surplus produce. Wild fruits of various +descriptions are abundant, and the gardens are well stocked with +vegetables. The settlers have plenty of sheep, pigs, poultry, and +horned cattle; and there is scarcely a man in the place who does not +drive to church on Sundays in his own cariole. + +Red River is a populous settlement; the census taken in 1843 proved it +to contain upwards of 5,000 souls, and since then it has been rapidly +increasing. + +There is a paper currency in the settlement, which obviates the +necessity of having coin afloat. English pence and halfpence, however, +are plentiful. The lowest paper note is one shilling sterling, the next +five shillings, and the highest twenty shillings. The Canadian settlers +and half-breeds are employed, during the greater part of the year, in +travelling with the Company's boats and in buffalo-hunting. The Scotch +settlers are chiefly farmers, tradesmen, and merchants. + +The rivers, which are crossed in wooden canoes, in the absence of +bridges, are well stocked with fish, the principal kinds being goldeyes, +sturgeon, and catfish. Of these, I think the goldeyes the best; at any +rate, they are the most numerous. The wild animals inhabiting the woods +and prairies are much the same as in the other parts of North America-- +namely, wolves, foxes, brown and black bears, martens, minks, musquash, +rabbits, etcetera; while the woods are filled with game, the marshes and +ponds with ducks, geese, swans, cranes, and a host of other water-fowl. + +Red River was first settled upon by the fur-traders, who established a +trading-post many years ago on its banks; but it did not assume the +character of a colony till 1811, when Lord Selkirk sent out a number of +emigrants to form a settlement in the wild regions of the North-West. +Norwegians, Danes, Scotch, and Irish composed the motley crew; but the +great bulk of the colonists then, as at the present time, consisted of +Scotchmen and Canadians. Unlike other settlements in a wild country +inhabited by Indians, the infant colony had few difficulties to contend +with at the outset. The Indians were friendly, and had become +accustomed to white men, from their previous contact for many years with +the servants of the Hudson Bay Company; so, with the exception of one or +two broils among themselves and other fur-traders, the colonists plodded +peacefully along. On one occasion, however, the Hudson Bay Company and +the North-West Company, who were long at enmity with each other, had a +sharp skirmish, in which Mr Semple, then Governor of the Hudson Bay +Company, was killed, and a number of his men were killed and wounded. + +The whole affair originated very foolishly. A body of men had been +observed from the walls of Fort Garry, travelling past the fort; and as +Governor Semple wished to ascertain their intentions, he sallied forth +with a few men to intercept them, and demand their object. The +North-West party, on seeing a body of men coming towards them from the +fort, halted till they came up; and Cuthbert Grant, who was in command, +asked what they wanted. Governor Semple required to know where they +were going. Being answered in a surly manner, an altercation took place +between the two parties (of which the North-West was the stronger); in +the middle of which a shot was unfortunately fired by one of the Hudson +Bay party. It was never known who fired this shot, and many believe +that it was discharged accidentally; at any rate, no one was injured by +it. The moment the report was heard, a volley was fired by the +North-Westers upon the Hudson Bay party, which killed a few, and wounded +many; among the latter was Governor Semple. Cuthbert Grant did his +utmost to keep back the fierce half-castes under his command, but +without avail; and at last, seeing that this was impossible, he stood +over the wounded Semple, and endeavoured to defend him. In this he +succeeded for some time; but a shot from behind at last took effect in +the unfortunate governor's body, and killed him. After this, the +remainder of his party fled to the fort, and the victorious half-breeds +pursued their way. + +During the time that these two companies opposed each other, the country +was in a state of constant turmoil and excitement. Personal conflicts +with fists between the men--and, not unfrequently, the gentlemen--of the +opposing parties were of the commonest occurrence, and frequently more +deadly weapons were resorted to. Spirits were distributed among the +wretched natives to a dreadful extent, and the scenes that sometimes +ensued were disgusting in the extreme. Amid all this, however, +stratagem was more frequently resorted to than open violence by the two +companies, in their endeavours to prevent each other from procuring furs +from the Indians. Men were constantly kept on the lookout for parties +of natives returning from hunting expeditions; and those who could +arrive first at the encampment always carried off the furs. The Indians +did not care which company got them--"first come, first served," was the +order of the day; and both were equally welcome, provided they brought +plenty of _fire-water_. + +Although the individuals of the two companies were thus almost always at +enmity, at the forts, strange to say, they often acted in the most +friendly manner to each other; and (except when furs were in question) +more agreeable or friendly neighbours seldom came together than the +Hudson Bay and North-West Companies, when they planted their forts +(which they often did) within two hundred yards of each other in the +wilds of North America. The clerks and labourers of the opposing +establishments constantly visited each other; and during the Christmas +and New-Year's holidays parties and balls were given without number. +Dances, however, were not confined entirely to the holidays; but +whenever one was given at an unusual time, it was generally for the +purpose of drawing the attention of the entertained party from some +movement of their entertainers. + +Thus, upon one occasion the Hudson Bay Company's lookout reported that +he had discovered the tracks of Indians in the snow, and that he thought +they had just returned from a hunting expedition. No sooner was this +heard than a grand ball was given to the North-West Company, Great +preparations were made; the men, dressed in their newest capotes and +gaudiest hat-cords, visited each other, and nothing was thought of or +talked of but the ball. The evening came, and with it the guests; and +soon might be heard within the fort sounds of merriment and revelry, as +they danced, in lively measures, to a Scottish reel, played by some +native fiddler upon a violin of his own construction. Without the +gates, however, a very different scene met the eye. Down in a hollow, +where the lofty trees and dense underwood threw a shadow on the ground, +a knot of men might be seen, muffled in their leathern coats and fur +caps, hurrying to and fro with bundles on their backs and snow-shoes +under their arms; packing and tying them firmly on trains of +dog-sledges, which stood, with the dogs ready harnessed, in the shadow +of the bushes. The men whispered eagerly and hurriedly to each other as +they packed their goods, while others held the dogs, and patted them to +keep them quiet; evidently showing that, whatever was their object, +expedition and secrecy were necessary. Soon all was in readiness: the +bells, which usually tinkled on the dogs' necks, were unhooked and +packed in the sledges; an active-looking man sprang forward and set off +at a round trot over the snow, and a single crack of the whip sent four +sledges, each with a train of four or five dogs, after him, while two +other men brought up the rear. For a time the muffled sound of the +sledges was heard as they slid over the snow, while now and then the +whine of a dog broke upon the ear, as the impatient drivers urged them +along. Gradually these sounds died away, and nothing was heard but the +faint echoes of music and mirth, which floated on the frosty night-wind, +giving token that the revellers still kept up the dance, and were +ignorant of the departure of the trains. + +Late on the following day the Nor'-West scouts reported the party of +Indians, and soon a set of sleighs departed from the fort with +loudly-ringing bells. After a long day's march of forty miles, they +reached the encampment, where they found all the Indians dead drunk, and +not a skin, not even the remnant of a musquash, left to repay them for +their trouble! Then it was that they discovered the _ruse_ of the ball, +and vowed to have their revenge. + +Opportunity was not long wanting. Soon after this occurrence, one of +their parties met a Hudson Bay train on its way to trade with the +Indians, of whom they also were in search. They exchanged compliments +with each other, and, as the day was very cold, proposed lighting a fire +and taking a dram together. Soon five or six goodly trees yielded to +their vigorous blows, and fell crashing to the ground; and in a few +minutes one of the party, lighting a sulphur match with his flint and +steel, set fire to a huge pile of logs, which crackled and burned +furiously, sending up clouds of sparks into the wintry sky, and casting +a warm tinge upon the anew and the surrounding trees. The canteen was +quickly produced, and they told their stories and adventures while the +liquor mounted to their brains. The Nor'-Westers, however, after a +little time, spilled their grog on the snow, unperceived by the others, +so that they kept tolerably sober, while their rivals became very much +elevated; and at last they began boasting of their superior powers of +drinking, and, as a proof, each of them swallowed a large bumper. The +Hudson Bay party, who were nearly dead drunk by this time, of course +followed their example, and almost instantly fell in a heavy sleep on +the snow. In ten minutes more they were tied firmly upon their sledges, +and the dogs being turned homewards, away they went straight for the +Hudson Bay Fort, where they soon after arrived, the men still sound +asleep; while the Nor'-Westers started for the Indian camp, and this +time, at least, had the furs all to themselves. + +Such were the scenes that took place thirty years ago in the northern +wildernesses of America. Since then, the two companies have joined, +retaining the name of the richer and more powerful of the two--the +"Hudson Bay Company." Spirits were still imported after the junction; +but of late years they have been dispensed with throughout the country, +except at the colony of Red River, and the few posts where opposition is +carried on by the American fur-companies; so that now the poor savage no +longer grovels in the dust of his native wilderness under the influence +of the white man's fire-water, and the stranger who travels through +those wild romantic regions no longer beholds the humiliating scenes or +hears of the frightful crimes which were seen and heard of too often in +former days, and which always have been, and always must be, prevalent +wherever spirituous liquors, the great curse of mankind, are plentiful, +and particularly where, as in that country, the wild inhabitants fear no +laws, human or divine. + +In the year 1826, Red River overflowed its banks, and flooded the whole +settlement, obliging the settlers to forsake their houses, and drive +their horses and cattle to the trifling eminences in the immediate +vicinity. These eminences wore few and very small, so that during the +flood they presented a curious appearance, being crowded with men, +women, and children, horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry. The houses, +being made of wood, and only built on the ground, not sunk into it, were +carried away by dozens, and great numbers of horses and cattle were +drowned. During the time it lasted, the settlers sailed and paddled +among their houses in boats and canoes; and they now point out, among +the waving grass and verdant bushes, the spot where they dwelt in their +tents, or paddled about the deep waters in their canoes, in the "year of +the flood." This way of speaking has a strangely antediluvian sound. +The hale, middle-aged colonist will tell you, with a ludicrously grave +countenance, that his house stood on such a spot, or such and such an +event happened, "_a year before the flood_." + +Fort Garry, the principal establishment of the Hudson Bay Company, +stands on the banks of the Assinaboine River, about two hundred yards +from its junction with Red River. It is a square stone building, with +bastions pierced for cannon at the corners. The principal +dwelling-houses, stores, and offices are built within the walls, and the +stables at a small distance from the fort. The situation is pretty and +quiet; but the surrounding country is too flat for the lover of the +grand and picturesque. Just in front of the gate runs, or rather +glides, the peaceful Assinaboine, where, on a fine day in autumn, may be +seen thousands of goldeyes playing in its limpid waters. + +On the left extends the woodland fringing the river, with here and there +a clump of smaller trees and willows surrounding the swamps formed by +the melting snows of spring, where flocks of wild-ducks and noisy plover +give animation to the scene, while through the openings in the forest +are seen glimpses of the rolling prairie. Down in the hollow, where the +stables stand, are always to be seen a few horses and cows, feeding or +lazily chewing their cud in the rich pasturage, giving an air of repose +to the scene, which contrasts forcibly with the view of the wide plains +that roll out like a vast green sea from the back of the fort, studded +here and there with little islets and hillocks, around which may be seen +hovering a watchful hawk or solitary raven. + +The climate of Red River is salubrious and agreeable. Winter commences +about the month of November, and spring generally begins in April. +Although the winter is very long, and extremely cold (the thermometer +usually varying between ten and thirty degrees below _zero)_, yet, from +its being always _dry_ frost, it is much more agreeable than people +accustomed to the damp thawy weather of Great Britain might suppose. + +Winter is here the liveliest season of the year. It is then that the +wild, demi-savage colonist leads the blushing half-breed girl to the +altar, and the country about his house rings with the music of the +sleigh bells, as his friends assemble to congratulate the happy pair, +and dance for three successive days. It is at this season the hardy +_voyageurs_ rest from their toils, and, circling round the blazing fire, +recount many a tale of danger, and paint many a wild romantic scene of +their long and tedious voyages among the lakes and rapids of the +interior; while their wives and children gaze with breathless interest +upon their swarthy, sunburned faces, lighted up with animation as they +recall the scenes of other days, or, with low and solemn voice, relate +the death of a friend and fellow _voyageur_ who perished among the +foaming cataracts of the wilderness. + +During the summer months there are often very severe thunderstorms, +accompanied with tremendous showers of hail, which do great mischief to +the crops and houses. The hailstones are of an enormous size--upwards +of an inch in diameter; and on two or three occasions they broke all the +windows in Fort Garry that were exposed to the storm. + +Generally speaking, however, the weather is serene and calm, +particularly in autumn, and during the delicious season peculiar to +America called the Indian summer, which precedes the commencement of +winter. + +The scenery of Red River, as I said before, is neither grand nor +picturesque; yet, when the sun shines brightly on the waving grass and +glitters on the silver stream, and when the distant and varied cries of +wild-fowl break in plaintive cadence on the ear, one experiences a sweet +exulting happiness, akin to the feelings of the sailor when he gazes +forth at early morning on the polished surface of the sleeping sea. + +Such is Red River, and such the scenes on which I gazed in wonder, as I +rode by the side of my friend and fellow-clerk, McKenny, on the evening +of my arrival at my new home. Mr McKenny was mounted on his handsome +horse "Colonel," while I cantered by his side on a horse that afterwards +bore me over many a mile of prairie land. It is not every day that one +has an opportunity of describing a horse like the one I then rode, so +the reader will be pleased to have a little patience while I draw his +portrait. In the first place, then, his name was "Taureau." He was of +a moderate height, of a brown colour, and had the general outlines of a +horse, when viewed as that animal might be supposed to appear if +reflected from the depths of a bad looking-glass. His chief peculiarity +was the great height of his hind-quarters, In youth they had outgrown +the fore-quarters, so that, upon a level road, you had all the +advantages of riding down-hill. He cantered delightfully, trotted +badly, walked slowly, and upon all and every occasion evinced a resolute +pig-headedness, and a strong disinclination to accommodate his will to +that of his rider. He was decidedly porcine in his disposition, very +plebeian in his manners, and doubtless also in his sentiments. + +Such was the Bucephalus upon which I took my first ride over the Red +River prairie; now swaying to and fro on his back as we galloped over +the ground; anon _stotting_, in the manner of a recruit in a cavalry +regiment as yet unaccustomed to the saddle, when he trotted on the +beaten track; and occasionally, to the immense delight of McKenny, +seizing tight hold of the saddle, as an uncertain waver in my body +reminded me of Sir Isaac Newton's law of gravitation, and that any rash +departure on my part from my _understanding_ would infallibly lay me +prostrate on the ground. + +Soon after my arrival I underwent the operation which my horse had +undergone before me--namely, that of being broken-in--the only +difference being that he was broken-in to the saddle and I to the desk. +It is needless to describe the agonies I endured while sitting, hour +after hour, on a long-legged stool, my limbs quivering for want of their +accustomed exercise, while the twittering of birds, barking of dogs, +lowing of cows, and neighing of horses seemed to invite me to join them +in the woods. Often, as my weary pen scratched slowly over the paper, +their voices seemed to change to hoarse derisive laughter, as if they +thought the little misshapen frogs croaking and whistling in the marshes +freer far than their proud masters, who coop themselves up in smoky +houses the livelong day, and call themselves the free, unshackled "lords +of the creation." + +I soon became accustomed to these minor miseries of human life, and ere +long could sit:-- + + "From morn till night + To scratch and write + Upon a three-legged stool; + Nor mourn the joys + Of truant boys + Who stay away from school." + +There is a proverb which says, "It is a poor heart that never rejoices." +Now, taking it for granted that the proverb speaks truth, and not +wishing by our disregard of it to be thought poor-hearted, we--that is, +McKenny and I--were in the habit of rejoicing our spirits occasionally-- +not in the usual way, by drinking brandy and water (though we did +sometimes, when nobody knew it, indulge in a glass of beer, with the +red-hot poker thrust into it), but by shouldering our guns and sallying +forth to shoot the partridges, or rather grouse, which abound in the +woods of Red River. On these occasions McKenny and I used to range the +forest in company, enlivening our walk with converse, sometimes light +and cheerful, often philosophically deep, or thinking of the "light of +other days." We seldom went out without bringing home a few brace of +grey grouse, which were exceedingly tame--so tame, indeed, that +sometimes they did not take wing until two or three shots had been +fired. On one occasion, after walking about for half an hour without +getting a shot, we started a covey of seven, which alighted upon a tree +close at hand. We instantly fired at the two lowest, and brought them +down, while the others only stretched out their long necks, as if to see +what had happened to their comrades, but did not fly away. Two more +were soon shot; and while we were reloading our guns, the other three +flew off to a neighbouring tree. In a few minutes more they followed +their companions, and we had bagged the whole seven. This is by no +means an uncommon exploit when the birds are tame; and though poor +_sport_, yet it helps to fill your larder with somewhat better fare than +it would often contain without such assistance. The only thing that we +had to avoid was, aiming at the birds on the higher branches, as the +noise they make in falling frightens those below. The experienced +sportsman always begins with the lowest bird; and if they sit after the +first shot, he is almost sure of the rest. + +Shooting, however, was not our only amusement. Sometimes, on a fine +evening, we used to saddle our horses and canter over the prairie till +Red River and the fort were scarcely visible in the horizon; or, +following the cart road along the settlement, we called upon our friends +and acquaintances, returning the polite "_Bonjour_" of the French +settler as he trotted past us on his shaggy pony, or smiling at the +pretty half-caste girls as they passed along the road. These same +girls, by the way, are generally very pretty; they make excellent wives, +and are uncommonly thrifty. With beads, and brightly-coloured +porcupines' quills, and silk, they work the most beautiful devices on +the moccasins, leggins, and leathern coats worn by the inhabitants; and +during the long winter months they spin and weave an excellent kind of +cloth from the wool produced by the sheep of the settlement, mixed with +that of the buffalo, brought from the prairies by the hunters. + +About the middle of autumn the body of Mr Thomas Simpson, the +unfortunate discoverer, who, in company with Mr Dease, attempted to +discover the Nor'-West Passage, was brought to the settlement for +burial. Poor Mr Simpson had set out with a party of Red River +half-breeds, for the purpose of crossing the plains to St. Louis, and +proceeding thence through the United States to England. Soon after his +departure, however, several of the party returned to the settlement, +stating that Mr Simpson had, in a fit of insanity, killed two of his +men, and then shot himself, and that they had buried him on the spot +where he fell. This story, of course, created a great sensation in the +colony; and as all the party gave the same account of the affair upon +investigation, it was believed by many that he had committed suicide. A +few, however, thought that he had been murdered, and had shot the two +men in self-defence. In the autumn of 1841 the matter was ordered to be +further inquired into; and, accordingly, Dr Bunn was sent to the place +where Mr Simpson's body had been interred, for the purpose of raising +and examining it. Decomposition, however, had proceeded too far; so the +body was conveyed to the colony for burial, and Dr Bunn returned +without having discovered anything that could throw light on the +melancholy subject. + +I did not know Mr Simpson personally, but, from the report of those who +did, it appears that, though a clever and honourable man, he was of +rather a haughty disposition, and in consequence was very much disliked +by the half-breeds of Red River. I therefore think, with many of Mr +Simpson's friends and former companions, that he did _not_ kill himself, +and that this was only a false report of his murderers. Besides, it is +not probable that a man who had just succeeded in making important +additions to our geographical knowledge, and who might reasonably expect +honour and remuneration upon returning to his native land, would, +without any known or apparent cause, first commit murder and then +suicide. By his melancholy death the Hudson Bay Company lost a faithful +servant, and the world an intelligent and enterprising man. + +Winter, according to its ancient custom, passed away; and spring, not +with its genial gales and scented flowers, but with burning sun and +melting snow, changed the face of nature, and broke the icy covering of +Red River. Duffle coats vanished, and a few of the half-breed settlers +doffed their fur caps and donned the "bonnet rouge," while the more +hardy and savage contented themselves with the bonnet _noir_, in the +shape of their own thick black hair. Carioles still continued to run, +but it was merely from the force of habit, and it was evident they would +soon give up in despair. Sportsmen began to think of ducks and geese, +farmers of ploughs and wheat, and _voyageurs_ to dream of rapid streams +and waterfalls, and of distant voyages in light canoes. + +Immediately upon the ice in the lakes and rivers breaking up, we made +arrangements for dispatching the Mackenzie River brigade--which is +always the first that leaves the colony--for the purpose of conveying +goods to Mackenzie River, and carrying furs to the sea-coast. + +Choosing the men for this long and arduous voyage was an interesting +scene. L'Esperance, the old guide, who had many a day guided this +brigade through the lakes and rivers of the interior, made his +appearance at the fort a day or two before the time fixed for starting; +and at his heels followed a large band of wild, careless, happy-looking +half-breeds. Having collected in front of the office door, Mr McKenny +went out with a book and pencil in his hand, and told L'Esperance to +begin. The guide went a little apart from the rest, accompanied by the +steersmen of the boats (seven or eight in number), and then, scanning +the group of dark athletic men who stood smiling before him, called out, +"Pierre!" A tall, Herculean man answered to the call, and, stepping out +from among the rest, stood beside his friend the guide. After this one +of the steersmen chose another man; and so on, till the crews of all the +boats were completed. Their names were then marked down in a book, and +they all proceeded to the trading-room, for the purpose of taking +"advances," in the shape of shirts, trousers, bonnets, caps, tobacco, +knives, capotes, and all the other things necessary for a long, rough +journey. + +On the day appointed for starting, the boats, to the number of six or +seven, were loaded with goods for the interior; and the _voyageurs_, +dressed in their new clothes, embarked, after shaking hands with, and in +many cases embracing, their comrades on the land; and then, shipping +their oars, they shot from the bank and rowed swiftly down Red River, +singing one of their beautiful boat-songs, which was every now and then +interrupted by several of the number hallooing a loud farewell, as they +passed here and there the cottages of friends. + +With this brigade I also bade adieu to Red River, and, after a pleasant +voyage of a few days, landed at Norway House, while the boats pursued +their way. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Red River Settlement is now (1875) very much changed, as, no doubt, the +reader is aware, and the foregoing description is in many respects +inapplicable. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The reader must bear in remembrance that this chapter was +written in 1847. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +NORWAY HOUSE--ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR--INDIAN FEAST--THE PORTAGE BRIGADE-- +THE CLERKS' HOUSE--CATCHING A BUFFALO--GOLDEYE FISHING--RASPING A ROCK. + +Norway House, as we have before mentioned, is built upon the shores of +Playgreen Lake, close to Jack River, and distant about twenty miles from +Lake Winnipeg. At its right-hand corner rises a huge abrupt rock, from +whose summit, where stands a flagstaff, a fine view of Playgreen Lake +and the surrounding country is obtained. On this rock a number of +people were assembled to witness our arrival, and among them Mr Russ, +who sauntered down to the wharf to meet us as we stepped ashore. + +A few days after my arrival, the Council "resolved" that I should winter +at Norway House; so next day, in accordance with the resolution of that +august assembly, I took up my quarters in the clerks' room, and took +possession of the books and papers. + +It is an author's privilege, I believe, to jump from place to place and +annihilate time at pleasure. I avail myself of it to pass over the +autumn--during which I hunted, fished, and paddled in canoes to the +Indian village at Rossville a hundred times--and jump at once into the +middle of winter. + +Norway House no longer boasts the bustle and excitement of the summer +season. No boats arrive, no groups of ladies and gentlemen assemble on +the rocks to gaze at the sparkling waters. A placid stillness reigns +around, except in the immediate vicinity of the fort, where a few +axe-men chop the winter firewood, or start with trains of dog-sledges +for the lakes, to bring home loads of white-fish and venison. Mr Russ +is reading the "Penny Cyclopaedia" in the Hall (as the winter mess-room +is called), and I am writing in the dingy little office in the shade, +which looks pigstyish in appearance without, but is warm and snug +within. Alongside of me sits Mr Cumming, a tall, bald-headed, +sweet-tempered man of forty-five, who has spent the greater part of his +life among the bears and Indians of Hudson Bay, and is now on a +Christmas visit at Norway House. He has just arrived from his post a +few hundred miles off, whence he walked on snowshoes, and is now engaged +in taking off his moccasins and blanket socks, which he spreads out +carefully below the stove to dry. + +We do not continue long, however, at our different occupations. Mr +Evans, the Wesleyan missionary, is to give a feast to the Indians at +Rossville, and afterwards to examine the little children who attend the +village school. To this feast we are invited; so in the afternoon Mr +Cumming and I put on our moose-skin coats and snow-shoes, and set off +for the village, about two miles distant from the fort. + +By the way Mr Cumming related an adventure he had had while travelling +through the country; and as it may serve to show the dangers sometimes +encountered by those who wander through the wilds of North America, I +will give it here in his own words. + +MR. CUMMING'S ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR. + +"It was about the beginning of winter," said he, "that I set off on +snow-shoes, accompanied by an Indian, to a small lake to fetch fish +caught in the autumn, and which then lay frozen in a little house built +of logs, to protect them for winter use. The lake was about ten miles +off; and as the road was pretty level and not much covered with +underwood, we took a train of dogs with us, and set off before daybreak, +intending to return again before dark; and as the day was clear and +cold, we went cheerily along without interruption, except an occasional +fall when a branch caught our snow-shoes, or a stoppage to clear the +traces when the dogs got entangled among the trees. We had proceeded +about six miles, and the first grey streaks of day lit up the eastern +horizon, when the Indian who walked in advance paused, and appeared to +examine some footprints in the snow. After a few minutes of close +observation he rose, and said that a bear had passed not long before, +and could not be far off, and asked permission to follow it. I told him +he might do so, and said I would drive the dogs in his track, as the +bear had gone in the direction of the fish-house. The Indian threw his +gun over his shoulder, and was soon lost in the forest. For a quarter +of an hour I plodded on behind the dogs, now urging them along, as they +flagged and panted in the deep snow, and occasionally listening for a +shot from my Indian's gun. At last he fired, and almost immediately +after fired again; for you must know that some Indians can load so fast +that two shots from their single barrel sound almost like the discharge +in succession of the two shots from a double-barrelled gun. Shortly +after, I heard another shot; and then, as all became silent, I concluded +he had killed the bear, and that I should soon find him cutting it up. +Just as I thought this, a fierce growl alarmed me; so, seizing a pistol +which I always carried with me, I hastened forward. As I came nearer, I +heard a man's voice mingled with the growls of a bear; and upon arriving +at the foot of a small mound, my Indian's voice, apostrophising death, +became distinctly audible. `Come, Death!' said he, in a contemptuous +tone; `you have got me at last, but the Indian does not fear you!' A +loud angry growl from the bear, as he saw me rushing up the hill, +stopped him; and the unfortunate man turned his eyes upon me with an +imploring look. He was lying on his back, while the bear (a black one) +stood over him, holding one of his arms in its mouth. In rushing up the +mound I unfortunately stumbled, and filled my pistol with snow; so that +when the bear left the Indian and rushed towards me it missed fire, and +I had only left me the poor, almost hopeless, chance, of stunning the +savage animal with a blow of the butt-end. Just as he was rearing on +his hind legs, my eye fell upon the Indian's axe, which fortunately lay +at my feet; and seizing it, I brought it down with all my strength on +the bear's head, just at the moment that he fell upon me, and we rolled +down the hill together. Upon recovering myself, I found that the blow +of the axe had killed him instantly, and that I was uninjured. Not so +the Indian: the whole calf of his left leg was bitten off, and his body +lacerated dreadfully in various places. He was quite sensible, however, +though very faint, and spoke to me when I stooped to examine his wounds. +In a short time I had tied them up; and placing him on the sledge with +part of the bear's carcass, which I intended to dine upon, we returned +immediately to the fort. The poor Indian got better slowly, but he +never recovered the perfect use of his leg, and now hobbles about the +fort, cutting firewood, or paddling about the lake in search of ducks +and geese in his bark canoe." + +Mr Cumming concluded his story just as we arrived at the little bay, at +the edge of which the Indian village of Rossville is built. From the +spot where we stood the body of the village did not appear to much +advantage; but the parsonage and church, which stood on a small mound, +their white walls in strong contrast to the background of dark trees, +had a fine picturesque effect. There were about twenty houses in the +village, inhabited entirely by Indians, most of whom were young and +middle-aged men. They spend their time in farming during the summer, +and are successful in raising potatoes and a few other vegetables for +their own use. In winter they go into the woods to hunt fur-bearing +animals, and also deer; but they never remain long absent from their +homes. Mr Evans resided among them, and taught them and their children +writing and arithmetic, besides instructing them in the principles of +Christianity. They often assembled in the school-house for prayer and +sacred music, and attended divine service regularly in the church every +Sunday. Mr Evans, who was a good musician, had taught them to sing in +parts; and it has a wonderfully pleasing effect upon a stranger to hear +these dingy sons and daughters of the wilderness raising their melodious +voices in harmony in praise of the Christian's God. + +Upon our arrival at the village, we were ushered into Mr Evans' neat +cottage, from the windows of which is a fine view of Playgreen Lake, +studded with small islands, stretching out to the horizon on the right, +and a boundless wilderness of trees on the left. Here were collected +the ladies and gentlemen of Norway House, and a number of indescribable +personages, apparently engaged in mystic preparations for the +approaching feast. It was with something like awe that I entered the +schoolroom, and beheld two long rows of tables covered with puddings, +pies, tarts, stews, hashes, and vegetables of all shapes, sizes, and +descriptions, smoking thereon. I feared for the Indians, although they +can stand a great deal in the way of repletion; moderation being, of +course, out of the question, with such abundance of good things placed +before them. A large shell was sounded after the manner of a bugle, and +all the Indians of the village walked into the room and seated +themselves, the women on one side of the long tables, and the men on the +other. Mr Evans stood at the head, and asked a blessing; and then +commenced a work of demolition, the like of which has not been seen +since the foundation of the world! The pies had strong crusts, but the +knives were stronger; the paste was hard and the interior tough, but +Indian teeth were harder and Indian jaws tougher; the dishes were +gigantic, but the stomachs were capacious, so that ere long numerous +skeletons and empty dishes alone graced the board. One old woman, of a +dark-brown complexion, with glittering black eyes and awfully long +teeth, set up in the wholesale line, and demolished the viands so +rapidly, that those who sat beside her, fearing a dearth in the land, +began to look angry. Fortunately, however, she gave in suddenly, while +in the middle of a venison pasty, and reclining languidly backward, with +a sweetly contented expression of countenance, while her breath came +thickly through her half-opened mouth, she gently fell asleep--and +thereby, much to her chagrin, lost the tea and cakes which were served +out soon afterwards by way of dessert. When the seniors had finished, +the juveniles were admitted _en masse_, and they soon cleared away the +remnants of the dinner. + +The dress of the Indians upon this occasion was generally blue cloth +capotes with hoods, scarlet or blue cloth leggins, quill-worked +moccasins, and no caps. Some of them were dressed very funnily; and one +or two of the oldest appeared in blue surtouts, which were very ill +made, and much too large for the wearers. The ladies had short gowns +without plaits, cloth leggins of various colours highly ornamented with +beads, cotton handkerchiefs on their necks, and sometimes also on their +heads. The boys and girls were just their seniors in miniature. + +After the youngsters had finished dinner, the schoolroom was cleared by +the guests; benches were ranged along the entire room, excepting the +upper end, where a table, with two large candlesticks at either end, +served as a stage for the young actors. When all was arranged, the +elder Indians seated themselves on the benches, while the boys and girls +ranged themselves along the wall behind the table. Mr Evans then began +by causing a little boy about four years old to recite a long comical +piece of prose in English. Having been well drilled for weeks +beforehand, he did it in the most laughable style. Then came forward +four little girls, who kept up an animated philosophical discussion as +to the difference of the days in the moon and on the earth. Then a +bigger boy made a long speech in the Seauteaux language, at which the +Indians laughed immensely, and with which the white people present (who +did not understand a word of it) appeared to be greatly delighted, and +laughed loudly too. Then the whole of the little band, upon a sign +being given by Mr Evans, burst at once into a really beautiful hymn, +which was quite unexpected, and consequently all the more gratifying. +This concluded the examination, if I may so call it; and after a short +prayer the Indians departed to their homes, highly delighted with their +entertainment. Such was the Christmas feast at Rossville, and many a +laugh it afforded us that night as we returned home across the frozen +lake by the pale moonlight. + +Norway House is perhaps one of the best posts in the Indian country. +The climate is dry and salubrious; and although (like nearly all the +other parts of the country) extremely cold in winter, it is very +different from the damp, chilling cold of that season in Great Britain. +The country around is swampy and rocky, and covered with dense forests. +Many of the Company's posts are but ill provided with the necessaries of +life, and entirely destitute of luxuries. Norway house, however, is +favoured in this respect. We always had fresh meat of some kind or +other; sometimes beef, mutton, or venison, and occasionally buffalo +meat, was sent us from the Swan River district. Of tea, sugar, butter, +and bread we had more than enough; and besides the produce of our garden +in the way of vegetables, the river and lake contributed white-fish, +sturgeon, and pike, or jack-fish, in abundance. The pike is not a +delicate fish, and the sturgeon is extremely coarse, but the white-fish +is the most delicate and delicious I ever ate. I am not aware of their +existence in any part of the Old World, but the North American lakes +abound with them. It is generally the size of a good salmon trout, of a +bright silvery colour, and tastes a little like salmon. Many hundreds +of fur-traders live almost entirely on white-fish, particularly at those +far northern posts where flour, sugar, and tea cannot be had in great +quantities, and where deer are scarce. At these posts the Indians are +sometimes reduced to cannibalism, and the Company's people have, on more +than one occasion, been obliged to eat their beaver-skins! The +beaver-skin is thick and oily, so that, when the fur is burned off, and +the skin well boiled, it makes a kind of soup that will at least keep +one alive. Starvation is quite common among the Indians of those +distant regions; and the scraped rocks, divested of their covering of +_tripe-de-roche_ (which resembles dried-up seaweed), have a sad meaning +and melancholy appearance to the traveller who journeys through the +wilds and solitudes of Rupert's Land. + +Norway House is also an agreeable and interesting place, from its being +in a manner the gate to the only route to Hudson Bay, so that during the +spring and summer months all the brigades of boats and canoes from every +part of the northern department must necessarily pass it on their way to +York Factory with furs: and as they all return in the autumn, and some +of the gentlemen leave their wives and families for a few weeks till +they return to the interior, it is at this sunny season of the year +quite gay and bustling; and the clerks' house, in which I lived, was +often filled with a strange and noisy collection of human beings, who +rested here a while ere they started for the shores of Hudson Bay, for +the distant region of Mackenzie River, or the still more distant land of +Oregon. + +During winter our principal amusement was white-partridge shooting. +This bird is a species of ptarmigan, and is pure white, with the +exception of the tips of the wings and tail. They were very numerous +during the winter, and formed an agreeable dish at our mess-table. I +also enjoyed a little skating at the beginning of the winter; but the +falling snow soon put an end to this amusement. + +Spring, beautiful spring! returned again to cheer us in our solitude, +and to open into life the waters and streams of Hudson Bay. Great will +be the difference between the reader's idea of that season in that place +and the reality. Spring, with its fresh green leaves and opening +flowers, its emerald fields and shady groves, filled with sounds of +melody! No, reader; that is not the spring we depict: not quite so +beautiful, though far more prized by those who spend a monotonous winter +of more than six months in solitude. The sun shines brightly in a +cloudless sky, lighting up the pure white fields and plains with +dazzling brilliancy. The gushing waters of a thousand rills, formed by +the melting snow, break sweetly on the ear, like the well-remembered +voice of a long-absent friend. The whistling wings of wild-fowl, as +they ever and anon desert the pools of water now open in the lake and +hurry over the forest-trees, accord well with the shrill cry of the +yellow-leg and curlew, and with the general wildness of the scene; while +the reviving frogs chirrup gladly in the swamps to see the breaking up +of winter and welcome back the spring. This is the spring I write of; +and to have a correct idea of the beauties and the sweetness of _this_ +spring, you must first spend a winter in Hudson Bay. + +As