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diff --git a/21707.txt b/21707.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc0633d --- /dev/null +++ b/21707.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11814 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ungava, 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: Ungava + +Author: R.M. Ballantyne + +Release Date: June 6, 2007 [EBook #21707] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNGAVA *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +UNGAVA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. + +Introduction. + +The following story is intended to illustrate one of the many phases of +the fur-trader's life in those wild regions of North America which +surround Hudson's Bay. + +Most of its major incidents are facts--fiction being employed chiefly +for the purpose of weaving these facts into a readable form. + +If this volume should chance to fall into the hands of any of those who +acted a part in the first settlement of Ungava, we trust that they will +forgive the liberty that has been taken with their persons and +adventures, remembering that transpositions, modifications, and +transformations are necessary in constructing a tale out of the "raw +material." + +We take this opportunity of expressing to the Leader of the adventurous +band our grateful acknowledgements for his kindness in placing at our +disposal the groundwork on which this story has been reared. + +R.M. Ballantyne. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE FOREST, AND THE LEADERS OF THE FOLORN-HOPE--A GOOD SHOT--A +CONSULTATION--AN ICE-FLOE, AND A NARROW CHANCE OF ESCAPE IN A SMALL WAY. + +"Hallo! where are you!" shouted a voice that rang through the glades of +the forest like the blast of a silver trumpet, testifying to lungs of +leather and a throat of brass. + +The ringing tones died away, and naught was heard save the rustling of +the leafy canopy overhead, as the young man, whose shout had thus rudely +disturbed the surrounding echoes, leaned on the muzzle of a long rifle, +and stood motionless as a statue, his right foot resting on the trunk of +a fallen tree, and his head bent slightly to one side, as if listening +for a reply. But no reply came. A squirrel ran down the trunk of a +neighbouring pine, and paused, with tail and ears erect, and its little +black eyes glittering as if with surprise at the temerity of him who so +recklessly dared to intrude upon and desecrate with his powerful voice +the deep solitudes of the wilderness. They stood so long thus that it +seemed as though the little animal and the man had been petrified by the +unwonted sound. If so, the spell was quickly broken. The loud report +of a fowling-piece was heard at a short distance. The squirrel +incontinently disappeared from the spot on which it stood, and almost +instantaneously reappeared on the topmost branch of a high tree; while +the young man gave a smile of satisfaction, threw the rifle over his +shoulder, and, turning round, strode rapidly away in the direction +whence the shot proceeded. + +A few minutes' walk brought him to the banks of a little brook, by the +side of which, on the projecting root of a tree, sat a man, with a dead +goose at his feet and a fowling-piece by his side. He was dressed in +the garb of a hunter; and, from the number of gray hairs that shone like +threads of silver among the black curls on his temples, he was evidently +past the meridian of life--although, from the upright bearing of his +tall, muscular frame, and the quick glance of his fearless black eye, it +was equally evident that the vigour of his youth was not yet abated. + +"Why, Stanley," exclaimed the young man as he approached, "I've been +shouting till my throat is cracked, for at least half an hour. I verily +began to think that you had forsaken me altogether." + +"In which case, Frank," replied the other, "I should have treated you as +you deserve, for your empty game-bag proves you an unworthy comrade in +the chase." + +"So, so, friend, do not boast," replied the youth with a smile; "if I +mistake not, that goose was winging its way to the far north not ten +minutes agone. Had I come up half an hour sooner, I suspect we should +have met on equal terms; but the fact is that I have not seen hair or +feather, save a tree-squirrel, since I left you in the morning." + +"Well, to say truth, I was equally unfortunate until I met this luckless +goose, and fired the shot that brought him down and brought you up. But +I've had enough o' this now, and shall back to the fort again. What say +you? Will you go in my canoe or walk?" + +The young man was silent for a few seconds; then, without replying to +his companion's question, he said,--"By-the-bye, is it not to-night that +you mean to make another attempt to induce the men to volunteer for the +expedition!" + +"It is," replied Stanley, with a alight frown. "And what if they still +persist in refusing to go?" + +"I'll try once more to shame them out of their cowardice. But if they +won't agree, I'll compel them to go by means of more powerful arguments +than words." + +"'Tis not cowardice; you do the men injustice," said Frank, shaking his +head. + +"Well, well, I believe I do, lad; you're right," replied Stanley, while +a smile smoothed out the firm lines that had gathered round his lips for +a few seconds. "No doubt they care as little for the anticipated +dangers of the expedition as any men living, and they hesitate to go +simply because they know that the life before them will be a lonely one +at such an out-o'-the-way place as Ungava. But we can't help that, +Frank; the interests of the Company must be attended to, and so go they +_must_, willing or not willing. But I'm annoyed at this unexpected +difficulty, for there's a mighty difference between men who volunteer to +go and men who go merely because they must and can't help it." + +The young man slowly rubbed the stock of his rifle with the sleeve of +his coat, and looked as if he understood and sympathised with his +friend's chagrin. + +"If Prince were only here just now," said he, looking up, "there would +be no difficulty in the matter. These fellows only want a bold, hearty +comrade to step forward and show them the way, and they will follow to +the North Pole if need be. They look upon our willingness to go as a +mere matter of course, though I don't see why we should be expected to +like banishment more than themselves. But if Prince were--" + +"Well, well, Prince is _not_ here, so we must do the best we can without +him," said Stanley. + +As he spoke, the trumpet note of a goose was heard in the distance. + +"There he goes!--down with you!" exclaimed Frank, darting suddenly +behind the stump of the tree, while his companion crouched beside him, +and both began to shout at the top of their voices in imitation of the +goose. The bird was foolish enough to accept the invitation +immediately, although, had it been other than a goose, it would have +easily recognised the sound as a wretched counterfeit of the goose +language. It flew directly towards them, as geese always do in spring +when thus enticed, but passed at such a distance that the elder +sportsman was induced to lower his piece. + +"Ah! he's too far off. You'd better give him a shot with the rifle, +Frank; but you're sure to miss." + +"To hit, you mean," cried his companion, flushing with momentary +indignation at this disparaging remark. At the same moment he took a +rapid aim and fired. For a few yards the goose continued its forward +flight as if unhurt; then it wavered once or twice, and fell heavily to +the ground. + +"Bravo, boy!" cried Stanley. "There, don't look nettled; I only jested +with you, knowing your weakness on the score of rifle-shooting. Now, +pick up your bird, and throw it into the canoe, for I must away." + +Frank finished reloading his piece as his friend spoke, and went to pick +up the goose; while the other walked down to the edge of the rivulet, +and disengaged a light birch-bark canoe from the long grass and sedges +that almost hid it from view. + +"Make haste, Frank!" he shouted; "there's the ice coming up with the +flood-tide, and bearing down on the creek here." + +At a short distance from the spot where the sportsmen stood, the +streamlet already alluded to mingled its waters with a broad river, +which, a few miles farther down, flows into James's Bay. As every one +knows, this bay lies to the south of Hudson's Bay, in North America. +Here the river is about two miles wide; and the shores on either side +being low, it has all the appearance of an extensive lake. In spring, +after the disruption of the ice, its waters are loaded with large floes +and fields of ice; and later in the season, after it has become quite +free from this wintry encumbrance, numerous detached masses come up with +every flood-tide. It was the approach of one of these floes that called +forth Stanley's remark. + +The young man replied to it by springing towards the canoe, in which his +companion was already seated. Throwing the dead bird into it, he +stooped, and gave the light bark a powerful shove into the stream, +exclaiming, as he did so, "There, strike out, you've no time to lose, +and I'll go round by the woods." + +There was indeed no time to lose. The huge mass of ice was closing +rapidly into the mouth of the creek, and narrowing the only passage +through which the canoe could escape into the open water of the river +beyond. Stanley might, indeed, drag his canoe up the bank, if so +disposed, and reach home by a circuitous walk through the woods; but by +doing so he would lose much time, and be under the necessity of carrying +his gun, blanket, tin kettle, and the goose, on his back. His broad +shoulders were admirably adapted for such a burden, but he preferred the +canoe to the woods on the present occasion. Besides, the only risk he +ran was that of getting his canoe crushed to pieces. So, plunging his +paddle vigorously in the water, he shot through the lessening channel +like an arrow, and swept out on the bosom of the broad river just as the +ice closed with a crash upon the shore and ground itself to powder on +the rocks. + +"Well done!" shouted Frank, with a wave of his cap, as he witnessed the +success of his friend's exploit. + +"All right," replied Stanley, glancing over his shoulder. + +In another moment the canoe disappeared behind a group of willows that +grew on the point at the river's mouth, and the young man was left +alone. For a few minutes he stood contemplating the point behind which +his companion had disappeared; then giving a hasty glance at the priming +of his rifle, he threw it across his shoulder, and striding rapidly up +the bank, was soon lost to view amid the luxuriant undergrowth of the +forest. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +HEADQUARTERS--THE MEN--DISPUTATION AND UNCERTAINTY--NEW USES FOR THE +SKINS OF DEAD BOYS!