I said, then, spring returned. The ice melted, floated off, and +vanished. Jack River flowed gently on its way, as if it had never gone +to sleep; and the lake rolled and tumbled on its shores, as if to +congratulate them on the happy change. Soon the boats began to arrive. +First came the "Portage Brigade," in charge of L'Esperance. There were +seven or eight boats; and ere long as many fires burned on the green +beside the fort, with a merry, careless band of wild-looking Canadian +and half-breed _voyageurs_ round each. And a more picturesque set of +fellows I never saw. They were all dressed out in new light-blue +capotes and corduroy trousers, which they tied at the knee with beadwork +garters. Moose-skin moccasins cased their feet, and their brawny, +sunburned necks were bare. A scarlet belt encircled the waist of each; +and while some wore hats with gaudy feathers, others had their heads +adorned with caps and bonnets, surrounded with gold and silver tinsel +hat-cords. A few, however, despising coats, travelled in blue and white +striped shirts, and trusted to their thickly-matted hair to guard them +from the rain and sun. They were truly a wild yet handsome set of men; +and no one, when gazing on their happy faces as they lay or stood in +careless attitudes round the fires, puffing clouds of smoke from their +ever-burning pipes, would have believed that these men had left their +wives and families but the week before, to start on a five months' +voyage of the most harassing description, fraught with the dangers of +the boiling cataracts and foaming rapids of the interior. + +They stopped at Norway House on their way, to receive the outfit of +goods for the Indian trade of Athabasca (one of the interior districts); +and were then to start for Portage la Loche, a place where the whole +cargoes are carried on the men's shoulders overland for twelve miles to +the head-waters of another river, where the traders from the northern +posts come to meet them, and, taking the goods, give in exchange the +"returns" in furs of the district. + +Next came old Mr Mottle, with his brigade of five boats from Isle a la +Crosse, one of the interior districts; and soon another set of +camp-fires burned on the green, and the clerks' house received another +occupant. After them came the Red River brigades in quick succession: +careful, funny, uproarious Mr Mott, on his way to York for goods +expected by the ship (for you must know Mr Mott keeps a store in Red +River, and is a man of some importance in the colony); and grasping, +comical, close-fisted Mr Macdear; and quiet Mr Sink--all passing +onwards to the sea, rendering Norway House quite lively for a time, and +then leaving it silent. But not for long, as the Saskatchewan brigade, +under the charge of chief trader Harrit and young Mr Polly, suddenly +arrived, and filled the whole country with noise and uproar. The +Saskatchewan brigade is the largest and most noisy that halts at Norway +House. It generally numbers from fifteen to twenty boats, filled with +the wildest men in the service. They come from the prairies and Rocky +Mountains, and are consequently brimful of stories of the buffalo hunt, +attacks upon grizzly bears, and wild Indians--some of them interesting +and true enough, but most of them either tremendous exaggerations, or +altogether inventions of their own wild fancies. Soon after, the light +canoes arrived from Canada, and in them an assortment of raw material +for the service in the shape of four or five green young men. + +The clerks' house now became crammed. The quiet, elderly folks, who had +continued to fret at its noisy occupants, fled in despair to another +house, and thereby left room for the newcomers--or greenhorns, as they +were elegantly styled by their more knowing fellow-clerks. Now, indeed, +the corner of the fort in which we lived was avoided by all quiet people +as if it were smitten with the plague; while the loud laugh, uproarious +song, and sounds of the screeching flute or scraping fiddle, issued from +the open doors and windows, frightening away the very mosquitoes, and +making roof and rafters ring. Suddenly a dead silence would ensue; and +then it was conjectured by the knowing ones of the place that Mr Polly +was _coming out strong_ for the benefit of the new arrivals. Mr Polly +had a pleasant way of getting the green ones round him, and, by +detailing some of the wild scenes and incidents of his voyages in the +Saskatchewan, of leading them on from truth to exaggeration, and from +that to fanciful composition, wherein he would detail, with painful +minuteness, all the horrors of Indian warfare, and the improbability of +any one who entered those dreadful regions ever returning alive. + +Norway House was now indeed in full blow, and many a happy hour did I +spend upon one of the clerks' beds--every inch of which was generally +occupied--listening to the story or the song. The young men there +assembled had arrived from the distant quarters of America, and some of +them even from England. Some were in the prime of manhood, and had +spent many years in the Indian country; some were beginning to scrape +the down from their still soft chins; while others were boys of +fourteen, who had just left home, and were listening for the first time, +open-mouthed, to their seniors' description of life in the wilderness. + +Alas, how soon were those happy, careless young fellows to separate, and +how little probability was there of their ever meeting again! A sort of +friendship had sprung up among three of us. Many a happy hour had we +spent in rambling among the groves and woods of Norway House: now +ranging about in search of wild pigeons, anon splashing and tumbling in +the clear waters of the lake, or rowing over its surface in a light +canoe; while our inexperienced voices filled the woods with snatches of +the wild yet plaintive songs of the _voyageurs_, which we had just begun +to learn. Often had we lain on our little pallet in Bachelors' Hall, +recounting to each other our adventures in the wild woods, or recalling +the days of our childhood, and making promises of keeping up a steady +correspondence through all our separations, difficulties, and dangers. + +A year passed away, and at last I got a letter from one of my friends, +dated from the Arctic regions, near the mouth of Mackenzie River; the +other wrote to me from among the snow-clad caps of the Rocky Mountains; +while I addressed them from the swampy, ice-begirt shores of Hudson Bay. + +In the Saskatchewan brigade two young bisons were conveyed to York +Factory for the purpose of being shipped for England in the _Prince +Rupert_. They were a couple of the wildest little wretches I ever saw, +and were a source of great annoyance to the men during the voyage. The +way they were taken was odd enough, and I shall here describe it. + +In the Saskatchewan the chief food both of white men and Indians is +buffalo meat, so that parties are constantly sent out to hunt the +buffalo. They generally chase them on horseback--the country being +mostly prairie land--and when they get close enough, shoot them with +guns. The Indians, however, shoot them oftener with the bow and arrow, +as they prefer keeping their powder and shot for warfare. They are very +expert with the bow, which is short and strong, and can easily send an +arrow quite through a buffalo at twenty yards off. One of these +parties, then, was ordered to procure two calves alive, if possible, and +lead them to the Company's establishment. This they succeeded in doing +in the following manner. Upon meeting with a herd, they all set off +full gallop in chase. Away went the startled animals at a round trot, +which soon increased to a gallop as the horse men neared them, and a +shot or two told that they were coming within range. Soon the shots +became more numerous, and here and there a black spot on the prairie +told where a buffalo had fallen. No slackening of the pace occurred, +however, as each hunter, upon killing an animal, merely threw down his +cap or mitten to mark it as his own, and continued in pursuit of the +herd, loading his gun as he galloped along. The buffalo-hunters, by the +way, are very expert at loading and firing quickly while going at full +gallop. They carry two or three bullets in their mouths, which they +spit into the muzzles of their guns after dropping in a little powder, +and instead of ramming it down with a rod, merely hit the butt-end of +the gun on the pommel of their saddles; and in this way fire a great +many shots in quick succession. This, however, is a dangerous mode of +shooting, as the ball sometimes sticks half-way down the barrel and +bursts the gun, carrying away a finger, and occasionally a hand. + +In this way they soon killed as many buffaloes as they could carry in +their carts, and one of the hunters set off in chase of a calf. In a +short time he edged one away from the rest, and then, getting between it +and the herd, ran straight against it with his horse and knocked it +down. The frightened little animal jumped up again and set off with +redoubled speed; but another butt from the horse again sent it +sprawling. Again it rose, and was again knocked down, and in this way +was at last fairly tired out; when the hunter, jumping suddenly from his +horse, threw a rope round its neck, and drove it before him to the +encampment, and soon after brought it to the fort. It was as wild as +ever when I saw it at Norway House, and seemed to have as much distaste +to its thraldom as the day it was taken. + +As the summer advanced the heat increased, and the mosquitoes became +perfectly insupportable. Nothing could save one from the attacks of +these little torments. Almost all other insects went to rest with the +sun: sand-flies, which bite viciously during the day, went to sleep at +night; the large _bull-dog_, whose bite is terrible, slumbered in the +evening; but the mosquito, the long-legged, determined, vicious, +persevering mosquito, whose ceaseless hum dwells for ever on the ear, +_never_ went to sleep. Day and night the painful, tender little pimples +on our necks and behind our ears were being constantly retouched by +these villainous flies, it was useless killing thousands of them-- +millions supplied their place. The only thing, in fact, that can +protect one during the night (_nothing_ can during the day) is a net of +gauze hung over the bed; but as this was looked upon by the young men as +somewhat effeminate, it was seldom resorted to. The best thing for +their destruction, we found, was to fill our rooms with smoke, either by +burning damp moss or by letting off large puffs of gunpowder, and then +throwing the doors and windows open to allow them to fly out. This, +however, did not put them all out; so we generally spent an hour or so +before going to bed in hunting them with candles. Even this did not +entirely destroy them; and often might our friends, by looking +telescopically through the keyhole, have seen us wandering during the +late hours of the night in our shirts looking for mosquitoes, like +unhappy ghosts doomed to search perpetually for something they can never +find. The intense, suffocating heat also added greatly to our +discomfort. + +In fine weather I used to visit my friend Mr Evans at Rossville, where +I had always a hearty welcome. I remember on one occasion being obliged +to beg the loan of a canoe from an Indian, and having a romantic paddle +across part of Playgreen Lake. I had been offered a passage in a boat +which was going to Rossville, but was not to return. Having nothing +particular to do, however, at the time, I determined to take my chance +of finding a return conveyance of some kind or other. In due time I +arrived at the parsonage, where I spent a pleasant afternoon in +sauntering about the village, and in admiring the rapidity and ease with +which the Indian children could read and write the Indian language by +means of a syllable alphabet invented by their clergyman. The same +gentleman afterwards made a set of leaden types with no other instrument +than a penknife, and printed a great many hymns in the Indian language. + +In the evening I began to think of returning to the fort; but no boat or +canoe could be found small enough to be paddled by one man, and as no +one seemed inclined to go with me, I began to fear that I should have to +remain all night. At last a young Indian told me he had a hunting +canoe, which I might have if I chose to venture across the lake in it, +but it was very small. I instantly accepted his offer; and, bidding +adieu to my friends at the parsonage, followed him down to a small creek +overshaded by tall trees, where, concealed among the reeds and bushes, +lay the canoe. It could not, I should think, have measured more than +three yards in length, by eighteen inches in breadth at the middle, +whence it tapered at either end to a thin edge. It was made of birch +bark scarcely a quarter of an inch thick; and its weight may be imagined +when I say that the Indian lifted it from the ground with one hand and +placed it in the water, at the same time handing me a small light +paddle. I stepped in with great care, and the frail bark trembled with +my weight as I seated myself, and pushed out into the lake. The sun had +just set, and his expiring rays cast a glare upon the overhanging clouds +in the west, whilst the shades of night gathered thickly over the +eastern horizon. Not a breath of wind disturbed the glassy smoothness +of the water, in which every golden-tinted cloud was mirrored with a +fidelity that rendered it difficult to say which was image and which +reality. The little bark darted through the water with the greatest +ease, and as I passed among the deepening shadows of the lofty pines, +and across the gilded waters of the bay, a wild enthusiasm seized me; I +strained with all my strength upon the paddle, and the sparkling drops +flew in showers behind me as the little canoe flew over the water more +like a phantom than a reality--when suddenly I missed my stroke; my +whole weight was thrown on one side, the water gurgled over the gunwale +of the canoe, and my heart leaped to my mouth, as I looked for an +instant into the dark water. It was only for a moment; in another +instant the canoe righted, and I paddled the remainder of the way in a +much more gentle manner--enthusiasm gone, and a most wholesome degree of +timidity pervading my entire frame. It was dark when I reached the +fort, and upon landing I took the canoe under my arm and carried it up +the bank with nearly as much ease as if it had been a camp-stool. + +When the day was warm and the sun bright--when the sky was clear and the +water blue--when the air was motionless, and the noise of arrivals and +departures had ceased--when work was at a stand, and we enjoyed the +felicity of having nothing to do, Mr Russ and I used to saunter down to +the water's edge to have an hour or two's fishing. The fish we fished +for were goldeyes, and the manner of our fishing was this:-- + +Pausing occasionally as we walked along, one of us might be observed to +bend in a watchful manner over the grass, and, gradually assuming the +position of a quadruped, fall plump upon his hands and knees. Having +achieved this feat, he would rise with a grasshopper between his finger +and thumb; a tin box being then held open by the other, the unlucky +insect was carefully introduced to the interior, and the lid closed +sharply--some such remark attending each capture as that "_That_ one was +safe," or, "There went another;" and the mystery of the whole proceeding +being explained by the fact that these same incarcerated grasshoppers +were intended to form the bait with which we trusted to beguile the +unwary goldeyes to their fate. + +Having arrived at the edge of the place where we usually fished, each +drew from a cleft in the rock a stout branch of a tree, around the end +of which was wound a bit of twine with a large hook attached to it. +This we unwound quickly, and after impaling a live grasshopper upon the +barbs of our respective hooks, dropped them into the water, and gazed +intently at the lines. Mr Russ, who was a great lover of angling, now +began to get excited, and made several violent pulls at the line, under +the impression that something had _bitten_. Suddenly his rod, stout as +it was, bent with the immense muscular force applied to it, and a small +goldeye, about three or four inches long, flashed like an electric spark +from the water, and fell with bursting force on the rocks behind, at the +very feet of a small Indian boy, who sat, nearly in a state of nature, +watching our movements from among the bushes. The little captive was of +a bright silvery colour, with a golden eye, and is an excellent fish for +breakfast. The truth of the proverb, "It never rains but it pours," was +soon verified by the immense number of goldeyes of every size, from one +foot to four inches, which we showered into the bushes behind us. Two +or three dozen were caught in a few minutes, and at last we began to get +quite exhausted; and Mr Russ proposed going up to the house for his new +fly-rod, by way of diversifying the sport, and rendering it more +scientific. + +Down he came again in a few minutes, with a splendidly varnished, +extremely slim rod, with an invisible line and an aerial fly. This +instrument was soon put up; and Mr Russ, letting out six fathoms of +line, stood erect, and making a splendid heave, caught the Indian boy by +the hair! This was an embarrassing commencement; but being an easy, +good-natured man, he only frowned the boy out of countenance, and +shortened his line. The next cast was more successful; the line swept +gracefully through the air, and fell in a series of elegant circles +within a few feet of the rock on which he stood. Goldeyes, however, are +not particular; and ere he could draw the line straight, a very large +one darted at the fly, and swallowed it. The rod bent into a beautiful +oval as Mr Russ made a futile attempt to whip the fish over his head, +according to custom, and the line straightened with fearful rigidity as +the fish began to pull for its life. The fisher became energetic, and +the fish impatient, but there was no prospect of its ever being landed; +till at last, having got his rod inextricably entangled among the +neighbouring bushes, he let it fall, and most unscientifically hauled +the fish out by the line, exclaiming, in the bitterness of his heart, +"that rods were contemptible childish things, and that a stout branch of +a tree was the rod for him." This last essay seemed to have frightened +all the rest away, for not another bite did we get after that. + +Towards the beginning of June 1843, orders arrived from headquarters, +appointing me to spend the approaching winter at York Factory, the place +where I had first pressed American soil. It is impossible to describe +the joy with which I received the news. Whether it was my extreme +fondness for travelling, or the mere love of change, I cannot tell, but +it had certainly the effect of affording me immense delight, and I set +about making preparation for the journey immediately. The arrival of +the canoes from Canada was to be the signal for my departure, and I +looked forward to their appearance with great impatience. + +In a few days the canoes arrived; and on the 4th of June, 1843, I +started, in company with several other gentlemen, in two north canoes. +These light, graceful craft were about thirty-six feet long, by from +five to six broad, and were capable of containing eight men and three +passengers. They were made entirely of birch bark, and gaudily painted +on the bow and stern. In these fairy-like boats, then, we swept swiftly +over Playgreen Lake, the bright vermilion paddles glancing in the +sunshine, and the woods echoing to the lively tune of _A la claire +fontaine_, sung by the two crews in full chorus. We soon left Norway +House far behind us, and ere long were rapidly descending the streams +that flow through the forests of the interior into Hudson Bay. + +While running one of the numerous rapids with which these rivers abound, +our canoe struck upon a rock, which tore a large hole in its side. +Fortunately the accident happened close to the shore, and nearly at the +usual breakfasting hour; so that while some of the men repaired the +damages, which they did in half an hour, we employed ourselves agreeably +in demolishing a huge ham, several slices of bread, and a cup or two of +strong tea. + +This was the only event worth relating that happened to us during the +voyage; and as canoe-travelling is enlarged upon in another chapter, we +will jump at once to the termination of our journey. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +YORK FACTORY--WINTER AMUSEMENTS--INTENSE COLD--THE +SEASONS--"SKYLARKING"--SPORTING IN THE WOODS AND MARSHES--TRADING WITH +INDIANS--CHRISTMAS DOINGS--BREAKING-UP OF THE ICE IN SPRING. + +Are you ambitious, reader, of dwelling in a "pleasant cot in a tranquil +spot, with a distant view of the changing sea?" If so, do not go to +York Factory. Not that it is such an unpleasant place--for I spent two +years very happily there--but simply (to give a poetical reason, and +explain its character in one sentence) because it is a monstrous blot on +a swampy spot, with a partial view of the frozen sea! + +First impressions are generally incorrect; and I have little doubt that +_your_ first impression is, that a "monstrous blot on a swampy spot" +cannot by any possibility be an agreeable place. To dispel this +impression, and at the same time to enlighten you with regard to a +variety of facts with which you are probably unacquainted, I shall +describe York Factory as graphically as may be. An outline of its +general appearance has been already given in a former chapter, so I will +now proceed to particularise the buildings. The principal edifice is +the "general store," where the goods, to the amount of two years' outfit +for the whole northern department, are stored. On each side of this is +a long, low whitewashed house, with green edgings, in one of which +visitors and temporary residents during the summer are quartered. The +other is the summer mess-room. Four roomy fur-stores stand at right +angles to these houses, thus forming three sides of the front square. +Behind these stands a row of smaller buildings for the labourers and +tradesmen; and on the right hand is the dwelling-house of the gentleman +in charge, and adjoining it the clerks' house; while on the left are the +provision-store and Indian trading-shop. A few insignificant buildings, +such as the oil-store and lumber-house, intrude themselves here and +there; and on the right a tall ungainly outlook rises in the air, +affording the inhabitants an extensive view of their wild domains; and +just beside it stands the ice-house. This latter building is filled +every spring with blocks of solid ice of about three feet square, which +do not melt during the short but intensely hot summer. The inhabitants +are thus enabled to lay up a store of fresh meat for summer use, which +lasts them till about the commencement of winter. The lower stratum of +ice in this house never melts; nor, indeed, does the soil of the +surrounding country, which only thaws to the depth of a few feet, the +subsoil being perpetually frozen. + +The climate of York Factory is very bad in the warm months of the year, +but during the winter the intensity of the cold renders it healthy. +Summer is very short; and the whole three seasons of spring, summer, and +autumn are included in the months of June, July, August, and September-- +the rest being winter. + +During part of summer the heat is extreme, and millions of flies, +mosquitoes, etcetera, render the country unbearable. Fortunately, +however, the cold soon extirpates them. Scarcely anything in the way of +vegetables can be raised in the small spot of ground called by courtesy +a garden. Potatoes one year, for a wonder, attained the size of +walnuts; and sometimes a cabbage and a turnip are prevailed upon to +grow. Yet the woods are filled with a great variety of wild berries, +among which the cranberry and swampberry are considered the best. Black +and red currants, as well as gooseberries, are plentiful; but the first +are bitter, and the last small. The swampberry is in shape something +like the raspberry, of a light yellow colour, and grows on a low bush, +almost close to the ground. They make excellent preserves, and, +together with cranberries, are made into tarts for the mess during +winter. + +In the month of September there are generally a couple of weeks or so of +extremely fine weather, which is called the Indian summer; after which +winter, with frost, cold, and snow, sets in with rapidity. For a few +weeks in October there is sometimes a little warm weather (or rather, I +should say, a little _thawy_, weather); but after that, until the +following April, the thermometer seldom rises to the freezing-point. In +the depth of winter it falls from 30 to 40, 45, and even 50 degrees +_below zero_ of Fahrenheit. This intense cold, however, is not so much +felt as one might suppose, as during its continuance the air is +perfectly calm. Were the slightest breath of wind to arise when the +thermometer stands so low, no man could show his face to it for a +moment. Forty degrees below zero, and quite calm, is infinitely +preferable to fifteen degrees below, or thereabouts, with a strong +breeze of wind. Spirit of wine is, of course, the only liquid that can +be used in the thermometers, as mercury, were it exposed to such cold, +would remain frozen nearly half the winter. Spirit never froze in any +cold ever experienced at York Factory, unless when very much adulterated +with water; and even then the spirit would remain liquid in the centre +of the mass [see note 1]. + +To resist this intense cold the inhabitants dress, not in furs, as is +generally supposed, but in coats and trousers made of smoked deer-skins; +the only piece of fur in their costume being the cap. The houses are +built of wood, with double windows and doors. They are heated by means +of large iron stoves, fed with wood; yet so intense is the cold, that I +have seen the stove in places _red-hot_, and a basin of water in the +room _frozen_ nearly solid. The average cold, I should think, is about +15 or 16 degrees below zero, or 48 degrees of frost. The country around +is a complete swamp, but the extreme shortness of the warm weather, and +the consequent length of winter, fortunately prevent the rapid +decomposition of vegetable matter. Another cause of the unhealthiness +of the climate during summer is the prevalence of dense fogs, which come +off the bay and enshroud the country; and also the liability of the +weather to sudden and extreme changes. + +Summer may be said to commence in July, the preceding month being a +fight between summer and winter, which cannot claim the slightest title +to the name of spring. As August advances the heat becomes great; but +about the commencement of September Nature wears a more pleasing aspect, +which lasts till the middle of October. It is then clear and beautiful, +just cold enough to kill all the mosquitoes, and render brisk exercise +agreeable. About this time, too, the young ducks begin to fly south, +affording excellent sport among the marshes. A week or so after this +winter commences, with light falls of snow occasionally, and hard frost +during the night. Flocks of snow-birds (the harbingers of cold in +autumn, and heat in spring) begin to appear, and soon the whirring wings +of the white partridge may be heard among the snow-encompassed willows. +The first thaw generally takes place in April; and May is characterised +by melting snow, disruption of ice, and the arrival of the first flocks +of wild-fowl. + +The country around the fort is one immense level swamp, thickly covered +with willows, and dotted here and there with a few clumps of pine-trees. +The only large timber in the vicinity grows on the banks of Hayes and +Nelson Rivers, and consists chiefly of spruce fir. The swampy nature of +the ground has rendered it necessary to raise the houses in the fort +several feet in the air upon blocks of wood; and the squares are +intersected by elevated wooden platforms, which form the only promenade +the inhabitants have during the summer, as no one can venture fifty +yards beyond the gates without wetting his feet. Nothing bearing the +most distant resemblance to a hillock exists in the land. Nelson River +is a broad stream, which discharges itself into Hudson Bay, near the +mouth of Hayes River, between which lies a belt of swamp and willows, +known by the name of the Point of Marsh. Here may be found, during the +spring and autumn, millions of ducks, geese, and plover, and during the +summer billions of mosquitoes. There are a great many strange plants +and shrubs in this marsh, which forms a wide field of research and +pleasure to the botanist and the sportsman; but the lover of beautiful +scenery and the florist will find little to please the eye or +imagination, as Nature has here put on her plainest garb, and flowers +there are none. + +Of the feathered tribes there are the large and small grey Canada goose, +the laughing goose (so called from the resemblance of its cry to +laughter), and the wavie or white goose. The latter are not very +numerous. There are great numbers of wild ducks, pintails, widgeons, +divers, sawbills, black ducks, and teal; but the prince of ducks (the +canvas-back) is not there. In spring and autumn the whole country +becomes musical with the wild cries and shrill whistle of immense hosts +of plover of all kinds--long legs, short legs, black legs, and yellow +legs--sandpipers and snipe, which are assisted in their noisy concerts +by myriads of frogs. The latter are really the best songsters in Hudson +Bay [see note 2]. Bitterns are also found in the marshes; and +sometimes, though rarely, a solitary crane finds its way to the coast. +In the woods, and among the dry places around, there are a few grey +grouse and wood partridges, a great many hawks, and owls of all sizes-- +from the gigantic white owl, which measures five feet across the back +and wings, to the small grey owl, not much bigger than a man's hand. + +In winter the woods and frozen swamps are filled with ptarmigan--or, as +they are called by the trappers, white partridges. They are not very +palatable; but, nevertheless, they form a pretty constant dish at the +winter mess-table of York Factory, and afford excellent sport to the +inhabitants. There are also great varieties of small birds, among which +the most interesting are the snow-birds, or snow-flakes, which pay the +country a flying visit at the commencement and termination of winter. + +Such is York Fort, the great depot and gate to the wild regions +surrounding Hudson Bay. Having described its appearance and general +characteristics, I shall proceed to introduce the reader to my future +companions, and describe our amusements and sports among the marshes. + +BACHELORS' HALL. + +On the--of June, 1843, I landed the second time on the wharf of York +Fort, and betook myself to Bachelors' Hall, where Mr Grave, whom I met +by the way, told me to take up my quarters. As I approached the door of +the well-remembered house, the most tremendous uproar that ever was +heard proceeded from within its dingy walls; so I jumped the paling that +stood in front of the windows, and took a peep at the interior before +introducing myself. + +The scene that met my eye was ludicrous in the extreme. Mounted on a +chair, behind a bedroom door, stood my friend Crusty, with a large pail +of water in his arms, which he raised cautiously to the top of the door, +for the purpose of tilting it over upon two fellow-clerks who stood +below, engaged in a wrestling match, little dreaming of the cataract +that was soon to fall on their devoted heads; at the door of a room +opposite stood the doctor, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of +sending a thick stream of water in Crusty's face from a large syringe +which he held in his hands; while near the stove sat the jolly skipper, +looking as grave as possible under the circumstances. + +The practical joke was just approaching to a climax when I looked in. +The combatants neared the door behind which Crusty was ensconced. The +pail was raised, and the syringe pointed, when the hall door opened, and +Mr Grave walked in! The sudden change that ensued could not have been +more rapidly effected had Mr Grave been a magician. The doctor thrust +the syringe into his pocket, into which a great deal of the water +escaped and dripped from the skirts of his coat as he walked slowly +across the room and began to examine, with a wonderful degree of +earnestness, the edge of an amputating knife that lay upon his +dressing-table. The two wrestlers sprang with one accord into their own +room, where they hid their flushed faces behind the door. Certain +smothered sounds near the stove proclaimed the skipper to be revelling +in an excruciating fit of suppressed laughter; while poor Crusty, who +slipped his foot in rapidly descending from his chair, lay sprawling in +an ocean of water, which he had upset upon himself in his fall. + +Mr Grave merely went to Mr Wilson's room to ask a few questions, and +then departed as if he had seen nothing; but a peculiar twist in the +corners of his mouth, and a comical twinkle in his eye, showed that, +although he said nothing, he had a pretty good guess that his "young +men" had been engaged in mischief! + +Such were the companions to whom I introduced myself shortly after; and, +while they went off to the office, I amused myself in looking round the +rooms in which I was to spend the approaching winter. + +The house was only one story high, and the greater part of the interior +formed a large hall, from which several doors led into the sleeping +apartments of the clerks. The whole was built of wood; and few houses +could be found wherein so little attention was paid to ornament or +luxury. The walls were originally painted white, but this, from long +exposure to the influence of a large stove, had changed to a dirty +yellow. No carpet covered the floor; nevertheless, its yellow planks +had a cheerful appearance; and gazing at the numerous knots with which +it was covered often afforded me a dreamy kind of amusement when I had +nothing better to do. A large oblong iron box, on four crooked legs, +with a funnel running from it through the roof, stood exactly in the +middle of the room; this was a stove, but the empty wood-box in the +corner showed that its services were not required at that time. And +truly they were not; for it was the height of summer, and the whole room +was filled with mosquitoes and bull-dog flies, which kept up a perpetual +hum night and day. The only furniture that graced the room consisted of +two small unpainted deal tables without tablecloths, five whole wooden +chairs, and a broken one--which latter, being light and handy, was +occasionally used as a missile by the young men when they happened to +quarrel. Several guns and fishing-rods stood in the corners of the +hall, but their dirty appearance proclaimed that sporting, at that time, +was not the order of the day. The tables were covered with a +miscellaneous collection of articles; and from a number of pipes +reposing on little odoriferous heaps of cut tobacco, I inferred that my +future companions were great smokers. Two or three books, a pair of +broken foils, a battered mask, and several surgical instruments, over +which a huge mortar and pestle presided, completed the catalogue. + +The different sleeping apartments around were not only interesting to +contemplate, but also extremely characteristic of the pursuits of their +different tenants. The first I entered was very small--just large +enough to contain a bed, a table, and a chest, leaving little room for +the occupant to move about in; and yet, from the appearance of things, +he did move about in it to some purpose, as the table was strewn with a +number of saws, files, bits of ivory and wood, and in a corner a small +vice held the head of a cane in its iron jaws. These were mixed with a +number of Indian account-books and an inkstand, so that I concluded I +had stumbled on the bedroom of my friend Mr Wilson, the postmaster. + +The quadrant-case and sea-chest in the next room proved it to be the +skipper's, without the additional testimony of the oiled-cloth coat and +sou'-wester hanging from a peg in the wall. + +The doctor's room was filled with dreadful-looking instruments, +suggestive of operations, amputations, bleeding wounds, and human agony; +while the accountant's was equally characterised by methodical neatness, +and the junior clerks' by utter and chaotic confusion. None of these +bedrooms were carpeted; none of them boasted of a chair--the trunks and +boxes of the persons to whom they belonged answering instead; and none +of the beds were graced with curtains. Notwithstanding this emptiness, +however, they had a somewhat furnished appearance, from the number of +greatcoats, leather capotes, fur caps, worsted sashes, guns, rifles, +shot-belts, snow-shoes, and powder-horns with which the walls were +profusely decorated. The ceilings of the rooms, moreover, were very +low--so much that by standing on tiptoe I could touch them with my hand; +and the window in each was only about three feet high by two and a half +broad, so that, upon the whole, the house was rather snug than +otherwise. + +Such was the habitation in which I dwelt; such were the companions with +whom I associated at York Factory. + +As the season advanced the days became shorter, the nights more frosty, +and soon a few flakes of snow fell, indicating the approach of winter. +About the beginning of October the cold, damp, snowy weather that +usually precedes winter set in; and shortly afterwards Hayes River was +full of drifting ice, and the whole country covered with snow. A week +or so after this the river was completely frozen over; and Hudson Bay +itself, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with a coat of ice. +We now settled down into our winter habits. Double windows were fitted +in, and double doors also. Extra blankets were put upon the beds; the +iron stove kept constantly alight; and, in fact, every preparation was +made to mitigate the severity of the winter. + +The water froze every night in our basins, although the stove was kept +at nearly a red heat all day, and pretty warm all night; and our +out-of-door costume was changed from jackets and shooting-coats to thick +leather capotes, fur caps, duffle socks, and moccasins. + +Soon after this, white partridges showed themselves; and one fine clear, +frosty morning, after breakfast, I made my first essay to kill some, in +company with my fellow-clerk and room-mate Crusty, and the worthy +skipper. + +The manner of dressing ourselves to resist the cold was curious. I will +describe Crusty, as a type of the rest. After donning a pair of +deer-skin trousers, he proceeded to put on three pair of blanket socks, +and over these a pair of moose-skin moccasins. Then a pair of blue +cloth leggins were hauled over his trousers, partly to keep the snow +from sticking to them, and partly for warmth. After this he put on a +leather capote edged with fur. This coat was very warm, being lined +with flannel, and overlapped very much in front. It was fastened with a +scarlet worsted belt round the waist, and with a loop at the throat. A +pair of thick mittens made of deer-skin hung round his shoulders by a +worsted cord; and his neck was wrapped in a huge shawl, above whose +mighty folds his good-humoured visage beamed like the sun on the edge of +a fog-bank. A fur cap with ear-pieces completed his costume. Having +finished his toilet, and tucked a pair of snow-shoes, five feet long, +under one arm, and a double-barrelled fowling-piece under the other, +Crusty waxed extremely impatient, and proceeded systematically to +aggravate the unfortunate skipper (who was always very slow, poor man, +except on board ship), addressing sundry remarks to the stove upon the +slowness of seafaring men in general, and skippers in particular. In a +few minutes the skipper appeared in a similar costume, with a +monstrously long gun over his shoulder, and under his arm a pair of +snow-shoes gaudily painted by himself; which snow-shoes he used to +admire amazingly, and often gave it as his opinion that they were +"slap-up, tossed-off-to-the-nines" snow-shoes! + +In this guise, then, we departed on our ramble. The sun shone brightly +in the cold blue sky, giving a warm appearance to the scene, although no +sensible warmth proceeded from it, so cold was the air. Countless +millions of icy particles covered every bush and tree, glittering +tremulously in its rays like diamonds--psha! that hackneyed simile: +diamonds of the purest water never shone like these evanescent little +gems of nature. The air was biting cold, obliging us to walk briskly +along to keep our blood in circulation; and the breath flew thick and +white from our mouths and nostrils, like clouds of steam, and, +condensing on our hair and the breasts of our coats, gave us the +appearance of being powdered with fine snow. Crusty's red countenance +assumed a redder hue by contrast, and he cut a very comical figure when +his bushy whiskers changed from their natural auburn hue to a pure +white, under the influence of this icy covering. The skipper, who all +this while had been floundering slowly among the deep snow, through +which his short legs were but ill calculated to carry him, suddenly +wheeled round, and presented to our view the phenomenon of a very red, +warm face, and an extremely livid cold nose thereunto affixed. We +instantly apprised him of the fact that his nose was frozen, which he +would scarcely believe for some time; however, he was soon convinced, +and after a few minutes' hard rubbing it was restored to its usual +temperature. + +We had hitherto been walking through the thick woods near the river's +bank; but finding no white partridges there, we stretched out into the +frozen swamps, which now presented large fields and plains of compact +snow, studded here and there with clumps and thickets of willows. Among +these we soon discovered fresh tracks of birds in the snow, whereat the +skipper became excited (the sport being quite new to him), and expressed +his belief, in a hoarse whisper, that they were not far off. He even +went the length of endeavouring to walk on tiptoe, but being unable, +from the weight of his snow-shoes, to accomplish this, he only tripped +himself, and falling with a stunning crash through a large dried-up +bush, buried his head, shoulders, and gun in the snow. Whir-r-r! went +the alarmed birds--crack! bang! went Crusty's gun, and down came two +partridges; while the unfortunate skipper, scarce taking time to clear +his eyes from snow, in his anxiety to get a shot, started up, aimed at +the birds, and blew the top of a willow, which stood a couple of feet +before him, into a thousand atoms. The partridges were very tame, and +only flew to a neighbouring clump of bushes, where they alighted. +Meanwhile Crusty picked up his birds, and while reloading his gun +complimented the skipper upon the beautiful manner in which he +_pointed_. To this he answered not, but raising his gun, let drive at a +solitary bird which, either from fear or astonishment, had remained +behind the rest, and escaped detection until now, owing to its +resemblance to the surrounding snow. He fortunately succeeded in +hitting this time, and bagged it with great exultation. Our next essay +was even more successful. The skipper fired at one which he saw sitting +near him, killed it,--and also two more which he had not seen, but which +had happened to be in a line with the shot; and Crusty and I killed a +brace each when they took wing. + +During the whole day we wandered about the woods, sometimes killing a +few ptarmigan, and occasionally a kind of grouse, which are called by +the people of the country wood-partridges. Whilst sauntering slowly +along in the afternoon, a rabbit darted across our path; the skipper +fired at it without even putting the gun to his shoulder, and to his +utter astonishment killed it. After this we turned to retrace our +steps, thinking that, as our game bags were pretty nearly full, we had +done enough for one day. Our sport was not done, however; we came +suddenly upon a large flock of ptarmigan, so tame that they would not +fly, but merely ran from us a little way at the noise of each shot. The +firing that now commenced was quite terrific. Crusty fired till both +barrels of his gun were stopped up; the skipper fired till his powder +and shot were done; and I fired till--_I skinned my tongue_! Lest any +one should feel surprised at the last statement, I may as well explain +_how_ this happened. The cold had become so intense, and my hands so +benumbed with loading, that the thumb at last obstinately refused to +open the spring of my powder-flask. A partridge was sitting impudently +before me, so that, in the fear of losing the shot, I thought of trying +to open it with my teeth. In the execution of this plan, I put the +brass handle to my mouth, and my tongue happening to come in contact +with it, stuck fast thereto--or, in other words, was frozen to it. Upon +discovering this, I instantly pulled the flask away, and with it a piece +of skin about the size of a sixpence. Having achieved this little feat, +we once more bent our steps homeward. + +During our walk the day had darkened, and the sky insensibly become +overcast. Solitary flakes of snow fell here and there around us, and a +low moaning sound, as of distant wind, came mournfully down through the +sombre trees, and, eddying round their trunks in little gusts, gently +moved the branches, and died away in the distance. With an uneasy +glance at these undoubted signs of an approaching storm, we hastened +towards the fort as fast as our loads permitted us, but had little hope +of reaching it before the first burst of the gale. Nature had laid +aside her sparkling jewels, and was now dressed in her simple robe of +white. Dark leaden clouds rose on the northern horizon, and the distant +howling of the cold, cold wind struck mournfully on our ears, as it +rushed fresh and bitterly piercing from the Arctic seas, tearing madly +over the frozen plains, and driving clouds of hail and snow before it. +Whew! how it dashed along--scouring wildly over the ground, as if +maddened by the slight resistance offered to it by the swaying bushes, +and hurrying impetuously forward to seek a more worthy object on which +to spend its bitter fury! Whew! how it curled around our limbs, +catching up mountains of snow into the air, and dashing them into +impalpable dust against our wretched faces. Oh! it was bitterly, +bitterly cold. Notwithstanding our thick wrappings, we felt as if +clothed in gauze; while our faces seemed to collapse and wrinkle up as +we turned them from the wind and hid them in our mittens. One or two +flocks of ptarmigan, scared by the storm, flew swiftly past us, and +sought shelter in the neighbouring forest. We quickly followed their +example, and availing ourselves of the partial shelter of the trees, +made the best of our way back to the fort, where we arrived just as it +was getting dark, and entered the warm precincts of Bachelors' Hall like +three animated marble statues, so completely were we covered from head +to foot with snow. + +It was curious to observe the change that took place in the appearance +of our guns after we entered the warm room. The barrels, and every bit +of metal upon them, instantly became white, like ground glass! This +phenomenon was caused by the condensation and freezing of the moist +atmosphere of the room upon the cold iron. Any piece of metal, when +brought suddenly out of such intense cold into a warm room, will in this +way become covered with a pure white coating of hoar-frost. It does not +remain long in this state, however, as the warmth of the room soon heats +the metal and melts the ice. Thus, in about ten minutes our guns +assumed three different appearances: when we entered the house, they +were clear, polished, and dry; in five minutes they were white as snow; +and in five more, dripping wet! + +On the following morning a small party of Indians arrived with furs, and +Mr Wilson went with them to the trading-room, whither I accompanied +him. + +The trading-room--or, as it is frequently called, the Indian-shop--was +much like what is called a store in the United States. It contained +every imaginable commodity likely to be needed by Indians. On various +shelves were piled bales of cloth of all colours, capotes, blankets, +caps, etcetera; and in smaller divisions were placed files, +scalping-knives, gun-screws, flints, balls of twine, fire-steels, +canoe-awls, and glass beads of all colours, sizes, and descriptions. +Drawers in the counter contained needles, pins, scissors, thimbles, +fish-hooks, and vermilion for painting canoes and faces. The floor was +strewn with a variety of copper and tin kettles, from half a pint to a +gallon; and on a stand in the furthest corner of the room stood about a +dozen trading guns, and beside them a keg of powder and a box of shot. + +Upon our entrance into this room trade began. First of all, an old +Indian laid a pack of furs upon the counter, which Mr Wilson counted +and valued. Having done this, he marked the amount opposite the old +man's name in his "Indian book," and then handed him a number of small +pieces of wood. The use of these pieces of wood is explained in the +third chapter. The Indian then began to look about him, opening his +eyes gradually, as he endeavoured to find out which of the many things +before him he would like to have. Sympathising with his eyes, his mouth +slowly opened also; and having remained in this state for some time, the +former looked at Mr Wilson, and the latter pronounced _ahcoup_ +(blanket). Having received the blanket, he paid the requisite number of +bits of wood for it, and became abstracted again. In this way he bought +a gun, several yards of cloth, a few beads, etcetera, till all his +sticks were gone, and he made way for another. The Indians were +uncommonly slow, however, and Mr Wilson and I returned to the house in +a couple of hours, with very cold toes and fingers, and exceedingly blue +noses. + +During winter we breakfasted usually at nine o'clock; then sat down to +the desk till one, when we dined. After dinner we resumed our pens till +six, when we had tea; and then wrote again till eight; after which we +either amused ourselves with books (of which we had a few), kicked up a +row, or, putting on our snow-shoes, went off to pay a moonlight visit to +our traps. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, however, we did no work, and +generally spent these days in shooting. + +It is only at the few principal establishments of the Company, where the +accounts of the country are collected annually, to be forwarded to the +Hudson Bay House in London, that so much writing is necessary. + +As the Christmas holidays approached, we prepared for the amusements of +that joyous season. On the morning before Christmas, a gentleman, who +had spent the first part of the winter all alone at his outpost, arrived +to pass the holidays at York Factory. We were greatly delighted to have +a new face to look at, having seen no one but ourselves since the ship +left for England, nearly four months before. + +Our visitor had travelled in a dog cariole. This machine is very +narrow, just broad enough to admit one person. It is a wooden frame +covered with deer-skin parchment, painted gaudily, and is generally +drawn by four Esquimaux dogs [see note 3]. Dogs are invaluable in the +Arctic regions, where horses are utterly useless, owing to the depth of +snow which covers the earth for so large a portion of the year. The +comparatively light weight of the dogs enables them to walk without +sinking much; and even when the snow is so soft as to be incapable of +supporting them, they are still able to sprawl along more easily than +any other species of quadruped could do. Four are usually attached to a +sledge, which they haul with great vigour; being followed by a driver on +snow-shoes, whose severe lash is brought to bear so powerfully on the +backs of the poor animals, should any of them be observed to slacken +their pace, that they are continually regarding him with deprecatory +glances as they run along. Should the lash give a flourish, there is +generally a short yelp from the pack; and should it descend amongst them +with a vigorous crack, the vociferous yelling that results is perfectly +terrific. These drivers are sometimes very cruel; and when a pack of +dogs have had a fight, and got their traces hopelessly ravelled (as is +often the case), they have been known to fall on their knees in their +passion, seize one of the poor dogs by the nose with their teeth, and +almost bite it off. Dogs are also used for dragging carioles, which +vehicles are used by gentlemen in the Company's service who are either +too old or too lazy to walk on snow-shoes. The cariole is in form not +unlike a slipper bath, both in shape and size. It is lined with buffalo +robes, in the midst of a bundle of which the occupant reclines +luxuriously, while the dogs drag him slowly through the soft snow, and +among the trees and bushes of the forest, or scamper with him over the +hard-beaten surface of a lake or river; while the machine is prevented +from capsizing by a _voyageur_ who walks behind on snow-shoes, holding +on to a line attached to the back part of the cariole. The weather +during winter is so cold that it is often a matter of the greatest +difficulty for the traveller to keep his toes from freezing, despite the +buffalo robes; and sometimes, when the dogs start fresh in the morning, +with a good breakfast, a bright, clear, frosty day, and a long expanse +of comparatively open country before them, where the snow from exposure +has become quite hard, away they go with a loud yelp, upsetting the +driver in the bolt, who rises to heap undeserved and very improper +epithets upon the poor brutes, who, careering over the ground at the +rate of eleven miles an hour, swing the miserable cariole over the snow, +tear it through the bushes, bang it first on one side, then on the +other, against stumps and trees, yelling all the while, partly with +frantic glee at the thought of having bolted, and partly with fearful +anticipation of the tremendous welting that is to come; until at last +the cariole gets jammed hard and fast among the trees of the forest, or +plunges down the steep bank of a river head over heels till they reach +the foot--a horrible and struggling compound of dogs, traveller, traces, +parchment, buffalo robes, blankets, and snow! + +Christmas morning dawned, and I opened my eyes to behold the sun +flashing brightly on the window, in its endeavours to make a forcible +entry into my room, through the thick hoar-frost which covered the +panes. Presently I became aware of a gentle breathing near me, and, +turning my eyes slowly round, I beheld my companion Crusty standing on +tiptoe, with a tremendous grin on his countenance, and a huge pillow in +his hands, which was in the very act of descending upon my devoted head. +To collapse into the smallest possible compass, and present the most +invulnerable part of my body to the blow, was the work of an instant, +when down came the pillow, bang! "Hooroo! hurroo! hurroo! a merry +Christmas to you, you rascal!" shouted Crusty. Bang! bang! went the +pillow. "Turn out of that, you lazy lump of plethoric somnolescence," +whack!--and, twirling the ill-used pillow round his head, my facetious +friend rushed from the room, to bestow upon the other occupants of the +hall a similar salutation. Upon recovering from the effects of my +pommelling, I sprang from bed and donned my clothes with all speed, and +then went to pay my friend Mr Wilson the compliments of the season. In +passing through the hall for this purpose, I discovered Crusty +struggling in the arms of the skipper, who, having wrested the pillow +from him, was now endeavouring to throttle him partially. I gently shut +and fastened the door of their room, purposing to detain them there till +_very nearly_ too late for breakfast, and then sat down with Mr Wilson +to discuss our intended proceedings during the day. These were-- +firstly, that we should go and pay a ceremonious visit to the men; +secondly, that we should breakfast; thirdly, that we should go out to +shoot partridges; fourthly, that we should return to dinner at five; and +fifthly, that we should give a ball in Bachelors' Hall in the evening, +to which were to be invited all the men at the fort, and _all_ the +Indians, men, women, and children, inhabiting the country for thirty +miles round. As the latter, however, did not amount to above twenty, we +did not fear that more would come than our hall was calculated to +accommodate. In pursuance, then, of these resolutions, I cleaned my +gun, freed my prisoners just as the breakfast-bell was ringing, and +shortly afterwards went out to shoot. I will not drag the reader after +me, but merely say that we all returned about dusk, with game-bags full, +and appetites ravenous. + +Our Christmas dinner was a good one, in a substantial point of view; and +a very pleasant one, in a social point of view. We ate it in the winter +mess-room; and really (for Hudson Bay) this was quite a snug and highly +decorated apartment. True, there was no carpet on the floor, and the +chairs were home-made; but then the table was mahogany, and the walls +were hung round with several large engravings in bird's-eye maple +frames. The stove, too, was brightly polished with black lead, and the +painting of the room had been executed with a view to striking dumb +those innocent individuals who had spent the greater part of their lives +at outposts, and were, consequently, accustomed to domiciles and +furniture of the simplest and most unornamental description. On the +present grand occasion the mess-room was illuminated by an argand lamp, +and the table covered with a snow-white cloth, whereon reposed a platter +containing a beautiful, fat, plump wild-goose, which had a sort of +come-eat-me-up-quick-else-I'll-melt expression about it that was +painfully delicious. Opposite to this smoked a huge roast of beef, to +procure which one of our most useless draught oxen had been sacrificed. +This, with a dozen of white partridges, and a large piece of salt pork, +composed our dinner. But the greatest rarities on the board were two +large decanters of port wine, and two smaller ones of Madeira. These +were flanked by tumblers and glasses; and truly, upon the whole, our +dinner made a goodly show. + +"Come away, gentlemen," said Mr Grave, as we entered the room and +approached the stove where he stood, smiling with that benign expression +of countenance peculiar to stout, good-natured gentlemen at this season, +and at this particular hour. "Your walk must have sharpened your +appetites; sit down, sit down. This way, doctor--sit near me; find a +place, Mr Ballantyne, beside your friend Crusty there; take the foot, +Mr Wilson;" and amid a shower of such phrases we seated ourselves and +began. + +At the top of the table sat Mr Grave, indistinctly visible through the +steam that rose from the wild-goose before him. On his right and left +sat the doctor and the accountant; and down from them sat the skipper, +four clerks, and Mr Wilson, whose honest face beamed with philanthropic +smiles at the foot of the table. Loud were the mirth and fun that +reigned on this eventful day within the walls of the highly decorated +room at York Factory. Bland was the expression of Mr Grave's face when +he asked each of the young clerks to drink wine with him in succession; +and great was the confidence which thereby inspired the said clerks, +prompting them to the perpetration of several rash and unparalleled +pieces of presumption--such as drinking wine with each other (an act of +free-will on their part almost unprecedented), and indulging in sundry +sly pieces of covert humour, such as handing the vinegar to each other +when the salt was requested, and becoming profusely apologetic upon +discovering their mistake. But the wildest storm is often succeeded by +the greatest calm, and the most hilarious mirth by the most solemn +gravity. In the midst of our fun Mr Grave proposed a toast. Each +filled a bumper, and silence reigned around while he raised his glass +and said, "Let us drink to absent friends." We each whispered, "Absent +friends," and set our glasses down in silence, while our minds flew back +to the scenes of former days, and we mingled again in spirit with our +dear, dear friends at home. How different the mirth of the loved ones +there, circling round the winter hearth, from that of the _men_ seated +round the Christmas table in the Nor'-West wilderness I question very +much if this toast was ever drunk with a more thorough appreciation of +its melancholy import than upon the present memorable occasion. Our sad +feelings, however, were speedily put to flight, and our gravity routed, +when the skipper, with characteristic modesty, proposed, "The ladies;" +which toast we drank with a hearty good-will, although, indeed, the +former included them, inasmuch as they also were _absent_ friends--the +only one within two hundred and fifty miles of us being Mr Grave's +wife. + +What a magical effect ladies have upon the male sex, to be sure! +Although hundreds of miles distant from an unmarried specimen of the +species, upon the mere mention of their name there was instantly a +perceptible alteration for the better in the looks of the whole party. +Mr Wilson unconsciously arranged his hair a little more becomingly, as +if his ladye-love were actually looking at him; and the skipper +afterwards confessed that his heart had bounded suddenly out of his +breast, across the snowy billows of the Atlantic, and come smash down on +the wharf at Plymouth Dock, where he had seen the last wave of Nancy's +checked cotton neckerchief as he left the shores of Old England. + +Just as we had reached the above climax, the sound of a fiddle struck +upon our ears, and reminded us that our guests who had been invited to +the ball were ready; so, emptying our glasses, we left the dining-room, +and adjourned to the hall. + +Here a scene of the oddest description presented itself. The room was +lit up by means of a number of tallow candles, stuck in tin sconces +round the walls. On benches and chairs sat the Orkneymen and Canadian +half-breeds of the establishment, in their Sunday jackets and capotes; +while here and there the dark visage of an Indian peered out from among +their white ones. But round the stove--which had been removed to one +side to leave space for the dancers--the strangest group was collected. +Squatting down on the floor, in every ungraceful attitude imaginable, +sat about a dozen Indian women, dressed in printed calico gowns, the +chief peculiarity of which was the immense size of the balloon-shaped +sleeves, and the extreme scantiness, both in length and width, of the +skirts. Coloured handkerchiefs covered their heads, and ornamented +moccasins decorated their feet; besides which, each one wore a blanket +in the form of a shawl, which they put off before standing up to dance. +They were chatting and talking to each other with great volubility, +occasionally casting a glance behind them, where at least half a dozen +infants stood bolt upright in their tight-laced cradles. On a chair, in +a corner near the stove, sat a young, good-looking Indian, with a fiddle +of his own making beside him. This was our Paganini; and beside him sat +an Indian boy with a kettle-drum, on which he tapped occasionally, as if +anxious that the ball should begin. + +All this flashed upon our eyes; but we had not much time for +contemplating it, as, the moment we entered, the women simultaneously +rose, and coming modestly forward to Mr Wilson, who was the senior of +the party, saluted him, one after another! I had been told that this +was a custom of the _ladies_ on Christmas Day, and was consequently not +quite unprepared to go through the ordeal. But when I looked at the +superhuman ugliness of some of the old ones--when I gazed at the +immense, and in some cases toothless, chasms that were pressed to my +senior's lips, and that gradually, like a hideous nightmare, approached +towards me--and when I reflected that these same mouths might have, in +former days, demolished a few children--my courage forsook me, and I +entertained for a moment the idea of bolting. The doctor seemed to +labour under the same disinclination as myself; for when they advanced +to him, he refused to bend his head, and, being upwards of six feet +high, they of course were obliged to pass him. They looked, however, so +much disappointed at this, and withal so very modest, that I really felt +for them, and prepared to submit to my fate with the best grace +possible. A horrible old hag advanced towards me, the perfect +embodiment of a nightmare, with a fearful grin on her countenance. I +shut my eyes. Suddenly a bright idea flashed across my mind: I stooped +down, with apparent goodwill, to salute her; but just as our lips were +about to meet, I slightly jerked up my head, and she kissed my _chin_. +Oh, happy thought! They were all quite satisfied, and attributed the +accident, no doubt, to their own clumsiness--or to mine! + +This ceremony over, we each chose partners, the fiddle struck up, and +the ball began. Scotch reels were the only dances known by the majority +of the guests, so we confined ourselves entirely to them. + +The Indian women afforded us a good deal of amusement during the +evening. Of all ungraceful beings, they are the most ungraceful; and of +all accomplishments, dancing is the one in which they shine least. +There is no rapid motion of the feet, no lively expression of the +countenance; but with a slow, regular, up-and-down motion, they stalk +through the figure with extreme gravity. They seemed to enjoy it +amazingly, however, and scarcely allowed the poor fiddler a moment's +rest during the whole evening. + +Between eleven and twelve o'clock our two tables were put together, and +spread with several towels; thus forming a pretty respectable +supper-table, which would have been perfect, had not the one part been +three inches higher than the other. On it was placed a huge dish of +cold venison, and a monstrous iron kettle of tea. This, with sugar, +bread, and a lump of salt butter, completed the entertainment to which +the Indians sat down. They enjoyed it very much--at least, so I judged +from the rapid manner in which the viands disappeared, and the incessant +chattering and giggling kept up at intervals. After all were satisfied, +the guests departed in a state of great happiness; particularly the +ladies, who tied up the remnants of their supper in their handkerchiefs, +and carried them away. + +Before concluding the description of our Christmas doings, I may as well +mention a circumstance which resulted from the effects of the ball, as +it shows in a curious manner the severity of the climate at York +Factory. In consequence of the breathing of so many people in so small +a room for such a length of time, the walls had become quite damp, and +ere the guests departed moisture was trickling down in many places. +During the night this moisture was frozen, and on rising the following +morning I found, to my astonishment, that Bachelors' Hall was apparently +converted into a palace of crystal. The walls and ceiling were thickly +coated with beautiful minute crystalline flowers, not sticking flat upon +them, but projecting outwards in various directions, thus giving the +whole apartment a cheerful, light appearance, quite indescribable. The +moment our stove was heated, however, the crystals became fluid, and ere +long evaporated, leaving the walls exposed in all their original +dinginess. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Winter passed away; but not slowly, or by degrees. A winter of so long +duration could not be expected to give up its dominion without a +struggle. In October it began, and in November its empire was +established. During December, January, February, March, and April it +reigned unmolested, in steadfast bitterness; enclosing in its icy bands, +and retaining in torpid frigidity, the whole inanimate and vegetable +creation. But in May its powerful enemy, caloric, made a decided attack +upon the empire, and dealt hoary Winter a stunning blow. + +About the beginning of April a slight thaw occurred, the first that had +taken place since the commencement of winter; but this was speedily +succeeded by hard frost, which continued till the second week in May, +when thaw set in so steadily that in a few days the appearance of the +country entirely changed. + +On the 12th of May, Hayes River, which had been covered for nearly eight +months with a coat of ice upwards of six feet thick, gave way before the +floods occasioned by the melting snow; and all the inmates of the fort +rushed out to the banks upon hearing the news that the river was going. +On reaching the gate, the sublimity of the spectacle that met our gaze +can scarcely be imagined. The noble river, here nearly two miles broad, +was entirely covered with huge blocks and jagged lumps of ice, rolling +and dashing against each other in chaotic confusion, as the swelling +floods heaved them up and swept them with irresistible force towards +Hudson Bay. In one place, where the masses were too closely packed to +admit of violent collision, they ground against each other with a slow +but powerful motion that curled their hard edges up like paper, till the +smaller lumps, unable to bear the pressure, were ground to powder, and +with a loud crash the rest hurried on to renew the struggle elsewhere, +while the ice above, whirling swiftly round in the clear space thus +formed, as if delighted at its sudden release, hurried onwards. In +another place, where it was not so closely packed, a huge lump suddenly +grounded on a shallow; and in a moment the rolling masses, which were +hurrying towards the sea with the velocity of a cataract, were +precipitated against it with a noise like thunder, and the tremendous +pressure from above forcing block upon block with a loud hissing noise, +raised, as if by magic, an icy castle in the air, which, ere its +pinnacles had pointed for a second to the sky, fell with stunning +violence into the boiling flood from whence it rose. In a short time +afterwards the mouth of the river became so full of ice that it stuck +there, and in less than an hour the water rose ten or fifteen feet, +nearly to a level with the top of the bank. In this state it continued +for a week; and then, about the end of May, the whole floated quietly +out to sea, and the cheerful river gurgled along its bed with many a +curling eddy and watery dimple rippling its placid face, as if it smiled +to think of having overcome its powerful enemy, and at length burst its +prison walls. + +Although the river was free, many a sign of winter yet remained around +our forest home. The islands in the middle of the stream were covered +with masses of ice, many of which were piled up to a height of twenty or +thirty feet. All along the banks, too, it was strewn thickly; while in +the woods snow still lay in many places several feet deep. In time, +however, these last evidences of the mighty power of winter gave way +before the warm embraces of spring. Bushes and trees began to bud, +gushing rills to flow, frogs to whistle in the swamp, and ducks to sport +upon the river, while the hoarse cry of the wild-goose, the whistling +wings of teal, and all the other sounds and cries of the long-absent +inhabitants of the marshes, gave life and animation to the scene. + +Often has nature been described as falling asleep in the arms of winter, +and awaking at the touch of spring; but nowhere is this simile so +strikingly illustrated as in these hyperborean climes, where, for eight +long, silent months, nature falls into a slumber so deep and unbroken +that death seems a fitter simile than sleep, and then bursts into a life +so bright, so joyous, so teeming with animal and vegetable vitality, +and, especially when contrasted with her previous torpidity, so noisy, +that awakening from sleep gives no adequate idea of the change. + +Now was the time that our guns were cleaned with peculiar care, and +regarded with a sort of brotherly affection. Not that we despised the +sports of winter, but we infinitely preferred those of spring. + +Young Crusty and I were inseparable companions; we had slept in the same +room, hunted over the same ground, and scribbled at the same desk during +the whole winter, and now we purchased a small hunting canoe from an +Indian, for the purpose of roaming about together in spring. Our +excursions were always amusing; and, as a description of one of them may +perhaps prove interesting to the reader, I shall narrate:-- + +A CANOE EXCURSION ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BAY. + +It is needless to say that the day we chose was fine; that the sun shone +brightly; that the curling eddies of the river smiled sweetly; that the +jagged pinnacles of the blocks of ice along shore which had not yet +melted sparkled brilliantly; that the fresh green foliage of the trees +contrasted oddly with these white masses; that Crusty and I shouldered +our canoe between us, after having placed our guns, etcetera, in it, and +walked lightly down to the river bank under our burden. It is needless, +I say, to describe all this minutely, as it would be unnecessary waste +of pen, ink, and paper. It is sufficient to say that we were soon out +in the middle of the stream, floating gently down the current towards +the Point of Marsh, which was to be the scene of our exploits. + +The day was indeed beautiful, and so very calm and still that the glassy +water reflected every little cloud in the sky; and on the seaward +horizon everything was quivering and magically turned upside down-- +islands, trees, icebergs, and all! A solitary gull, which stood not far +off upon a stone, looked so preposterously huge from the same +atmospherical cause, that I would have laughed immoderately, had I had +energy to do so; but I was too much wrapped in placid enjoyment of the +scene to give way to boisterous mirth. The air was so calm that the +plaintive cries of thousands of wildfowl which covered the Point of +Marsh struck faintly on our ears. "Ah!" thought I--But I need not say +what I thought. I grasped my powder-flask and shook it; it was full-- +crammed full! I felt my shot-belt; it was fat, very fat, bursting with +shot! Our two guns lay side by side, vying in brightness; their flints +quite new and sharp, and standing up in a lively wide-awake sort of way, +as much as to say, "If you do not let me go, I'll go bang off by +myself!" Happiness is sometimes too strong to be enjoyed quietly; and +Crusty and I, feeling that we could keep it down no longer, burst +simultaneously into a yell that rent the air, and, seizing the paddles, +made our light canoe spring over the water, while we vented our feelings +in a lively song, which reaching the astonished ears of the +afore-mentioned preposterously large gull, caused its precipitate +departure. + +In half an hour we reached the point; dragged the canoe above high-water +mark; shouldered our guns, and, with long strides, proceeded over the +swamp in search of game. + +We had little doubt of having good sport, for the whole point away to +the horizon was teeming with ducks and plover. We had scarcely gone a +hundred yards ere a large widgeon rose from behind a bush, and Crusty, +who was in advance, brought it down. As we plodded on, the faint cry of +a wild-goose caused us to squat down suddenly behind a neighbouring +bush, from which retreat we gazed round to see where our friends were. +Another cry from behind attracted our attention; and far away on the +horizon we saw a large flock of geese flying in a mathematically correct +triangle. Now, although far out of shot, and almost out of sight, we +did not despair of getting one of these birds; for, by imitating their +cry, there was a possibility of attracting them towards us. Geese often +answer to a call in this way, if well imitated; particularly in spring, +as they imagine that their friends have found a good feeding-place, and +wish them to alight. Knowing this, Crusty and I continued in our +squatting position--utterly unmindful, in the excitement of the moment, +of the fact that the water of the swamp lay in the same proximity to our +persons as a chair does when we sit down on it--and commenced to yell +and scream vociferously in imitation of geese; for which, doubtless, +many people unacquainted with our purpose would have taken us. At first +our call seemed to make no impression on them; but gradually they bent +into a curve, and, sweeping round in a long circle, came nearer to us, +while we continued to shout at the top of our voices. How they ever +mistook our bad imitation of the cry for the voices of real geese, I +cannot tell--probably they thought we had colds or sore throats; at any +rate they came nearer and nearer, screaming to us in return, till at +last they ceased to flap their wings, and sailed slowly over the bush +behind which we were ensconced, with their long necks stretched straight +out, and their heads a little to one side, looking down for their +friends. Upon discovering their mistake, and beholding two human beings +instead of geese within a few yards of them, the sensation created among +them was tremendous, and the racket they kicked up in trying to fly from +us was terrific; but it was too late. The moment we saw that they had +discovered us, our guns poured forth their contents, and two out of the +flock fell with a lumbering smash upon the ground, while a third went +off wounded, and, after wavering in its flight for a little, sank slowly +to the ground. + +Having bagged our game, we proceeded, and ere long filled our bags with +ducks, geese, and plover. Towards the afternoon we arrived at a tent +belonging to an old Indian called Morris. With this dingy gentleman we +agreed to dine, and accordingly bent our steps towards his habitation. +Here we found the old Indian and his wife squatting down on the floor +and wreathed in smoke, partly from the wood-fire which burned in the +middle of the tent, and partly from the tobacco-pipes stuck in their +respective mouths. Old Morris was engaged in preparing a kettle of +pea-soup, in which were boiled several plover and a large white owl; +which latter, when lifted out of the pot, looked so very like a skinned +baby that we could scarcely believe they were not guilty of cannibalism. +His wife was engaged in ornamenting a pair of moccasins with dyed +quills. On our entrance, the old man removed his pipe, and cast an +inquiring glance into the soup-kettle; this apparently gave him immense +satisfaction, as he turned to us with a smiling countenance, and +remarked (for he could speak capital English, having spent the most of +his life near York Factory) that "duck plenty, but he too hold to shoot +much; obliged to heat howl." This we agreed was uncommonly hard, and +after presenting him with several ducks and a goose, proposed an +inspection of the contents of the kettle, which being agreed to, we +demolished nearly half of the soup, and left him and his wife to "heat" +the "howl." + +After resting an hour with this hospitable fellow, we departed, to +prepare our encampment ere it became dark, as we intended passing the +night in the swamps, under our canoe. Near the tent we passed a +fox-trap set on the top of a pole, and, on inquiring, found that this +was the machine in which old Morris caught his "_h_owls." The white owl +is a very large and beautiful bird, sometimes nearly as large as a swan. +I shot one which measured five feet three inches across the wings, when +expanded. They are in the habit of alighting upon the tops of blighted +trees, and poles of any kind, which happen to stand conspicuously apart +from the forest trees--for the purpose, probably, of watching for mice +and little birds, on which they prey. Taking advantage of this habit, +the Indian plants his trap on the top of a bare tree, so that when the +owl alights it is generally caught by the legs. + +Our walk back to the place where we had left the canoe was very +exhausting, as we had nearly tired ourselves out before thinking of +returning. This is very often the case with eager sportsmen, as they +follow the game till quite exhausted, and only then it strikes them that +they have got as long a walk back as they had in going out. I recollect +this happening once to myself. I had walked so far away into the forest +after wild-fowl, that I forgot time and distance in the ardour of the +pursuit, and only thought of returning when quite knocked up. The walk +back was truly wretched. I was obliged to rest every ten minutes, as, +besides being tired, I became faint from hunger. On the way I stumbled +on the nest of a plover, with one egg in it. This was a great +acquisition; so seating myself on a stone, I made my dinner of it raw. +Being very small, it did not do me much good, but it inspired me with +courage; and, making a last effort, I reached the encampment in a very +unenviable state of exhaustion. + +After an hour's walk, Crusty and I arrived at the place where we left +the canoe. + +Our first care was to select a dry spot whereon to sleep, which was not +an easy matter in such a swampy place. We found one at last, however, +under the shelter of a small willow bush. Thither we dragged the canoe, +and turned it bottom up, intending to creep in below it when we retired +to rest. After a long search on the sea-shore, we found a sufficiency +of driftwood to make a fire, which we carried up to the encampment, and +placed in a heap in front of the canoe. This was soon kindled by means +of a flint and steel, and the forked flames began in a few minutes to +rise and leap around the branches, throwing the swampy point into deeper +shadow, making the sea look cold and black, and the ice upon its surface +ghost-like. The interior of our inverted canoe looked really quite +cheerful and snug, under the influence of the fire's rosy light. And +when we had spread our blankets under it, plucked and cleaned two of the +fattest ducks, and stuck them on sticks before the blaze to roast, we +agreed that there were worse things in nature than an encampment in the +swamps. + +Ere long the night became pitchy dark; but although we could see +nothing, yet ever and anon the whistling wings of ducks became audible, +as they passed in flocks overhead. So often did they pass in this way, +that at last I was tempted to try to get a shot at them, notwithstanding +the apparent hopelessness of such an attempt. Seizing my gun, and +leaving strict injunctions with Crusty to attend to the roasting of my +widgeon, I sallied forth, and, after getting beyond the light of the +fire, endeavoured to peer through the gloom. Nothing was to be seen, +however. Flocks of ducks were passing quite near, for I heard their +wings whizzing as they flew, but they were quite invisible; so at last, +becoming tired of standing up to my knees in water, I pointed my gun at +random at the next flock that passed, and fired. After the shot, I +listened intently for a few seconds, and the next moment a splash in the +water apprised me that the shot had taken effect. After a long search I +found the bird, and returned to my friend Crusty, whom I threw into a +state of consternation by pitching the dead duck into his lap as he sat +winking and rubbing his hands before the warm blaze. + +Supper in these out-of-the-way regions is never long in the eating, and +on the present occasion we finished it very quickly, being both hungry +and fatigued. That over, we heaped fresh logs upon the fire, wrapped +our green blankets round us, and nestling close together, as much +underneath our canoe as possible, courted the drowsy god. In this +courtship I was unsuccessful for some time, and lay gazing on the +flickering flames of the watch-fire, which illuminated the grass of the +marsh a little distance round, and listening, in a sort of dreamy +felicity, to the occasional cry of a wakeful plover, or starting +suddenly at the flapping wings of a huge owl, which, attracted by the +light of our fire, wheeled slowly round, gazing on us in a kind of +solemn astonishment, till, scared by the sounds that proceeded from +Crusty's nasal organ, it flew with a scream into the dark night air; and +again all was silent save the protracted, solemn, sweeping boom of the +distant waves, as they rolled at long intervals upon the sea-shore. +During the night we were awakened by a shower of rain falling upon our +feet and as much of our legs as the canoe was incapable of protecting. +Pulling them up more under shelter, at the expense of exposing our knees +and elbows--for the canoe could not completely cover us--we each gave a +mournful grunt, and dropped off again. + +Morning broke with unclouded splendour, and we rose from our grassy +couch with alacrity to resume our sport; but I will not again drag my +patient reader through the Point of Marsh. + +In the afternoon, having spent our ammunition, we launched our light +canoe, and after an hour's paddle up the river, arrived, laden with game +and splashed with mud, at York Factory. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Quicksilver easily freezes; and it has frequently been run into +a bullet mould, exposed to the cold air till frozen, and in this state +rammed down a gun barrel, and fired through a thick plank. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. The thousands of frogs that fill the swamps of America whistle +or chirp so exactly like little birds, that many people, upon hearing +them for the first time, have mistaken them for the feathered songsters +of the groves. Their only fault is that they scarcely ever cease +singing. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. The traveller sits, or rather lies in it, wrapped in buffalo +robes; while the dogs are urged forward by a man who walks behind, and +prevents the machine from upsetting, which it is very liable to do, from +the inequalities of the ground over which it sometimes passes. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +VOYAGE FROM YORK FACTORY TO NORWAY HOUSE IN A SMALL INDIAN CANOE-- +DEPARTURE--LIFE IN THE WOODS--DIFFICULTIES OF CANOE NAVIGATION--OUTWIT +THE MOSQUITOES--"LEVE! LEVE! LEVE!"--MUSIC IN THE POT AND ON THE +ORGAN. + +On the afternoon of the 20th of June 1845, I sat in my room at York +Fort, musing on the probability of my being dispatched to some other +part of the Company's wide dominions. + +The season approached when changes from one part of the country to +another might be expected, and boats began to arrive from the interior. +Two years of fun and frolic had I spent on the coast, and I was +beginning to wish to be sent once more upon my travels, particularly as +the busy season was about to commence, and the hot weather to set in. + +As I sat cogitating, my brother scribblers called me to join them in a +short promenade upon the wharf, preparatory to resuming our pens. Just +as we reached it, a small Indian canoe from the interior swept round the +point above the factory, and came rapidly forward, the sparkling water +foaming past her sharp bow as she made towards the landing. + +At almost any time an arrival causes a great deal of interest in this +out-of-the-way place; but an arrival of this sort--for the canoe was +evidently an _express_--threw us into a fever of excitement, which was +greatly increased when we found that it contained dispatches from +headquarters; and many speculative remarks passed among us as we hurried +up to our hall, there to wait in anxious expectation for a letter or an +order to appear _instanter_ before Mr Grave. Our patience was severely +tried, however, and we began to think there was no news at all, when +Gibeault, the butler, turned the corner, and came towards our door. We +immediately rushed towards it in breathless expectation, and a row of +eager faces appeared as he walked slowly up and said, "Mr Grave wishes +to see Mr Ballantyne immediately." On hearing this I assumed an +appearance of calm indifference I was far from feeling, put on my cap, +and obeyed the order. + +Upon entering Mr Grave's presence, he received me with a benign, +patronising air, and requested me to be seated. He then went on to +inform me that letters had just arrived, requesting that I might be sent +off immediately to Norway House, where I should be enlightened as to my +ultimate destination. This piece of news I received with mingled +surprise and delight, at the same time exclaiming "Indeed!" with +peculiar emphasis; and then, becoming suddenly aware of the impropriety +of the expression, I endeavoured to follow it up with a look of sorrow +at the prospect of leaving my friends, combined with resignation to the +will of the Honourable Hudson Bay Company, in which attempt I failed +most signally. After receiving orders to prepare for an immediate +start, I rushed out in a state of high excitement, to acquaint my +comrades with my good fortune. On entering the hall, I found them as +anxious to know where I was destined to vegetate next winter, as they +before had been to learn who was going off. Having satisfied them on +this point, or rather told them as much as I knew myself regarding it, I +proceeded to pack up. + +It happened just at this time that a brigade of inland boats was on the +eve of starting for the distant regions of the interior; and as the +little canoe, destined to carry myself, was much too small to take such +an unwieldy article as my "cassette," I gladly availed myself of the +opportunity to forward it by the boats, as they would have to pass +Norway House _en route_. It would be endless to detail how I spent the +next three days: how I never appeared in public without walking very +fast, as if pressed with a superhuman amount of business; how I rummaged +about here and there, seeing that everything was prepared; looking +vastly important, and thinking I was immensely busy, when in reality I +was doing next to nothing. I shall, therefore, without further preface, +proceed to describe my travelling equipments. + +The canoe in which I and two Indians were to travel from York Factory to +Norway House, a distance of nearly three hundred miles, measured between +five and six yards long, by two feet and a half broad in the middle, +tapering from thence to _nothing_ at each end. It was made of birch +bark, and could with great ease be carried by one man. In this we were +to embark, with ten days' provisions for three men, three blankets, +three small bundles, and a little travelling-case belonging to myself; +besides three paddles wherewith to propel us forward, a tin kettle for +cooking, and an iron one for boiling water. Our craft being too small +to permit my taking the usual allowance of what are called luxuries, I +determined to take pot-luck with my men, so that our existence for the +next eight or ten days was to depend upon the nutritive properties +contained in a few pounds of pemmican, a little biscuit, one pound of +butter, and a very small quantity of tea and sugar. With all this, in +addition to ourselves, we calculated upon being pretty deeply laden. + +My men were of the tribe called Swampy Crees--and truly, to judge merely +from appearance, they would have been the very last I should have picked +out to travel with; for one was old, apparently upwards of fifty, and +the other, though young, was a cripple. Nevertheless, they were good, +hard-working men, as I afterwards experienced. I did not take a tent +with me, our craft requiring to be as light as possible, but I rolled up +a mosquito-net in my blanket, that being a light affair of gauze, +capable of compression into very small compass. Such were our +equipments; and on the 23rd of June we started for the interior. + +A melancholy feeling came over me as I turned and looked for the last +time upon York Factory, where I had spent so many happy days with the +young men who now stood waving their handkerchiefs from the wharf. Mr +Grave, too, stood among them, and as I looked on his benevolent, manly +countenance, I felt that I should ever remember with gratitude his +kindness to me while we resided together on the shores of Hudson Bay. A +few minutes more, and the fort was hid from my sight for ever. + +My disposition is not a sorrowful one; I never did and never could +remain long in a melancholy mood, which will account for the state of +feeling I enjoyed half an hour after losing sight of my late home. The +day was fine, and I began to anticipate a pleasant journey, and to +speculate as to what part of the country I might be sent to. The whole +wide continent of North America was now open to the excursive flights of +my imagination, as there was a possibility of my being sent to any one +of the numerous stations in the extensive territories of the Hudson Bay +Company. Sometimes I fancied myself ranging through the wild district +of Mackenzie River, admiring the scenery described by Franklin and Back +in their travels of discovery; and anon, as the tales of my companions +occurred to me, I was bounding over the prairies of the Saskatchewan in +chase of the buffalo, or descending the rapid waters of the Columbia to +the Pacific Ocean. Again my fancy wandered, and I imagined myself +hunting the grizzly bear in the woods of Athabasca--when a heavy lurch +of the canoe awakened me to the fact that I was only ascending the +sluggish waters of Hayes River. + +The banks of the river were covered with huge blocks of ice, and +scarcely a leaf had as yet made its appearance. Not a bird was to be +seen, except a few crows and whisky-jacks, which chattered among the +branches of the trees; and Nature appeared as if undecided whether or +not she should take another nap, ere she bedecked herself in the +garments of spring. My Indians paddled slowly against the stream, and I +lay back, with a leg cocked over each gunwale, watching the sombre pines +as they dropped slowly astern. On our way we passed two landslips which +encroached a good deal on the river, each forming a small rapid round +its base. The trees with which they had formerly been clothed were now +scattered about in chaotic confusion, leafless, and covered with mud; +some more than half buried, and others standing with their roots in the +air. There is a tradition among the natives that a whole camp of +Indians was overwhelmed in the falling of these slips. + +A good deal of danger is incurred in passing up these rivers, owing to +the number of small landslips which occur annually. The banks, being +principally composed of sandy clay, are loosened, and rendered almost +fluid in many places, upon the melting of the snow in spring; and the +ice, during the general disruption, tears away large masses of the lower +part of the banks, which renders the superincumbent clay liable to slip, +upon the first heavy shower of rain, with considerable force into the +stream. + +About sixteen miles from York Factory we ran against a stone, and tore a +small hole in the bottom of our canoe. This obliged us to put ashore +immediately, when I had an opportunity of watching the swiftness and +dexterity of the Indians in repairing the damage. A small hole, about +three inches long and one inch wide, had been torn in the bottom of the +canoe, through which the water squirted with considerable rapidity. +Into this hole they fitted a piece of bark, sewed it with wattape (the +fibrous roots of the pine-tree), made a small fire, melted gum, and +plastered the place so as to be effectually water-tight, all in about +the space of an hour. + +During the day we passed a brigade of boats bound for the factory; but +being too far off, and in a rapid part of the river we did not hail +them. About nine o'clock we put ashore for the night, having travelled +nearly twenty miles. The weather was pleasantly cool, so that we were +free from mosquitoes. The spot we chose for our encampment was on the +edge of a high bank, being the only place within three miles where we +could carry up our provisions; and even here the ascent was bad enough. +But after we were up, the top proved a good spot, covered with soft +moss, and well sheltered by trees and bushes. A brook of fresh water +rippled at the foot of the bank, and a few decayed trees afforded us +excellent firewood. Here, then, in the bosom of the wilderness, with +the silvery light of the moon for our lamp, and serenaded by a solitary +owl, we made our first bivouac. Supper was neatly laid out on an +oil-cloth, spread before a blazing fire. A huge junk of pemmican graced +the centre of our rustic table, flanked by a small pile of ship's +biscuit on one side, and a lump of salt butter on the other; while a +large iron kettle filled with hot water, slightly flavoured with +tea-leaves, brought up the rear. Two tin pots and a tumbler performed +outpost duty, and were soon smoking full of warm tea. We made an +excellent supper, after which the Indians proceeded to solace themselves +with a whiff, while I lay on my blanket enjoying the warmth of the fire, +and admiring the apparently extreme felicity of the men, as they sat, +with half-closed eyes, watching the smoke curling in snowy wreaths from +their pipes, and varying their employment now and then with a pull at +the tin pots, which seemed to afford them extreme satisfaction. In this +manner we lay till the moon waned; and the owl having finished his +overture, we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and watched the twinkling +star, till sleep closed our eyelids. + +Next morning, between two and three o'clock, we began to stretch our +limbs, and after a few ill-humoured grunts prepared for a start. The +morning was foggy when we embarked and once more began to ascend the +stream. Everything was obscure and indistinct till about six o'clock, +when the powerful rays of the rising sun dispelled the mist, and Nature +was herself again. A good deal of ice still lined the shores; but what +astonished me most was the advanced state of vegetation apparent as we +proceeded inland. When we left York Factory, not a leaf had been +visible; but here, though only thirty miles inland, the trees, and more +particularly the bushes, were well covered with beautiful light green +foliage, which appeared to me quite delightful after the patches of snow +and leafless willows on the shores of Hudson Bay. + +At eight o'clock we put ashore for breakfast--which was just a +repetition of the supper of the preceding night, with this exception, +that we discussed it a little more hurriedly--and then proceeded on our +way. + +Shortly afterwards we met a small canoe, about the size of our own, +which contained a postmaster and two Indians, on their way to York +Factory with a few packs of otters. After five minutes' conversation we +parted, and were soon out of sight of each other. The day, which had +hitherto been agreeable, now became oppressively sultry: not a breath of +wind ruffled the water; and as the sun shone down with intense heat from +a perfectly cloudless sky, it became almost insufferable. I tried all +methods to cool myself, by lying in every position I could think of, +sometimes even hanging both legs and arms over the sides of the canoe +and trailing them through the water. I had a racking headache, and, to +add to my misery, as the sun sank the mosquitoes rose and bit +ferociously. The Indians, however, did not appear to suffer much, being +accustomed, no doubt, to these little annoyances, much in the same way +as eels are to being skinned. + +In the afternoon we arrived at the forks of Hayes and Steel Rivers, and +ascended the latter, till the increasing darkness and our quickening +appetites reminded us that it was time to put ashore. We made a hearty +supper, having eaten nothing since breakfast; dinner, while travelling +in a light canoe, being considered quite superfluous. + +Our persevering foes, the mosquitoes, now thought it high time to make +their supper also, and attacked us in myriads whenever we dared to +venture near the woods; so we were fain to sleep as best we could on the +open beach, without any fire--being much too warm for that. But even +there they found us out, and most effectually prevented us from +sleeping. + +On the morning of the 25th, we arose very little refreshed by our short +nap, and continued our journey. The weather was still warm, but a +little more bearable, owing to a light, grateful breeze that came down +the river. After breakfast--which we took at the usual hour, and in the +usual way--while proceeding slowly up the current, we descried, on +rounding a point, a brigade of boats close to the bank, on the opposite +side of the river; so we embarked our man, who was tracking us up with a +line (the current being too rapid for the continued use of the paddle), +and crossed over to see who they were. On landing, we found it was the +Norway House brigade, in charge of George Kippling, a Red River settler. +He shook hands with us, and then commenced an animated discourse with +my two men in the Indian language, which being perfectly unintelligible +to me, I amused myself by watching the operations of the men, who were +in the act of cooking breakfast. + +Nothing can be more picturesque than a band of _voyageurs_ breakfasting +on the banks of a pretty river. The spot they had chosen was a little +above the Burntwood Creek, on a projecting grassy point, pretty clear of +underwood. Each boat's crew--of which there were three--had a fire to +itself, and over these fires were placed gipsy-like tripods, from which +huge tin kettles depended; and above them hovered three volunteer cooks, +who were employed stirring their contents with persevering industry. +The curling wreaths of smoke formed a black cloud among the numerous +fleecy ones in the blue sky, while all around, in every imaginable +attitude, sat, stood, and reclined the sunburnt, savage-looking +half-breeds, chatting, laughing, and smoking in perfect happiness. They +were all dressed alike, in light cloth capotes with hoods, corduroy +trousers, striped shirts open in front, with cotton kerchiefs tied +sailor-fashion loosely round their swarthy necks. A scarlet worsted +belt strapped each man's coat tightly to his body, and Indian moccasins +defended their feet. Their head-dresses were as various as fanciful-- +some wore caps of coarse cloth; others coloured handkerchiefs, twisted +turban-fashion round their heads; and one or two, who might be looked +upon as voyageur-fops, sported tall black hats, covered so plenteously +with bullion tassels and feathers as to be scarcely recognisable. + +The breakfast consisted solely of pemmican and flour, boiled into the +sort of thick soup dignified by the name of _robbiboo_. As might be +expected, it is not a very delicate dish, but is, nevertheless, +exceedingly nutritious; and those who have lived long in the country, +particularly the Canadians, are very fond of it. I think, however, that +another of their dishes, composed of the same materials, but fried +instead of boiled, is much superior to it. They call it _richeau_; it +is uncommonly rich, and very little will suffice for an ordinary man. + +After staying about a quarter of an hour, chatting with Kippling about +the good folk of Red River and Norway House, we took our departure, just +as they commenced the first vigorous attack upon the capacious kettles +of robbiboo. + +Shortly after, we arrived at the mouth of Hill River, which we began to +ascend. The face of the country was now greatly changed, and it was +evident that here spring had long ago dethroned winter. The banks of +the river were covered from top to bottom with the most luxuriant +foliage, while dark clumps of spruce-fir varied and improved the +landscape. In many places the banks, which appeared to be upwards of a +hundred feet high, ran almost perpendicularly down to the water's edge, +perfectly devoid of vegetation, except at the top, where large trees +overhung the precipice, some clinging by their roots and ready to fall. +In other places the bank sloped from nearly the same height, gradually, +and with slight undulations, down to the stream, thickly covered with +vegetation, and teeming with little birds, whose merry voices, warbling +a cheerful welcome to the opening buds, greatly enhanced the pleasures +of the scene. + +We soon began to experience great difficulty in tracking the canoe +against the rapid stream that now opposed us. From the steepness of the +banks in some places, and their being clothed with thick willows in +others, it became a slow and fatiguing process for the men to drag us +against the strong current; and sometimes the poor Indians had to cling +like flies against nearly perpendicular cliffs of slippery clay, whilst +at others they tore their way through almost impervious bushes. They +relieved each other by turns every hour at this work, the one steering +the canoe while the other tracked; and they took no rest during the +whole day, except when at breakfast. Indeed, any proposal to do so +would have been received by them with great contempt, as a very improper +and useless waste of time. + +When the track happened to be at all passable, I used to get out and +walk, to relieve them a little, as well as to stretch my cramped limbs, +it being almost impossible, when there is any luggage in a small Indian +canoe, to attain a comfortable position. + +At sunset we put ashore for the night, on a point covered with a great +number of _lopsticks_. These are tall pine-trees, denuded of their +lower branches, a small tuft being left at the top. They are generally +made to serve as landmarks; and sometimes the _voyageurs_ make them in +honour of gentlemen who happen to be travelling for the first time along +the route--and those trees are chosen which, from their being on +elevated ground, are conspicuous objects. The traveller for whom they +are made is always expected to acknowledge his sense of the honour +conferred upon him by presenting the boat's crew with a pint of grog, +either on the spot or at the first establishment they meet with. He is +then considered as having paid for his footing, and may ever afterwards +pass scot-free. + +We soon had our encampment prepared, and the fire blazing: but hundreds +of mosquitoes were, as usual, awaiting our arrival, and we found it +utterly impossible to sup, so fiercely did they attack us. We at last +went to leeward of the fire, and devoured it hastily in the smoke-- +preferring to risk being suffocated or smoke-dried to being eaten up +alive! It was certainly amusing to see us rushing into the thick smoke, +bolt a few mouthfuls of pemmican, and then rush out again for fresh air; +our hands swinging like the sails of a windmill round our heads, while +every now and then, as a mosquito fastened on a tender part, we gave +ourselves a resounding slap on the side of the head, which, had it come +from the hand of another, would certainly have raised in us a most +pugnacious spirit of resentment. In this manner we continued rushing +out of and into the smoke till supper was finished, and then prepared +for sleep. This time, however, I was determined not to be tormented; so +I cut four stakes, drove them into the ground, and threw over them my +gauze mosquito-net, previously making a small fire, with wet grass on +it, to raise a smoke and prevent intruders from entering while I was in +the act of putting it on; then, cautiously raising one end, I bolted in +after the most approved harlequinian style, leaving my discomfited +tormentors wondering at the audacity of a man who could snore in a state +of unconcerned felicity in the very midst of the enemy's camp. + +On the following morning we started at an early hour. The day was +delightfully cool, and mosquitoes were scarce, so that we felt +considerably comfortable as we glided quietly up the current. In this +way we proceeded till after breakfast, when we came in sight of the +first portage, on which we landed. In a surprisingly short time our +luggage, etcetera, was pitched ashore, and the canoe carried over by the +Indians, while I followed with some of the baggage; and in half an hour +we were ready to start from the upper end of the portage. While +carrying across the last few articles, one of the Indians killed two +fish called suckers, which they boiled on the spot and devoured +immediately. + +Towards sunset we paddled quietly up to the "White Mud Portage," where +there is a fall, of about seven or eight feet, of extreme rapidity, +shooting over the edge in an arch of solid water, which falls hissing +and curling into the stream below. Here we intended to encamp. As we +approached the cataract, a boat suddenly appeared on the top of it, and +shot with the speed of lightning into the boiling water beneath, its +reckless crew shouting, pulling, laughing, and hallooing, as it swept +round a small point at the foot of the fall and ran aground in a bay or +hollow, where the eddying water, still covered with patches of foam +after its mighty leap, floated quietly round the shore. They had +scarcely landed when another boat appeared on the brink, and, hovering +for an instant, as if to prepare itself for the leap, flashed through +the water, and the next moment was aground beside the first. In this +manner seven boats successively ran the fall, and grounded in the bay. + +Upon our arriving, we found them to be a part of the Saskatchewan +brigade, on its way to the common point of rendezvous, York Factory. It +was in charge of two friends of mine; so I accosted them, without +introducing myself, and chatted for some time about the occurrences of +the voyage. They appeared a little disconcerted, however, and looked +very earnestly at me two or three times. At last they confessed they +had forgotten me altogether! And, indeed, it was no wonder, for the sun +had burned me nearly as black as my Indian friends, while my dress +consisted of a blue capote, sadly singed by the fire; a straw hat, whose +shape, from exposure and bad usage, was utterly indescribable; a pair of +corduroys, and Indian moccasins; which so metamorphosed me, that my +friends, who perfectly recollected me the moment I mentioned my name, +might have remained in ignorance to this day had I not enlightened them +on the subject. + +After supper one of these gentlemen offered me a share of his tent, and +we turned in together, but not to sleep; for we continued gossiping till +long after the noisy voices of the men had ceased to disturb the +tranquillity of night. + +At the first peep of day our ears were saluted with the usual unpleasant +sound of "_Leve! leve! leve_!" issuing from the leathern throat of the +guide. Now this same "_Leve_!" is in my ears a peculiarly harsh and +disagreeable word, being associated with frosty mornings, uncomfortable +beds, and getting up in the dark before half enough of sleep has been +obtained. The way in which it is uttered, too, is particularly +exasperating; and often, when partially awakened by a stump boring a +hole in my side, have I listened with dread to hear the detested sound, +and then, fancying it must surely be too early to rise, have fallen +gently over on the other side, when a low muffled sound, as if some one +were throwing off his blanket, would strike upon my ear, then a cough or +grunt, and finally, as if from the bowels of the earth, a low and +scarcely audible "_Leve! leve_!" would break the universal stillness-- +growing rapidly louder, "_Leve! leve! leve_!" and louder, "_Leve! +leve_!" till at last a final stentorian "_Leve! leve! leve_!" brought +the hateful sound to a close, and was succeeded by a confused collection +of grunts, groans, coughs, grumbles, and sneezes from the unfortunate +sleepers thus rudely roused from their slumbers. The disinclination to +rise, however, was soon overcome; and up we got, merry as larks, the men +loading their boats, while I and my Indians carried our luggage, +etcetera, over the portage. + +Our troubles now commenced: the longest and most difficult part of the +route lay before us, and we prepared for a day of toil. Far as the eye +could reach, the river was white with boiling rapids and foaming +cascades, which, though small, were much too large to ascend, and +consequently we were obliged to make portages at almost every two or +three hundred yards. Rapid after rapid was surmounted; yet still, as we +rounded every point and curve, rapids and falls rose, in apparently +endless succession, before our wearied eyes. My Indians, however, knew +exactly the number they had to ascend, so they set themselves manfully +to the task. I could not help admiring the dexterous way in which they +guided the canoe among the rapids. Upon arriving at one, the old +Indian, who always sat in the bow (this being the principal seat in +canoe travelling), rose up on his knees and stretched out his neck to +take a look before commencing the attempt; and then, sinking down again, +seized his paddle, and pointing significantly to the chaos of boiling +waters that rushed swiftly past us (thus indicating the route he +intended to pursue to his partner in the stern), dashed into the stream. +At first we were borne down with the speed of lightning, while the +water hissed and boiled to within an inch of the gunwale, and a person +unaccustomed to such navigation would have thought it folly our +attempting to ascend; but a second glance would prove that our Indians +had not acted rashly. In the centre of the impetuous current a large +rock rose above the surface, and from its lower end a long eddy ran like +the tail of a comet for about twenty yards down the river. It was just +opposite this rock that we entered the rapid, and paddled for it with +all our might. The current, however, as I said before, swept us down; +and when we got to the middle of the stream, we just reached the extreme +point of the eddy, and after a few vigorous strokes of the paddles were +floating quietly in the lee of the rock. We did not stay long, +however--just long enough to look for another stone; and the old Indian +soon pitched upon one a few yards higher up, but a good deal to one +side; so, dipping our paddles once more, we pushed out into the stream +again, and soon reached the second rock. In this way, yard by yard, did +we ascend for miles, sometimes scarcely gaining a foot in a minute, and +at others, as a favouring bay or curve presented a long piece of smooth +water, advancing more rapidly. In fact, our progress could not be +likened to anything more aptly than to the ascent of a salmon as he +darts rapidly from eddy to eddy, taking advantage of every stone and +hollow that he finds: and the simile may be still further carried out; +for, as the salmon is sometimes driven back _tail_ foremost in +attempting to leap a fall, so were we, in a similar attempt, driven back +by the overpowering force of the water. + +It happened thus: We had surmounted a good many rapids, and made a few +portages, when we arrived at a perpendicular fall of about two feet in +height, but from the rapidity of the current it formed only a very steep +shoot. Here the Indians paused to breathe, and seemed to doubt the +possibility of ascent; however, after a little conversation on the +subject, they determined to try it, and got out their poles for the +purpose (poles being always used when the current is too strong for the +paddles). We now made a dash, and turning the bow to the current, the +Indians fixed their poles firmly in the ground, while the water rushed +like a mill-race past us. They then pushed forward, one keeping his +pole fixed, while the other refixed his a little more ahead. In this +way we advanced inch by inch, and had almost got up--the water rushing +past us in a thick, black body, hissing sharply in passing the side of +our canoe, which trembled like a reed before the powerful current--when +suddenly the pole of the Indian in the stern slipped; and almost before +I knew what had happened, we were floating down the stream about a +hundred yards below the fall. Fortunately the canoe went stern +foremost, so that we got down in safety. Had it turned round even a +little in its descent, it would have been rolled over and over like a +cask. Our second attempt proved more successful; and after a good deal +of straining and puffing we arrived at the top, where the sight of a +longer stretch than usual of calm and placid water rewarded us for our +exertions during the day. + +In passing over a portage we met the English River brigade; and after a +little conversation, we parted. The evening was deliciously cool and +serene as we glided quietly up the now tranquil river. Numbers of +little islets, covered to the very edge of the rippling water with +luxuriant vegetation, rose like emeralds from the bosom of the broad +river, shining brightly in the rays of the setting sun; sometimes so +closely scattered as to veil the real size of the river, which, upon our +again emerging from among them, burst upon our delighted vision a broad +sheet of clear pellucid water, with beautiful fresh banks covered with +foliage of every shade, from the dark and sombre pine to the light +drooping willow; while near the shore a matronly-looking duck swam +solemnly along, casting now and then a look of warning to a numerous +family of little yellow ducklings that frisked and gambolled in very +wantonness, as if they too enjoyed and appreciated the beauties of the +scene. Through this terrestrial paradise we wended our way, till rapids +again began to disturb the water, and a portage at last brought us to a +stand. Here we found McNab, who had left York Factory three days before +us with his brigade, just going to encamp; so we also brought up for the +night. When supper was ready, I sent an invitation to McNab to come and +sup with me, which he accepted, at the same time bringing his brother +with him. The elder was a bluff, good-natured Red River settler, with +whom I had become acquainted while in the colony; and we chatted of +bygone times and mutual acquaintances over a cup of excellent tea, till +long after the sun had gone down, leaving the blazing camp-fires to +illuminate the scene. + +Next morning we started at the same time with the boats; but our little +canoe soon passed them in the rapids, and we saw no more of them. Our +way was not now so much impeded by rapids as it had hitherto been; and +by breakfast-time we had surmounted them all and arrived at the +Dram-stone, where we put ashore for our morning meal. In the morning I +shot a duck, being the first that had come within range since I left +York Factory. Ducks were very scarce, and the few that we did see were +generally accompanied by a numerous offspring not much bigger than the +eggs which originally contained them. While taking breakfast we were +surprised by hearing a quick rushing sound a little above us, and the +next moment a light canoe came sweeping round a point and made towards +us. It was one of those called "north canoes," which are calculated to +carry eight men as a crew, besides three passengers. The one now before +us was built much the same as an Indian canoe, but somewhat neater, and +ornamented with sundry ingenious devices painted in gaudy colours on the +bows and stern. It was manned by eight men and apparently one +passenger, to whom I hallooed once or twice; but they took me, no doubt, +for an Indian, and so passed on without taking any notice of us. As the +noble bark bounded quickly forward and was hid by intervening trees, I +bent a look savouring slightly of contempt upon our little Indian canoe, +and proceeded to finish breakfast. + +A solitary north canoe, however, passing thus in silence, can give but a +faint idea of the sensation felt on seeing a brigade of them arriving at +a post after a long journey. It is then that they appear in wild +perfection. The _voyageurs_ upon such occasions are dressed in their +best clothes; and gaudy feathers, ribbons, and tassels stream in +abundance from their caps and garters. Painted gaily, and ranged side +by side, like contending chargers, the light canoes skim swiftly over +the water, bounding under the vigorous and rapid strokes of the small +but numerous paddles, while the powerful _voyageurs_ strain every muscle +to urge them quickly on. And while yet in the distance, the beautifully +simple and lively yet plaintive paddling song, so well suited to the +surrounding scenery, and so different from any other air, breaks sweetly +on the ear; and one reflects, with a kind of subdued and pleasing +melancholy, how far the singers are from their native land, and how many +long and weary days of danger and of toil will pass before they can rest +once more in their Canadian homes. How strangely, too, upon their +nearer approach, is this feeling changed for one of exultation, as the +deep and manly voices swell in chorus over the placid waters, while a +competition arises among them who shall first arrive; and the canoes +dash over the water with arrow-speed to the very edge of the wharf, +where they come suddenly, and as by magic, to a pause. This is effected +by each man backing water with his utmost force; after which they roll +their paddles on the gunwale simultaneously, enveloping themselves in a +shower of spray as they shake the dripping water from the bright +vermilion blades. Truly it is an animating, inspiriting scene, the +arrival of a brigade of light canoes. + +Our route now lay through a number of small lakes and rivers, with +scarcely any current in them; so we proceeded happily on our way with +the cheering prospect of uninterrupted travelling. We had crossed +Swampy Lake, and, after making one or two insignificant portages, +entered Knee Lake. This body of water obtained its name from turning at +a sharp angle near its centre, and stretching out in an opposite +direction from its preceding course; thus forming something like a knee. +Late in the evening we encamped on one of the small islands with which +it is here and there dotted. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the +view we had of the lake from our encampment. Not a breath of wind +stirred its glassy surface, which shone in the ruddy rays of the sun +setting on its bosom in the distant horizon; and I sat long upon the +rocks admiring the lovely scene, while one of my Indians filled the +tea-kettle, and the other was busily engaged in skinning a minx for +supper. Our evening meal was further enriched by the addition of a +great many small gulls' eggs, which we had found on an island during the +day--which, saving one or two that showed evident symptoms of being far +advanced towards birdhood, were excellent. + +On the following morning the scene was entirely changed. Dark and +lowering clouds flew across the sky, and the wind blew furiously, with a +melancholy moaning sound, through the trees. The lake, which the night +before had been so calm and tranquil, was now of a dark leaden hue, and +covered with foaming waves. However, we determined to proceed, and +launched our canoe accordingly; but soon finding the wind too strong for +us, we put ashore on a small island and breakfasted. As the weather +moderated after breakfast, we made another attempt to advance. Numerous +islets studded the lake, and on one of them we landed to collect gulls' +eggs. Of these we found enough; but among them were a number of little +yellow gulls, chattering vociferously, and in terrible consternation at +our approach, while the old ones kept uttering the most plaintive cries +overhead. The eggs were very small, being those of a small species of +gull which frequents those inland lakes in great numbers. The wind +again began to rise; and after a little consultation on the subject we +landed, intending to spend the remainder of the day on shore. + +We now, for the first time since leaving York Factory, prepared dinner, +which we expected would be quite a sumptuous one, having collected a +good many eggs in the morning; so we set about it with alacrity. A fire +was quickly made, the tea-kettle on, and a huge pot containing upwards +of a hundred eggs placed upon the fire. These we intended to boil hard +and carry with us. Being very hungry, I watched the progress of dinner +with much interest, while the Indians smoked in silence. While sitting +thus, my attention was attracted by a loud whistling sound that greatly +perplexed me, as I could not discover whence it proceeded--I got up once +or twice to see what it could be, but found nothing, although it sounded +as if close beside me. At last one of the Indians rose, and, standing +close to the fire, bent in a very attentive attitude over the kettle; +and, after listening a little while, took up one of the eggs and broke +it, when out came a young gull with a monstrous head and no feathers, +squeaking and chirping in a most indefatigable manner! "So much for our +dinner!" thought I, as he threw the bird into the lake, and took out a +handful of eggs, which all proved to be much in the same condition. The +warmth of the water put life into the little birds, which, however, was +speedily destroyed when it began to boil. We did not despair, +nevertheless, of finding a few good ones amongst them; so, after they +were well cooked, we all sat round the kettle and commenced operations. +Some were good and others slightly spoiled, while many were intersected +with red veins, but the greater part contained boiled birds. The +Indians were not nice, however, and we managed to make a good dinner off +them after all. + +In the afternoon the weather cleared up and the wind moderated, but we +had scarcely got under weigh again when a thunderstorm arose and obliged +us to put ashore; and there we remained for four hours sitting under a +tree, while the rain poured in torrents. In the evening Nature tired of +teasing us; and the sun shone brightly out as we once more resumed our +paddles. To make up for lost time, we travelled until about two o'clock +next morning, when we put ashore to rest a little; and, as the night was +fine, we just threw our blankets over our shoulders and tumbled down on +the first convenient spot we could find, without making a fire or taking +any supper. We had not lain long, however, when I felt a curious chilly +sensation all along my side, which effectually awakened me; and then I +saw, or rather heard, that a perfect deluge of rain was descending upon +our luckless heads, and that I had been reposing in the centre of a +large puddle. This state of things was desperate; and as the poor +Indians seemed to be as thoroughly uncomfortable as they possibly could +be, I proposed to start again--which we did, and before daylight were +many a mile from our wretched encampment. As the sun rose the weather +cleared up, and soon after we came to the end of Knee Lake and commenced +the ascent of Trout River. Here I made a sketch of the Trout Falls +while the men made a portage to avoid them. With a few Indians encamped +on this portage we exchanged a little pemmican for some excellent +white-fish, a great treat to us after living so long on pemmican and +tea. Our biscuit had run short a few days before, and the pound of +butter which we brought from York Factory had melted into oil from the +excessive heat, and vanished through the bottom of the canvas bag +containing it. Trout River, though short, has a pretty fair share of +falls and rapids, which we continued ascending all day. The scenery was +pleasing and romantic; but there was nothing of grandeur in it, the +country being low, flat, and, excepting on the banks of the river, +uninteresting. In the afternoon we came to the end of this short river, +and arrived at Oxford House. We landed in silence, and I walked slowly +up the hill, but not a soul appeared. At last, as I neared the house, I +caught a glimpse of a little boy's face at the window, who no sooner saw +me than his eyes opened to their widest extent, while his mouth followed +their example, and he disappeared with a precipitancy that convinced me +he was off to tell his mother the astounding news that somebody had +arrived. The next moment I was shaking hands with my old friend Mrs +Gordon and her two daughters, whom I found engaged in the interesting +occupation of preparing tea. From them I learned that they were +entirely alone, with only one man to take care of the post--Mr Gordon, +whom they expected back every day, having gone to Norway House. + +I spent a delightful evening with this kind and hospitable family, +talking of our mutual friends, and discussing the affairs of the +country, till a tall box in a corner of the room attracted my attention. +This I discovered to my delight was no less than a barrel-organ, on +which one of the young ladies at my request played a few tunes. Now, +barrel-organs, be it known, were things that I had detested from my +infancy upwards; but this dislike arose principally from my having been +brought up in the dear town o' Auld Reekie, where barrel-organ music is, +as it were, crammed down one's throat without permission being asked or +received, and even, indeed, where it is decidedly objected to. +Everybody said, too, that barrel-organs were a nuisance, and of course I +believed them; so that I left my home with a decided dislike to +barrel-organs in general. Four years' residence, however, in the bush +had rendered me much less fastidious in music, as well as in many other +things; and during the two last years spent at York Factory, not a +solitary note of melody had soothed my longing ear, so that it was with +a species of rapture that I now ground away at the handle of this organ, +which happened to be a very good one, and played in perfect tune. "God +Save the Queen," "Rule Britannia," "Lord McDonald's Reel," and the "Blue +Bells of Scotland" were played over and over again; and, old and +threadbare though they be, to me they were replete with endearing +associations, and sounded like the well-known voices of long, long +absent friends. I spent indeed a delightful evening; and its pleasures +were the more enhanced from the circumstance of its being the first, +after a banishment of two years, which I had spent in the society of the +fair sex. + +Next morning was fine, though the wind blew pretty fresh, and we started +before breakfast, having taken leave of the family the night before. +This was the 1st of July. We had been eight days on the route, which is +rather a long time for a canoe to take to reach Oxford House; but as +most of the portages were now over, we calculated upon arriving at +Norway House in two or three days. + +In the afternoon the wind blew again, and obliged us to encamp on a +small island, where we remained all day. While there, a couple of +Indians visited us, and gave us an immense trout in exchange for some +pemmican. This trout I neglected to measure, but I am convinced it was +more than three feet long and half a foot broad: it was very good, and +we made a capital dinner off it. During the day, as it was very warm, I +had a delightful swim in the lake, on the lee of the island. + +The wind moderated a little in the evening, and we again embarked, +making up for lost time by travelling till midnight, when we put ashore +and went to sleep without making a fire or taking any supper. About +four o'clock we started again, and in a couple of hours came to the end +of Oxford Lake, after which we travelled through a number of small +swamps or reedy lakes, and stagnant rivers, among which I got so +bewildered that I gave up the attempt to chronicle their names as +hopeless; and indeed it was scarcely worth while, as they were so small +and overgrown with bulrushes that they were no more worthy of a name in +such a place as America than a _dub_ would be in Scotland. The weather +was delightfully cool, and mosquitoes not troublesome, so that we +proceeded with pleasure and rapidity. + +While thus threading our way through narrow channels and passages, upon +turning a point we met three light canoes just on the point of putting +ashore for breakfast, so I told my Indians to run ashore near them. As +we approached, I saw that there were five gentlemen assembled, with whom +I was acquainted, so that I was rather anxious to get ashore; but, alas! +fortune had determined to play me a scurvy trick, for no sooner had my +foot touched the slippery stone on which I intended to land, than down I +came squash on my breast in a most humiliating manner, while my legs +kept playfully waving about in the cooling element. This unfortunate +accident, I saw, occasioned a strange elongation in the lateral +dimensions of the mouths of the party on shore, who stood in silence +admiring the scene. I knew, however, that to appear annoyed would only +make matters worse; so, with a desperate effort to appear at ease, I +rose, and while shaking hands with them, expressed my belief that there +was nothing so conducive to health as a cold bath in the morning. After +a laugh at my expense, we sat down to breakfast. One of the gentlemen +gave me a letter from the Governor, and I now learned, for the first +time, that I was to take a passage in one of the light canoes for +Montreal. Here, then, was a termination to my imaginary rambles on the +Rocky Mountains, or on the undulating prairies of the Saskatchewan; and +instead of massacring buffalo and deer in the bush, I was in a short +time to endeavour to render myself a respectable member of civilised +society. I was delighted with the idea of the change, however, and it +was with a firmer step and lighter heart that I took my leave and once +more stepped into the canoe. + +After passing through a succession of swamps and narrow channels, we +arrived at Robinson's Portage, where we found _voyageurs_ running about +in all directions, some with goods on their backs, and others returning +light to the other end of the portage. We found that they belonged to +the Oxford House boats, which had just arrived at the other end of the +portage, where they intended to encamp, as it was now late. Robinson's +Portage is the longest on the route, being nearly a mile in length; and +as all the brigades going to York Factory must pass over it twice--in +going and returning--the track is beaten into a good broad road, and +pretty firm, although it is rather uneven, and during heavy rains +somewhat muddy. Over this all the boats are dragged, and launched at +the upper or lower end of the portage, as the brigades may happen to be +ascending or descending the stream. Then all the cargoes are in like +manner carried over. Packs of furs and bales of goods are generally +from 80 to 100 pounds weight each; and every man who does not wish to be +considered a lazy fellow, or to be ridiculed by his companions, carries +two of these _pieces_, as they are called, across all portages. The +boats are capable of containing from seventy to ninety of these pieces, +so that it will be easily conceived that a _voyageur's_ life is anything +but an easy one; indeed, it is one of constant and harassing toil, even +were the trouble of ascending rapid rivers, where he is often obliged to +jump into the water at a moment's notice, to lighten the boat in +shallows, left entirely out of the question. This portage is made to +avoid what are called the White Falls--a succession of cataracts up +which nothing but a fish could possibly ascend. After carrying over our +canoe and luggage, we encamped at the upper end. The river we commenced +ascending next morning was pretty broad, and after a short paddle in it +we entered the Echimamis. This is a sluggish serpentine stream, about +five or six yards broad, though in some places so narrow that boats +scrape the banks on either side. What little current there is runs in a +contrary direction to the rivers we had been ascending. Mosquitoes +again attacked us as we glided down its gloomy current, and nothing but +swamps, filled with immense bulrushes, were visible around. Here, in +days of yore, the beaver had a flourishing colony, and numbers of their +dams and cuttings were yet visible; but they have long since deserted +this much-frequented waste, and one of their principal dams now serves +to heighten the water, which is not deep, for the passage of brigades in +dry seasons. At night, when we encamped on its low, damp banks, we were +attacked by myriads of mosquitoes, so that we could only sleep by making +several fires round us, the smoke from which partially protected us. +About three o'clock in the morning, which was very warm, we re-embarked, +and at noon arrived at the Sea Portage (why so called I know not, as it +is hundreds of miles inland), which is the last on the route. This +portage is very short, and is made to surmount a pretty large waterfall. +Almost immediately afterwards we entered Playgreen Lake, and put ashore +on a small island, to alter our attire before arriving at Norway House. + +Here, with the woods for our closet, and the clear lake for our basin as +well as looking-glass, we proceeded to scrub our sunburnt faces; and in +half an hour, having made ourselves as respectable as circumstances +would permit, we paddled swiftly over the lake. It is pretty long, and +it was not until evening that I caught the first glimpse of the bright +spire of the Wesleyan Church at Rossville. + +We now approached the termination of our journey, for the time at least; +and it was with pleasing recollections that I recognised the well-known +rocks where I had so often wandered three years before. When we came in +sight of the fort, it was in a state of bustle and excitement as usual, +and I could perceive from the vigorous shaking of hands going forward, +from the number of _voyageurs_ collected on the landing-place, and of +boats assembled at the wharf, that there had just been an arrival. Our +poor little canoe was not taken any notice of as it neared the wharf, +until some of the people on shore observed that there was some one in +the middle of it sitting in a very lazy, indolent position, which is +quite uncommon among Indians. In another minute we gained the bank, and +I grasped the hand of my kind friend and former chief, Mr Russ. + +We had now been travelling twelve days, and had passed over upwards of +thirty portages during the voyage. + +We ought to have performed this voyage in a much shorter time, as canoes +proceed faster than boats, which seldom take longer to complete this +voyage than we did; but this arose from our detention during high winds +in several of the lakes. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +VOYAGE TO CANADA BY THE GREAT LAKES OF THE INTERIOR--A BLACK BEAR-- +HARASSING DETENTIONS--ANOTHER BEAR--MEET DR. RAE, THE ARCTIC +DISCOVERER--THE GUIDE'S STORY--MEET INDIANS--RUNNING THE RAPID--LAKE +SUPERIOR--A SQUALL--THE OTTAWA--CIVILISED LIFE AGAIN--SLEIGHING IN +CANADA. + +At Norway House I remained for nearly a month with my old friend Mr +Russ, who in a former part of this veracious book is described as being +a very ardent and scientific fisher, extremely partial to strong rods +and lines, and entertaining a powerful antipathy to slender rods and +flies! + +Little change had taken place in the appearance of the fort. The +clerks' house was still as full, and as noisy, as when Polly told +frightful stories to the greenhorns on the point of setting out for the +wild countries of Mackenzie River and New Caledonia. The Indians of the +village at Rossville plodded on in their usual peaceful way, under the +guidance of their former pastor; and the ladies of the establishment +were as blooming as ever. + +One fine morning, just as Mr Russ and I were sauntering down to the +river with our rods, a north canoe, full of men, swept round the point +above the fort, and grounded near the wharf. Our rods were soon cast +aside, and we were speedily congratulating Mr and Mrs Bain on their +safe arrival. These were to be my companions on the impending voyage to +Canada, and the canoe in which they had arrived was to be our +conveyance. + +Mr Bain was a good-natured, light-hearted Highlander, and his lady a +pretty lass of twenty-three. + +On the following morning all was ready; and soon after breakfast we were +escorted down to the wharf by all the people in the fort, who crowded to +the rocks to witness our departure. + +Our men, eight in number, stood leaning on their paddles near the wharf; +and, truly, a fine athletic set of fellows they were. The +beautifully-shaped canoe floated lightly on the river, notwithstanding +her heavy cargo, and the water rippled gently against her sides as it +swept slowly past. This frail bark, on which our safety and progression +depended, was made of birch bark sewed together, lined in the inside +with thin laths of wood, and pitched on the seams with gum. It was +about thirty-six feet long, and five broad in the middle, from whence it +tapered either way to a sharp edge. It was calculated to carry from +twenty to twenty-five hundredweight, with eight or nine men, besides +three passengers, and provisions for nearly a month. And yet, so light +was it, that two men could carry it a quarter of a mile without resting. +Such was the machine in which, on the 20th August 1845, we embarked; +and, after bidding our friends at Norway House adieu, departed for +Canada, a distance of nearly two thousand three hundred miles through +the uninhabited forests of America. + +Our first day was propitious, being warm and clear; and we travelled a +good distance ere the rapidly thickening shades of evening obliged us to +put ashore for the night. The place on which we encamped was a flat +rock which lay close to the river's bank, and behind it the thick forest +formed a screen from the north wind. It looked gloomy enough on +landing; but, ere long, a huge fire was kindled on the rock, our two +snow-white tents pitched, and supper in course of preparation, so that +things soon began to wear a gayer aspect. Supper was spread in Mr +Bain's tent by one of the men, whom we appointed to the office of cook +and waiter. And when we were seated on our blankets and cloaks upon the +ground, and Mr Bain had stared placidly at the fire for five minutes, +and then at his wife (who presided at the _board)_ for ten, we began to +feel quite jolly, and gazed with infinite satisfaction at the men, who +ate their supper out of the same kettle, in the warm light of the +camp-fire. Our first bed was typical of the voyage, being hard and +rough, but withal much more comfortable than many others we slept upon +afterwards; and we were all soon as sound asleep upon the rock in the +forest as if we had been in feather-beds at home. + +The beds on which a traveller in this country sleeps are various and +strange. Sometimes he reposes on a pile of branches of the pine-tree; +sometimes on soft downy moss; occasionally on a pebbly beach or a flat +rock; and not unfrequently on rough gravel and sand. Of these the moss +bed is the most agreeable, and the sandy one the worst. + +Early on the following morning, long before daylight, we were roused +from our slumbers to re-embark; and now our journey may be said to have +commenced in earnest. Slowly and silently we stepped into the canoe, +and sat down in our allotted places, while the men advanced in silence, +and paddled up the quiet river in a very melancholy sort of mood. The +rising sun, however, dissipated these gloomy feelings; and after +breakfast, which we took on a small island near the head of Jack River, +we revived at once, and started with a cheering song, in which all +joined. Soon after, we rounded a point of the river, and Lake Winnipeg, +calm and clear as crystal, glittering in the beams of the morning sun, +lay stretched out before us to the distant and scarcely perceptible +horizon. Every pleasure has its alloy, and the glorious calm, on which +we felicitated ourselves not a little, was soon ruffled by a breeze, +which speedily increased so much as to oblige us to encamp near Montreal +Point, being too strong for us to venture across the traverse of five or +six miles now before us. Here, then, we remained the rest of the day +and night, rather disappointed that delay should have occurred so soon. + +Next day we left our encampment early, and travelled prosperously till +about noon, when the wind again increased to such a degree that we were +forced to put ashore on a point, where we remained for the next two days +in grumbling inactivity. + +There is nothing more distressing and annoying than being wind-bound in +these wild and uninhabited regions. One has no amusement except +reading, or promenading about the shore of the lake. Now, although this +may be very delightful to a person of a romantic disposition, it was +anything but agreeable to us, as the season was pretty far advanced, and +the voyage long; besides, I had no gun, having parted with mine before +leaving Norway House, and no books had been brought, as we did not +calculate upon being wind-bound. I was particularly disappointed at not +having brought my gun, for while we lay upon the rocks one fine day, +gazing gloomily on the foaming lake, a black bear was perceived walking +slowly round the bottom of the bay formed by the point on which we were +encamped. It was hopeless to attempt killing him, as Mr Bruin was not +fool enough to permit us to attack him with axes. After this a regular +course of high winds commenced, which retarded us very much, and gave us +much uneasiness as well as annoyance. A good idea of the harassing +nature of our voyage across Lake Winnipeg may be obtained from the +following page or two of my journal, as I wrote it on the spot:-- + +_Monday, 25th August_.--The wind having moderated this morning, we left +the encampment at an early hour, and travelled uninterruptedly till +nearly eight o'clock, when it began to blow so furiously that we were +obliged to run ashore and encamp. All day the gale continued, but in +the evening it moderated, and we were enabled to proceed a good way ere +night closed in. + +_Tuesday, 26th_.--Rain fell in torrents during the night. The wind, +too, was high, and we did not leave our encampment till after breakfast. +We made a good day's journey, however, travelling about forty miles; +and at night pitched our tents on a point of rock, the only +camping-place, as our guide told us, within ten miles. No dry ground +was to be found in the vicinity, so we were fain to sleep upon the +flattest rock we could find, with only one blanket under us. This bed, +however, was not so disagreeable as might be imagined; its principal +disadvantage being that, should it happen to rain, the water, instead of +sinking into the ground, forms a little pond below you, deep or shallow, +according to the hollowness or flatness of the rock on which you repose. + +_Wednesday, 27th_.--Set out early this morning, and travelled till noon, +when the wind _again_ drove us ashore, where we remained, in no very +happy humour, all day. Mr Bain and I played the flute for pastime. + +_Thursday, 28th_.--The persevering wind blew so hard that we remained in +the encampment all day. This was indeed a dismal day; for, +independently of being delayed, which is bad enough, the rain fell so +heavily that it began to penetrate through our tents; and, as if not +content with this, a gust of wind more violent than usual tore the +fastenings of my tent out of the ground, and dashed it over my head, +leaving me exposed to the pitiless pelting of the storm. Mr Bain's +tent, being in a more sheltered spot, fortunately escaped. + +_Friday, 29th_.--The weather was much improved to-day, but it still +continued to blow sufficiently to prevent our starting. As the wind +moderated, however, in the evening, the men carried the baggage down to +the beach, to have it in readiness for an early start on the morrow. + +_Saturday, 30th_.--In the morning we found that the wind had _again_ +risen, so as to prevent our leaving the encampment. This detention is +really very tiresome. We have no amusement except reading a few +uninteresting books, eating without appetite, and sleeping inordinately. +Oh that I were possessed of the Arabian Nights' _mat_, which +transported its owner whithersoever he listed! There is nothing for it, +however, but patience; and assuredly I have a good example in poor Mrs +Bain, who, though little accustomed to such work, has not given +utterance to a word of complaint since we left Norway House. It is now +four days since we pitched our tents on this vile point. How long we +may still remain is yet to be seen. + +_Thursday, September 4th_.--The wind was still very strong this morning; +but so impatient had we become at our repeated detentions, that, with +one accord, we consented to do or die! So, after launching and loading +the canoe with great difficulty, owing to the immense waves that +thundered against the shore, we all embarked and pushed off. After +severe exertion, and much shipping of water, we at length came to the +mouth of the Winnipeg River, up which we proceeded a short distance, and +arrived at Fort Alexander. + +Thus had we taken fifteen days to coast along Lake Winnipeg, a journey +that is usually performed in a third of that time. + +Fort Alexander belongs to the Lac la Pluie district; but being a small +post, neither famous for trade nor for appearance, I will not take the +trouble of describing it. We only remained a couple of hours to take in +provisions in the shape of a ham, a little pork, and some flour, and +then re-embarking, commenced the ascent of Winnipeg River. + +The travelling now before us was widely different from that of the last +fifteen days. Our men could no longer rest upon their paddles when +tired, as they used to do on the level waters of the lake. The river +was a rapid one; and towards evening we had an earnest of the rough work +in store for us, by meeting in rapid succession with three waterfalls, +to surmount which we were obliged to carry the canoe and cargo over the +rocks, and launch them above the falls. While the men were engaged in +this laborious duty, Mr Bain and I discovered a great many plum-trees +laden with excellent fruit, of which we ate as many as we conveniently +could, and then filling our caps and handkerchiefs, embarked with our +prize. They were a great treat to us, after our long abstinence from +everything but salt food; and I believe we demolished enough to have +killed a whole parish school-boys, master, usher, and all! But in +voyages like these one may take great liberties with one's interior with +perfect impunity. + +About sunset we encamped in a picturesque spot near the top of a huge +waterfall, whose thundering roar, as it mingled with the sighing of the +night wind through the bushes and among the precipitous rocks around us, +formed an appropriate and somewhat romantic lullaby. + +On the following morning we were aroused from our slumbers at daybreak; +and in ten minutes our tents were down and ourselves in the canoe, +bounding merrily up the river, while the echoing woods and dells +responded to the lively air of "Rose Blanche," sung by the men as we +swept round point after point and curve after curve of the noble river, +which displayed to our admiring gaze every variety of wild and woodland +scenery--now opening up a long vista of sloping groves of graceful +trees, beautifully variegated with the tints of autumnal foliage, and +sprinkled with a profusion of wildflowers; and anon surrounding us with +immense cliffs and precipitous banks of the grandest and most majestic +aspect, at the foot of which the black waters rushed impetuously past, +and gurgling into white foam as they sped through a broken and more +interrupted channel, finally sprang over a mist-shrouded clift and, +after boiling madly onwards for a short space, resumed their silent, +quiet course through peaceful scenery. As if to enhance the romantic +wildness of the scene, upon rounding a point we came suddenly upon a +large black bear, which was walking leisurely along the bank of the +river. He gazed at us in surprise for a moment; and then, as if it had +suddenly occurred to him that guns _might_ be in the canoe, away he went +helter-skelter up the bank, tearing up the ground in his precipitate +retreat, and vanished among the bushes. Fortunately for him, there was +not a gun in the canoe, else his chance of escape would have been very +small indeed, as he was only fifty yards or so from us when we first +discovered him. + +We made ten portages of various lengths during the course of the day: +none of them exceeded a quarter of a mile, while the most were merely a +few yards. They were very harassing, however, being close to each +other; and often we loaded, unloaded, and carried the canoe and cargo +overland several times in the distance of half a mile. + +On the 7th we left the encampment at an early hour, and made one short +portage a few minutes after starting. After breakfast, as we paddled +quietly along, we descried three canoes coming towards us, filled with +Indians of the Seauteaux tribe. They gave us a few fresh ducks in +exchange for some pork and tobacco, with which they were much delighted. +After a short conversation between them and one of our men, who +understood the language, we parted, and proceeded on our way. A little +rain fell during the day, but in the afternoon the sun shone out and +lighted up the scenery. The forests about this part of the river wore a +much more cheerful aspect than those of the lower countries, being +composed chiefly of poplar, birch, oak, and willows, whose beautiful +light-green foliage had a very pleasing effect upon eyes long accustomed +to the dark pines along the shores of Hudson Bay. + +In the afternoon we met another canoe, in which we saw a gentleman +sitting. This strange sight set us all speculating as to who it could +be, for we knew that all the canoes accustomed annually to go through +these wilds had long since passed. We were soon enlightened, however, +on the subject. Both canoes made towards a flat rock that offered a +convenient spot for landing on; and the stranger introduced himself as +Dr Rae. He was on his way to York Factory, for the purpose of fitting +out at that post an expedition for the survey of the small part of the +North American coast left unexplored by Messrs. Dease and Simpson, which +will then prove beyond a doubt whether or not there is a communication +by water between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans round the north of +America. Dr Rae appeared to be just the man for such an expedition. +He was very muscular and active, full of animal spirits, and had a fine +intellectual countenance. He was considered, by those who knew him +well, to be one of the best snow-shoe walkers in the service, was also +an excellent rifle-shot, and could stand an immense amount of fatigue. +Poor fellow! greatly will he require to exert all his abilities and +powers of endurance. He does not proceed as other expeditions have +done--namely, with large supplies of provisions and men--but merely +takes a very small supply of provisions, and ten or twelve men. These, +however, are all to be of his own choosing, and will doubtless be men of +great experience in travelling among the wild regions of North America. +The whole expedition is fitted out at the expense of the Hudson Bay +Company. The party are to depend almost entirely on their guns for +provisions; and after proceeding in two open boats round the +north-western shores of Hudson Bay as far as they may find it expedient +or practicable, are to land, place their boats in security for the +winter, and then penetrate into these unexplored regions on foot. After +having done as much as possible towards the forwarding of the object of +his journey, Dr Rae and his party are to spend the long dreary winter +with the Esquimaux, and commence operations again early in the spring. +He is of such a pushing, energetic character, however, that there is +every probability he will endeavour to prosecute his discoveries during +winter, if at all practicable. How long he will remain exploring among +these wild regions is uncertain; but he may be two, perhaps three years. +There is every reason to believe that this expedition will be +successful, as it is fitted out by a Company intimately acquainted with +the difficulties and dangers of the country through which it will have +to pass, and the best methods of overcoming and avoiding them. Besides, +the doctor himself is well accustomed to the life he will have to lead; +and enters upon it, not with the vague and uncertain notions of Back and +Franklin, but with a pretty correct apprehension of the probable routine +of procedure, and the experience of a great many years spent in the +service of the Hudson Bay Company [see note 1]. After a few minutes' +conversation we parted, and pursued our respective journeys. + +Towards sunset we encamped on the margin of a small lake, or expanse of +the river; and soon the silence of the forest was broken by the merry +voices of our men, and by the crashing of the stately trees, as they +fell under the axes of the _voyageurs_. The sun's last rays streamed +across the water in a broad red glare, as if jealous of the huge +campfire, which now rose crackling among the trees, casting a ruddy glow +upon our huts, and lighting up the swarthy faces of our men as they +assembled round it to rest their weary limbs, and to watch the +operations of the cook while he prepared their evening meal. + +In less than an hour after we landed, the floor of our tent was covered +with a smoking dish of fried pork, a huge ham, a monstrous teapot, and +various massive slices of bread, with butter to match. To partake of +these delicacies, we seated ourselves in Oriental fashion, and sipped +our tea in contemplative silence, as we listened to the gentle murmur of +a neighbouring brook, and gazed through the opening of our tent at the +_voyageurs_, while they ate their supper round the fire, or, reclining +at length upon the grass, smoked their pipes in silence. + +Supper was soon over, and I went out to warm myself, preparatory to +turning in for the night. The men had supped, and their huge forms were +now stretched around the fire, enveloped in clouds of tobacco smoke, +which curled in volumes from their unshaven lips. They were chatting +and laughing over tales of bygone days; and just as I came up they were +begging Pierre the guide to relate a tale of some sort or other. "Come, +Pierre," said a tall, dark-looking fellow, whose pipe, eyes, and hair +were of the same jetty hue, "tell us how that Ingin was killed on the +Labrador coast by a black bear. Baptiste, here, never heard how it +happened, and you know he's fond of wild stories." + +"Well," returned the guide, "since you must have it, I'll do what I can; +but don't be disappointed if it isn't so interesting as you would wish. +It's a simple tale, and not over-long." So saying, the guide disposed +himself in a more comfortable attitude, refilled his pipe, and after +blowing two or three thick clouds to make sure of its keeping alight, +gave, in nearly the following words, an account of:-- + +THE DEATH OF WAPWIAN. + +"It is now twenty years since I saw Wapwian, and during that time I have +travelled far and wide in the plains and forests of America. I have +hunted the buffalo with the Seauteaux, in the prairies of the +Saskatchewan; I have crossed the Rocky Mountains with the Blackfeet, and +killed the black bear with the Abinikies, on the coasts of Labrador; but +never, among all the tribes that I have visited, have I met an Indian +like Wapwian. It was not his form or his strength that I admired, +though the first was graceful, and the latter immense; but his +disposition was so kind, and affectionate, and noble, that all who came +in contact with him loved and respected him. Yet, strange to say, he +was never converted by the Roman Catholic missionaries who from time to +time visited his village. He listened to them with respectful +attention, but always answered that he could worship the Great Manitou +better as a hunter in the forest than as a farmer in the settlements of +the white men. + +"Well do I remember the first time I stumbled upon the Indian village in +which he lived. I had set out from Montreal with two trappers to pay a +visit to the Labrador coast; we had travelled most of the way in a small +Indian canoe, coasting along the northern shore of the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, and reconnoitring in the woods for portages to avoid rounding +long capes and points of land, and sometimes in search of game; for we +depended almost entirely upon our guns for food. + +"It was upon one of the latter occasions that I went off, accompanied by +one of the trappers, while the other remained to watch the canoe and +prepare our encampment for the night. We were unsuccessful, and after a +long walk thought of returning to our camp empty-handed, when a loud +whirring sound in the bushes attracted our attention, and two partridges +perched upon a tree quite near us. We shot them, and fixing them in our +belts, retraced our way towards the coast with lighter hearts. Just as +we emerged from the dense forest, however, on one side of an open space, +a tall muscular Indian strode from among the bushes and stood before us. +He was dressed in the blanket capote, cloth leggins, and scarlet cap +usually worn by the Abinikies, and other tribes of the Labrador coast. +A red deer-skin shot-pouch and a powder-horn hung round his neck, and at +his side were a beautifully ornamented fire-bag and scalping-knife. A +common gun lay in the hollow of his left arm, and a pair of ornamented +moccasins covered his feet. He was, indeed, a handsome-looking fellow, +as he stood scanning us rapidly with his jet-black eyes while we +approached him. We accosted him, and informed him (for he understood a +little French) whence we came, and our object in visiting his part of +the country. He received our advances kindly, accepted a piece of +tobacco that we offered him, and told us that his name was Wapwian, and +that we were welcome to remain at his village--to which he offered to +conduct us--as long as we pleased. After a little hesitation we +accepted his invitation to remain a few days; the more so, as by so +doing we would have an opportunity of getting some provisions to enable +us to continue our journey. In half an hour we reached the brow of a +small eminence, whence the curling smoke of the wigwams was visible. +The tents were pitched on the shores of a small bay or inlet, guarded +from the east wind by a high precipice of rugged rocks, around which +hundreds of sea-fowl sailed in graceful flights. Beyond this headland +stretched the majestic Gulf of St. Lawrence; while to the left the +village was shaded by the spruce-fir, of which most of this part of the +forest is composed. There were, in all, about a dozen tents, made of +dressed deerskin; at the openings of which might be seen groups of +little children playing about on the grass, or running after their +mothers as they went to the neighbouring rivulet for water, or launched +their canoes to examine the nets in the bay. + +"Wapwian paused to gaze an instant on the scene, and then, descending +the hill with rapid strides, entered the village, and dispatched a +little boy for our companion in the encampment. + +"We were ushered into a tent somewhat elevated above the others, and +soon were reclining on a soft pile of pine branches, smoking in company +with our friend Wapwian, while his pretty little squaw prepared a kettle +of fish for supper. + +"We spent two happy days in the village, hunting deer with our Indian +friend, and assisting the squaws in their fishing operations. On the +third morning we remained in the camp to dry the venison, and prepare +for our departure; while Wapwian shouldered his gun, and calling to his +nephew, a slim, active youth of eighteen, bade him follow with his gun, +as he intended to bring back a few ducks for his white brothers. + +"The two Indians proceeded for a time along the shore, and then striking +off into the forest, threaded their way among the thick bushes in the +direction of a chain of small lakes where wild-fowl were numerous. + +"For some time they moved rapidly along under the sombre shade of the +trees, casting from time to time sharp glances into the surrounding +underwood. Suddenly the elder Indian paused and threw forward his gun, +as a slight rustling in the bushes struck his ear. The boughs bent and +crackled a few yards in advance, and a large black bear crossed the path +and entered the underwood on the other side. Wapwian fired at him +instantly, and a savage growl told that the shot had taken effect. The +gun, however, had been loaded with small shot; and although, when he +fired, the bear was only a few yards off, yet the improbability of its +having wounded him badly, and the distance they had to go ere they +reached the lakes, inclined him to give up the chase. While Wapwian was +loading his gun, Miniquan (his nephew) had been examining the bear's +track, and returned, saying that he was sure the animal must be badly +wounded, for there was much blood on the track. At first the elder +Indian refused to follow it; but seeing that his nephew wished very much +to kill the brute, he at last consented. As the trail of the bear was +much covered with blood, they found no difficulty in tracking it; and +after a short walk they found him extended on his side at the foot of a +large tree, apparently lifeless. Wapwian, however, was too experienced +a hunter to trust himself incautiously within its reach, so he examined +the priming of his gun, and then, advancing slowly to the animal, pushed +it with the muzzle. In an instant the bear sprang upon him, regardless +of the shot lodged in its breast, and in another moment Wapwian lay +stunned and bleeding at the monster's feet. Miniquan was at first so +thunderstruck, as he gazed in horror at the savage animal tearing with +bloody jaws the senseless form of his uncle, that he stood rooted to the +ground. It was only for a moment--the next, his gun was at his +shoulder, and after firing at, but unfortunately, in the excitement of +the moment, missing the bear, he attacked it with the butt of his gun, +which he soon shivered to pieces on its skull. This drew the animal for +a few moments from Wapwian; and Miniquan, in hopes of leading it from +the place, ran off in the direction of the village. The bear, however, +soon gave up the chase, and returned again to its victim. Miniquan now +saw that the only chance of saving his relative was to alarm the +village; so, tightening his belt, he set off with the speed of the +hunted deer in the direction of the camp. In an incredibly short time +he arrived, and soon returned with the trappers and myself. Alas! +alas!" said the guide with a deep sigh, "it was too late. Upon arriving +at the spot, we found the bear quite dead, and the noble, generous +Wapwian extended by its side, torn and lacerated in such a manner that +we could scarcely recognise him. He still breathed a little, however, +and appeared to know me, as I bent over him and tried to close his +gaping wounds. We constructed a rude couch of branches, and conveyed +him slowly to the village. No word of complaint or cry of sorrow +escaped from his wife as we laid his bleeding form in her tent. She +seemed to have lost the power of speech, as she sat, hour after hour, +gazing in unutterable despair on the mangled form of her husband. Poor +Wapwian lingered for a week in a state of unconsciousness. His skull +had been fractured, and he lay almost in a state of insensibility, and +never spoke, save when, in a fit of delirium, his fancy wandered back to +bygone days, when he ranged the forest with a tiny bow in chase of +little birds and squirrels, strode in the vigour of early manhood over +frozen plains of snow, or dashed down foaming currents and mighty rivers +in his light canoe. Then a shade would cross his brow as he thought, +perhaps, of his recent struggle with the bear, and he would again +relapse into silence. + +"He recovered slightly before his death; and once he smiled, as if he +recognised his wife, but he never spoke to any one. We scarcely know +when his spirit fled, so calm and peaceful was his end. + +"His body now reposes beneath the spreading branches of a lordly pine, +near the scenes of his childhood, where he had spent his youth, and +where he met his untimely end." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The guide paused, and looked round upon his auditors. Alas! for the +sympathy of man--the half of them had gone to sleep; and Baptiste, for +whose benefit the story had been related, lay, or rather sprawled, upon +the turf behind the fire, his shaggy head resting on the decayed stump +of an old tree, and his empty pipe hanging gracefully from his half-open +mouth. A slight "humph" escaped the worthy guide as he shook the ashes +from his pipe, and rolling his blanket round him, laid his head upon the +ground. + +Early the following morning we raised the camp and continued our +journey. The scenery had now become more wild and picturesque. Large +pines became numerous; and the rocky fissures, through which the river +rushed in a black unbroken mass, cast a gloomy shadow upon us as we +struggled to ascend. Sometimes we managed to get up these rapids with +the paddles; and when the current was too powerful, with long poles, +which the men fixed in the ground, and thus pushed slowly up; but when +both of these failed, we resorted to the tracking line, upon which +occasions four of the men went on shore and dragged us up, leaving four +in the canoe to paddle and steer it. When the current was too strong +for this, they used to carry parts of the cargo to the smooth water +further up, and drag the canoe up light, or, taking it on their +shoulders, carry it overland. We made nine or ten of these portages in +two days. In the afternoon we came in view of a Roman Catholic mission +station, snugly situated at the bottom of a small bay or creek; but as +it was a little out of our way, and from its quiet appearance seemed +deserted, we did not stop. + +In the afternoon of the following day, the 9th of September, we arrived +at the Company's post, called Rat Portage House, where we were +hospitably entertained for a few hours by Mr McKenzie, the gentleman in +charge. On the portage, over which we had to carry our canoe and +baggage, a large party of Indians of both sexes and all ages were +collected to witness our departure; and Mr McKenzie advised us to keep +a sharp lookout, as they were much addicted to appropriating the +property of others to their own private use, provided they could find an +opportunity of doing so unobserved; so, while our men were running +backwards and forwards, carrying the things over the rocks, Mr Bain and +his lady remained at one end to guard them, and I at the other. +Everything, however, was got safely across; the Indians merely stood +looking on, apparently much amused with our proceedings, and nothing +seemed further from their thoughts than stealing. Just as we paddled +from the bank, one of our men threw them a handful of tobacco, for which +there was a great scramble, and their noisy voices died away in the +distance as we rounded an abrupt point of rocks, and floated out upon +the glorious expanse of Lac du Bois, or, as it is more frequently +called, the Lake of the Woods. + +There is nothing, I think, better calculated to awaken the more solemn +feelings of our nature (unless, indeed, it be the thrilling tones of +sacred music) than these noble lakes, studded with innumerable islets, +suddenly bursting on the traveller's view as he emerges from the sombre +forest-rivers of the American wilderness. The clear unruffled water, +stretching out to the horizon--here, embracing the heavy and luxuriant +foliage of a hundred wooded isles, or reflecting the wood-clad mountains +on its margin, clothed in all the variegated hues of autumn; and there, +glittering with dazzling brilliancy in the bright rays of the evening +sun, or rippling among the reeds and rushes of some shallow bay, where +hundreds of wild-fowl chatter, as they feed, with varied cry, rendering +more apparent, rather than disturbing, the solemn stillness of the +scene: all tends to "raise the soul from nature up to nature's God," and +reminds one of the beautiful passage of Scripture, "O Lord, how manifold +are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of +thy riches." At the same time, when one considers how very few of the +human race cast even a passing glance on the beauties of nature around, +one cannot but be impressed with the truth of the lines-- + + "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, + And waste its sweetness on the desert air." + +At night we encamped at the furthest extremity of the lake, on a very +exposed spot, whence we looked out upon the starlit scene, while our +supper was spread before us in the warm light of the fire, which blazed +and crackled as the men heaped log after log upon it, sending up clouds +of bright sparks into the sky. + +Next morning we commenced the ascent of Lac la Pluie River. This is +decidedly the most beautiful river we had yet traversed--not only on +account of the luxuriant foliage of every hue with which its noble banks +are covered, but chiefly from the resemblance it bears in many places to +the scenery of England, recalling to mind the grassy lawns and verdant +banks of Britain's streams, and transporting the beholder from the wild +scenes of the western world to his native home. The trees along its +banks were larger and more varied than any we had hitherto seen--ash, +poplar, cedar, red and white pines, oak, and birch being abundant, +whilst flowers of gaudy hues enhanced the beauty of the scene. Towards +noon our guide kept a sharp lookout for a convenient spot whereon to +dine; and ere long a flat shelving rock, partly shaded by trees and +partly exposed to the blaze of the sun, presented itself to view. The +canoe was soon alongside of it, and kept floating about half a foot from +the edge by means of two branches, the two ends of which were fastened +to the bow and stern of the canoe, and the other two to the ground by +means of huge stones. It is necessary to be thus careful with canoes, +as the gum or pitch with which the seams are plastered breaks off in +lumps, particularly in cold weather, and makes the craft leaky. A +snow-white napkin was spread on the flattest part of the rock, and so +arranged that, as we reclined around it, on cloaks and blankets, our +bodies down to the knees were shaded by the luxuriant foliage behind us, +while our feet were basking in the solar rays! Upon the napkin were +presently placed, by our active waiter Gibault, three pewter plates, a +decanter of port wine, and a large ham, together with a turret of salt +butter, and a loaf of bread, to the demolition of which viands we +devoted ourselves with great earnestness. At a short distance the men +circled round a huge lump of boiled pork, each with a large slice of +bread in one hand and a knife in the other, with which he _porked_ his +bread in the same way that civilised people _butter_ theirs! Half an +hour concluded our mid-day meal; and then, casting off the branches from +the canoe, we were out of sight of our temporary dining-room in five +minutes. + +On the evening of the following day we arrived at the Company's post, +Fort Frances. The fort is rather an old building, situated at the +bottom of a small bay or curve in the river, near the foot of a +waterfall, whose thundering roar forms a ceaseless music to the +inhabitants. We found the post in charge of a chief trader, who had no +other society than that of three or four labouring men; so, as may be +supposed, he was delighted to see us. Our men carried the canoe, +etcetera, over the portage to avoid the waterfall, and as it was then +too late to proceed further that night, we accepted his pressing +invitation to pass the night at the fort. There was only one spare bed +in the house, but this was a matter of little moment to us after the +variety of beds we had had since starting; so, spreading a buffalo robe +on the floor for a mattress, I rolled myself in my blanket and tried to +sleep. At first I could not manage it, owing to the unearthly stillness +of a room, after being so long accustomed to the open air and the noise +of rivers and cataracts, but at last succeeded, and slept soundly till +morning. + +Dame Fortune does not always persecute her friends; and although she had +retarded us hitherto a good deal with contrary winds and rains, she +kindly assisted us when we commenced crossing Lac la Pluie next morning, +by raising a stiff, fair breeze. Now, be it known that a canoe, from +having no keel, and a round bottom, cannot venture to hoist a sail +unless the wind is directly astern--the least bit to one side would be +sure to capsize it; so that our getting the wind precisely in the proper +direction at the commencement was a great piece of good fortune, +inasmuch as it enabled us to cross the lake in six hours, instead of (as +is generally the case) taking one, two, or three days. + +In the evening we arrived, in high spirits, at a portage, on which we +encamped. + +Our progress now became a little more interrupted by portages and small +lakes, or rather ponds, through which we sometimes passed with +difficulty, owing to the shallowness of the water in many places. Soon +after this we came to the Mecan River, which we prepared to