--MUTINOUS RESOLVES. + +Moose Fort, the headquarters and depot of the fur-traders, who prosecute +their traffic in almost all parts of the wild and uninhabited regions of +North America, stands on an island near the mouth of Moose River. Like +all the establishments of the fur-traders, it is a solitary group of +wooden buildings, far removed beyond the influences--almost beyond the +ken--of the civilised world, and surrounded by the primeval wilderness, +the only tenants of which were, at the time we write of, a few scattered +tribes of Muskigon Indians, and the wild animals whose flesh furnished +them with food and whose skins constituted their sole wealth. There was +little of luxury at Moose Fort. The walls of the houses within the +stockade, that served more as an ornament than a defence, were of +painted, in some cases unpainted, planks. The floors, ceilings, chairs, +tables, and, in short, all the articles of furniture in the place, were +made of the same rough material. A lofty scaffolding of wood rose above +the surrounding buildings, and served as an outlook, whence, at the +proper season, longing eyes were wont to be turned towards the sea in +expectation of "the ship" which paid the establishment an annual visit +from England. Several large iron field-pieces stood before the front +gate; but they were more for the sake of appearance than use, and were +never fired except for the purpose of saluting the said ship on the +occasions of her arrival and departure. The first boom of the cannon +unlocks the long-closed portals of connection between Moose Fort and +England; the second salvo shuts them up again in their frozen domains +for another year! A century and a half ago, the band of "adventurers +trading into Hudson's Bay" felled the first trees and pitched their +tents on the shores of James's Bay, and successive generations of +fur-traders have kept the post until the present day; yet there is +scarcely a symptom of the presence of man beyond a few miles round the +establishment. Years ago the fort was built, and there it stands now, +with new tenants, it is true, but in its general aspect unchanged; and +there it is likely to remain, wrapped in its barrier of all but +impregnable solitude, for centuries to come. + +Nevertheless, Moose is a comfortable place in its way, and when +contrasted with other trading establishments is a very palace and temple +of luxury. There are men within its walls who can tell of log-huts and +starvation, solitude and desolation, compared with which Moose is a +terrestrial paradise. Frank Morton, whom we have introduced in the +first chapter, said, on his arrival at Moose, that it appeared to him to +be the very fag-end of creation. He had travelled night and day for six +weeks from what he considered the very outskirts of civilisation, +through uninhabited forests and almost unknown rivers, in order to get +to it; and while the feeling of desolation that overwhelmed him on his +first arrival was strong upon him, he sighed deeply, and called it a +"horrid dull hole." But Frank was of a gay, hearty, joyous disposition, +and had not been there long ere he loved the old fort dearly. Poor +fellow! far removed though he was from his fellow-men at Moose, he +afterwards learned that he had but obtained an indistinct notion of the +signification of the word "solitude." + +There were probably about thirty human beings at Moose, when Mr George +Stanley, one of the principal fur-traders of the place, received orders +from the governor to make preparations, and select men, for the purpose +of proceeding many hundred miles deeper into the northern wilderness, +and establishing a station on the distant, almost unknown, shores of +Ungava Bay. No one at Moose had ever been there before; no one knew +anything about the route, except from the vague report of a few Indians; +and the only thing that was definitely known about the locality at all +was, that its inhabitants were a few wandering tribes of Esquimaux, who +were at deadly feud with the Indians, and generally massacred all who +came within their reach. What the capabilities of the country were, in +regard to timber and provisions, nobody knew, and, fortunately for the +success of the expedition, nobody cared! At least those who were to +lead the way did not; and this admirable quality of total indifference +to prospective dangers is that which, to a great extent, insures success +in a forlorn hope. + +Of the leaders of this expedition the reader already knows something. +George Stanley was nearly six feet high, forty years of age, and endued +with a decision of character that, but for his quiet good humour, would +have been deemed obstinacy. He was deliberate in all his movements, and +exercised a control over his feelings that quite concealed his naturally +enthusiastic disposition. Moreover, he was married, and had a daughter +of ten years of age. This might be thought a disadvantage in his +present circumstances; but the governor of the fur-traders, a most +energetic and active ruler, thought otherwise. He recommended that the +family should be left at Moose until an establishment had been built, +and a winter passed at Ungava. Afterwards they could join him there. +As for Frank Morton, he was an inch taller than his friend Stanley, and +equally powerful; fair-haired, blue-eyed, hilarious, romantic, +twenty-two years of age, and so impulsive that, on hearing of the +proposed expedition from one of his comrades, who happened to be present +when Stanley was reading the dispatches, he sprang from his chair, which +he upset, dashed out at the door, which he banged, and hurried to his +friend's quarters in order to be first to volunteer his services as +second in command; which offer was rendered unnecessary by Stanley's +exclaiming, the moment he entered his room-- + +"Ha, Frank, my lad, the very man I wanted to see! Here's a letter from +headquarters ordering me off on an expedition to Ungava. Now, I want +volunteers; will you go!" + +It is needless to add that Frank's blue eyes sparkled with animation as +he seized his friend's hand and replied, "To the North Pole if you like, +or farther if need be!" + +It was evening. The sun was gilding the top of the flagstaff with a +parting kiss, and the inhabitants of Moose Fort, having finished their +daily toil, were making preparations for their evening meal. On the end +of the wharf that jutted out into the stream was assembled a picturesque +group of men, who, from the earnest manner in which they conversed, and +the energy of their gesticulations, were evidently discussing a subject +of more than ordinary interest. Most of them were clad in corduroy +trousers, gartered below the knee with thongs of deer-skin, and coarse, +striped cotton shirts, open at the neck, so as to expose their sunburnt +breasts. A few wore caps which, whatever might have been their original +form, were now so much soiled and battered out of shape by long and +severe service that they were nondescript; but most of these hardy +backwoodsmen were content with the covering afforded by their thick, +bushy locks. + +"No, no," exclaimed a short, thick-set, powerful man, with a somewhat +ascetic cast of countenance; "I've seen more than enough o' these +rascally Huskies [Esquimaux]. 'Tis well for me that I'm here this +blessed day, an' not made into a dan to bob about in Hudson's Straits at +the tail of a white whale, like that poor boy Peter who was shot by them +varmints." + +"What's a dan?" asked a young half-breed who had lately arrived at +Moose, and knew little of Esquimau implements. + +"What a green-horn you must be, Francois, not to know what a dan is!" +replied another, who was inclined to be quizzical. "Why, it's a sort of +sea-carriage that the Esquimaux tie to the tail of a walrus or sea-horse +when they feel inclined for a drive. When they can't get a sea-horse +they catch a white whale asleep, and wake him up after fastening the dan +to his tail. I suppose they have conjurers or wizards among them, since +Massan told us just now that poor Peter was--" + +"Bah! gammon," interrupted Francois with a smile, as he turned to the +first speaker. "But tell me, Massan, what is a dan?" + +"It's a sort o' float or buoy, lad, used by the Huskies, and is made out +o' the skin o' the seal. They tie it with a long line to their whale +spears to show which way the fish bolts when struck." + +"And did they use Peter's skin for such a purpose?" inquired Francois +earnestly. + +"They did," replied Massan. + +"And did you see them do it?" + +"Yes, I did." + +Francois gazed intently into his comrade's face as he spoke; but Massan +was an adept at what is usually called drawing the long bow, and it was +with the most imperturbable gravity that he continued-- + +"Yes, I saw them do it; but I could not render any assistance to the +poor child, for I was lying close behind a rock at the time, with an +arrow sticking between my shoulders, and a score o' them oily varmints +a-shoutin', and yellin', and flourishing their spears in search o' me." + +"Tell us how it happened, Massan. Let's hear the story," chorused the +men, as they closed round their comrade. + +"Well then," began the stout backwoodsman, proceeding leisurely to fill +his pipe from an ornamented bag that hung at his belt, "here goes. It +was about the year--a--I forget the year, but it don't matter--that we +were ordered off on an expedition to the Huskies; 'xactly sich a one as +they wants us to go on now, and--but you've heerd o' that business, +lads, haven't you?" + +"Yes, yes, we've heard all about it; go on." + +"Well," continued Massan, "I needn't be wastin' time tellin' you how we +failed in that affair, and how the Huskies killed some of our men and +burnt our ship to the water's edge. After it was all over, and they +thought they had killed us all, I was, as I said, lyin' behind a great +rock in a sort o' cave, lookin' at the dirty villains as they danced +about on the shore, and took possession of all our goods. Suddenly I +seed two o' them carry Peter down to the beach, an' I saw, as they +passed me, that he was quite dead. In less time than I can count a +hundred they took the skin off him, cut off his head, sewed up the hole, +tied his arms and legs in a knot, blew him full o' wind till he was fit +to bu'st, an' then hung him up to dry in the sun! In fact, they made a +_dan_ of him!" + +A loud shout of laughter greeted this startling conclusion. In truth, +we must do Massan the justice to say, that although he was much in the +habit of amusing his companions by entertaining them with anecdotes +which originated entirely in his own teeming fancy, he never actually +_deceived_ them, but invariably, either by a sly glance or by the +astounding nature of his communication, gave them to understand that he +was dealing not with fact but fiction. + +"But seriously, lads," said Francois, whose intelligence, added to a +grave, manly countenance and a tall, muscular frame, caused him to be +regarded by his comrades as a sort of leader both in action and in +council, "what do you think of our bourgeois' plan? For my part, I'm +willing enough to go to any reasonable part o' the country where there +are furs and Indians; but as for this Ungava, from what Massan says, +there's neither Indians, nor furs, nor victuals--nothin' but rocks, and +mountains, and eternal winter; and if we do get the Huskies about us, +they'll very likely serve us as they did the last expedition to Richmond +Gulf." + +"Ay, ay," cried one of the others, "you may say that, Francois. Nothin' +but frost and starvation, and nobody to bury us when we're dead." + +"Except the Huskies," broke in another, "who would save themselves the +trouble by converting us all into dans!" + +"Tush, man! stop your clapper," cried Francois, impatiently; "let us +settle this business. You know that Monsieur Stanley said he would +expect us to be ready with an answer to-night.--What think you, Gaspard? +Shall we go, or shall we mutiny?" + +The individual addressed was a fine specimen of an animal, but not by +any means a good specimen of a man. He was of gigantic proportions, +straight and tall as a poplar, and endowed with the strength of a +Hercules. His glittering dark eyes and long black hair, together with +the hue of his skin, bespoke him of half-breed extraction. But his +countenance did not correspond to his fine physical proportions. True, +his features were good, but they wore habitually a scowling, sulky +expression, even when the man was pleased, and there was more of sarcasm +than joviality in the sound when Gaspard condescended to laugh. + +"I'll be shot if I go to such a hole for the best bourgeois in the +country," said he in reply to Francois' question. + +"You'll be dismissed the service if you don't," remarked Massan with a +smile. + +To this Gaspard vouchsafed no reply save a growl that, to say the best +of it, did not sound amiable. + +"Well, I think that we're all pretty much of one mind on the point," +continued Francois; "and yet I feel half ashamed to refuse after all, +especially when I see the good will with which Messieurs Stanley and +Morton agree to go." + +"I suppose _you_ expect to be a bourgeois too some day," growled Gaspard +with a sneer. + +"Eh, tu gros chien!" cried Francois, as with flashing eyes and clinched +fists he strode up to his ill-tempered comrade. + +"Come, come, Francois; don't quarrel for nothing," said Massan, +interposing his broad shoulders and pushing him vigorously back. + +At that moment an exclamation from one of the men diverted the attention +of the others. + +"Voila! the canoe." + +"Ay, it's Monsieur Stanley's canoe. I saw him and Monsieur Morton start +for the swamp this morning." + +"I wonder what Dick Prince would have done in this business had he been +here," said Francois to Massan in a low tone, as they stood watching the +approach of their bourgeois' canoe. + +"Can't say. I half think he would have gone." + +"There's no chance of him coming back in time, I fear." + +"None; unless he prevails on some goose to lend him a pair of wings for +a day or two. He won't be back from the hunt for three weeks good." + +In a few minutes more the canoe skimmed up to the wharf. + +"Here, lads," cried Mr Stanley, as he leaped ashore and dragged the +canoe out of the water; "one of you come and lift this canoe up the +bank, and take these geese to the kitchen." + +Two of the men instantly hastened to obey, and Stanley, with the gun and +paddles under his arm, proceeded towards the gateway of the fort. As he +passed the group assembled on the wharf, he turned and said-- + +"You'll come to the hall in an hour, lads; I shall expect you to be +ready with an answer by that time." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied several of the men. + +"But we won't go for all your expectations," said one in an undertone to +a comrade. + +"I should think not," whispered another. + +"I'll be hanged, and burnt, and frozen if _I_ do," said a third. + +In the meantime Mr Stanley walked briskly towards his dwelling, and +left the men to grumble over their troubles and continue their debate as +to whether they should or should not agree to go on the pending +expedition to the distant regions of Ungava. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +SHOWS HOW STANLEY DEIGNED TO CONSULT WITH WOMANKIND--THE OPINIONS OF A +CHILD DEVELOPED--PERSUASION FAILS--EXAMPLE TRIUMPHS--THE FIRST +VOLUNTEERS TO UNGAVA. + +On reaching his apartment, which was in an angle of the principal +edifice in the fort, Mr Stanley flung down his gun and paddles, and +drawing a chair close to his wife, who was working with her needle near +a window, took her hand in his and heaved a deep sigh. + +"Why, George, that's what you used to say to me when you were at a loss +for words in the days of our courtship." + +"True, Jessie," he replied, patting her shoulder with a hand that rough +service had rendered hard and long exposure had burnt brown. "But the +producing cause then was different from what it is now. _Then_ it was +love; _now_ it is perplexity." + +Stanley's wife was the daughter of English parents, who had settled many +years ago in the fur countries. Being quite beyond the reach of any +school, they had been obliged to undertake the instruction of their only +child, Jessie, as they best could. At first this was an easy matter, +but as years flew by, and little Jessie's mind expanded, it was found to +be a difficult matter to carry on her education in a country in most +parts of which books were not to be had and schoolmasters did not exist. +When the difficulty first presented itself, they talked of sending +their little one to England to finish her education; but being unable to +bring themselves to part with her, they resolved to have a choice +selection of books sent out to them. Jessie's mother was a clever, +accomplished, and lady-like woman, and decidedly pious, so that the +little flower, which was indeed born to blush unseen, grew up to be a +gentle, affectionate woman--one who was a lady in all her thoughts and +actions, yet had never seen polite society, save that of her father and +mother. In process of time Jessie became Mrs Stanley, and the mother +of a little girl whose voice was, at the time her father entered, +ringing cheerfully in an adjoining room. Mrs Stanley's nature was an +earnest one, and she no sooner observed that her husband was worried +about something, than she instantly dropped the light tone in which she +at first addressed him. + +"And what perplexes you now, dear George?" she said, laying down her +work and looking up in his face with that straightforward, earnest gaze +that in days of yore had set the stout backwoodsman's heart on fire, and +still kept it in a perennial blaze. + +"Nothing very serious," he replied with a smile; "only these fellows +have taken it into their stupid heads that Ungava is worse than the land +beyond the Styx; and so, after the tough battle that I had with you this +morning in order to prevail on you to remain here for a winter without +me, I've had to fight another battle with them in order to get them to +go on this expedition." + +"Have you been victorious?" inquired Mrs Stanley. + +"No, not yet." + +"Do you really mean to say they are _afraid_ to go? Has Prince refused? +are Francois, Gaspard, and Massan cowards?" she inquired, her eye +kindling with indignation. + +"Nay, my wife, not so. These men are not cowards; nevertheless they +don't feel inclined to go; and as for Dick Prince, he has been off +hunting for a week, and I don't expect him back for three weeks at +least, by which time we shall be off." + +Mrs Stanley sighed, as if she felt the utter helplessness of woman in +such affairs. + +"Why, Jessie, that's what you used to say to me when you were at a loss +for words in the days of our courtship," said Stanley, smiling. + +"Ah, George, like you I may say that the cause is now perplexity; for +what can _I_ do to help you in your present difficulty?" + +"Truly not much. But I like to tell you of my troubles, and to make +more of them than they deserve, for the sake of drawing forth your +sympathy. Bless your heart!" he said, in a sudden burst of enthusiasm, +"I would gladly undergo any amount of trouble every day, if by so doing +I should secure that earnest, loving, anxious gaze of your sweet blue +eyes as a reward!" Stanley imprinted a hearty kiss on his wife's cheek +as he made this lover-like speech, and then rose to place his +fowling-piece on the pegs from which it usually hung over the fireplace. + +At that moment the door opened, and a little girl, with bright eyes and +flaxen hair, bounded into the room. + +"O mamma, mamma!" she said, holding up a sheet of paper, while a look of +intense satisfaction beamed on her animated countenance, "see, I have +drawn Chimo's portrait. Is it like, mamma? Do you think it like?" + +"Come here, Eda, my darling, come to me," said Stanley, seating himself +on a chair and extending his arms. Edith instantly left the portrait of +the dog in her mother's possession, and, without waiting for an opinion +as to its merits, ran to her father, jumped on his knee, threw her arms +round his neck, and kissed him. Edith was by no means a beautiful +child, but miserable indeed must have been the taste of him who would +have pronounced her plain-looking. Her features were not regular; her +nose had a strong tendency to what is called snubbed, and her mouth was +large; but to counterbalance these defects she had a pair of large, +deep-blue eyes, soft, golden hair, a fair, rosy complexion, and an +expression of sweetness at the corners of her mouth that betrayed +habitual good-nature. She was quick in all her movements, combined with +a peculiar softness and grace of deportment that was exceedingly +attractive. + +"Would you like to go, my pet," said her father, "to a country far, far +away in the north, where there are high mountains and deep valleys, +inhabited by beautiful reindeer, and large lakes and rivers filled with +fish; where there is very little daylight all the long winter, and where +there is scarcely any night all the long, bright summer? Would my Eda +like to go there?" + +The child possessed that fascinating quality of being intensely +interested in all that was said to her. As her father spoke, her eyes +gradually expanded and looked straight into his, while her head turned +slowly and very slightly to one side. As he concluded, she replied, +"Oh! very, very, _very_ much indeed," with a degree of energy that made +both her parents laugh. + +"Ah, my darling! would that my lazy men were endued with some of your +spirit," said Stanley, patting the child's head. + +"Is Prince a lazy man, papa?" inquired Edith anxiously. + +"No, certainly, Prince is not. Why do you ask?" + +"Because I love Prince." + +"And do you not love all the men?" + +"No," replied Edith, with some hesitation; "at least I don't love them +_very_ much, and I hate one." + +"Hate one!" echoed Mrs Stanley. "Come here, my darling." + +Eda slipped from her father's knee and went to her mother, feeling and +looking as if she had said something wrong. + +Mrs Stanley was not one of those mothers who, whenever they hear of +their children having done anything wrong, assume a look of intense, +solemnised horror, that would lead an ignorant spectator to suppose that +intelligence had just been received of some sudden and appalling +catastrophe. She knew that children could not be deceived by such +pieces of acting. She expressed on her countenance precisely what she +felt--a slight degree of sorrow that her child should cherish an evil +passion, which, she knew, existed in her heart in common with all the +human race, but which she expected, by God's help and blessing, to +subdue effectually at last. Kissing Eda's forehead she said +kindly,--"Which of them do you hate, darling?" + +"Gaspard," replied the child. + +"And why do you hate him?" + +"Because he struck my dog," said Eda, while her face flushed and her +eyes sparkled; "and he is always rude to everybody, and very, _very_ +cruel to the dogs." + +"That is very wrong of Gaspard; but, dearest Eda, do you not remember +what is written in God's Word,--`Love your enemies?' It is wrong to +_hate_ anybody." + +"I know that, mamma, and I don't wish to hate Gaspard, but I can't help +it. I wish if I didn't hate him, but it _won't_ go away." + +"Well, my pet," replied Mrs Stanley, pressing the child to her bosom, +"but you must pray for him, and speak kindly to him when you meet him, +and that will perhaps put it away. And now let us talk of the far-off +country that papa was speaking about. I wonder what he has to tell you +about it." + +Stanley had been gazing out of the window during the foregoing colloquy, +apparently inattentive, though, in reality, deeply interested in what +was said. Turning round, he said-- + +"I was going to tell Eda that you had arranged to follow me to that +country next year, and that perhaps you would bring her along with you." + +"Nay, George, you mistake. I did not arrange to do so--you only +proposed the arrangement; but, to say truth, I don't like it, and I +can't make up my mind to let you go without us. I cannot wait till next +year." + +"Well, well, Jessie, I have exhausted all my powers of persuasion. I +leave it entirely to yourself to do as you think best." + +At this moment the sound of deep voices was heard in the hall, which was +separated from Stanley's quarters by a thin partition of wood. In a few +seconds the door opened, and George Barney, the Irish butler and general +factotum to the establishment, announced that the "min wos in the hall +awaitin'." + +Giving Eda a parting kiss, Stanley rose and entered the hall, where +Francois, Massan, Gaspard, and several others were grouped in a corner. +On their bourgeois entering, they doffed their bonnets and bowed. + +"Well, lads," began Stanley, with a smile, "you've thought better of it, +I hope, and have come to volunteer for this expedition--" He checked +himself and frowned, for he saw by their looks that they had come with +quite a different intention. "What have you to say to me?" he continued +abruptly. + +The men looked uneasily at each other, and then fixed their eyes on +Francois, who was evidently expected to be spokesman. + +"Come, Francois, speak out," said Stanley; "if you have any objections, +out with them; you're free to say what you please here." + +As he spoke, and ere Francois could reply, Frank Morton entered the +room. "Ah!" he exclaimed, as he deposited his rifle in a corner and +flung his cap on the table, "in time, I see, to help at the council!" + +"I was just asking Francois to state his objections to going," said +Stanley, as his young friend took his place beside him. + +"Objections!" repeated Frank; "what objections can bold spirits have to +go on a bold adventure? The question should have been, `Who will be +first to volunteer?'" + +At this moment the door of Stanley's apartment opened, and his wife +appeared leading Eda by the hand. + +"Here are two volunteers," she said, with a smile; "pray put us at the +head of your list. We will go with you to any part of the world!" + +"Bravo!" shouted Frank, catching up Eda, with whom he was a great +favourite, and hugging her tightly in his arms. + +"Nay, but, wife, this is sheer folly. You know not the dangers that +await you--" + +"Perhaps not," interrupted Mrs Stanley; "but _you_ know them, and that +is enough for me." + +"Indeed, Jessie, I know them not. I can but guess at them.--But, ah! +well, 'tis useless to argue further. Be it so; we shall head the list +with you and Eda." + +"And put my name next," said a deep-toned voice from behind the other +men. All turned round in surprise. + +"Dick Prince!" they exclaimed; "you here?" + +"Ay, lads," said a tall man of about forty, who was not so remarkable +for physical development (though in this respect he was by no means +deficient) as for a certain decision of character that betrayed itself +in every outline of his masculine, intelligent countenance--"ay, lads, +I'm here; an' sorry am I that I've jist comed in time to hear that +you're sich poor-spirited rascals as to hang back when ye should jump +for'ard." + +"But how came you so opportunely, Prince?" inquired Stanley. + +"I met an Injin, sir, as told me you was goin' off; so I thought you +might want me, and comed straight back. And now, sir, I'm ready to go; +and so is Francois," he continued, turning to that individual, who +seized his hand and exclaimed, "That am I, my boy--to the moon if ye +like!" + +"And Massan, too," continued Prince. + +"All right; book me for Nova Zembla," replied that worthy. + +"So, so," cried Mr Stanley, with a satisfied smile. "I see, lads, that +we're all of one mind now. Is it not so? Are we agreed?" + +"Agreed! agreed!" they replied with one voice. + +"That's well," he continued. "Now then, lads, clear out and get your +kits ready.--And ho! Barney, give these men a glass of grog.--Prince, I +shall want to talk with you this evening. Come to me an hour hence.-- +And now," he added, taking Eda by the hand, "come along, my gentle +volunteers; let's go to supper." + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +EXPLANATORY, BUT NOT DRY!--MURDEROUS DESIGNS THWARTED BY VIGOROUS +TREATMENT--THE CATTLE PAY FOR IT!--PREPARATIONS FOR A LONG, LONG VOYAGE. + +In order to render our story intelligible, it is necessary here to say a +few words explanatory of the nature and object of the expedition +referred to in the foregoing chapters. + +Many years previous to the opening of our tale, it was deemed expedient, +by the rulers of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company, to effect, if possible, a +reconciliation or treaty of peace between the Muskigon Indians of +James's Bay and the Esquimaux of Hudson's Straits. The Muskigons are by +no means a warlike race; on the contrary, they are naturally timid, and +only plucked up courage to make war on their northern neighbours in +consequence of these poor people being destitute of firearms, while +themselves were supplied with guns and ammunition by the fur-traders. +The Esquimaux, however, are much superior to the Muskigon Indians +physically, and would have held their adversaries in light esteem had +they met on equal terms, or, indeed, on any terms at all; but the evil +was that they never met. The Indians always took them by surprise, and +from behind the rocks and bushes sent destruction into their camps with +the deadly bullet; while their helpless foes could only reply with the +comparatively harmless arrow and spear. Thus the war was in fact an +annual raid of murderers. The conceited Muskigons returned to their +wigwams in triumph, with bloody scalps hanging at their belts; while the +Esquimaux pushed farther into their ice-bound fastnesses, and told their +comrades, with lowering brows and heaving bosoms, of the sudden attack, +and of the wives and children who had been butchered in cold blood, or +led captive to the tents of the cowardly red men. + +At such times those untutored inhabitants of the frozen regions vowed +vengeance on the Indians, and cursed in their hearts the white men who +supplied them with the deadly gun. But the curse was unmerited. In the +councils of the fur-traders the subject of Esquimau wrongs had been +mooted, and plans for the amelioration of their condition devised. +Trading posts were established on Richmond Gulf and Little Whale River; +but owing to circumstances which it is unnecessary to detail here, they +turned out failures, and were at length abandoned. Still, those in +charge of the districts around Hudson's Bay and Labrador continued to +use every argument to prevail on the Indians to cease their murderous +assaults on their unoffending neighbours, but without much effect. At +length the governor of East Main--a territory lying on the eastern +shores of James's Bay--adopted an argument which proved eminently +successful, at least for one season. + +His fort was visited by a large band of Muskigons from Albany and Moose +districts, who brought a quantity of valuable furs, for which they +demanded guns and ammunition, making no secret of their intention to +proceed on an expedition against their enemies the Esquimaux. On +hearing of this, the governor went out to them, and, in a voice of +extreme indignation, assured them that they should not have an ounce of +supplies for such a purpose. + +"But we will pay you for what we ask. We are not beggars!" exclaimed +the astonished Indians, into whose calculations it had never entered +that white traders would refuse good furs merely in order to prevent the +death of a few Esquimaux. + +"See," cried the angry governor, snatching up the nearest bale of +furs--"see, that's all I care for you or your payment!" and hurling the +pack at its owner's head, he felled him therewith to the ground. "No," +he continued, shaking his fist at them, "I'll not give you as much +powder or shot as would blow off the tail of a rabbit, if you were to +bring me all the skins in Labrador!" + +The consequence of this vigorous conduct was that the Indians retired +crestfallen--utterly discomfited. But in the camp that night they +plotted revenge. In the darkness of the night they slaughtered all the +cattle around the establishment, and before daybreak were over the hills +and far away in the direction of their hunting-grounds, loaded with +fresh beef sufficient for the supply of themselves and their families +for the winter! It was a heavy price to pay; but the poor Esquimaux +remained unmolested that year, while the Indians received a salutary +lesson. But the compulsory peace was soon broken, and it became +apparent that the only effectual way to check the bloodthirsty +propensity of the Indians was to arm their enemies with the gun. The +destruction of the first expedition to the Esquimaux, and the bad +feeling that existed in the minds of the natives of Richmond Gulf +consequent thereon, induced the fur-traders to fix on another locality +for a new attempt. It was thought that the remote solitudes of Ungava +Bay, at the extreme north of Labrador,--where the white man's axe had +never yet felled the stunted pines of the north, nor the ring of his +rifle disturbed its echoes,--would be the spot best suited for the +erection of a wooden fort. + +Accordingly, it was appointed that Mr George Stanley should select a +coadjutor, and proceed with a party of picked men to the scene of action +as early in the spring as the ice would permit, and there build a fort +as he best could, with the best materials he could find; live on +whatever the country afforded in the shape of food; establish a trade in +oil, whalebone, arctic foxes, etcetera, etcetera, if they were to be +got; and bring about a reconciliation between the Esquimaux and the +Indians of the interior, if that were possible. With the careful +minuteness peculiar to documents, Stanley's instructions went on to +point out that he was to start from Moose--with two half-sized canoes, +each capable of carrying ten _pieces_ or packages of 90 pounds weight +each, besides the crew--and _bore_ through the ice, if the ice would +allow him, till he should reach Richmond Gulf; cross this gulf, and +ascend, if practicable, some of the rivers which fall into it from the +height of land supposed, but not positively known, to exist somewhere in +the interior. Passing this height, he was to descend by the rivers and +lakes (if such existed) leading to the eastward, until he should fall +upon a river reported to exist in these lands, and called by the natives +_Caniapuscaw_, or South River, down which he was to proceed to the scene +of his labours, Ungava Bay; on reaching which he was considerately left +to the unaided guidance of his own discretion! Reduced to their lowest +term and widest signification, the instructions directed our friend to +start as early as he could, with whom he chose, and with what he liked; +travel as fast as possible over _terra incognita_ to a land of ice-- +perhaps, also, of desolation--and locate himself among bloody savages. +It was hoped that there would be found a sufficiency of trees wherewith +to build him a shelter against a prolonged winter; in the meantime he +might enjoy a bright arctic summer sky for his canopy! + +But it was known, or at least supposed, that the Esquimaux were fierce +and cruel savages, if not cannibals. Their very name implies something +of the sort. It signifies _eaters of raw flesh_, and was bestowed on +them by their enemies the Muskigons. They call themselves _Innuit_-men, +or warriors; and although they certainly do eat raw flesh when necessity +compels them--which it often does--they asserted that they never did so +from choice. However, be this as it may, the remembrance of their +misdeeds in the first expeditions was fresh in the minds of the men in +the service of the fur-traders, and they evinced a decided unwillingness +to venture into such a country and among such a people,--an +unwillingness which was only at length overcome when Mrs Stanley and +her little daughter heroically volunteered to share the dangers of the +expedition in the manner already narrated. + +Stanley now made vigorous preparations for his departure. Some of the +men had already been enrolled, as we have seen, and there were more than +enough of able and active volunteers ready to complete the crews. + +"Come hither, lads," he cried, beckoning to two men who were occupied on +the bank of the river, near the entrance to Moose Fort, in repairing the +side of a canoe. + +The men left their work and approached. They were both Esquimaux, and +good stout, broad-shouldered, thick-set specimens of the race they were. +One was called Oolibuck, [_This name is spelt as it should be +pronounced. The correct spelling is Ouligbuck_], the other Augustus; +both of which names are now chronicled in the history of arctic +adventure as having belonged to the well-tried and faithful interpreters +to Franklin, Back, and Richardson, in their expeditions of north-west +discovery. + +"I'm glad to see you busy at the canoe, boys," said Stanley, as they +came up. "Of course you are both willing to revisit your countrymen." + +"Yes, sir, we is. Glad to go where you choose send us," answered +Oolibuck, whose broad, oily countenance lighted up with good-humour as +he spoke. + +"It will remind you of your trip with Captain Franklin," continued +Stanley, addressing Augustus. + +"Me no like to 'member dat," said the Esquimau, with a sorrowful shake +of the head. "Me love bourgeois Franklin, but tink me never see him +more." + +"I don't know that, old fellow," returned Stanley, with a smile. +"Franklin is not done with his discoveries yet; there's a talk of +sending off another expedition some of these days, I hear, so you may +have a chance yet." + +Augustus's black eyes sparkled with pleasure as he heard this. He was a +man of strong feeling, and during his journeyings with our great arctic +hero had become attached to him in consequence of the hearty and +unvarying kindness and consideration with which he treated all under his +command. But the spirit of enterprise had been long slumbering, and +poor Augustus, who was now past the prime of life, feared that he should +never see his kind master more. + +"Now I want you, lads, to get everything in readiness for an immediate +start," continued Stanley, glancing upwards at the sky; "if the weather +holds, we shan't be long off paying your friends a visit. Are both +canoes repaired?" + +"Yes, sir, they is," replied Oolibuck. + +"And the baggage, is it laid out? And--" + +"Pardon, monsieur," interrupted Massan, walking up, and touching his +cap. "I've jest been down at the point, and there's a rig'lar +nor'-wester a-comin' down. The ice is sweepin' into the river, an' +it'll be choked up by to-morrow, I'm afraid." + +Stanley received this piece of intelligence with a slight frown, and +looked seaward, where a dark line on the horizon and large fields of ice +showed that the man's surmise was likely to prove correct. + +"It matters not," said Stanley, hastily; "I've made arrangements to +start to-morrow, and start we shall, in spite of ice or wind, if the +canoes will float!" + +Massan, who had been constituted principal steersman of the expedition, +in virtue of his well-tried skill and indomitable energy, felt that the +tone in which this was said implied a want of confidence in his +willingness to go under _any_ circumstances, so he said gravely-- + +"Pardon, monsieur; I did not say we could not start." + +"True, true, Massan; don't be hurt. I was only grumbling at the +weather," answered Stanley, with a laugh. + +Just then the first puff of the coming breeze swept up the river, +ruffling its hitherto glassy surface. + +"There it comes," cried Stanley, as he quitted the spot. "Now, Massan, +see to it that the crews are assembled in good time on the beach +to-morrow. We start at daybreak." + +"Oui, monsieur," replied Massan, as he turned on his heel and walked +away. "Parbleu! we shall indeed start to morrow, an it please you, if +all the ice and wind in the polar regions was blowed down the coast and +crammed into the river's mouth. C'est vrai!" + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +ICE LOOKS UNPROPITIOUS--THE START--AN IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE PARTY +NEARLY FORGOTTEN--CHIMO. + +Stanley's forebodings and Massan's prognostications proved partly +incorrect on the following morning. The mouth of the river, and the sea +beyond, were quite full of ice; but it was loose, and intersected in all +directions by lanes of open water. Moreover, there was no wind. + +The gray light of early morning brightened into dawn, and the first +clear ray of the rising sun swept over a scene more beautiful than ever +filled the fancy of the most imaginative poet of the Temperate Zones. +The sky was perfectly unclouded, and the surface of the sea was +completely covered with masses of ice, whose tops were pure white like +snow, and their sides a delicate greenish-blue, their dull, frosted +appearance forming a striking contrast to the surrounding water, which +shone, when the sun glanced upon it, like burnished silver. The masses +of ice varied endlessly in form and size, some being flat and large like +fields, others square and cornered like bastions or towers--here a +miniature temple with spires and minarets, there a crystal fortress with +embrasures and battlements; and, in the midst of these, thousands of +broken fragments, having all the varied outlines of the larger masses, +appearing like the smaller houses, cottages, and villas of this floating +city of ice. + +"Oh how beautiful!" exclaimed little Edith, as her father led her and +Mrs Stanley towards the canoes, which floated lightly in the water, +while the men stood in a picturesque group beside them, leaning on their +bright red paddles. + +"It is indeed, my pet," replied Stanley, a smile almost of sadness +playing around his lips. + +"Come, George, don't let evil forebodings assail you to-day," said Mrs +Stanley in a low tone. "It does not become the leader of a forlorn hope +to cast a shade over the spirits of his men at the very outset." She +smiled as she said this, and pressed his arm; but despite herself, there +was more of sadness in the smile and in the pressure than she intended +to convey. + +Stanley's countenance assumed its usual firm but cheerful expression +while she spoke. "True, Jessie, I must not damp the men; but when I +look at you and our darling Eda, I may be forgiven for betraying a +passing glance of anxiety. May the Almighty protect you!" + +"Is the country we are going to like this, papa?" inquired Eda, whose +intense admiration of the fairy-like scene rendered her oblivious of all +else. + +"Yes, dear, more like this than anything else you have ever seen; but +the sun does not always shine so brightly as it does just now, and +sometimes there are terrible snow-storms. But we will build you a nice +house, Eda, with a very large fireplace, so that we won't feel the +cold." + +The entire population of Moose Fort was assembled on the beach to +witness the departure of the expedition. The party consisted of fifteen +souls. As we shall follow them to the icy regions of Ungava, it may be +worth while to rehearse their names in order as follows:-- + + MR. AND MRS. STANLEY and EDITH. + FRANK MORTON. + MASSAN, the guide. + DICK PRINCE, principal hunter to the party. + LA ROCHE, Stanley's servant and cook. + BRYAN, the blacksmith. + FRANCOIS, the carpenter. + OOLIBUCK, AUGUSTUS, and MOSES, Esquimau + interpreters. + GASPARD, labourer and fisherman. + OOSTESIMOW and MA-ISTEQUAN, Indian guides + and hunters. + +The craft in which these were about to embark were three canoes, two of +which were large and one small. They were made of birch bark, a +substance which is tough, light, and buoyant, and therefore admirably +adapted for the construction of craft that have not only to battle +against strong and sometimes shallow currents, but have frequently to be +carried on the shoulders of their crews over rocks and mountains. The +largest canoe was sixteen feet long by five feet broad in the middle, +narrowing gradually towards the bow and stern to a sharp edge. Its +loading consisted of bales, kegs, casks, and bundles of goods and +provisions; each bale or cask weighed exactly 90 pounds, and was called +a _piece._ There were fifteen pieces in the canoe, besides the crew of +six men, and Mr Stanley and his family, who occupied the centre, where +their bedding, tied up in flat bundles and covered with oiled cloth, +formed a comfortable couch. Notwithstanding the size and capacity of +this craft, it had been carried down to the beach on the shoulders of +Massan and Dick Prince, who now stood at its bow and stern, preventing +it with their paddles from rubbing its frail sides against the wharf; +for although the bark is tough, and will stand a great deal of tossing +in water and plunging among rapids, it cannot sustain the slightest blow +from a rock or other hard substance without being cracked, or having the +gum which covers the seams scraped off. To those who are unacquainted +with travelling in the wild regions of the north it would seem +impossible that a long journey could be accomplished in such tender +boats; but a little experience proves that, by judicious treatment and +careful management, voyages of great length may be safely accomplished +in them--that they are well adapted for the necessities of the country, +and can be taken with greater ease through a rough, broken, and +mountainous region than ordinary wooden boats, even of smaller size, +could be. + +The second canoe was in all respects similar to the one we have +described, excepting that it was a few inches shorter. The third was +much smaller--so small that it could not contain more than three men, +with their provisions and a few bales, and so light that it could with +the greatest ease be carried on the shoulders of one man. It was +intended to serve as a sort of pioneer and hunting craft, which should +lead the way, dart hither and thither in pursuit of game, and warn the +main body of any danger that should threaten them ahead. It was manned +by the two Indian guides, Oostesimow and Ma-istequan, and by Frank +Morton, who being acknowledged one of the best shots of the party, was +by tacit understanding regarded as commissary-general. It might have +been said that Frank was the best shot, were it not for the fact that +the aim of Dick Prince was perfect, and it is generally admitted that +perfection cannot be excelled. + +Although differing widely in their dispositions and appearance, the men +of the expedition were similar at least in one respect--they were all +first-rate, and had been selected as being individually superior to +their comrades at Moose Fort. And a noble set of fellows they looked, +as they stood beside their respective canoes, leaning on their little, +brilliantly coloured paddles, awaiting the embarkation of their leaders. +They all wore new suits of clothes, which were sufficiently similar to +give the effect of a uniform, yet so far varied in detail as to divest +them of monotony, and relieve the eye by agreeable contrast of bright +colours. All of them wore light-blue cloth capotes with hoods hanging +down behind, all had corduroy trousers gartered below the knee, and all +wore moccasins, and had fire-bags stuck in their belts, in which were +contained the materials for producing fire, tobacco, and pipes. So far +they were alike, but the worsted belts of some were scarlet, of others +crimson, and of others striped. Some gartered their trousers with +thongs of leather, others used elegant bands of bead-work--the gifts, +probably, of sorrowing sweethearts, sisters, or mothers--while the +fire-bags, besides being composed some of blue, some of scarlet cloth, +were ornamented more or less with flowers and fanciful devices elegantly +wrought in the gaily-dyed quills of the porcupine. + +On seeing Stanley and his wife and child approaching, Massan gave the +order to embark. In a moment every man divested himself of his capote, +which he folded up and placed on the seat he was to occupy; then, +shaking hands all round for the last time, they stepped lightly and +carefully into their places. + +"All ready, I see, Massan," said Stanley, as he came up, "and the ice +seems pretty open. How say you? shall we make a good day of it?" + +Massan smiled dubiously as he presented his thick shoulder as a support +to Mrs Stanley, while she stepped into her place. He remembered the +conversation of the previous evening, and determined that, whatever +should happen, he at least would not cast the shadow of a doubt on their +prospects. But in his own mind he suspected that their progress would +be interrupted ere long, as the wind, although very light--almost +imperceptible--was coming from the north-west. + +"It'll be full flood in less nor half an hour," he replied, "and--(take +care, Miss Edith, give me your little hand; there, now, jump light)--and +we'll be past the p'int by that time, and git the good o' the ebb till +sun-down." + +"I fear," said Frank Morton, approaching, "that the ice is rather thick +for us; but it don't much matter, it will only delay us a bit--and at +any rate we'll make good way as far as the point." + +"True, true," said Stanley; "and it's a great matter to get fairly +started. Once off we must go forward. All ready, lads?" + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +"Now, Frank, into your canoe and show us the way; mind we trust to your +guidance to keep us clear of blind alleys among these lanes of water in +the ice." + +At this moment Edith--who had been for the last few minutes occupied in +alternately drying her eyes and kissing her hands to a group of little +children who had been her play-fellows during her sojourn at the fort-- +uttered a loud exclamation. + +"Oh! oh! papa, mamma--Chimo!--we've forgot Chimo! Oh me! don't go away +yet!" + +"So we have!" said her father; "dear me, how stupid to forget our old +friend!--Hallo! Frank, Frank, we've forgot the dog," shouted Stanley to +his young comrade, who was on the point of starting. + +On hearing this, Frank gave a long, shrill whistle. "That'll bring him +if he's within ear-shot." + +When the well-known sound broke upon Chimo's ear, he was lying coiled up +in front of the kitchen fire, being privileged to do so in consequence +of his position as Edith's favourite. The cook, having gone out a few +minutes previously, had left Chimo to enjoy his slumbers in solitude, so +that, when he started suddenly to his feet on hearing Frank's whistle, +he found himself a prisoner. But Chimo was a peculiarly strong-minded +and strong-bodied dog, and was possessed of an iron will! He was of the +Esquimau breed, and bore some resemblance to the Newfoundland, but was +rather shorter in the legs, longer in the body, and more powerfully +made. Moreover, he was more shaggy, and had a stout, blunt, +straightforward appearance, which conveyed to the beholder the idea that +he scorned flattery, and would not consent to be petted on any +consideration. Indeed this was the case, for he always turned away with +quiet contempt from any of the men who attempted to fondle him. He made +an exception, however, of little Edith, whom he not only permitted to +clap him to any extent, but deliberately invited her to do so by laying +his great head in her lap, rubbing himself against her, and wagging his +bushy tail, as if to say, "Now, little girl, do what you will with me!" +And Eda never refused the animal's dumb-show request. When she was very +young and had not much sense--at which time Chimo was young too, but +possessed of a great deal of sense--she formed a strong affection for +the Esquimau dog, an affection which she displayed by putting her little +arms round his neck and hugging him until he felt a tendency to +suffocation; she also pulled his ears and tail, and stuffed her fat +little hands into his eyes and mouth,--all of which dreadful actions she +seemed to think, in her childish ignorance, must be very pleasant to +Chimo, and all of which the dog appeared really to enjoy. At all +events, whether he liked it or not, he came regularly to have himself +thus treated every day. As Eda grew older she left off choking her +favourite and poking out his eyes, and contented herself with caressing +him. Chimo also evinced a partiality for Mr Stanley and Frank Morton, +and often accompanied the latter on his hunting excursions; but he +always comported himself towards them with dignified hauteur, accepting +their caresses with a slight wag of acknowledgment, but never courting +their favour. + +On jumping up, as we have already said, and observing that the door was +shut, the dog looked slowly and calmly round the apartment, as if to +decide on what was best to be done; for Chimo was a dog of great energy +of character, and was never placed in any circumstances in which he did +not pursue some decided course of action. On the present occasion there +was not a hole, except the key-hole, by which he could hope to make his +escape. Yes, by-the-bye, there was a hole in the window, which was made +of parchment; but as that was merely the bullet-hole through which the +animal that had given his skin for a window had been shot, and was not +larger than a shilling, it did not afford much hope. Nevertheless Chimo +regarded it with a steady gaze for a minute or two, then he turned to +the fire, and having satisfied himself that the chimney was +impracticable, being full of flames and smoke, he faced the window once +more, and showed his teeth, as if in chagrin. + +"Whew-ew! Chimo-o-o!" came Frank's voice, floating faintly from afar. +Chimo took aim at the bullet-hole. One vigorous bound--a horrible +crash, that nearly caused the returning cook to faint--and the dog was +free. + +"Ah, here he comes!--good dog!" cried Frank, as the animal came bounding +over intervening obstacles towards the canoes. Chimo made straight for +the small canoe, in answer to his master's call; but, like many dogs and +not a few men, he owned a higher power than that of a master. The voice +of his little mistress sounded sweetly in his ear, like the sound of a +silver bell. "O Chimo, Chimo! my darling pet! come here--here." It was +a soft, tiny voice at the loudest, and was quite drowned amid the +talking and laughter of the men, but Chimo heard it. Turning at a sharp +angle from his course, he swept past the light canoe, and bounding into +that of Mr Stanley, lay down beside Eda and placed his head in her lap, +where it was immediately smothered in the caresses of its young +mistress. + +Mr Stanley smiled and patted his little girl on the shoulder, as he +said, "That's right, Eda; the love of a faithful dog is worth having and +cherishing." Then turning towards the stern of the canoe, where Massan +stood erect, with his steering paddle ready for action, he said to that +worthy-- + +"Now, Massan, all ready; give the word." + +"Ho, ho, boys; forward!" + +The paddles dipped simultaneously in the water with a loud, gurgling +sound; the two large canoes shot out into the stream abreast of each +other, preceded by the light one, which, urged forward by the powerful +arms of Frank and the two Indians, led the way among the floating fields +of ice. The people on shore took off their caps and waved a last +farewell. Dick Prince, who possessed a deep, loud, sonorous voice, +began one of those beautiful and wild yet plaintive songs peculiar to +the _voyageurs_ of the wilderness. The men joined, with a full, rich +swell, in the chorus, as they darted forward with arrow-like speed--and +the voyage began. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +CHARACTER PARTIALLY DEVELOPED--DUCKS FOR SUPPER--A THREATENED "NIP"-- +BUNDLED OUT ON THE ICE. + +Fortunately the wind veered round to the south-east soon after the +departure of the canoes from Moose Fort, and although there was not +enough of it to ruffle the surface of the river, it had the effect of +checking the influx of ice from James's Bay. The tide, too, began to +ebb, so that the progress of the canoes was even more rapid than it +appeared to be; and long before the sun set, they were past the point at +the mouth of the river, and coasting along the shores of the salt ocean. + +Outside of them the sea was covered with hummocks and fields of ice, +some of which ever and anon met in the cross currents caused by the +river, with a violent shock. Close to the shore, however, the thickness +of the ice caused it to strand, leaving a lane of open water, along +which the canoes proceeded easily, the depth of water being much more +than sufficient for them, as the largest canoe did not draw more than a +foot. Sometimes, however, this space was blocked up by smaller +fragments, and considerable difficulty was experienced in steering the +canoes amongst them. Had the party travelled in boats, they would have +easily dashed through many of these checks; but with canoes it is far +otherwise. Not only are their bark sides easily broken, but the seams +are covered with a kind of pitch which becomes so brittle in ice-cold +water that it chips off in large lumps with the slightest touch. For +the sea, therefore, boats are best; but when it comes to carrying the +craft over waterfalls and up mountain sides, for days and weeks +together, canoes are more useful, owing to their lightness. + +"Take care, Massan," said Mr Stanley, on approaching one of these +floes. "Don't chip the gum off if you can help it. If we spring a +leak, we shan't spend our first night on a pleasant camping-ground, for +the shore just hereabouts does not look inviting." + +"No fear, sir," replied Massan. "Dick Prince is in the bow, and as long +as his mouth's shut I keep my mind easy." + +"You appear to have unlimited confidence in Prince," said Stanley, with +a smile. "Does he never fail in anything, that you are so sure of him?" + +"Fail!" exclaimed the steersman, whose paddle swept constantly in a +circle round his head, while he changed it from side to side as the +motions of the canoe required--"fail! ay, that does he sometimes. +Mortal man must get on the wrong side o' luck now and then. I've seen +Dick Prince fail, but I never saw him make a mistake." + +"Well, I've no doubt that he deserves your good opinion. Nevertheless, +be more than ordinarily careful. If you had a wife and child in the +canoe, Massan, you would understand my anxiety better." Stanley smiled +as he said this, and the worthy steersman replied in a grave tone,--"I +have the wife and child of my bourgeois under my care." + +"True, true, Massan," said Stanley, lying back on his couch and +conversing with his wife in an undertone. + +"'Tis curious," said he, "to observe the confidence that Massan has in +Prince; and yet it would be difficult to say wherein consists the +superiority of the one over the other." + +"Perhaps it is the influence of a strong mind over a weaker," suggested +his wife. + +"It may be so. Yet Prince is an utterly uneducated man. True, he +shoots a hair's-breadth better than Massan; but he is not a better +canoe-man, neither is he more courageous, and he is certainly less +powerful: nevertheless Massan looks up to him and speaks of him as if he +were greatly his superior. The secret of his power must lie in that +steady, never-wavering inflexibility of purpose, that characterises our +good bowman in everything he does." + +"Papa," said Edith, who had been holding a long conversation with Chimo +on the wonders of the scene around them--if we may call that a +conversation where the one party does all the talking and the other all +the listening--"papa, where shall we all sleep to-night?" + +The thought seemed to have struck her for the first time, and she looked +up eagerly for an answer, while Chimo gave a deep sigh of indifference, +and went to sleep, or pretended to do so, where he was. + +"In the woods, Eda. How do you think you will like it?" + +"Oh, I'm sure I shall like it very much," replied the little one. "I've +often wished to live in the woods altogether like the Indians, and do +nothing but wander about and pull berries." + +"Ah, Jessie," said Stanley, "what an idle little baggage your daughter +is! I fear she's a true chip of the old block!" + +"Which do you consider the old block," retorted Mrs Stanley--"you or +me?" + +"Never mind, wife; we'll leave that an open question.--But tell me, Eda, +don't you think that wandering about and pulling berries would be a very +useless sort of life?" + +"No," replied Edith, gravely. "Mamma often tells me that God wants me +to be happy, and I'm quite sure that wandering about all day in the +beautiful woods would make me happy." + +"But, my darling," said Stanley, smiling at the simplicity of this +plausible argument in favour of an idle life, "don't you know that we +ought to try to make others happy too, as well as ourselves?" + +"Oh yes," replied Eda, with a bright smile, "I know that, papa; and I +would try to make everybody happy by going with them and showing them +where the finest flowers and berries were to be found; and so we would +all be happy together, and that's what God wants, is it not?" + +Mr Stanley glanced towards his wife with an arch smile. "There, +Jessie, what think you of that?" + +"Nay, husband, what think you?" + +"I think," he replied in an undertone, "that your sagacious teaching +against idleness, and in favour of diligence and attention to duty, and +so forth, has not taken very deep root yet." + +"And _I_ think," said Mrs Stanley, "that however wise you men may be in +some things, you are all most incomprehensibly stupid in regard to the +development of young minds." + +"Take care now, Jessie; you're verging upon metaphysics. But you have +only given me your opinion of men as yet; you have still to say what you +think of Eda's acknowledged predilection for idleness." + +"Well," replied Mrs Stanley, "I think that my sagacious teaching, as +you are pleased to call it, has taken pretty firm root already, and that +Eda's speech is one of the first bright, beautiful blossoms, from which +we may look for much fruit hereafter; for to make one's self and one's +fellow-creatures happy, _because such is the will of God_, seems to me a +simple and comprehensive way of stating the whole duty of man." + +Stanley's eyes opened a little at this definition. "Hum! _multum in +parvo_; it may be so," he said; and casting down his eyes, he was soon +lost in a profound reverie, while the canoe continued to progress +forward by little impulsive bounds, under the rapid stroke of the +paddles. Eda rested her fair cheek on the shaggy brow of Chimo, and +accompanied him to the land of nod, until the sun began to sink behind +the icebergs on the seaward horizon, where a dark line indicated an +approaching breeze. + +Massan cast an uneasy glance at this from time to time. At length he +called to his friend in the bow, "Hello, Prince! will it come stiff; +think ye?" + +"No," replied Prince, rising and shading his eyes with his hand; "it'll +be only a puff; but that's enough to drive the ice down on us, an' shut +up the open water." + +"It's my 'pinion," said Massan, "that we should hold away for the p'int +yonder, an' camp there." + +Dick Prince nodded assent, and resumed his paddle. + +As he did so the report of a gun came sharply over the water. + +"Ha!" exclaimed Stanley, looking out ahead; "what's that?" + +"Only Mr Frank," said Massan; "he's dowsed two birds. I see'd them +splash into the water." + +"That's right," said Stanley; "we shall have something fresh for the +kettle to-night. And, by the way, we'll need all we can kill, for we +haven't much provision to depend on, and part of it must be reserved in +case of accidents, so that if Frank does not do his duty, we shall have +to live on birch bark, Massan." + +"That would be rayther tough. I'm afeerd," replied the steersman, +laughing. "I've tried the tail o' a deer-skin coat afore now, an' it +wasn't much to boast of; but I niver tried a birch-bark steak. I doubt +it would need a power o' chewin?" + +By this time the two large canoes had drawn gradually nearer to the +leading one. As they approached, Frank ordered his men to cease +paddling. + +"Well, Frank, what success?" said Stanley, as they came up. + +"There's our supper," cried Frank, tossing a large duck into the canoe; +"and there's a bite for the men," he added, sending a huge gray goose +into the midst of them. "I saw a herd of reindeer on the other side of +the point; but the ice closed up the passage, and prevented me from +getting within range. It will stop our further progress for to-night +too; so I waited to advise you to camp here." + +"There it comes!" cried Dick Prince. "Jump out on the ice, lads, and +unload as fast as you can." + +As Dick spoke he sprang on to a field of ice which was attached to the +shore, and drawing the canoe alongside, began hastily to remove the +cargo. His example was instantly followed by the men, who sprang over +the gunwales like cats; and in less than five minutes the cargoes were +scattered over the ice. Meanwhile, the breeze which Massan had observed +continued to freshen, and the seaward ice bore rapidly down on the +shore, gradually narrowing and filling up the lanes of water among which +the travellers had been hitherto wending their way. Dick Prince's +sudden action was caused by his observing a large, solid field, which +bore down on them with considerable rapidity. His warning was just in +time, for the goods were scarcely landed and the three canoes lifted out +of the water, when the ice closed in with a crash that would have ground +the frail barks to pieces, and the passage was closed up. So completely +was every trace of water obliterated, that it seemed as though there +never had been any there before. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +SHOWS HOW THE PARTY MADE THEMSELVES AT HOME IN THE BUSH--TALK ROUND THE +CAMP FIRE--A FLASH OF TEMPER--TURNING IN. + +The spot where they were thus suddenly arrested in their progress was a +small bay, formed by a low point which jutted from the mainland, and +shut out the prospect in advance. There was little or no wood on the +point, except a few stunted willows, which being green and small would +not, as La Roche the cook remarked, "make a fire big enough to roast the +wing of a mosquito." There was no help for it, however. The spot on +which Massan had resolved to encamp for the night was three miles on the +other side of the point, and as the way was now solid ice instead of +water, there was no possibility of getting there until a change of wind +should drive the ice off the shore. Moreover, it was now getting dark, +and it behoved them to make their preparations with as much speed as +possible. Accordingly, Massan and Prince shouldered one canoe, Francois +and Gaspard carried the other, and the light one was placed on the +shoulders of Bryan the blacksmith; La Roche took the provision-basket +and cooking utensils under his special charge; while the three Esquimau +interpreters and the two Indian guides busied themselves in carrying the +miscellaneous goods and baggage into camp. As for Chimo, he seated +himself quietly on a lump of ice, and appeared to superintend the entire +proceedings; while his young mistress and her mother, accompanied by +Frank and Stanley, crossed the ice to the shore, to select a place for +their encampment. + +But it was some time ere a suitable place could be found, as the point +happened to be low and swampy, and poor Eda's first experience of a life +in the woods was stepping into a hole which took her up to the knees in +mud and water. She was not alone, however, in misfortune, for just at +the same moment Bryan passed through the bushes with his canoe, and +staggered into the same swamp, exclaiming as he did so, in a rich brogue +which many years' residence among the French half-breeds of Rupert's +Land had failed to soften, "Thunder an' turf! such a blackguard counthry +I niver did see. Och, Bryan dear, why did ye iver lave yer native +land?" + +"Pourquoi, why, mon boy? for ver' goot raison," cried La Roche, in a +horrible compound of French and broken English, as he skipped lightly +past, with a loud laugh, "for ver' goot raison--dey was tired of you to +home, vraiment. You was too grande raskale; dey could not keep you no +longer." + +"Thrue for ye, La Roche," replied the blacksmith, "thrue for ye, boy; +they sartinly could not keep me on nothin', an' as the murphies was all +sp'iled wi' the rot, I had to lave or starve." + +At last, after a long search, Frank Morton found a spot pretty well +adapted for their purpose. It was an elevated plot of gravel, which was +covered with a thin carpet of herbage, and surrounded by a belt of +willows which proved a sufficient shelter against the wind. A low and +rather shaggy willow-tree spread its branches over the spot, and gave to +it a good deal of the feeling and appearance of shelter, if not much of +the reality. This was of little consequence, however, as the night +proved fine and comparatively mild, so that the black vault of heaven, +spangled with hosts of brilliant stars, amply compensated for the want +of a leafy canopy. + +Under the willow-tree, Frank and La Roche busied themselves in spreading +a very small white tent for Mr Stanley and his family. Frank himself, +although entitled from his position in the Company's service to the +luxury of a tent, scorned to use one, preferring to rough it like the +men, and sleep beneath the shelter of the small canoe. Meanwhile, Mr +Stanley proceeded to strike a light with his flint and steel; and Bryan, +having deposited his burden near the tent, soon collected a sufficiency +of driftwood to make a good fire. Edith and her mother were not idle in +the midst of this busy scene. They collected a few bundles of dried +twigs to make the fire light more easily, and after the blaze was +casting its broad glare of light over the camp, and the tent was +pitched, they assisted La Roche in laying the cloth for supper. Of +course, in a journey like this, none but necessary articles were taken, +and these were of the most homely character. The kettle was the +tea-pot, the cups were tin pannikins, and the table-cloth was a large +towel, while the table itself was the ground, from the damp of which, +however, the party in the tent were protected by an ample oil-cloth. + +When all the things were carried up, and the men assembled, the camp +presented the following appearance: in the centre of the open space, +which nature had arranged in the form of a circle, blazed the fire; and +a right jovial, sputtering, outrageous fire it was, sending its sparks +flying in all directions, like the artillery of a beleaguered fortress +in miniature, and rolling its flames about in fierce and wayward +tongues, that seemed bent on licking in and swallowing up the entire +party, but more especially La Roche, who found no little difficulty in +paying due attention to his pots and kettles. Sometimes the flames +roared fiercely upwards, singeing off the foliage of the overhanging +willow as they went, and then, bursting away from their parent fire, +portions of them floated off for a few seconds on the night air. On the +weather side of this fire stood Mr Stanley's tent, under the +willow-tree, as before described, its pure white folds showing strongly +against the darkness of the sky beyond. The doorway, or curtain of the +tent, was open, displaying the tea-equipage within, and the smiling +countenances of Stanley and his wife, Frank and Eda, who, seated on +blankets and shawls around the towel, were preparing to make an assault +on the fat duck before mentioned. This duck had been split open and +roasted on a piece of stick before the blaze, and now stood with the +stumps of its wings and legs extended, as if demanding urgently to be +eaten--a demand which Chimo, who crouched near the doorway, could scarce +help complying with. + +To the right of the tent was placed the small canoe, bottom up, so as to +afford a partial protection to the bedding which Oostesimow was engaged +in spreading out for Frank and himself and his comrade Ma-Istequan. +Facing this, at the other side of the fire, and on the left of the tent, +the largest canoe was turned up in a similar manner, and several of the +men were engaged in covering the ground beneath it with a layer of +leaves and branches, above which they spread their blankets; while +others lounged around the fire and smoked their beloved pipes, or +watched with impatient eyes the operations of Bryan, who, being +accustomed to have familiar dealings with the fire, had been deemed +worthy of holding the office of cook to the men, and was inducted +accordingly. + +It is due to Bryan to say that he fully merited the honour conferred +upon him; for never, since the days of Vulcan, was there a man seen who +could daringly dabble in the fire as he did. He had a peculiar +sleight-of-hand way of seizing hold of and tossing about red-hot coals +with his naked hand, that induced one to believe he must be made of +leather. Flames seemed to have no effect whatever on his sinewy arms +when they licked around them; and as for smoke, he treated it with +benign contempt. Not so La Roche: with the mercurial temperament of his +class he leaped about the fire, during his culinary operations, in a way +that afforded infinite amusement to his comrades, and not unfrequently +brought him into violent collision with Bryan, who usually received him +on such occasions with a strong Irish growl, mingled with a disparaging +or contemptuous remark. + +Beyond the circle of light thrown by the fire was the belt of willows +which encompassed the camp on all sides except towards the sea, where a +narrow gap formed a natural entrance and afforded a glimpse of the ocean +with its fields and hummocks of ice floating on its calm bosom and +glancing in the faint light of the moon, which was then in its first +quarter. + +"How comfortable and snug everything is!" said Mrs Stanley, as she +poured out the tea, while her husband carved the duck. + +"Yes, isn't it, Eda?" said Frank, patting his favourite on the head, as +he held out her plate for a wing. "There, give her a bit of the breast +too," he added. "I know she's ravenously hungry, for I saw her looking +at Chimo, just before we landed, as if she meant to eat him for supper +without waiting to have him cooked." + +"O Frank, how can you be so wicked?" said Eda, taking up her knife and +fork and attacking the wing with so much energy as almost to justify her +friend's assertion. + +"Snug, said you, Jessie? yes, that's the very word to express it," said +Stanley. "There's no situation that I know of (and I wasn't born +yesterday) that is so perfectly snug, and in all respects comfortable, +as an encampment in the woods on a fine night in spring or autumn." + +"Or winter," added Frank, swallowing a pannikin of tea at a draught, +nodding to Chimo, as much as to say, "Do that if you can, old fellow," +and handing it to Mrs Stanley to be replenished. "Don't omit winter-- +cold, sharp, sunny winter. An encampment in the snow, in fine weather, +is as snug as this." + +"Rather cold, is it not?" said Mrs Stanley. + +"Cold! not a bit," replied Frank, making a reckless dive with his hand +into the biscuit-bag; "if you have enough wood to get up a roaring fire, +six feet long by three broad and four deep, with a bank of snow five +feet high all around ye, a pine-tree with lots of thick branches +spreading overhead to keep off the snow, and two big green blankets to +keep out the frost--(another leg of that widgeon, please)--you've no +notion how snug it is, I assure you." + +"Hum!" ejaculated Stanley, with a dubious smile, "you forgot to add--a +youthful, robust frame, with the blood careering through the veins like +wildfire, to your catalogue of requisites. No doubt it is pleasant +enough in its way; but commend me to spring or autumn for thorough +enjoyment, when the air is mild, and the waters flowing, and the woods +green and beautiful." + +"Why don't you speak of summer, papa?" said Eda, who had been listening +intently to this conversation. + +"Summer, my pet! because--" + +"Allow me to explain," interrupted Frank, laying down his knife and +fork, and placing the forefinger of his right hand in his left palm, as +if he were about to make a speech. "Because, Eda, because there is such +a thing as heat--long-continued, never-ending, sweltering heat. Because +there are such reprehensible and unutterably detestable insects as +mosquitoes, and sand-flies, and bull-dogs; and there is such a thing as +being bitten, and stung, and worried, and sucked into a sort of partial +madness; and I have seen such sights as men perpetually slapping their +own faces, and scratching the skin off their own cheeks with their own +nails, and getting no relief thereby, but rather making things worse; +and I have, moreover, seen men's heads swelled until the eyes and noses +were lost, and the mouths only visible when opened, and their general +aspect like that of a Scotch haggis; and there is a time when all this +accumulates on man and beast till the latter takes to the water in +desperation, and the former takes to intermittent insanity, and that +time is--_summer_.--Another cup, please, Mrs Stanley. 'Pon my +conscience, it creates thirst to think of it." + +At this stage the conversation of the party in the tent was interrupted +by a loud peal of laughter mingled with not a few angry exclamations +from the men. La Roche, in one of his frantic leaps to avoid a tongue +of flame which shot out from the fire with a vicious velocity towards +his eyes, came into violent contact with Bryan while that worthy was in +the act of lifting a seething kettle of soup and boiled pork from the +fire. Fortunately for the party whose supper was thus placed in +jeopardy, Bryan stood his ground; but La Roche, tripping over a log, +fell heavily among the pannikins, tin plates, spoons, and knives, which +had been just laid out on the ground in front of the canoe. + +"Ach! mauvais chien," growled Gaspard, as he picked up and threw away +the fragments of his pipe, "you're always cuttin' and jumpin' about like +a monkey." + +"Oh! pauvre crapaud," cried Francois, laughing; "don't abuse him, +Gaspard. He's a useful dog in his way." + +"Tare an' ages! you've done it now, ye have. Bad luck to ye! wasn't I +for iver tellin' ye that same. Shure, if it wasn't that ye're no bigger +or heavier than a wisp o' pea straw, ye'd have druve me and the soup +into the fire, ye would. Be the big toe o' St. Patrick, not to mintion +his riverince the Pope--" + +"Come, come, Bryan," cried Massan, "don't speak ill o' the Pope, an' +down wi' the kettle." + +"The kittle, is it? Sorra a kittle ye'll touch, Massan, till it's cool +enough to let us all start fair at wance. Ye've got yer mouth and +throat lined wi' brass, I believe, an' would ate the half o't before a +soul of us could taste it!" + +"Don't insult me, you red-faced racoon," retorted Massan, while he and +his comrades circled round the kettle, and began a vigorous attack on +the scalding mess; "my throat is not so used to swallowin' fire as your +own. I never knowed a man that payed into the grub as you do.--Bah! how +hot it is.--I say, Oolibuck, doesn't it remember you o' the dogs o' yer +own country, when they gits the stone kettle to clean out?" + +Oolibuck's broad visage expanded with a chuckle as he lifted an enormous +wooden spoonful of soup to his ample mouth. "Me tink de dogs of de +Innuit [Esquimaux] make short work of dis kettle if 'e had 'im." + +"Do the dogs of the Huskies eat with their masters?" inquired Francois, +as he groped in the kettle with his fork in search of a piece of pork. + +"Dey not eat _wid_ der masters, but dey al'ays clean hout de kettle," +replied Moses, somewhat indignantly. + +"Ha!" exclaimed Massan, pausing for a few minutes to recover breath; +"yes, they always let the dogs finish off the feast. Ye must know, +comrades, that I've seed them do it myself--anyways I've seed a man that +knew a feller who said he had a comrade that wintered once with the +Huskies, which is pretty much the same thing. An' he said that +sometimes when they kill a big seal, they boil it whole an' have a +rig'lar feast. Ye must understand, mes garcons, that the Huskies make +thumpin' big kettles out o' a kind o' soft stone they find in them +parts, an' some o' them's big enough to boil a whole seal in. Well, +when the beast is cooked, they take it out o' the pot, an' while they're +tuckin' into it, the dogs come and sit in a ring round the pot to wait +till the soup's cool enough to eat. They knows well that it's too hot +at first, an' that they must have a deal o' patience; but afore long +some o' the young uns can't hold on, so they steps up somewhat desperate +like, and pokes their snouts in. Of course they pulls them out pretty +sharp with a yell, and sit down to rub their noses for a bit longer. +Then the old uns take courage an' make a snap at it now and again, but +very tenderly, till it gits cooler at last, an' then at it they go, +worryin', an' scufflin', an' barkin', an' gallopin', just like Moses +there, till the pot's as clean as the day it wos made." + +"Ha! ha! oh, ver' goot, tres bien; ah! mon coeur, just tres +splendiferous!" shouted La Roche, whose risibility was always easily +tickled. + +"It's quite true, though--isn't it, Moses?" said Massan, as he once more +applied to the kettle, while some of his comrades cut up the goose that +Frank had shot in the afternoon. + +"Why, Moses, what a capacity you have for grub!" said Francois. "If +your countrymen are anything like you, I don't wonder that they have +boiled seals and whales for dinner." + +"It'll take a screamin' kittle for a whale," spluttered Bryan, with his +mouth full, "an' a power o' dogs to drink the broth." + +"You tink you funny, Bryan," retorted Moses, while an oily smile beamed +on his fat, good-humoured countenance; "but you not; you most dreadful +stupid." + +"Thrue for ye, Moses; I was oncommon stupid to let you sit so long +beside the kittle," replied the Irishman, as he made a futile effort to +scrape another spoonful from the bottom of it. "Och! but ye've licked +it as clane as one of yer own dogs could ha' done it." + +"Mind your eye!" growled Gaspard, at the same time giving La Roche a +violent push, as that volatile worthy, in one of his eccentric +movements, nearly upset his can of water. + +"Oh! pardon, monsieur," exclaimed La Roche, in pretended sorrow, at the +same time making a grotesque bow that caused a general peal of laughter. + +"Why, one might as well travel with a sick bear as with you, Gaspard," +said Francois half angrily. + +"Hold your jaw," replied Gaspard. + +"Not at your bidding," retorted Francois, half rising from his reclining +posture, while his colour heightened. Gaspard had also started up, and +it seemed as if the little camp were in danger of becoming a scene of +strife, when Dick Prince, who was habitually silent and unobtrusive, +preferring generally to listen rather than to speak, laid his hand on +Gaspard's broad shoulder and pulled him somewhat forcibly to the ground. + +"Shame on you, comrades!" he said, in a low, grave voice, that instantly +produced a dead silence; "shame on you, to quarrel on our first night in +the bush! We've few enough friends in these parts, I think, that we +should make enemies o' each other." + +"That's well said," cried Massan, in a very decided tone. "It won't do +to fall out when there's so few of us." And the stout voyageur thrust +his foot against the logs on the fire, causing a rich cloud of sparks to +ascend, as if to throw additional light on his remark. + +"Pardon me, mes comrades," cried Francois; "I did not intend to +quarrel;" and he extended his hand to Gaspard, who took it in silence, +and dropping back again to his recumbent posture, resumed his pipe. + +This little scene was witnessed by the party in the tent, who were near +enough to overhear all that was said by the men, and even to converse +with them if they should desire to do so. A shade of anxiety crossed +Mr Stanley's countenance, and some time after, recurring to the +subject, he said-- + +"I don't feel quite easy about that fellow Gaspard. He seems a sulky +dog, and is such a Hercules that he might give us a deal of trouble if +he were high-spirited." + +A slight smile of contempt curled Frank's lip as he said, "A strong arm +without a bold heart is not of more value than that of my Eda here in +the hour of danger. But I think better of Gaspard than you seem to do. +He's a sulky enough dog, 'tis true; but he is a good, hard worker, and +does not grumble; and I sometimes have noticed traces of a better spirit +than usually meets the eye. As for his bulk, I think nothing of it; he +wants high spirit to make it available. Francois could thrash him any +day." + +"Perhaps so," replied Stanley; "I hope they won't try their mettle on +each other sooner than we expect. Not that I care a whit for any of the +men having a round or two now and then and be done with it; but this +fellow seems to `nurse his wrath to keep it warm.' On such an +expedition as ours, it behoves us to have a good understanding and a +kindly feeling in the camp. One black sheep in the flock may do much +damage." + +"He's only piebald, not black," said Frank, laughing, as he rose to quit +the tent. "But I must leave you. I see that Eda's eyes are refusing to +keep open any longer, so good-night to you all, and a sound sleep." + +Frank's concluding remarks in reference to him were overheard by +Gaspard, who had risen to look at the night, and afterwards kneeled near +the tent, in order to be at some distance from his comrades while he +said his prayers; for, strange though it may seem, many of the rough and +reckless voyageurs of that country, most of whom are Roman Catholics, +regularly retire each night to kneel and pray beneath a tree before +lying down on their leafy couches, and deem the act quite consistent +with the swearing and quarrelling life that too many of them lead. Such +is human nature. As Gaspard rose from his knees Frank's words fell upon +his ear, and when he drew his blanket over his head that night there was +a softer spot in his heart and a wrinkle less on his brow. + +When Frank stepped over to the place where his canoe lay, the aspect of +the camp was very different from what it had been an hour before. The +fire had burned low, and was little more than a mass of glowing embers, +from which a fitful flame shot forth now and then, casting a momentary +glare