ascend. In +making a portage, we suddenly discovered a little Indian boy, dressed in +the extreme of the Indian summer fashion--in other words, he was in a +state of perfect nakedness, with the exception of a breech-cloth; and +upon casting our eyes across the river we beheld his worthy father, in a +similar costume, busily employed in catching fish with a hand-net. He +was really a wild, picturesque-looking fellow, notwithstanding the +scantiness of his dress; and I was much interested in his proceedings. +When I first saw him, he was standing upon a rock close to the edge of a +foaming rapid, into the eddies of which he gazed intently, with the net +raised in the air, and his muscular frame motionless, as if petrified +while in the act of striking. Suddenly the net swung through the air, +and his body quivered as he strained every sinew to force it quickly +through the water: in a moment it came out with a beautiful white-fish, +upwards of a foot long, glittering like silver as it struggled in the +meshes. In the space of half an hour he had caught half a dozen in this +manner, and we bought three or four of the finest for a few plugs of +tobacco. His wigwam and family were close at hand; so, while our men +crossed the portage, I ran up to see them. + +The tent, which was made of sheets of birch bark sewed together, was +pitched beneath the branches of a gigantic pine, upon the lower limbs of +which hung a pair of worn-out snow-shoes, a very dirty blanket, and a +short bow, with a quiver of arrows near it. At the foot of it, upon the +ground, were scattered a few tin pots, several pairs of old moccasins, +and a gun; while against it leaned an Indian cradle, in which a small, +very brown baby, with jet-black eyes and hair, stood bolt upright, +basking in the sun's rays, and bearing a comical resemblance to an +Egyptian mummy. At the door of the tent a child of riper years amused +itself by rolling about among the chips of wood, useless bits of +deer-skin, and filth always strewn around a wigwam. On the right hand +lay a pile of firewood, with an axe beside it, near which crouched a +half-starved, wretched-looking nondescript dog, who commenced barking +vociferously the moment he cast eyes upon me. Such was the outside. +The interior, filled with smoke from the fire and Indians' pipes, was, +if possible, even dirtier. Amid a large pile of rabbit-skins reclined +an old woman, busily plucking the feathers from a fine duck, which she +carefully preserved (the feathers, not the duck) in a bag, for the +purpose of trading them with the Company at a future period. Her dress +was a coat of rabbit-skins, so strangely shaped that no one could +possibly tell how she ever got it off or on. This, however, was +doubtless a matter of little consequence to her, as Indians seldom take +the trouble of changing their clothes, or even of undressing at all. +The coat was fearfully dirty, and hung upon her in a way that led me to +suppose she had worn it for six months, and that it would fall off her +in a few days. A pair of faded blue cloth leggins completed her +costume--her dirty shoulders, arms, and feet being quite destitute of +covering; while her long black hair fell in tangled masses upon her +neck, and it was evidently a long time since a comb had passed through +it. On the other side sat a younger woman similarly attired, employed +in mending a hand-net; and on a very much worn buffalo robe sat a young +man (probably the brother of the one we had seen fishing), wrapped in a +blanket, smoking his pipe in silence. A few dirty little half-naked +boys lay sprawling among several packages of furs tied up in birch bark, +and disputed with two or three ill-looking dogs the most commodious +place whereon to lie. The fire in the middle of the tent sent up a +cloud of smoke, which escaped through an aperture at the top; and from a +cross-bar depended a few slices of deer-meat, undergoing the process of +smoking. + +I had merely time to note all this, and say, "What cheer!" to the +Indians, who returned the compliment with a grunt, when the loud voice +of our guide ringing through the glades of the forest informed me that +the canoe was ready to proceed. + +The country through which we now passed was very interesting, on account +of the variety of the scenes and places through which we wound our way. +At times we were paddling with difficulty against the strong current of +a narrow river, which, on our turning a point of land, suddenly became a +large lake; and then, after crossing this, we arrived at a portage. +After passing over it, there came a series of small ponds and little +creeks, through which we pushed our way with difficulty; and then +arrived at another lake, and more little rivers, with numerous portages. +Sometimes ludicrous accidents happened to us--bad enough at the time, +but subjects of mirth afterwards. + +One cold, frosty morning (for the weather had now become cold, from the +elevation of the country through which we were passing), while the canoe +was going quietly over a small reedy lake or ford, I was awakened out of +a nap, and told that the canoe was aground, and I must get out and walk +a little way to lighten her. Hastily pulling up my trousers for I +always travelled barefoot--I sprang over the side into the water, and +the canoe left me. Now, all this happened so quickly that I was +scarcely awake; but the bitterly cold water, which nearly reached my +knees, cleared up my faculties most effectually, and I then found that I +was fifty yards from the shore, with an unknown depth of water around +me, the canoe out of sight ahead of me, and Mr Bain--who had been +turned out while half asleep also--standing with a rueful expression of +countenance beside me. After feeling our way cautiously--for the bottom +was soft and muddy--we reached the shore; and then, thinking that all +was right, proceeded to walk round to join the canoe. Alas! we found +the bushes so thick that they were very nearly impenetrable; and, worse +than all, that they, as well as the ground, were covered with thorns, +which scratched and lacerated our feet most fearfully at every step. +There was nothing for it, however, but to persevere; and after a painful +walk of a quarter of a mile we overtook the canoe, vowing never to leap +before we looked upon any other occasion whatsoever. + +In this way we proceeded--literally over hill and dale--in our canoe; +and in the course of a few days ascended Mecan River, and traversed +Cross Lake, Malign River, Sturgeon Lake, Lac du Mort, Mille Lac, besides +a great number of smaller sheets of water without names, and many +portages of various lengths and descriptions, till the evening of the +19th, when we ascended the beautiful little river called the Savan, and +arrived at the Savan Portage. + +Many years ago, in the time of the North-West Company, the echoes among +these wild solitudes were far oftener and more loudly awakened than they +are now. The reason of it was this. The North-West Company, having +their head quarters at Montreal, and being composed chiefly of Canadian +adventurers, imported their whole supplies into the country and exported +all their furs out of it in north canoes, by the same route over which +we now travelled. As they carried on business on a large scale, it may +be supposed that the traffic was correspondingly great. No less than +ten brigades, each numbering twenty canoes, used to pass through these +scenes during the summer months. No one who has not experienced it can +form an adequate idea of the thrilling effect the passing of these +brigades must have had upon a stranger. I have seen four canoes sweep +round a promontory suddenly, and burst upon my view, while at the same +moment the wild romantic song of the _voyageurs_, as they plied their +brisk paddles, struck upon my ear; and I have felt thrilling enthusiasm +on witnessing such a scene. What, then, must have been the feelings of +those who had spent a long, dreary winter in the wild North-West, far +removed from the bustle and excitement of the civilised world, when +thirty or forty of these picturesque canoes burst unexpectedly upon +them, half shrouded in the spray that flew from the bright vermilion +paddles; while the men, who had overcome difficulties and dangers +innumerable during a long voyage through the wilderness, urged their +light craft over the troubled water with the speed of the reindeer, and, +with hearts joyful at the happy termination of their trials and +privations, sang, with all the force of three hundred manly voices, one +of their lively airs, which, rising and falling faintly in the distance +as it was borne, first lightly on the breeze, and then more steadily as +they approached, swelled out in the rich tones of many a mellow voice, +and burst at last into a long enthusiastic shout of joy! + +Alas! the forests no longer echo to such sounds. The passage of three +or four canoes once or twice a year is all that breaks the stillness of +the scene; and nought, save narrow pathways over the portages, and rough +wooden crosses over the graves of the travellers who perished by the +way, remains to mark that such things were. Of these marks, the Savan +Portage, at which we had arrived, was one of the most striking. A long +succession of boiling rapids and waterfalls having in days of yore +obstructed the passage of the fur-traders, they had landed at the top of +them, and cut a pathway through the woods, which happened at this place +to be exceedingly swampy: hence the name Savan (or _swampy_) Portage. +To render the road more passable, they had cut down trees, which they +placed side by side along its whole extent--which was about three +miles--and over this wooden platform carried their canoes and cargoes +with perfect ease. After the coalition of the two companies, and the +consequent carriage of the furs to England by Hudson Bay--instead of to +Canada, by the lakes and rivers of the interior--these roads were +neglected, and got out of repair; and consequently we found the logs +over the portage decayed and trees fallen across them, so that our men, +instead of running quickly over them, were constantly breaking through +the rotten wood, sinking up to the knees in mud, and scrambling over +trees and branches. We got over at last, however--in about two hours; +and after proceeding a little further, arrived at and encamped upon the +Prairie Portage, by the side of a _voyageur's_ grave, which was marked +as usual with a wooden cross, on which some friendly hand had cut a rude +inscription. Time had now rendered it quite illegible. This is the +height of land dividing the waters which flow northward into Hudson Bay +from those which flow in a southerly direction, through the great lakes, +into the Atlantic Ocean. + +A few pages from my journal here may serve to give a better idea of the +characteristics of our voyage than could be conveyed in narrative:-- + +_Saturday, 20th September_.--We crossed the Prairie Portage this +morning--a distance of between three and four miles--and breakfasted at +the upper end of it. Amused myself by sketching the view from a +neighbouring hill. After crossing two more portages and a variety of +small lakes, we launched our canoe on the bosom of the river Du Chien, +and began, for the first time since the commencement of our journey, to +_descend_, having passed over the height of land. We saw several grey +grouse here, and in the evening one of our men caught one in a curious +manner. They were extremely tame, and allowed us to approach them very +closely, so Baptiste determined to catch one for supper. Cutting a long +branch from a neighbouring tree, he tied a running noose on one end of +it, and going quietly up to the bird, put the noose gently over its +head, and pulled it off the tree. This is a common practice among the +Indians, particularly when they have run short of gunpowder. + +_Sunday, 21st_.--Crossed Lac du Chien, and made the portage of the same +name, from the top of which we had a most beautiful view of the whole +country for miles round. Having crossed this portage, we proceeded down +the Kamenistaquoia River, on the banks of which, after making another +portage, we pitched our tents. + +_Monday, 22nd_.--Rain obliged us to put ashore this morning. Nothing +can be more wretched than travelling in rainy weather. The men, poor +fellows, do not make the least attempt to keep themselves dry; but the +passengers endeavour, by means of oiled cloths, to keep out the wet; and +under this they broil and suffocate, till at last they are obliged to +throw off the covering. Even were this not the case, we should still be +wretched, as the rain always finds its way in somewhere or other; and I +have been often awakened from a nap by the cold trickling of moisture +down my back, and have discovered upon moving that I was lying in a pool +of water. Ashore we are generally a little more comfortable, but not +much. After dinner we again started, and advanced on our journey till +sunset. + +_Tuesday, 23rd_.--To-day we advanced very slowly, owing to the +shallowness of the water, and crossed a number of portages. During the +day we ran several rapids. This is very exciting work. Upon nearing +the head of a large rapid, the men strain every muscle to urge the canoe +forward more quickly than the water, so that it may steer better. The +bowsman and steersman stand erect, guiding the frail bark through the +more unbroken places in the fierce current, which hisses and foams +around, as if eager to swallow us up. Now we rush with lightning force +towards a rock, against which the water dashes in fury; and to an +uninitiated traveller we appear to be on the point of destruction. But +one vigorous stroke from the bowsman and steersman (for they always act +in concert) sends the light craft at a sharp angle from the impending +danger; and away we plunge again over the surging waters--sometimes +floating for an instant in a small eddy, and hovering, as it were, to +choose our path; and then plunging swiftly forward again through the +windings of the stream, till, having passed the whole in safety, we +float in the smooth water below. + +Accidents, as may be supposed, often happen; and to-day we found that +there is danger as well as pleasure in running the rapids. We had got +over a great part of the day in safety, and were in the act of running +the first part of the Rose Rapid, when our canoe struck upon a rock, and +wheeling round with its broadside to the stream, began to fill quickly. +I could hear the timbers cracking beneath me under the immense pressure. +Another minute, and we should have been gone; but our men, who were +active fellows, and well accustomed to such dangers, sprang +simultaneously over the side of the canoe, which, being thus lightened, +passed over the rock, and rushed down the remainder of the rapid stern +foremost ere the men could scramble in and resume their paddles. When +rapids were very dangerous, most of the cargo was generally disembarked; +and while one half of the crew carried it round to the still water +below, the other half ran down light. + +Crossed two small portages and the Mountain Portage in the afternoon; on +the latter of which I went to see a waterfall, which I was told was in +its vicinity. I had great difficulty in finding it at first, but its +thundering roar soon guided me to a spot from which it was visible. +Truly, a grander waterfall I never saw. The whole river, which was +pretty broad, plunged in one broad white sheet over a precipice, higher +by a few feet than the famous Falls of Niagara; and the spray from the +foot sprang high into the air, bedewing the wild, precipitous crags with +which the fall is encompassed, and the gloomy pines that hang about the +clefts and fissures of the rocks. Fur-traders have given it the name of +the Mountain Fall, from a peculiar mountain in its vicinity; but the +natives call it the _Kackabecka_ Falls. After making a sketch of it, +and getting myself thoroughly wet in so doing, I returned to the canoe. + +In the evening we encamped within nine miles of Fort William, having +lost one of our men, who went ashore to lighten the canoe while we ran a +rapid. After a good deal of trouble we found him again, but too late to +admit of our proceeding to the fort that night. + +_Wednesday, 24th_.--Early this morning we left the encampment, and after +two hours' paddling Fort William burst upon our gaze, mirrored in the +limpid waters of Lake Superior--that immense fresh-water sea, whose +rocky shores and rolling billows vie with the ocean itself in grandeur +and magnificence. + +Fort William was once one of the chief posts in the Indian country, and, +when it belonged to the North-West Company, contained a great number of +men. Now, however, much of its glory has departed. Many of the +buildings have been pulled down, and those that remain are very +rickety-looking affairs. It is still, however, a very important fishing +station, and many hundreds of beautiful white-fish, with which Lake +Superior swarms, are salted there annually for the Canada markets. +These white-fish are indeed excellent; and it is difficult to say +whether they or the immense trout, which are also caught in abundance, +have the most delicate flavour. These trout, as well as white-fish, are +caught in nets; and the former sometimes measure three feet long, and +are proportionately broad. The one we had to breakfast on the morning +of our arrival must have been very nearly this size. + +The fur-trade of the post is not very good, but the furs traded are +similar to those obtained in other parts of the country. + +A number of _canotes de maitre_, or very large canoes, are always kept +in store here, for the use of the Company's travellers. These canoes +are of the largest size, exceeding the north canoe in length by several +feet, besides being much broader and deeper. They are used solely for +the purpose of travelling on Lake Superior, being much too large and +cumbersome for travelling with through the interior. They are carried +by four men instead of two, like the north canoe; and, besides being +capable of carrying twice as much cargo, are paddled by fourteen or +sixteen men. Travellers from Canada to the interior generally change +their _canotes de maitre_ for north canoes at Fort William, before +entering upon the intricate navigation through which we had already +passed; while those going from the interior to Canada change the small +for the large canoe. As we had few men, however, and the weather +appeared settled, we determined to risk coasting round the northern +shore of the lake in our north canoe. + +The scenery around the fort is very pretty. In its immediate vicinity +the land is flat, covered with small trees and willows, which are +agreeably suggestive of partridges and other game; but in the distance +rise goodly-sized mountains; and on the left hand the noble expanse of +the Lake Superior, with rocky islands on its mighty bosom and abrupt +hills on its shores, stretches out to the horizon. The fort is built at +the mouth of the Kamenistaquoia River, and from its palisades a +beautiful view of the surrounding country can be obtained. + +As the men wanted rest and our canoe a little repair, we determined to +remain all day at Fort William; so some of the men employed themselves +re-gumming the canoe, while others spread out our blankets and tents to +dry. This last was very necessary as on the journey we have little time +to spare from eating and sleeping while on shore; and many a time have +I, in consequence, slept in a wet blanket. + +The fair lady of the gentleman in charge of the fort was the _only lady_ +at the place, and indeed the only one within a circuit of six hundred +miles--which space, being the primeval forest, was inhabited only by +wild beasts and a few Indians. She was, consequently, very much +delighted to meet with Mrs Bain, who, having for so many days seen no +one but rough _voyageurs_, was equally delighted to meet her. While +they went off to make the most of each other, Mr Bain and I sauntered +about in the vicinity of the fort, admiring the beauty of the scenery, +and paid numerous visits to a superb dairy in the fort, which overflowed +with milk and cream. I rather think that we admired the dairy more than +the scenery. There were a number of cows at the post, a few of which we +encountered in our walk, and also a good many pigs and sheep. In the +evening we returned, and at tea were introduced to a postmaster, who had +been absent when we arrived. This postmaster turned out to be a +first-rate player of Scotch reels on the violin. He was self-taught, +and truly the sweetness and precision with which he played every note +and trill of the rapid reel and strathspey might have made Neil Gow +himself envious. So beautiful and inspiriting were they, that Mr Bain +and our host, who were both genuine Highlanders, jumped simultaneously +from their seats, in an ecstasy of enthusiasm, and danced to the lively +music till the very walls shook; much to the amusement of the two +ladies, who, having been both born in Canada, could not so well +appreciate the music. Indeed, the musician himself looked a little +astonished, being quite ignorant of the endearing recollections and +associations recalled to the memory of the two Highlanders by the rapid +notes of his violin. They were not, however, to be contented with one +reel; so, after fruitlessly attempting to make the ladies join us, we +sent over to the men's houses for the old Canadian wife of Pierre +Lattinville and her two blooming daughters. They soon came, and after +much coyness, blushing, and hesitation, at last stood up, and under the +inspiring influence of the violin we:-- + + "Danced, till we were like to fa', + The reel o' Tullochgorum!" + +And did not cease till the lateness of the hour and the exhaustion of +our musician compelled us to give in. + +On the following morning we bade adieu to the good people at Fort +William, and began our journey along the northern shore of Lake +Superior, which is upwards of three hundred miles in diameter. Fortune, +however, is proverbially fickle, and she did not belie her character on +this particular day. The weather, when we started, was calm and clear, +which pleased us much, as we had to make what is called a traverse--that +is, to cross from one point of land to another, instead of coasting +round a very deep bay. The traverse which we set out to make on leaving +Fort William was fourteen miles broad, which made it of some consequence +our having a calm day to cross it in our little egg-shell of a canoe. +Away we went, then, over the clear lake, singing "Rose Blanche" +vociferously. We had already gone a few miles of the distance, when a +dark cloud rose on the seaward horizon. Presently the water darkened +under the influence of a stiff breeze, and in less than half an hour the +waves were rolling and boiling around us like those of the Atlantic. +Ahead of us lay a small island, about a mile distant; and towards this +the canoe was steered, while the men urged it forward as quickly as the +roughness of the sea would allow. Still the wind increased, and the +island was not yet gained. Some of the waves had broken over the edge +of the canoe, and she was getting filled with water; but a kind +Providence permitted us to reach the island in safety, though not in +comfort, as most of the men were much wet, and many of them a good deal +frightened. + +On landing, we pitched our tents, made a fire, and proceeded to dry +ourselves, and in less than an hour were as comfortable as possible. +The island on which we had encamped was a small rocky one, covered with +short heathery-looking shrubs, among which we found thousands of +blaeberries. On walking round to the other side of it, I discovered an +Indian encamped with his family. He supplied us with a fine white-fish, +for which our men gave him a little tobacco and a bit of the fresh +mutton which we had brought with us from Fort William. + +Three days did we remain on this island, while the wind and waves +continued unceasingly to howl and lash around it, as if they wished, in +their disappointment, to beat it down and swallow us up, island and all; +but towards the close of the third day the gale moderated, and we +ventured again to attempt the traverse. This time we succeeded, and in +two hours passed Thunder Point, on the other side of which we encamped. + +The next day we could only travel till breakfast-time, as the wind again +increased so much as to oblige us to put ashore. We comforted +ourselves, however, with the prospect of a good mutton-chop. + +The fire was soon made, the kettle on, and everything in preparation, +when the dreadful discovery was made that the whole of the fresh mutton +had been forgotten! Words cannot paint our consternation at this +discovery. Poor Mrs Bain sat in mute despair, thinking of the misery +of being reduced again to salt pork; while her husband, who had hitherto +stood aghast, jumped suddenly forward, and seizing a bag of fine +potatoes that had been given to the men, threw it, in a transport of +rage, into the lake, vowing that as we were, by their negligence, to be +deprived of our mutton, they certainly should also be sufferers with us. + +It was very laughable to behold the rueful countenances of the men as +their beautiful, large white potatoes sank to the bottom of the clear +lake, and shone brightly there, as if to tantalise them, while the +rippling water caused them to quiver so much that the lake seemed to +rest on a pavement of huge potatoes! None dared, however, attempt to +recover one; but after a while, when Mr Bain's back was turned, a man +crept cautiously down to the water's edge, and gathered as many as were +within reach--always, however, keeping an eye on his master, and +stooping in an attitude that would permit of his bolting up on the +slightest indication of a wrathful movement. + +It would be tedious, as well as unnecessary, to recount here all the +minutiae of our voyage across Lake Superior; I shall merely touch on a +few of the more particular incidents. + +On the 1st of October we arrived at the Pic House [see note 2], where we +spent the night; and, after a rough voyage, reached Michipicoton on the +4th. Our voyage along Lake Superior was very stormy and harassing, +reminding us often of Lake Winnipeg. Sometimes we were paddling along +over the smooth water, and at other times _lying-by_, while the lake was +lashed into a mass of foam and billows by a strong gale. So much +detention, and the lateness of the season, rendered it necessary to take +advantage of every lull and calm hour that occurred, so that we +travelled a good deal during the night. This sort of travelling was +very romantic. + +On one occasion, after having been ashore two days, the wind moderated +in the afternoon, and we determined to proceed, if possible. The sun +set gloriously, giving promise of fine weather. The sky was clear and +cloudless, and the lake calm. For an hour or so the men sang as they +paddled, but as the shades of evening fell they ceased; and as it was +getting rather chilly, I wrapped myself in my green blanket (which +served me for a boat-cloak as well as a bed), and soon fell fast asleep. + +How long I slept I know not; but when I awoke, the regular, rapid hiss +of the paddles struck upon my ear, and upon throwing off the blanket the +first thing that met my eye was the dark sky, spangled with the most +gorgeous and brilliant stars I ever beheld. The whole scene, indeed, +was one of the most magnificent and awful that can be imagined. On our +left hand rose tremendous precipices and cliffs, around the bottom and +among the caverns of which the black waters of the lake curled quietly +(for a most death-like, unearthly calm prevailed), sending forth a faint +hollow murmur, which ended, at long intervals, in a low melancholy +cadence. Before and behind us abrupt craggy islands rose from the +water, assuming every imaginable and unimaginable shape in the uncertain +light; while on the right the eye ranged over the inky lake till it was +lost in thick darkness. A thin, transparent night-fog added to the +mystical appearance of the scene, upon which I looked with mingled +feelings of wonder and awe. The only distinct sound that could be heard +was the measured sound of the paddles, which the men plied in silence, +as if unwilling to break the stillness of the night. Suddenly the guide +uttered in a hoarse whisper, "_A terre_!" startling the sleepy men, and +rendering the succeeding silence still more impressive. + +The canoe glided noiselessly through a maze of narrow passages among the +tall cliffs, and grounded on a stony beach. Everything was then carried +up, and the tents pitched in the dark, as no wood could be conveniently +found for the purpose of making a fire; and without taking any supper, +or even breaking the solemn silence of the night, we spread our beds as +we best could upon the round stones (some of which were larger than a +man's fist), and sank into repose. About a couple of hours afterwards +we were roused by the anxious guide, and told to embark again. In this +way we travelled at night or by day, as the weather permitted--and even, +upon one or two occasions, both night and day--till the 12th of October, +when we arrived at the _Sault de Ste. Marie_, which is situated at the +termination of Lake Superior, just as our provisions were exhausted. + +We had thus taken eighteen days to coast the lake. This was very slow +going indeed, the usual time for coasting the lake in a north canoe +being from eight to ten days. + +The Sault de Ste. Marie is a large rapid, which carries the waters of +Lake Superior into Lake Huron. It separates the British from the +American possessions, and is fortified on the American side by a large +wooden fort, in which a body of soldiers are constantly resident. There +is also a pretty large village of Americans, which is rapidly +increasing. The British side is not fortified; and, indeed, there are +no houses of any kind except the few belonging to the Hudson Bay +Company. This may be considered the extreme outskirts of civilisation, +being the first place where I had seen any number of people collected +together who were unconnected with the Hudson Bay Company. + +I was not destined, however, to enjoy the sight of new faces long, for +next morning we started to coast round the northern and uninhabited +shores of Lake Huron, and so down the Ottawa to Montreal. Mr and Mrs +Bain left me here, and proceeded by the route of the Lakes. + +During the next few days we travelled through a number of rivers and +lakes of various sizes; among the latter were Lakes Huron and +Nipisingue. In crossing the latter, I observed a point on which were +erected fourteen rough wooden crosses. Such an unusual sight excited my +curiosity, and upon inquiring I found that they were planted there to +mark the place where a canoe, containing fourteen men, had been upset in +a gale, and every soul lost. The lake was clear and smooth when we +passed the melancholy spot, and many a rolling year has defaced and cast +down the crosses since the unfortunate men whose sad fate they +commemorate perished in the storm. + +While searching about the shore one night for wood to make a fire, one +of our men found a large basket, made of bark, and filled with fine +bears'-grease, which had been hid by some Indians. This was considered +a great windfall; and ere two days were passed the whole of it was eaten +by the men, who buttered their flour cakes with it profusely. + +Not long after this we passed a large waterfall, where a friend of mine +was once very nearly lost. A projecting point obliges the traveller to +run his canoe rather near the head of the fall, for the purpose of +landing to make the portage. From long habit the guides had been +accustomed to this, and always effected the doubling of the point in +safety. Upon this occasion, however, either from carelessness or +accident, the canoe got into the strong current, and almost in an +instant was swept down towards the fall. To turn the head of the canoe +up the stream, and paddle for their lives, was the work of a moment; but +before they got it fairly round they were on the very brink of the +cataract, which, had they gone over it, would have dashed them to a +thousand atoms. They paddled with the strength of desperation, but so +strong was the current that they remained almost stationary. At last +they began slowly to ascend--an inch at a time--and finally reached the +bank in safety. + +On Sunday the 19th of October we commenced descending the magnificent +river Ottawa, and began to feel that we were at last approaching the +civilised nations of the earth. During the day we passed several small +log-huts, or shanties, which are the temporary dwelling-places of men +who penetrate thus far into the forest for the purpose of cutting +timber. A canoe full of these adventurous pioneers also passed us; and +in the evening we reached Fort Mattawan, one of the Company's stations. +At night we encamped along with a party who were taking provisions to +the wood-cutters. + +The scenery on the Ottawa is beautiful, and as we descended the stream +it was rendered more picturesque and interesting by the appearance, +occasionally, of that, to us, unusual sight, a farmhouse. They were too +few and far between, however, to permit of our taking advantage of the +inhabitants' hospitality, and for the next four days we continued to +make our encampments in the woods as heretofore. At one of these +frontier farms our worthy guide discovered, to his unutterable +astonishment and delight, an old friend and fellow-voyageur, to greet +whom he put ashore. The meeting was strange: instead of shaking hands +warmly, as I had expected, they stood for a moment gazing in +astonishment, and then, with perfect solemnity, kissed each other--not +gently on the cheek, but with a good hearty smack on their sunburnt +lips. After conversing for a little, they parted with another kiss. + +On the fourth day after this event we came in sight of the village of +Aylmer, which lay calmly on the sloping banks of the river, its church +spire glittering in the sun, and its white houses reflected in the +stream. + +It is difficult to express the feelings of delight with which I gazed +upon this little village, after my long banishment from the civilised +world. It was like recovering from a trance of four long dreamy years; +and I wandered about the streets, gazing in joy and admiration upon +everything and everybody, but especially upon the ladies, who appeared +quite a strange race of beings to me--and all of them looked so +beautiful in my eyes (long accustomed to Indian dames), that I fell in +love with every one individually that passed me in the village. In this +happy mood I sauntered about, utterly oblivious of the fact that my men +had been left in a public-house, and would infallibly, if not prevented, +get dead drunk. I was soon awakened to this startling probability by +the guide, who walked up the road in a very solemn I'm-not-at-all-drunk +sort of a manner, peering about on every side, evidently in search of +me. Having found me, he burst into an expression of unbounded joy; and +then, recollecting that this was inconsistent with his assumed character +of sobriety, became awfully grave, and told me that we must start soon, +as the men were all getting tipsy. + +The following day we arrived at Bytown. + +This town is picturesquely situated on the brow of a stupendous cliff, +which descends precipitously into the Ottawa. Just above the town a +handsome bridge stretches across the river, near which the Kettle Fall +thunders over a high cliff. We only stayed a few minutes here, and then +proceeded on our way. + +During the day we passed the locks of the Rideau Canal, which rise, to +the number of eight or ten, one over another like steps; and immediately +below them appeared the Curtain Falls. These falls are not very +picturesque, but their great height and curtain-like smoothness render +them an interesting object. After this, villages and detached houses +became numerous all the way down the river; and late in the evening of +the 24th we arrived at a station belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, on +the Lake of the Two Mountains, where we passed the remainder of the +night. + +Here, for the first time since leaving home, I was ushered into a +civilised drawing-room; and when I found myself seated on a _cushioned_ +chair, with my moccasined feet pressing a soft carpet, and several real, +_bona fide ladies_ (the wife and daughters of my entertainer) sitting +before me, and asking hundreds of questions about my long voyage, the +strange species of unbelief in the possibility of again seeing the +civilised world, which had beset me for the last three years, began +slowly to give way, and at last entirely vanished when my host showed me +into a handsomely furnished bedroom, and left me for the night. + +The first thing that struck me on entering the bedroom was the +appearance of one of our _voyageurs_, dressed in a soiled blue capote, +dilapidated corduroy trousers, and moccasins; while his deeply sunburnt +face, under a mass of long straggling hair, stared at me in +astonishment! It will doubtless be supposed that I was much horrified +at this apparition. I was, indeed, much surprised; but, seeing that it +was my own image reflected in a full-length looking-glass, I cannot say +that I felt extremely horrified. This was the first time that I had +seen myself--if I may so speak--since leaving Norway House; and, truly, +I had no reason to feel proud of my appearance. + +The following morning, at four o'clock, we left the Lake of the Two +Mountains; and in the afternoon of the 25th October, 1845, arrived at +Lachine, where, for the time, my travels came to a close--having been +journeying in the wilderness for sixty-six days. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Soon after my arrival winter set in, and I became acquainted with a few +of the inhabitants of Lachine. The moment the snow fell, wheeled +carriages were superseded by carioles and sleighs of all descriptions. +These beautiful vehicles are mounted on runners, or large skates, and +slide very smoothly and easily over the snow, except when the road is +bad; and then, owing to the want of springs, sleighs become very rough +carriages indeed. They are usually drawn by one horse, the harness and +trappings of which are profusely covered with small round bells. These +bells are very necessary appendages, as little noise is made by the +approach of a sleigh over the soft snow, and they serve to warn +travellers in the dark. The cheerful tinkling music thus occasioned on +the Canadian roads is very pleasing. Sleighs vary a good deal in +structure and costliness of decoration; and one often meets a rough, +cheerful Canadian _habitant_ sitting in his small box of a sledge +(painted sometimes red and sometimes green), lashing away at his shaggy +pony in a fruitless attempt to keep up with the large graceful sleigh of +a wealthy inhabitant of Montreal, who, wrapped up in furs, drives +tandem, with two strong horses, and loudly tinkling bells. + +Reader, I had very nearly come to the resolution of giving you a long +account of Canada and the Canadians, but I dare not venture on it. I +feel that it would be encroaching upon the ground of civilised authors; +and as I do not belong to this class, but profess to write of savage +life, and nothing but savage life, I hope you will extend to me your +kind forgiveness if I conclude this chapter rather abruptly. + +It is a true saying that the cup of happiness is often dashed from the +lips that are about to taste it. I have sometimes proved this to be the +case. The cup of happiness, on the present occasion, was the enjoyment +of civilised and social life; and the dashing of it away was my being +sent, with very short warning, to an out-of-the-way station, whose name, +to me, was strange--distance uncertain, but long--appearance unknown, +and geographical position a most profound mystery. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Since the above was written, many years have passed, and Dr +Rae's name has become famous, not only on account of successful +discovery, but also in connection with the expeditions sent out in +search of Sir John Franklin. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. It must be borne in mind that all the establishments we passed +on the way belonged to the Hudson Bay Company. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +WINTER-TRAVELLING IN CANADA--DEPARTURE FROM LACHINE--SCENERY ALONG THE +ROAD--"INCIDENTS" BY THE WAY--ARRIVAL AT TADOUSAC--MR. STONE'S ADVENTURE +WITH INDIANS--CLUBBING SEALS. + +It was on a bright winter's day in the month of January 1846 that I was +sent for by the Governor, and told to hold myself in readiness to start +early the following morning with Mr Stone for Tadousac--adding, that +probably I should spend the approaching summer at Seven Islands. + +Tadousac, be it known, is a station about three hundred miles below +Montreal, at the mouth of the river Saguenay, and Seven Islands is two +hundred miles below Tadousac; so that the journey is not a short one. +The greater part of the road runs through an uninhabited country, and +the travelling is bad. + +In preparation for this journey, then, I employed myself during the +remainder of the day; and before night all was ready. + +Next morning I found that our journey was postponed to the following +day, so I went into Montreal to make a few purchases, and passed the +rest of the day in a state of intense thought, endeavouring to find out +if anything had been forgotten. Nothing, however, recurred to my +memory; and going to bed only half undressed, in order to be ready at a +moment's notice, I soon fell into a short disturbed slumber, from which +the servant awakened me long before daylight, by announcing that the +sleigh was at the door. In ten minutes I was downstairs, where Mr +Stone shortly afterwards joined me; and after seeing our traps safely +deposited in the bottom of the sleigh, we jumped in, and slid +noiselessly over the quiet street of Lachine. + +The stars shone brightly as we glided over the crunching snow, and the +sleigh-bells tinkled merrily as our horse sped over the deserted road. +Groups of white cottages and solitary gigantic trees flew past us, +looking, in the uncertain light, like large snow-drifts; save where the +twinkling of a candle, or the first blue flames of the morning fire, +indicated that the industrious _habitant_ had risen to his daily toil. +In silence we glided on our way, till the distant lights of Montreal +awakened us from our reveries, and we met at intervals a solitary +pedestrian, or a sleigh-load of laughing, fur-encompassed faces +returning from an evening party. + +About seven o'clock we arrived at the hotel from which the stage was to +start for Quebec--but when did stage-coach, or sleigh either, keep to +its time? No sign of it was to be seen, and it required no small +application of our knuckles and toes at the door to make the lazy waiter +turn out to let us in. No misery, save being too late, can equal that +of being too soon; at least, so I thought while walking up and down the +coffee-room of the hotel, upon the table of which were scattered the +remains of last night's supper, amid a confusion of newspapers and +fag-ends of cigars; while the sleepy waiter made unavailing efforts to +coax a small spark of fire to contribute some warmth to one or two damp +billets of wood. + +About an hour after its appointed time, the sleigh drove up to the door, +and we hastened to take our places. The stage, however, was full, but +the driver informed us that an "extra" (or separate sleigh of smaller +dimensions than the stage) had been provided for us; so that we enjoyed +the enviable advantage of having it all to ourselves. Crack went the +whip, and off went the leader with a bound, the wheeler following at a +pace between a trot and a gallop, and our "extra" keeping close in the +rear. The lamps were still burning as we left the city, although the +first streaks of dawn illumined the eastern sky. In fifteen minutes +more we had left Montreal far behind. + +There is something very agreeable in the motion of a sleigh along a good +road. The soft muffled sound of the runners gliding over the snow +harmonises well with the tinkling bells; and the rapid motion through +the frosty air, together with the occasional jolt of going into a hollow +or over a hillock, is very exhilarating, and we enjoyed our drive very +much for the first hour or so. But, alas! human happiness is seldom of +long duration, as we soon discovered; for, just as I was falling into a +comfortable doze, bang! went the sleigh into a deep "cahoe," which most +effectually wakened me. Now these same "cahoes" are among the +disadvantages attending sleigh-travelling in Canada. They are nothing +more or less than deep hollows or undulations in the road, into which +the sleighs unexpectedly plunge, thereby pitching the traveller roughly +forward; and upon the horses jerking the vehicles out of them, throwing +him backward in a way that is pretty sure to bring his head into closer +acquaintance with the back of the sleigh than is quite agreeable, +particularly if he be a novice in sleigh-travelling. Those which we now +encountered were certainly the worst I ever travelled over, rising in +succession like the waves of the sea, and making our conveyance plunge +sometimes so roughly that I expected it to go to pieces. Indeed, I +cannot understand how wood and iron could stand the crashes to which we +were exposed. In this way we jolted along, sometimes over good, +sometimes over bad roads, till about nine o'clock, when we stopped at a +neat, comfortable-looking inn, where the driver changed his horses, and +the passengers sat down to a hurried breakfast. + +The morning turned out beautifully clear and warm, at least in +comparison with what it had been; and upon re-entering the sleigh we all +looked extremely happy, and disposed to be pleased with everything and +everybody. The country through which we now passed was picturesque and +varied. Hills and valleys, covered with glittering snow and dark pines, +followed each other in endless succession; while in every valley, and +from every mountain-top, we saw hundreds of hamlets and villages, whose +little streets and thoroughfares were crowded with busy _habitants_, +engaged in their various occupations and winter traffic. + +The laughing voices of merry little children romping along the roads +accorded harmoniously with the lively tinkling of their parents' +sleigh-bells as they set out for the market with the produce of their +farms, or, dressed in their whitest blanket capotes and smartest +_bonnets rouges_, accompanied their wives and daughters to a marriage or +a festival. The scene was rendered still more pleasing by the extreme +clearness of the frosty air and the deep blue of the sky; while the +weather was just cold enough to make the rapid motion of our sleighs +agreeable and necessary. + +In some places the roads were extremely precipitous; and when we arrived +at the foot of a large hill we used generally to get out and walk, +preferring this to being dragged slowly up by the jaded horses. + +During the day our sleighs were upset several times; but Mr Stone and +I, in the "extra," suffered more in this way than those of the regular +stage, as it was much narrower, and, consequently, more liable to tip +over. Upon upsetting, it unaccountably happened that poor Mr Stone was +always undermost. But he submitted to his fate most stoically; though +from the nature of things my elbow invariably thrust him deep into the +snow, on which, after being extricated, a splendid profile impression +was left, to serve as a warning to other travellers, and to show them +that a gentleman had been _cast_ there. + +As very little danger, however, attended these accidents, they only +afforded subject for mirth at the time, and conversation at the end of +the stage--except once, when the sleigh turned over so rapidly, that I +was thrown with considerable force against the roof, which, being of a +kind of slight framework, covered with painted canvas, offered but small +opposition to my flight; my head, consequently, went quite through it, +and my unfortunate nose was divested to rather an alarming extent of its +cutaneous covering. With this exception, we proceeded safely and +merrily along, and about seven o'clock in the evening arrived at the +small town of Three Rivers. + +Early next morning we resumed our journey, and about four in the +afternoon arrived at the famous city of Quebec, without having +encountered any very interesting adventures by the way. + +The first sight we had of Quebec was certainly anything but +prepossessing. A recent fire in the lower town had completely destroyed +a large portion of it; and the first street I passed through was nothing +but a gaunt row of blackened chimneys and skeleton houses, which had a +very melancholy, ghostlike appearance when contrasted with the white +snow. As we advanced, however, to where the fire had been checked, the +streets assumed a more agreeable aspect--shops were open here and there, +and workmen busily employed in repairing damaged houses and pulling down +dangerous ones. Upon arriving at the steep street which leads from the +lower town to within the walls, the immense strength of the ramparts and +fortifications struck me forcibly. The road up which we passed to the +gate was very narrow: on one side a steep hill descended to the lower +town; and on the other towered the city walls, pierced all over with +loopholes, and bristling with cannon. At the head of the road, in an +angle of the wall, two silent but grim-looking guns pointed their +muzzles directly down the road, so as to command it from one end to the +other. All the other parts of the walls that I happened to see were +even more strongly fortified than this. + +The streets of Quebec are very steep, much more so than those of +Edinburgh; and it requires no small exertion to mount one or two without +stopping to breathe at the top. Upon the whole, it is anything but a +pretty town (at least in winter), the houses being high, and the streets +very narrow. The buildings, too, are commonplace; and the monument to +Wolfe and Montcalm is a very insignificant affair. In fact, Quebec can +boast of little else than the magnificent views it commands from the +ramparts, and the impregnable strength of its fortifications. Some of +the suburban villas, however, are very beautiful; and although I saw +them in winter, yet I could form some idea of the enchanting places they +must be in summer. + +After spending three pleasant days here, we got into our sleigh again, +and resumed our journey. + +No stages ran below Quebec, so that we now travelled in the sleigh of a +farmer, who happened to be going down part of the way. + +Soon after leaving the city, we passed quite close to the famous Falls +of Montmorenci. They are as high, if not higher, than those of Niagara, +but I thought them rather tame, being nothing but a broad curtain of +water falling over an even cliff, and quite devoid of picturesque +scenery. A curious cone of ice, formed by the spray, rose nearly +half-way up the falls. + +The scenery below Quebec is much more rugged and mountainous than that +above; and as we advanced the marks of civilisation began gradually to +disappear--villages became scarcer, and roads worse, till at last we +came to the shanties of the wood-cutters, with here and there a solitary +farmhouse. Still, however, we occasionally met a few sleighs, with the +conductors of which our driver seemed to be intimately acquainted. +These little interruptions broke, in a great degree, the monotony of the +journey; and we always felt happier for an hour after having passed and +exchanged with a Canadian a cheerful _bonjour_. + +Our driver happened to be a very agreeable man, and more intelligent +than most Canadians of his class; moreover, he had a good voice, and +when we came to a level part of the road I requested him to sing me a +song--which he did at once, singing with a clear, strong, manly voice +the most beautiful French air I ever heard; both the name and air, +however, I have now forgotten. He then asked me to sing--which I did +without further ceremony, treating him to one of the ancient melodies of +Scotland; and thus, with solos and duets, we beguiled the tedium of the +road, and filled the woods with melody! much to the annoyance of the +unmusical American feathered tribes, and to the edification of our +horse, who pricked up his ears, and often glanced backwards, apparently +in extreme surprise. + +Towards evening the driver told us that we should soon arrive at Baie de +St. Paul; and in half an hour more our weary horse dragged us slowly to +the top of a hill, whence we had a splendid view of the village. In all +the miles of country I had passed over, I had seen nothing to equal the +exquisite beauty of the Vale of Baie de St. Paul. From the hill on +which we stood the whole valley, of many miles in extent, was visible. +It was perfectly level, and covered from end to end with thousands of +little hamlets, and several churches, with here and there a few small +patches of forest. The course of a little rivulet, which meanders +through it in summer, was apparent, even though covered with snow. At +the mouth of this several schooners and small vessels lay embedded in +ice; beyond which rolled the dark, ice-laden waves of the Gulf of St. +Lawrence. The whole valley teemed with human life. Hundreds of +Canadians, in their graceful sleighs and carioles, flew over the +numerous roads intersecting the country; and the faint sound of tinkling +bells floated gently up the mountain-side, till it reached the elevated +position on which we stood. The whole scene was exquisitely calm and +peaceful, forming a strange and striking contrast to the country round +it. Like the Happy Valley of Rasselas, it was surrounded by the most +wild and rugged mountains, which rose in endless succession, one behind +another, stretching away in the distance till they resembled a faint +blue wave on the horizon. In this beautiful place we spent the night, +and the following at Mal Baie. This village was also pretty, but after +Baie de St. Paul I could but little admire it. + +Next night we slept in a shanty belonging to the timber-cutters on the +coast of the gulf, which was truly the most wretched abode, except an +Indian tent, I ever had the chance (or mischance) to sleep in. It was a +small log-hut, with only one room; a low door--to enter which we had to +stoop--and a solitary square window, filled with parchment in lieu of +glass. The furniture was of the coarsest description, and certainly not +too abundant. Everything was extremely dirty, and the close air was +further adulterated with thick clouds of tobacco smoke, which curled +from the pipes of half a dozen wood-choppers. Such was the place in +which we passed the night; and glad was I when the first blush of day +summoned us to resume our travels. We now entered our sleigh for the +last time, and after a short drive arrived at the termination of the +horse road. Here we got out, and rested a short time in a shanty, +preparatory to taking to our snow-shoes. + +The road now lay through the primeval forest, and fortunately it proved +to be pretty well beaten, so we walked lightly along, with our +snow-shoes under our arms. In the afternoon we arrived at another +shanty, having walked about eighteen miles. Here we found a gentleman +who superintended the operations of the lumberers, or wood-cutters. He +kindly offered to drive us to Canard River, a place not far distant from +the termination of our journey. I need scarcely say we gladly accepted +his offer, and in a short time arrived at the river Saguenay. + +This river, owing to its immense depth, never freezes over at its mouth; +so we crossed it in a boat, and on the evening of the 7th of February we +arrived at the post of Tadousac. + +This establishment belongs to the Hudson Bay Company, and is situated at +the bottom of a large and deep bay adjoining the mouth of the river +Saguenay. Unlike the posts of the north, it is merely a group of +houses, scattered about in a hollow of the mountains, without any +attempt at arrangement, and without a stockade. The post, when viewed +from one of the hills in the neighbourhood, is rather picturesque; it is +seen embedded in the mountains, and its white-topped houses contrast +prettily with the few pines around it. A little to the right rolls the +deep, unfathomable Saguenay, at the base of precipitous rocks and abrupt +mountains, covered in some places with stunted pines, but for the most +part bald-fronted. Up the river, the view is interrupted by a large +rock, nearly round, which juts out into the stream, and is named the +"Bull." To the right lies the Bay of St. Catherine, with a new +settlement at its head; and above this flows the majestic St. Lawrence, +compared to which the broad Saguenay is but a thread. + +Tadousac Bay is one of the finest natural harbours in the St. Lawrence. +Being very deep quite close to the shore, it is much frequented by +vessels and craft of every description and dimension. Ships, schooners, +barks, brigs, and bateaux lie calmly at anchor within a stone's-throw of +the bushes on shore; others are seen beating about at the mouth of the +harbour, attempting to enter; while numerous pilot boats sail up and +down, almost under the windows of the house; and in the offing are +hundreds of vessels, whose white sails glimmer on the horizon like the +wings of sea-gulls, as they beat up for anchorage, or proceed on their +course for England or Quebec. The magnificent panorama is closed by the +distant hills of the opposite shore, blending with the azure sky. This, +however, is the only view, the land being a monotonous repetition of +bare granite hills and stunted pines [see note 1]. + +Here, then, for a time, my travels came to a close, and I set about +making myself as comfortable in my new quarters as circumstances would +permit. + +Tadousac I found to be similar, in many respects, to the forts in the +north. The country around was wild, mountainous, and inhabited only by +a few Indians and wild animals. There was no society, excepting that of +Mr Stone's family; the only other civilised being, above the rank of a +labourer, being a gentleman who superintended a timber-cutting and +log-sawing establishment, a quarter of a mile from the Company's post. + +My _bourgeois_, Mr Stone, was a very kind man and an entertaining +companion. He had left Scotland, his native land, when very young, and +had ever since been travelling about and dwelling in the wild woods of +America. A deep scar on the bridge of his nose showed that he had not +passed through these savage countries scathless. The way in which he +came by this scar was curious, so I may relate it here. + +At one of the solitary forts in the wild regions on the west side of the +Rocky Mountains, where my friend Mr Stone dwelt, the Indians were in +the habit of selling horses, of which they had a great many, to the +servants of the Hudson Bay Company. They had, however, an uncommonly +disagreeable propensity to steal these horses again the moment a +convenient opportunity presented itself; and to guard against the +gratification of this propensity was one of the many difficulties that +the fur-traders had to encounter. Upon one occasion a fine horse was +sold by an Indian to Mr Stone, the price (probably several yards of +cloth and a few pounds of tobacco) paid, and the Indian went away. Not +long after the horse was stolen; but as this was an event that often +happened, it was soon forgotten. Winter passed away, spring thawed the +lakes and rivers, and soon a party of Indians arrived with furs and +horses to trade. They were of the Blackfoot tribe, and a wilder set of +fellows one would hardly wish to see. Being much in the habit of +fighting with the neighbouring tribes, they were quite prepared for +battle, and decorated with many of the trophies of war. Scalp-locks +hung from the skirts of their leather shirts and leggins, eagles' +feathers and beads ornamented their heads, and their faces were painted +with stripes of black and red paint. + +After conversing with them a short time, they were admitted through the +wicket one by one, and their arms taken from them and locked up. This +precaution was rendered necessary at these posts, as the Indians used to +buy spirits, and often quarrelled with each other; but, having no arms, +of course they could do themselves little damage. When about a dozen of +them had entered, the gate was shut, and Mr Stone proceeded to trade +their furs and examine their horses, when he beheld, to his surprise, +the horse that had been stolen from him the summer before; and upon +asking to whom it belonged, the same Indian who had formerly sold it to +him stood forward and said it was his. Mr Stone (an exceedingly quiet, +good-natured man, but, like many men of this stamp, very passionate when +roused) no sooner witnessed the fellow's audacity than he seized a gun +from one of his men and shot the horse. The Indian instantly sprang +upon him, but being a less powerful man than Mr Stone, and, withal, +unaccustomed to use his fists, he was soon overcome, and pommelled out +of the fort. Not content with this, Mr Stone followed him down to the +Indian camp, pommelling him all the way. The instant, however, that the +Indian found himself surrounded by his own friends, he faced about, and +with a dozen warriors attacked Mr Stone and threw him on the ground, +where they kicked and bruised him severely; whilst several boys of the +tribe hovered around him with bows and arrows, waiting a favourable +opportunity to shoot him. Suddenly a savage came forward with a large +stone in his hand, and, standing over his fallen enemy, raised it high +in the air and dashed it down upon his face. My friend, when telling me +the story, said that he had just time, upon seeing the stone in the act +of falling, to commend his spirit to God ere he was rendered insensible. +The merciful God, to whom he thus looked for help at the eleventh hour, +did not desert him. Several men belonging to the fort, seeing the turn +things took, hastily armed themselves, and hurrying out to the rescue, +arrived just at the critical moment when the stone was dashed in his +face. Though too late to prevent this, they were in time to prevent a +repetition of the blow; and after a short scuffle with the Indians, +without any blood shed, they succeeded in carrying their master up to +the fort, where he soon recovered. The deep cut made by the stone on +the bridge of his nose left an indelible scar. + +Besides Mr Stone, I had another companion--namely, Mr Jordan, a clerk, +who inhabited the same office with me, and slept in the same bedroom, +during the whole winter. He was a fine-looking athletic half-breed, who +had been partially educated, but had spent much more of his life among +Indians than among civilised men. He used to be sent about the country +to trade with the natives, and consequently led a much more active life +than I did. One part of his business, during the early months of +spring, was hunting seals. This was an amusing, though, withal, rather +a murderous kind of sport. The manner of it was this:-- + +My friend Jordan chose a fine day for his excursion, and, embarking in a +boat with six or seven men, sailed a few miles down the St. Lawrence, +till he came to a low flat point. In a small bay near this he drew up +the boat, and then went into the woods with his party, where each man +cut a large pole or club. Arming themselves with these, they waited +until the tide receded and left the point dry. In a short time one or +two seals crawled out of the sea to bask upon the shore; soon several +more appeared, and ere long a band of more than a hundred lay sunning +themselves upon the beach. The ambuscade now prepared to attack the +enemy. Creeping stealthily down as near as possible without being +discovered, they simultaneously rushed upon the astonished animals; and +the tragic scene of slaughter, mingled with melodramatic and comic +incidents, that ensued, baffles all description. In one place might be +seen my friend Jordan swinging a huge club round with his powerful arms, +and dealing death and destruction at every blow; while in another place +a poor weazened-looking Scotchman (who had formerly been a tailor! and +to whom the work was new) advanced, with cautious trepidation, towards a +huge seal, which spluttered and splashed fearfully in its endeavours to +reach the sea, and dealt it a blow on the back. He might as well have +hit a rock. The slight rap had only the effect of making the animal +show its teeth; at which sight the tailor retreated precipitately, and, +striking his heel against a rock, fell backwards into a pool of water, +where he rolled over and over--impressed, apparently, with the idea that +he was attacked by all the seals in the sea. His next essay, however, +was more successful, and in a few minutes he killed several, having +learned to hit on the head instead of on the back. In less than a +quarter of an hour they killed between twenty and thirty seals, which +were stowed in the boat and conveyed to the post. + +Nothing worth mentioning took place at Tadousac during my residence +there. The winter became severe and stormy, confining us much to the +house, and obliging us to lead very humdrum sort of lives. Indeed, the +only thing that I can recollect as being at all interesting or amusing-- +except, of coarse, the society of my scientific and agreeable friend, +Mr Stone, and his amiable family--was a huge barrel-organ, which, like +the one that I had found at Oxford House, played a rich variety of psalm +tunes, and a choice selection of Scotch reels--the grinding out of which +formed the chief solace of my life, until the arrival of an auspicious +day when I received sudden orders to prepare for another journey. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. It may be well to say that the above description applied to the +country only in the summer and autumn months. It is now, we believe, an +important summer resort, and a comparatively populous place. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +A JOURNEY ON SNOW-SHOES--EVILS OF SNOW-SHOE TRAVELLING IN SPRING--VALUE +OF TEA TO A TIRED MAN--ENCAMP IN THE SNOW--ISLE JEREMIE--CANOEING AND +BOATING ON THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE--AMATEUR NAVIGATING--SEVEN ISLANDS-- +A NARROW ESCAPE--CONCLUSION. + +It was on a cold, bleak morning, about the beginning of March 1846, that +I awoke from a comfortable snooze in my bedroom at Tadousac, and +recollected that in a few hours I must take leave of my present +quarters, and travel, on snow-shoes, sixty miles down the Gulf of St. +Lawrence to the post of Isle Jeremie. + +The wind howled mournfully through the leafless trees, and a few flakes +of snow fell upon the window as I looked out upon the cheerless +prospect. Winter--cold, biting, frosty winter--still reigned around. +The shores of Tadousac Bay were still covered with the same coat of ice +that had bound them up four months before; and the broad St. Lawrence +still flowed on, black as ink, and laden with immense fields and +hummocks of dirty ice, brought down from the banks of the river above. +The land presented one uniform chilling prospect of bare trees and deep +snow, over which I was soon to traverse many a weary mile. + +There is nothing, however, like taking things philosophically; so, after +venting my spite at the weather in one or two short grumbles, I sat down +in a passable state of equanimity to breakfast. During the meal I +discussed with Mr Stone the prospects of the impending journey, and +indulged in a few excursive remarks upon snow-shoe travelling, whilst he +related a few incidents of his own eventful career in the country. + +On one occasion he was sent off upon a long journey over the snow, where +the country was so mountainous that snowshoe walking was rendered +exceedingly painful, by the feet slipping forward against the front bar +of the shoe when descending the hills. After he had accomplished a good +part of his journey, two large blisters rose under the nails of his +great toes; and soon the nails themselves came off. Still he must go +on, or die in the woods; so he was obliged to _tie_ the nails on his +toes each morning before starting, for the purpose of protecting the +tender parts beneath; and every evening he wrapped them up carefully in +a piece of rag, and put them into his waistcoat pocket--_being afraid of +losing them if he kept them on all night_. + +After breakfast I took leave of my friends at Tadousac, and, with a pair +of snow-shoes under my arm, followed my companion Jordan to the boat +which was to convey me the first twenty miles of the journey, and then +land me, with one man, who was to be my only companion. In the boat was +seated a Roman Catholic priest, on his way to visit a party of Indians a +short distance down the gulf. The shivering men shipped their oars in +silence, and we glided through the black water, while the ice grated +harshly against the boat's sides as we rounded Point Rouge. Another +pull, and Tadousac was hidden from our view. + +Few things can be more comfortless or depressing than a sail down the +Gulf of St. Lawrence on a gloomy winter's day, with the thermometer at +zero! The water looks so black and cold, and the sky so gray, that it +makes one shudder, and turn to look upon the land. But there no +cheering prospect meets the view. Rocks--cold, hard, misanthropic +rocks--grin from beneath volumes of snow; and the few stunted +black-looking pines that dot the banks here and there only tend to +render the scene more desolate. No birds fly about to enliven the +traveller; and the only sound that meets the ear, besides the low +sighing of the cold, cold wind, is the crashing of immense fields of +ice, as they meet and war in the eddies of opposing currents. +Fortunately, however, there was no ice near the shore, and we met with +little interruption on the way. The priest bore the cold like a stoic; +and my friend Jordan, being made, metaphorically speaking, of iron, +treated it with the contemptuous indifference that might be expected +from such metal. + +In the evening we arrived at Esquimain River, where we took up our +quarters in a small log-hut belonging to a poor seal-fisher, whose +family, and a few men who attended a sawmill a short distance off, were +the only inhabitants of this little hamlet. Here we remained all night, +and prepared our snow-shoes for the morrow, as the boat was there to +leave us and return to Tadousac. The night was calm and frosty, and +everything gave promise of fine weather for our journey. But who can +tell what an hour will bring forth? Before morning the weather became +milder, and soon it began to _thaw_. A fine warm day, with a bright +sun, be it known, is one of the most dreadful calamities that can befall +a snowshoe traveller, as the snow then becomes soft and sticky, thereby +drenching the feet and snow-shoes, which become painfully heavy from the +quantity of snow which sticks to and falls upon them. In cold frosty +weather the snow is dry, crisp, and fine, so that it falls through the +network of the snow-shoe without leaving a feather's weight behind, +while the feet are dry and warm; but a thaw!--oh! it is useless +attempting to recapitulate the miseries attending a thaw; my next day's +experience will show what it is. + +Early on the following morning I jumped from my bed on the floor of the +hut, and proceeded to equip myself for the march. The apartment in +which I had passed the night presented a curious appearance. It +measured about sixteen feet by twelve, and the greater part of this +space was occupied by two beds, on which lay, in every imaginable +position, the different members of the half-breed family to whom +the mansion belonged. In the centre of the room stood a +coarsely-constructed deal table, on which lay in confusion the remains +of the preceding night's supper. On the right of this, a large +gaudily-painted Yankee clock graced the wall, and stared down upon the +sleeping figures of the men. This, with a few rough wooden chairs and a +small cupboard, comprised all the furniture of the house. + +I soon singled out _my_ man from among the sleeping figures on the +floor, and bade him equip himself for the road--or rather for the march, +for road we had none. In half an hour we were ready; and having +fortified ourselves with a cup of weak tea and a slice of bread, left +the house and commenced our journey. + +My man Bezeau (a French Canadian) was dressed in a blue striped cotton +shirt, of very coarse quality, and a pair of corduroys, strapped round +his waist with a scarlet belt. Over these he wore a pair of blue cloth +leggins, neatly bound with orange-coloured ribbon. A Glengarry bonnet +covered his head; and two pairs of flannel socks, under a pair of raw +seal-skin shoes, protected his feet from the cold. His burden consisted +of my carpet-bag, two days' provisions, and a blue cloth capote--which +latter he carried over his shoulder, the weather being warm. My dress +consisted of a scarlet flannel shirt, and a pair of _etoffe du pays_ +trousers, which were fastened round my waist by a leathern belt, from +which depended a small hunting-knife; a foraging cap and deer-skin +moccasins completed my costume. My burden was a large green blanket, a +greatcoat, and a tin tea-kettle. Our only arms of offence or defence +were the little hunting-knife before mentioned, and a small axe for +felling trees, should we wish to make a fire. We brought no guns, as +there was little prospect of meeting any game on the road; and it +behoves one, when travelling on foot, to carry as little as possible. + +Thus we started from Esquimain River. The best joke, however, of all +was, that neither I nor my man had ever travelled that way before! All +we knew was, that we had to walk fifty miles through an uninhabited +country, and that then we should, or at least ought to, reach Isle +Jeremie. There were two solitary houses, however, that we had to pass +on the way; the one an outpost of the Hudson Bay Company, the other a +saw-mill belonging to one of the lumber companies (or timber-traders) in +Quebec. In fact, the best idea of our situation may be had from the +following lines, which may be supposed to have been uttered by the +establishment to which we were bound:-- + + "Through the woods, through the woods, follow and find me, + Search every hollow, and dingle, and dell; + To the right, left, or front, you may pass, or behind me, + Unless you are careful, and look for me well." + +The first part of our road lay along the shores of the St. Lawrence. + +The sun shone brightly, and the drifting ice in the gulf glittered in +its rays as it flowed slowly out to sea; but ere long the warm rays +acted upon the snow, and rendered walking toilsome and fatiguing. After +about an hour's walk along the shore, we arrived at the last hut we were +likely to see that day. It was inhabited by an Indian and his family. +Here we rested a few minutes, and I renewed my snow-shoe lines, the old +ones having broken by the way. + +Shortly after this we passed the wreck of what had once been a fine +ship. She lay crushed and dismasted among the rocks and lumps of ice +which lined the desolate shore, her decks and the stumps of her masts +drifted over with snow. Six short months before, she had bounded over +the Atlantic wave in all the panoply of sail and rigging pertaining to a +large three-master, inclosing in her sturdy hull full many a daring +heart beating high with sanguine hopes, and dreaming of fame and glory, +or perchance of home. But now, how great the change!--her sails and +masts uprooted, and her helm--the seaman's confidence and safeguard-- +gone; her bed upon the rocks and pebbles of a dreary shore; and her +shattered hull hung round with icicles, and wrapped in the cold embraces +of the wintry ocean. Few things, I think, can have a more inexpressibly +melancholy appearance than a wreck upon a rocky and deserted shore in +winter. + +The road now began to get extremely bad. The ice, over which we had to +walk for miles, had been covered with about six inches of water and +snow. A sharp frost during the night had covered this with a cake of +ice sufficiently strong to bear us up until we got fairly upon it, and +were preparing to take another step, when down it went--so that we had a +sort of natural treadmill to exercise ourselves upon all day; while +every time we sank, as a matter of course our snowshoes were covered +with a mixture of water, snow, and broken ice, to extricate our feet +from which almost pulled our legs out of the sockets. + +In this way we plodded slowly and painfully along, till we came to a +part of the shore where the ice had been entirely carried off, leaving +the sandy beach uncovered for about two miles. We gladly took advantage +of this, and, pulling off our snow-shoes, walked along among the shells +and tangle of the sea-shore. At this agreeable part of our journey, +while we walked lightly along, with our snow-shoes under our arms, I +fell into a reverie upon the superior advantages of travelling in cold +weather, and the delights of walking on sandy beaches in contrast with +wet snow. These cogitations, however, were suddenly interrupted by our +arrival at the place where the ice had parted from the general mass; so, +with a deep sigh, we resumed our snow-shoes. My feet, from the friction +of the lines, now began to feel very painful; so, having walked about +ten miles, I proposed taking a rest. To this my man, who seemed rather +tired, gladly acceded, and we proceeded to light a fire under the stem +of a fallen tree which opportunely presented itself. + +Here we sat down comfortably together; and while our wet shoes and socks +dried before the blazing fire, and our chafed toes wriggled joyously at +being relieved from the painful harness of the snow-shoes, we swallowed +a cup of congou with a degree of luxurious enjoyment, appreciable only +by those who have walked themselves into a state of great exhaustion +after a hurried breakfast. + +Greatly refreshed by the tea, we resumed our journey in better spirits, +and even affected to believe we were taking an agreeable afternoon walk +for the first mile or so. We soon, however, fell to zero again, as we +gazed wistfully upon the long line of coast stretching away to the +horizon. But there was no help for it; on we splashed, sometimes +through ice, water, and snow, and sometimes across the shingly beach, +till the day was far spent, when I became so exhausted that I could +scarcely drag one foot after the other, and moved along almost +mechanically. My man, too, strong as he was, exhibited symptoms of +fatigue; though, to do him justice, he was at least seven times more +heavily laden than I. + +While we jogged slowly along in this unenviable condition, a lump of ice +offered so tempting a seat that we simultaneously proposed to sit down. +This was very foolish. Resting without a fire is bad at all times; and +the exhausted condition we were then in made it far worse, as I soon +found to my cost. Tired as I was before, I could have walked a good +deal farther; but no sooner did I rise again to my feet than an +inexpressible weakness overcame me, and I felt that I could go no +farther. This my man soon perceived, and proposed making a fire and +having a cup of tea; and then, if I felt better, we might proceed. This +I agreed to; so, entering the woods, we dug a hole in the snow, and in +half an hour had a fire blazing in it that would have roasted an ox! In +a short time a panful of snow was converted into hot tea; and as I sat +sipping this, and watching the white smoke as it wreathed upwards from +the pipe of my good-natured guide, I never felt rest more delightful. + +The tea refreshed us so much that we resumed our journey, intending, if +possible, to reach Port Neuf during the night; and as we calculated that +we had walked between fifteen and eighteen miles, we hoped to reach it +in a few hours. + +Away, then, we went, and plodded on till dark without reaching the post; +nevertheless, being determined to travel as long as we could, we pushed +on till near midnight, when, being quite _done up_, and seeing no sign +of the establishment, we called a council of war, and sat down on a lump +of ice to discuss our difficulties. I suggested that if we had not +already passed the post, in all probability we should do so, if we +continued to travel any farther in the dark. My companion admitted that +he entertained precisely the same views on the subject; and, +furthermore, that as we both seemed pretty tired, and there happened to +be a nice little clump of willows, intermixed with pine trees, close at +hand, his opinion was that nothing better could be done than encamping +for the night. I agreed to this; and the resolution being carried +unanimously, the council adjourned, and we proceeded to make our +encampment. + +First of all, the snow was dug away from the foot of a large pine with +our snow-shoes, which we used as spades; and when a space of about ten +feet long, by six broad, was cleared, we covered it with pine branches +at one end, and made a roaring fire against the tree at the other. The +snow rose all around to the height of about four feet, so that when our +fire blazed cheerily, and our supper was spread out before it upon my +green blanket, we looked very comfortable indeed--and what was of much +more consequence, _felt_ so. Supper consisted of a cup of tea, a loaf +of bread, and a lump of salt butter. After having partaken largely of +these delicacies, we threw a fresh log upon the fire, and rolling +ourselves in our blankets, were soon buried in repose. + +Next morning, on awaking, the first thing I became aware of was the fact +that it was raining, and heavily too, in the shape of a Scotch mist. I +could scarcely believe it, and rubbed my eyes to make sure; but there +was no mistake about it at all. The sky was gray, cold, and dismal, and +the blanket quite wet! "Well," thought I, as I fell back in a sort of +mute despair, "this is certainly precious weather for snow-shoe +travelling!" I nudged my sleeping companion, and the look of melancholy +resignation which he put on, as he became gradually aware of the state +of matters, convinced me that bad as yesterday had been, to-day would be +far worse. + +When I got upon my legs, I found that every joint in my body was stiffer +than the rustiest hinge ever heard of in the annals of doors! and my +feet as tender as a chicken's, with huge blisters all over them. +Bezeau, however, though a little stiff, was otherwise quite well, being +well inured to hardships of every description. + +It is needless to recount the miseries of the five miles' walk that we +had to make before arriving at Port Neuf, over ground that was literally +next to impassable. About nine o'clock we reached the house, and +remained there for the rest of the day. Here, for three days, we were +hospitably entertained by the Canadian family inhabiting the place; +during this time it rained and thawed so heavily that we could not +venture to resume our journey. + +On the 16th the weather became colder, and Bezeau announced his opinion +that we might venture to proceed. Glad to be once more on the move--for +fears of being arrested altogether by the setting-in of spring had begun +to beset me--I once more put on my snow-shoes; and, bidding adieu to the +hospitable inmates of Port Neuf, we again wended our weary way along the +coast. Alas! our misfortunes had not yet ceased. The snow was much +softer than we anticipated, and the blisters on my feet, which had +nearly healed during the time we stayed at Port Neuf, were now torn open +afresh. After a painful and laborious walk of eight or nine miles, we +arrived at a small house, where a few enterprising men lived who had +penetrated thus far down the gulf to erect a saw-mill. + +Here we found, to our infinite joy, a small flat-bottomed boat, capable +of carrying two or three men; so, without delay, we launched it, and +putting our snow-shoes and provisions into it, my man and I jumped in, +and pulled away down the gulf, intending to finish the twenty miles that +still remained of our journey by water. We were obliged to pull a long +way out to sea, to avoid the ice which lined the shore, and our course +lay a good deal among drifting masses. + +Half an hour after we embarked a snow-storm came on, but still we pulled +along, preferring anything to resuming the snow-shoes. + +After a few hours' rowing, we rested on our oars, and refreshed +ourselves with a slice of bread and a glass of rum--which latter, having +forgotten to bring water with us, we were obliged to drink pure. We +certainly cut a strange figure, while thus lunching in our little boat-- +surrounded by ice, and looking hazy through the thickly falling snow, +which prevented us from seeing very far ahead, and made the mountains on +shore look quite spectral. + +For about five miles we pulled along in a straight line, after which the +ice trended outwards, and finally brought us to a stand-still by running +straight out to sea. This was an interruption we were not at all +prepared for, and we felt rather undecided how to proceed. After a +little confabulation, we determined to pull out, and see if the ice did +not again turn in the proper direction; but after pulling straight out +for a quarter of a mile, we perceived, or imagined we perceived, to our +horror, that the ice, instead of being stationary, as we supposed it to +be, was floating slowly out to sea with the wind, and carrying us along +with it. No time was to be lost; so, wheeling about, we rowed with all +our strength for the shore, and after a pretty stiff pull gained the +solid ice. Here we hauled the flat up out of the water with great +difficulty, and once more put on our snow-shoes. + +Our road still lay along shore, and, as the weather was getting colder, +we proceeded along much more easily than heretofore. In an hour or two +the snow ceased to fall, and showed us that the ice was _not_ drifting, +but that it ran so far out to sea that it would have proved a bar to our +further progress by water at any rate. + +The last ten miles of our journey now lay before us; and we sat down, +before starting, to have another bite of bread and a pull at the rum +bottle; after which, we trudged along in silence. The peculiar +compression of my guide's lips, and the length of step that he now +adopted, showed me that he had made up his mind to get through the last +part of the journey without stopping; so, tightening my belt, and +bending my head forward, I plodded on, solacing myself as we advanced by +humming, "Follow, follow, over mountain,--follow, follow, over sea!" +etcetera. + +About four or five o'clock in the afternoon, upon rounding a point, we +were a little excited by perceiving evident signs of the axe having been +at work in the forest; and a little farther on discovered, to our +inexpressible joy, a small piece of ground enclosed as a garden. This +led us to suppose that the post could not be far off, so we pushed +forward rapidly; and upon gaining the summit of a small eminence, beheld +with delight the post of Isle Jeremie. + +This establishment, like most of the others on the St. Lawrence, is +merely a collection of scattered buildings, most of which are +storehouses and stables. It stands in a hollow of the mountains, and +close to a large bay, where sundry small boats and a sloop lay quietly +at anchor. Upon a little hillock close to the principal house is a +Roman Catholic chapel; and behind it stretches away the broad St. +Lawrence, the south shore of which is indistinctly seen on the horizon. +We had not much inclination, however, to admire the scenery just then; +so, hastening down the hill, my man walked into the men's house, where +in five minutes he was busily engaged eating bread and pork, and +recounting his adventures to a circle of admiring friends; while I +warmed myself beside a comfortable fire in the hall, and chatted with +the gentleman in charge of the establishment. + +At Isle Jeremie I remained about six weeks; or rather, I should say, +belonged to the establishment for that time, as during a great part of +it I was absent from the post. Mr Coral, soon after my arrival, went +to visit the Company's posts lower down the St. Lawrence, leaving me in +charge of Isle Jeremie; and as I had little or nothing to do in the way +of business (our Indians not having arrived from the interior), most of +my time was spent in reading and shooting. + +It was here I took my first lessons in navigation--I mean in a practical +way; as for the scientific part of the business, that was deferred to a +more favourable opportunity--and, truly, the lessons were rather rough. +The way of it was this:--Our flour at Isle Jeremie had run out. Indians +were arriving every day calling loudly for flour, and more were +expected; so Mr Coral told me, one fine morning, to get ready to go to +Tadousac in the boat for a load of flour. This I prepared to do at +once, and started after breakfast in a large boat, manned by two men. +The wind was fair, and I fired a couple of shots with my fowling-piece, +as we cleared the harbour, in answer to an equal number of salutes from +two iron cannons that stood in front of the house. By-the-bye, one of +these guns had a melancholy interest attached to it a few months after +this. While firing a salute of fourteen rounds, in honour of the +arrival of a Roman Catholic bishop, one of them exploded while the man +who acted as gunner was employed in ramming home the cartridge, and blew +him about twenty yards down the bank. The unfortunate man expired in a +few hours. Poor fellow! he was a fine little Canadian, and had sailed +with me, not many weeks before, in a voyage up the St. Lawrence. But to +return. Our voyage, during the first few days, was prosperous enough, +and I amused myself in shooting the gulls which were foolish enough to +come within range of my gun, and in recognizing the various places along +shore where I had rested and slept on the memorable occasion of my +snow-shoe trip. + +But when did the St. Lawrence prove friendly for an entire voyage? +Certainly not when I had the pleasure of ploughing its rascally waters! +The remainder of our voyage was a succession of squalls, calms, contrary +winds, sticking on shoals for hours, and being detained on shore, with +an accompaniment of pitching, tossing, oscillation and botheration, that +baffles all description. However, time brings the greatest miseries to +an end; and in the process of time we arrived at Tadousac--loaded our +boat deeply with flour--shook hands with our friends--related our +adventures--bade them adieu--and again found ourselves scudding down the +St. Lawrence, with a snoring breeze on our quarter. + +Now this was truly a most delectable state of things, when contrasted +with our wretched trip up; so we wrapped our blankets round us (for it +was very cold), and felicitated ourselves considerably on such good +fortune. It was rather premature, however; as, not long after, we had a +very narrow escape from being swamped. The wind, as I said before, was +pretty strong, and it continued so the whole way; so that on the evening +of the second day we came within sight of Isle Jeremie, while running +before a stiff breeze, through the green waves which were covered with +foam. Our boat had a "drooping nose," and was extremely partial to what +the men termed "drinking;" in other words, it shipped a good deal of +water over the bows. Now it happened that while we were straining our +eyes ahead, to catch a sight of our haven, an insidious squall was +creeping fast down behind us. The first intimation we had of its +presence was a loud and ominous hiss, which made us turn our heads round +rather smartly; but it was too late--for with a howl, that appeared to +be quite vicious the wind burst upon our sails, and buried the boat in +the water, which rushed in a cataract over the bows, and nearly filled +us in a moment, although the steersman threw her into the wind +immediately. The sheets were instantly let go, and one of the men, who +happened to be a sailor, jumped up, and, seizing an axe, began to cut +down the main-mast, at the same time exclaiming to the steersman, +"You've done for us now, Cooper!" He was mistaken, however, for the +sails were taken in just in time to save us; and, while the boat lay +tumbling in the sea, we all began to bail, with anything we could lay +hands on, as fast as we could. In a few minutes the boat was lightened +enough to allow of our hoisting the fore-sail; and about half an hour +afterwards we were safely anchored in the harbour. + +This happened within about three or four hundred yards of the shore; yet +the best swimmer in the world would have been drowned ere he reached it, +as the water was so bitterly cold, that when I was bailing for my life, +and, consequently, in pretty violent exercise, my hands became quite +benumbed and almost powerless. + +Shortly after this I was again sent up to Tadousac, in charge of a small +bateau, of about ten or fifteen tons, with a number of shipwrecked +seamen on board. These unfortunate men had been cast on shore about the +commencement of winter, on an uninhabited part of the coast, and had +remained without provisions or fire for a long time, till they were +discovered by a gentleman of the Hudson Bay Company, and conveyed over +the snow in sleighs to the nearest establishment, which happened to be +Isle Jeremie. Here they remained all winter, in a most dreadfully +mutilated condition, some of them having been desperately frozen. One +of the poor fellows, a negro, had one of his feet frozen off at the +ankle, and had lost all the toes and the heel of the other, the bone +being laid bare for about an inch and a half. Mr Coral, the gentleman +who had saved them, did all in his power to relieve their distress-- +amputating their frozen limbs, and dressing their wounds, while they +were provided with food and warm clothing. I am sorry to say, however, +that these men, who would have perished had it not been for Mr Coral's +care of them, were the first, upon arriving at Quebec the following +spring, to open their mouths in violent reproach and bitter invective +against him; forgetting that, while their only charge against him was a +little severity in refusing them a few trifling and unnecessary +luxuries, he had saved them from a painful and lingering death. + +In a couple of days we arrived at Tadousac the second time, to the no +small astonishment of my brother scribbler residing there. After +reloading our craft, we directed our course once more down the gulf. + +This time the wind was also favourable, but, unfortunately, a little too +strong; so we were obliged, in the evening, to come to an anchor in +Esquimain River. This river has good anchorage close to the bank, but +is very deep in the lead, or current; this, however, we did not know at +the time, and seeing a small schooner close to shore, we rounded to a +few fathoms outside of her, and let go our anchor. Whirr! went the +chain--ten! twelve! sixteen! till at last forty fathoms ran out, and +only a little bit remained on board, and still we had no bottom. After +attaching our spare cable to the other one, the anchor at last grounded. +This, however, was a dangerous situation to remain in, as, if the wind +blew strong, we would have to run out to sea, and so much cable would +take a long time to get in; so I ordered my two men, in a very pompous, +despotic way, to heave up the anchor again. But not a bit would it +budge. We all heaved at the windlass; still the obstinate anchor held +fast. Again we gave another heave, and smashed both the handspikes. + +In this dilemma I begged assistance from the neighbouring schooner, and +they kindly sent all their men on board with new handspikes; but our +refractory anchor would _not_ let go, and at last it was conjectured +that it had got foul of a rock, and that it was not in the power of +mortal man to move it. Under these pleasant circumstances we went to +bed, in hopes that the falling tide might swing us clear before morning. +This turned out just as we expected--or, rather, a little better--for +next morning, when I went on deck, I found that we were drifting quietly +down the gulf, stern foremost, all the sails snugly tied up, and the +long cable dragging at the bows! Towards evening we arrived at Jeremie, +and I gladly resigned command of the vessel to my first lieutenant. + +One afternoon, near the middle of April, I sat sunning myself in the +veranda before the door of the principal house at Isle Jeremie, and +watched the fields of ice, as they floated down the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, occasionally disappearing behind the body of a large pig, +which stood upon a hillock close in front of me, and then reappearing +again as the current swept them slowly past the intervening obstacle. + +Mr Coral, with whom I had been leading a very quiet, harmless sort of +life for a couple of weeks past, leant against a wooden post, gazing +wistfully out to sea. Suddenly he turned towards me, and with great +gravity told me that, as there was nothing particular for me to do at +the establishment, he meant to send me down to Seven Islands, to relieve +the gentleman at that post of his charge; adding, that as he wished me +to set off the following morning at an early hour, I had better pack up +a few things to-night. + +Now, this order may not seem, at the first glance, a very dreadful one; +but taking into consideration that Seven Islands is one hundred and +twenty miles below the post at which I then resided, it did appear as if +one would wish to think about it a little before starting. Not having +time to think about it, however, I merely, in a sort of bantering +desperation, signified my readiness to undertake a voyage to any part of +the undiscovered world, at any moment he (Mr Coral) might think proper, +and then vanished, to prepare myself for the voyage. + +It was optional with me whether I should walk through one hundred and +twenty miles of primeval and most impassable forest, or paddle over an +equal number of miles of water. Preferring the latter, as being at once +the less disagreeable and more expeditious method, I accordingly, on the +following morning, embarked in a small Indian canoe, similar to the one +in which I had formerly travelled with two Indians in the North-West. +My companions were--a Canadian, who acted as steersman; a genuine +Patlander, who ostensibly acted as bowsman, but in reality was more +useful in the way of ballast; and a young Newfoundland dog, which I had +got as a present from Mr Stone while at Tadousac. + +When we were all in our allotted places, the canoe was quite full; and +we started from Isle Jeremie in good spirits, with the broad, sun-like +face of Mike Lynch looming over the bows of the canoe, and the black +muzzle of Humbug (the dog) resting on its gunwale. + +It is needless to describe the voyage minutely. We had the usual amount +of bad and good weather, and ran the risk several times of upsetting; we +had, also, several breakfasts, dinners, suppers, and beds in the forest; +and on the afternoon of the third day we arrived at Goodbout, an +establishment nearly half-way between the post I had left and the one to +which I was bound. Here we stayed all night, proposing to start again +on the morrow. But the weather was so stormy as to prevent us for a +couple of days trusting ourselves out in a frail bark canoe. + +Early on the third morning, however, I took my place as steersman in the +stern of our craft (my former guide being obliged to leave me here), and +my man Mike squeezed his unwieldy person into the bow. In the middle +lay our provisions and baggage, over which the black muzzle of Humbug +peered anxiously out upon the ocean. In this trim we paddled from the +beach, amid a shower of advice to keep close to shore, in case the +_big-fish_--alias, the whales--might take a fancy to upset us. + +After a long paddle of five or six hours we arrived at Pointe des Monts, +where rough weather obliged us to put ashore. Here I remained all +night, and slept in the lighthouse--a cylindrical building of moderate +height, which stands on a rock off Pointe des Monte, and serves to warn +sailors off the numerous shoals with which this part of the gulf is +filled. In the morning we fortunately found an Indian with his boat, +who was just starting for Seven Islands; and after a little higgling, at +which Mike proved himself quite an adept, he agreed to give us a lift +for a few pounds of tobacco. Away, then, we went, with:-- + + "A wet sheet and a flowing sea, + And a wind that followed fast," + +ploughing through the water in beautiful style. + +The interior of our boat presented a truly ludicrous, and rather filthy +scene. The Indian, who was a fine-looking man of about thirty, had +brought his whole family--sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, wife, and +mother--and a more heterogeneous mass of dirty, dark-skinned humanity I +never before had the ill-luck to travel with. The mother of the flock +was the most extraordinary being that I ever beheld. She must have been +very near a hundred years old, as black and wrinkled as a singed hide, +yet active and playful as a kitten. She was a very bad sailor, however, +and dived down into the bottom of the boat the moment a puff of wind +arose. Indians have a most extraordinary knack of diminishing their +bulk, which is very convenient sometimes. Upon this occasion it was +amusing to watch them settling gradually down, upon the slightest +appearance of wind, until you might almost believe they had squeezed +themselves quite through the bottom of the boat, and left only a few +dirty blankets to tell the tale. Truly, one rarely meets with such a +compact mass of human ballast. If, however, a slight lull occurred, or +the sun peeped out from behind a cloud, there was immediately a +perceptible increase in the bulk of the mass, and gradually a few heads +appeared, then a leg, and soon a few arms; till at last the whole batch +were up, laughing, talking, singing, eating, and chattering in a most +uproarious state of confusion! + +After the usual amount of storms, calms, and contrary winds, we arrived +in safety at the post of Seven Islands, where I threw my worthy friend +Mr Anderson into a state of considerable surprise and agitation by +informing him that in the individual before him he beheld his august +successor! + +The establishment of Seven Islands is anything but an inviting place, +although pretty enough on a fine day; and the general appearance of the +surrounding scenery is lonely, wild, and desolate. The houses are built +on a low sandy beach, at the bottom of the large bay of Seven Islands. +The trees around are thinly scattered, and very small. In the +background, rugged hills stretch as far as the eye can see; and in +front, seven lofty islands, from which the bay and post derive their +name, obstruct the view, affording only a partial glimpse of the open +sea beyond. No human habitations exist within seventy miles of the +place. Being out of the line of sailing, no vessels ever visit it, +except when driven to the bay for shelter; and the bay is so large, that +many vessels come in and go out again without having been observed. +Altogether, I found it a lonely and desolate place, during a residence +of nearly four months. + +An extensive salmon-fishery is carried on at a large river called the +Moisie, about eighteen miles below the post, where the Company sometimes +catch and salt upwards of eighty and ninety tierces of fish. + +During my sojourn there, I made one or two excursions to the fishery, a +description of which may perhaps prove interesting to those versed in +the more practical branches of ichthyology. + +It was a lovely morning in June when Mr Anderson and I set out from +Seven Islands on foot, with our coats (for the weather was warm) slung +across our backs, and walked rapidly along the beach in the direction of +the river Moisie. The weather was very calm, and the mosquitoes, +consequently, rather annoying; but, as our progressive motion +disconcerted their operations a little, we did not mind them much. The +beach all the way was composed of fine hard sand, so that we found the +walk very agreeable. A few loons dived about in the sea, and we passed +two or three flocks of black ducks, known in some parts of the country +by the name of "old wives;" but, having brought no gun with us, the old +ladies were permitted to proceed on their way unmolested. The land all +along presented the same uniform line of forest, with the yellow sand of +the beach glittering at its edge; and as we cleared the islands, the +boundless ocean opened upon our view. + +In about four hours or so we arrived at the mouth of the Moisie, where +the first fishery is established. Here we found that our men had caught +and salted a good many salmon, some of which had just come from the +nets, and lay on the grass, plump and glittering, in their pristine +freshness. They looked very tempting, and we had one put in the kettle +immediately; which, when we set to work at him soon afterwards, +certainly did not belie his looks. The salmon had only commenced to +ascend the river that day, and were being taken by fifties at a haul in +the nets. The fishery was attended by three men, who kept seven or +eight nets constantly in the water, which gave them enough of +employment--two of them attending to the nets, while the third split, +salted, and packed the fish in large vats. Here we spent the night, and +slept in a small house about ten feet long by eight broad, built for the +accommodation of the fishermen. + +Next morning we embarked in a boat belonging to a trapper, and went up +the river with a fair wind, to visit the fisheries higher up. On the +way we passed a seal-net belonging to the owner of the boat, and at our +request he visited it, and found seven or eight fine seals in it: they +were all dead, and full of water. Seal-nets are made the same as +salmon-nets, except that the mesh is larger, the seal having a pretty +good-sized cranium of his own. After a good deal of unravelling and +pulling, we got them all out of the net, and proceeded onward with our +cargo. + +The scenery on the river Moisie is pleasing: the banks are moderately +high, and covered to the foot with the richest and most variegated +verdure; while here and there, upon rounding some of the curvatures of +the stream, long vistas of the river may be seen, embedded in luxuriant +foliage. Thirteen or fourteen miles up the river is the Frog Creek +fishery, at which we arrived late in the afternoon, and found that the +man superintending it had taken a good many fish, and expected more. He +visited his nets while we were there, but returned with only a few +salmon. Some of them were badly cut up by the seals, which are the most +formidable enemies of fishermen, as they eat and destroy many salmon, +besides breaking the nets. We were detained here by rain all night, and +slept in the small fishing-house. + +Travelling makes people acquainted with strange beds as well as strange +bed-fellows; but I question if many people can boast of having slept on +a bed of _nets_. This we were obliged to do here, having brought no +blankets with us, as we expected to have returned to the Point fishery +in the evening. The bedstead was a long low platform, in one end of the +little cabin, and was big enough to let four people sleep in it--two of +us lying abreast at one end, and two more at the other end, feet to +feet. A large salmon-net formed a pretty good mattress; another, spread +out on top of us, served as a blanket; and a couple of trout-nets were +excellent as pillows. From this _piscatorial_ couch we arose early on +the following morning, and breakfasted on a splendid fresh salmon; after +which we resumed our journey. In a couple of hours we arrived at the +Rapid fishery, where I found that my old friend Mike, the Irishman, had +caught a great number of salmon. He was very bitter, however, in his +remarks upon the seals, which it seems had made great havoc among his +nets during the last two days. A black bear, too, was in the habit of +visiting his station every morning, and, sitting on a rock not far off, +watched his motions with great apparent interest while he took the fish +out of the nets. Mike, poor man, regretted very much that he had no +gun, as he might perhaps shoot "the baste." Bears are very destructive +at times to the salted salmon, paying visits during the night to the +vats, and carrying off and tearing to pieces far more than they are +capable of devouring. + +While inspecting the nets here, we witnessed an interesting seal-hunt. +Two Indians, in separate canoes, were floating quietly in a small eddy, +with their guns cocked, ready to fire at the first unfortunate seal that +should show his head on the surface of the stream. They had not waited +long when one popped up his head, and instantly got a shot, which +evidently hurt him, as he splashed a little, and then dived. In a +minute the Indian reloaded his gun, and paddled out into the stream, in +order to have another shot the moment the seal rose for air: this he did +in a short time, when another shot was fired, which turned him over +apparently lifeless. The Indian then laid down his gun, and seizing his +paddle, made towards the spot where the seal lay. He had scarcely +approached a few yards, however, when it recovered a little, and dived-- +much to the Indian's chagrin, who had approached too near the head of a +small rapid, and went down, stern foremost, just at the moment his +friend the seal did the same. On arriving at the bottom, the animal, +after one or two kicks, expired, and the Indian at last secured his +prize. After this, we embarked again in our boat; and the wind _for +once_ determined to be accommodating, as it shifted in our favour, +almost at the same time that we turned to retrace our way. In a few +hours we arrived at the fishery near the mouth of the river, where we +found supper just ready. + +After supper, which we had about eight o'clock, the night looked so +fine, and the mosquitoes in the little smoky house were so troublesome, +that we determined to walk up to the post; so, ordering one of the men +to follow us, away we went along the beach. The night was fine, though +dark, and we trudged rapidly along. It was very tiresome work, however, +as, the tide being full, we were obliged to walk upon the soft sand. +Everything along the beach looked huge and mystical in the uncertain +light; and this, accompanied with the solemn boom of the waves as they +fell at long intervals upon the shore, made the scene quite romantic. +After five hours' sharp walking, with pocket-handkerchiefs tied round +our heads to guard us from the attacks of mosquitoes, we arrived at +Seven Islands between one and two in the morning. + +Not long after this, a boat arrived with orders for my companion, Mr +Anderson, to pack up his worldly goods and start for Tadousac. The same +day he bade me adieu and set sail. In a few minutes the boat turned a +point of land, and I lost sight of one of the most kindly and agreeable +men whom I have had the good fortune to meet in the Nor'-West. + +The situation in which I found myself was a novel, and, to say truth, +not a very agreeable one. A short way off stood a man watching +contemplatively the point round which the boat had just disappeared; and +this man was my only companion in the world!--my Friday, in fact. Not +another human being lived within sixty miles of our solitary habitation, +with the exception of the few men at the distant fishery. In front of +us, the mighty Gulf of St. Lawrence stretched out to the horizon, its +swelling bosom unbroken, save by the dipping of a sea-gull or the fin of +a whale. Behind lay the dense forest, stretching back, without a break +in its primeval wildness, across the whole continent of America to the +Pacific Ocean; while above and below lay the rugged mountains that form +the shores of the gulf. As I walked up to the house, and wandered like +a ghost through its empty rooms, I felt inexpressibly melancholy, and +began to have unpleasant anticipations of spending the winter at this +lonely spot. + +Just as this thought occurred to me, my dog Humbug bounded into the +room, and, looking with a comical expression up in my face for a moment, +went bounding off again. This incident induced me to take a more +philosophical view of affairs. I began to gaze round upon my domain, +and whisper to myself that I was "monarch of all I surveyed." All the +mighty trees in the wood were mine--if I chose to cut them down; all the +fish in the sea were mine--if I could only catch them; and the palace of +Seven Islands was also mine. The regal feeling inspired by the +consideration of these things induced me to call in a very kingly tone +of voice for my man (he was a French Canadian), who politely answered, +"Oui, monsieur." + +"Dinner!" said I, falling back in my throne, and contemplating through +the palace window our vast dominions! + +On the following day a small party of Indians arrived, and the bustle of +trading their furs, and asking questions about their expectations of a +good winter hunt, tended to disperse those unpleasant feelings of +loneliness that at first assailed me. + +One of these poor Indians had died while travelling, and his relatives +brought the body to be interred in our little burying-ground. The poor +creatures came in a very melancholy mood to ask me for a few planks to +make a coffin for him. They soon constructed a rough wooden box, in +which the corpse was placed, and then buried. No ceremony attended the +interment of this poor savage; no prayer was uttered over the grave; and +the only mark that the survivors left upon the place was a small wooden +cross, which those Indians who have been visited by Roman Catholic +priests are in the habit of erecting over their departed relatives. + +The almost total absence of religion of any kind among these unhappy +natives is truly melancholy. The very name of our blessed Saviour is +almost unknown by the hundreds of Indians who inhabit the vast forests +of North America. It is strange that, while so many missionaries have +been sent to the southern parts of the earth, so few should have been +sent to the northward. There are not, I believe, more than a dozen or +so of Protestant clergymen over the whole wide northern continent. + +For at least a century these North American Indians have hunted for the +white men, and poured annually into Britain a copious stream of wealth. +Surely it is the duty of _Christian_ Britain, in return, to send out +faithful servants of God to preach the gospel of our Lord throughout +their land. + +The Indians, after spending a couple of days at the establishment-- +during which time they sold me a great many furs--set out again to +return to their distant wigwams. It is strange to contemplate the +precision and certainty with which these men travel towards any part of +the vast wilderness, even where their route lies across numerous +intricate and serpentine rivers. But the strangest thing of all is, the +savage's certainty of finding his way in winter through the trackless +forest, to a place where, perhaps, he never was before, and of which he +has had only a slight description. They have no compasses, but the +means by which they discover the cardinal points is curious. If an +Indian happens to become confused with regard to this, he lays down his +burden, and, taking his axe, cuts through the bark of a tree; from the +thickness or thinness of which he can tell the north point at once, the +bark being thicker on that side. + +For a couple of weeks after this, I remained at the post with my +solitary man, endeavouring by all the means in my power to dispel ennui; +but it was a hard task. Sometimes I shouldered my gun and ranged about +the forest in search of game, and occasionally took a swim in the sea. +_I_ was ignorant at the time, however, that there were sharks in the +Gulf of St. Lawrence, else I should have been more cautious. The +Indians afterwards told me that they were often seen, and several +gentlemen who had lived long on the coast corroborated their testimony. +Several times Indians have left the shores of the gulf in their canoes, +to go hunting, and have never been heard of again, although the weather +at the time was calm; so that it was generally believed that shark had +upset the canoes and devoured the men. An occurrence that afterwards +happened to an Indian renders this supposition highly probable. This +man had been travelling along the shores of the gulf with his family--a +wife and several children--in a small canoe. Towards evening, as he was +crossing a large bay, a shark rose near his canoe, and, after +reconnoitring a short time, swam towards it, and endeavoured to upset +it. The size of the canoe, however, rendered this impossible; so the +ferocious monster actually began to break it to pieces, by rushing +forcibly against it. The Indian fired at the shark when he first saw +it, but without effect; and, not having time to reload, he seized his +paddle and made for the shore. The canoe, however, from the repeated +attacks of the fish, soon became leaky, and it was evident that in a few +minutes more the whole party would be at the mercy of the infuriated +monster. In this extremity the Indian took up his youngest child, an +infant of a few months old, and dropped it overboard; and while the +shark was devouring it, the rest of the party gained the shore. + +I sat one morning ruminating on the pleasures of solitude in the +_palace_ of Seven Islands, and gazed through the window at my solitary +man, who was just leaving an old boat he had been repairing, for the +purpose of preparing dinner. The wide ocean, which rolled its waves +almost to the door of the house, was calm and unruffled, and the yellow +beach shone again in the sun's rays, while Humbug lay stretched out at +full length before the door. After contemplating this scene for some +time, I rose, and was just turning away from the window, when I descried +a _man_, accompanied by a _boy_, walking along the sea-shore towards the +house. This unusual sight created in me almost as strong, though not so +unpleasant, a sensation as was awakened in the bosom of Robinson Crusoe +when he discovered the footprint in the sand. Hastily putting on my +cap, I ran out to meet him, and found, to my joy, that he was a trapper +of my acquaintance; and, what added immensely to the novelty of the +thing, he was also a _white_ man and a gentleman! He had entered one of +the fur companies on the coast at an early age, and, a few years +afterwards, fell in love with an Indian girl, whom he married; and, +ultimately, he became a trapper. He was a fine, good-natured man, and +had been well educated: and to hear philosophical discourse proceeding +from the lips of one who was, in outward appearance, a regular Indian, +was very strange indeed. He was dressed in the usual capote, leggins, +and moccasins of a hunter. + +"What have you got for dinner?" was his first question, after shaking +hands with me. + +"Pork and pancakes," said I. + +"Oh!" said the trapper; "the first salt, and the latter made of flour +and water?" + +"Just so; and, with the exception of some bread, and a few ground pease +in lieu of coffee, this has been my diet for three weeks back." + +"You might have done better," said the trapper, pointing towards a blue +line in the sea; "look, there are fish enough, if you only took the +trouble to catch them." + +As he said this, I advanced to the edge of the water; and there, to my +astonishment, discovered that what I had taken for seaweed was a shoal +of kippling, so dense that they seemed scarcely able to move. + +Upon beholding this, I recollected having seen a couple of old hand-nets +in some of the stores, which we immediately sent the trapper's son (a +youth of twelve) to fetch. In a few minutes he returned with them; so, +tucking up our trousers, we both went into the water and scooped the +fish out by dozens. It required great quickness, however, as they shot +into deep water like lightning, and sometimes made us run in so deep +that we wet ourselves considerably. Indeed, the sport became so +exciting at last, that we gave over attempting to keep our clothes dry; +and in an hour we returned home, laden with kippling, and wet to the +skin. + +The fish, which measured from four to five inches long, were really +excellent, and lent an additional relish to the pork, pancakes, and +_pease coffee_! + +I prevailed upon the trapper to remain with me during the following +week; and a very pleasant time we had of it, paddling about in a canoe, +or walking through the woods, while my companion told me numerous +anecdotes, with which his memory was stored. Some of these were grave, +and some comical; especially one, in which he described a bear-hunt that +he and his son had on the coast of Labrador. + +He had been out on a shooting expedition, and was returning home in his +canoe, when, on turning a headland, he discovered a black bear walking +leisurely along the beach. Now the place where he discovered him was a +very wild, rugged spot. At the bottom of the bay rose a high precipice, +so that Bruin could not escape that way: along the beach, in the +direction in which he had been walking, a cape, which the rising tide +now washed, prevented his retreating; so that the only chance for the +brute to escape was by running past the trapper, within a few yards of +him. In this dilemma, the bear bethought himself of trying the +precipice; so, collecting himself, he made a bolt for it, and actually +managed to scramble up thirty or forty feet, when bang went the boy's +gun; but the shot missed, and it appeared as if the beast would actually +get away, when the trapper took a deliberate aim and fired. The effect +of the shot was so comical, that the two hunters could scarcely re-load +their guns for laughing. Bruin, upon receiving the shot, covered his +head with his fore-paws, and, curling himself up like a ball, came +thundering down the precipice head over heels, raising clouds of dust, +and hurling showers of stones down in his descent, till he actually +rolled at the trapper's feet; and then, getting slowly up, he looked at +him with such a bewildered expression, that the man could scarcely +refrain from laughter, even while in the act of blowing the beast's +brains out. + +This man had also a narrow escape of having a _boxing_ match with a +moose-deer or elk. The moose had a strange method of fighting with its +fore feet, getting up on its hind legs, and boxing, as it were, with +great energy and deadly force. The trapper, upon the occasion referred +to, was travelling with an Indian, who, having discovered the track of a +moose in the snow, set off in chase of it, while the trapper pursued his +way with the Indian's pack of furs and provisions on his shoulders. He +had not gone far when he heard a shot, and the next moment a moose-deer, +as large as a horse, sprang through the bushes and stood in front of +him. The animal came so suddenly on the trapper that it could not turn; +so, rising up with a savage look, it prepared to strike him, when +another shot was fired from among the bushes by the Indian, and the +moose, springing nearly its own height into the air, fell dead upon the +snow. + +In chasing the moose during winter in some parts of these countries, +where the ground is broken and rugged, the hunters are not unfrequently +exposed to the danger of falling over the precipices which the deceptive +glare of the snow conceals from view, until, too late, he finds the +treacherous snow giving way beneath his feet. On one occasion a young +man in the service of the Company received intelligence from an Indian +that he had seen fresh tracks of a moose, and being an eager sportsman, +he sallied forth, accompanied by the Indian, in chase of it. A long +fatiguing walk on the Chipewyan snow-shoes, which are six feet long, +brought them within sight of the deer. The young man fired, wounded the +animal, and then dashed forward in pursuit. For a long way the deer +kept well ahead of them. At length they began to overtake it; but when +they were about to fire again, it stumbled and disappeared, sending up a +cloud of snow in its fall. Supposing that it had sunk exhausted into +one of the many hollows which were formed by the undulations of the +ground, the young man rushed headlong towards it, followed at a slower +pace by the Indian. Suddenly he stopped and cast a wild glance around +him as he observed that he stood on the very brink of a precipice, at +the foot of which the mangled carcass of the deer lay. Thick masses of +snow had drifted over its edge until a solid wreath was formed, +projecting several feet beyond it. On this wreath the young man stood +with the points of his long snow-shoes overhanging the yawning abyss; to +turn round was impossible, as the exertion requisite to wield such huge +snow-shoes would, in all probability, have broken off the mass. To step +gently backwards was equally impossible, in consequence of the heels of +the shoes being sunk into the snow. In this awful position he stood +until the Indian came up, and taking off his long sash, threw the end of +it towards him; catching hold of this, he collected all his energies, +and giving a desperate bound threw himself backwards at full length. +The Indian pulled with all his force on the belt, and succeeded in +drawing him out of danger, just as the mass on which he had stood a +moment before gave way, and thundered down the cliff, where it was +dashed into clouds against the projecting crags long before it reached +the foot. + +About a week after his arrival the trapper departed, and left me again +in solitude. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +_The last voyage_.--There is something very sad and melancholy in these +words--the last! The last look, the last word, the last smile, even the +last shilling, have all a peculiarly melancholy import; but the last +_voyage_, to one who has lived, as it were, on travelling--who has +slept for weeks and months under the shadow of the forest trees, and +dwelt among the wild romantic scenes of the wilderness--has a peculiar +and thrilling interest. Each tree I passed on leaving shook its boughs +mournfully, as if it felt hurt at being thus forsaken. The very rocks +seemed to frown reproachfully, while I stood up and gazed wistfully +after each well-known object for the last time. Even the wind seemed to +sympathise with the rest; for, while it urged the boat swiftly away from +my late home, like a faithful friend holding steadfastly on its +favouring course, still it fell occasionally, and rose again in gusts +and sighs, as if it wished to woo me back again to solitude. I started +on this, the last voyage, shortly after the departure of my friend the +trapper, leaving the palace in charge of an unfortunate gentleman who +brought a wife and five children with him, which rendered Seven Islands +a little less gloomy than heretofore. Five men accompanied me in an +open boat; and on the morning of the 25th August we took our departure +for Tadousac. And, truly, Nature appeared to be aware that it was my +_last_ voyage, for she gave us the most unkind and harassing treatment +that I ever experienced at her hands. + +The first few miles were accomplished pleasantly enough. We had a fair +breeze, and not too much of it; but towards the afternoon it shifted, +and blew directly against us, so that the men were obliged to take to +the oars; and, as the boat was large, it required them all to pull, +while I steered. + +The men were all French Canadians: a merry, careless, but persevering +set of fellows, just cut out for the work they had to do, and, moreover, +accustomed to it. The boat was a clumsy affair, with two spritsails and +a jigger or mizzen; but, notwithstanding, she looked well at a distance, +and though incapable of progressing very fast through the water, she +could stand a pretty heavy sea. We were badly off, how ever, with +regard to camp gear, having neither tent nor oilcloth to protect us +should it rain--indeed, all we had to guard us from the inclemency of +the weather at night was one blanket each man; but as the weather had +been fine and settled for some time back, we hoped to get along pretty +well. + +As for provisions, we had pork and flour, besides a small quantity of +burnt-pease coffee, which I treasured up as a great delicacy. + +Our first encampment was a good one. The night, though dark, was fine +and calm, so that we slept very comfortably upon the beach, every man +with his feet towards the fire, from which we all radiated like the +spokes of a wheel. But our next bivouac was not so good. The day had +been very boisterous and wet, so that we lay down to rest in damp +clothes, with the pleasant reflection that we had scarcely advanced ten +miles. The miseries of our fifth day, however, were so numerous and +complicated that it at last became absurd! It was a drizzly damp +morning to begin with; soon this gave way to a gale of contrary wind, so +that we could scarcely proceed at the rate of half a mile an hour; and +in the evening we were under the necessity either of running _back_ five +miles to reach a harbour, or of anchoring off an exposed lee-shore. +Preferring the latter course, even at the risk of losing our boat +altogether, we cast anchor, and leaving a man in the boat, waded ashore. +Here things looked very wretched indeed. Everything was wet and +clammy. Very little firewood was to be found; and when it was found, we +had the greatest difficulty in getting it to light. At last, however, +the fire blazed up; and though it still rained, we began to feel, +_comparatively speaking_, comfortable. + +Now, it must have been about midnight when I awoke, wheezing and +sniffling with a bad cold, and feeling uncommonly wretched--the fire +having gone out, and the drizzly rain having increased--and while I was +endeavouring to cover myself a little better with a wet blanket, the man +who had been left to watch the boat rushed in among us, and said that it +had been driven ashore, and would infallibly go to pieces if not shoved +out to sea immediately. Up we all got, and rushing down to the beach, +were speedily groping about _in_ the dark, up to our waists in water, +while the roaring breakers heaved the boat violently against our +breasts. After at least an hour of this work, we got it afloat again, +and returned to our beds, where we lay shivering in wet clothes till +morning. + +We had several other nights nearly as bad as this one; and once or twice +narrowly escaped being smashed to pieces among rocks and shoals, while +travelling in foggy weather. + +Even the last day of the voyage had something unpleasant in store for +us. As we neared the mouth of the river Saguenay the tide began to +recede, and ere long the current became so strong that we could not make +headway against it; we had no alternative, therefore, but to try to run +ashore, there to remain until the tide should rise again. Now it so +happened that a sand-bank caught our keel just as we turned broadside to +the current, and the water, rushing against the boat with the force of a +mill-race, turned it up on one side, till it stood quivering, as if +undecided whether or not to roll over on top of us. A simultaneous rush +of the men to the elevated side decided the question, and caused it to +fall squash down on its keel again, where it lay for the next four or +five hours, being left quite dry by the tide. As this happened within a +few miles of our journey's end, I left the men to take care of the boat, +and walked along the beach to Tadousac. + +Here I remained some time, and then travelled through the beautiful +lakes of Canada and the United States to New York. But here I must +pause. As I said before, I write not of civilised but of savage life; +and having now o'ershot the boundary, it is time to close. + +On the 25th of May 1847 I bade adieu to the Western hemisphere, and +sailed for England in the good ship _New York_. The air was light and +warm, and the sun unclouded, as we floated slowly out to sea, and ere +long the vessel bathed her swelling bows in the broad Atlantic. + +Gradually, as if loath to part, the wood-clad shores of America grew +faint and dim; I turned my eyes, for the last time, upon the distant +shore: the blue hills quivered for a moment on the horizon, as if to bid +us all a long farewell, and then sank into the liquid bosom of the +ocean. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hudson Bay, by R.M. Ballantyne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUDSON BAY *** + +***** This file should be named 21758.txt or 21758.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/7/5/21758/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |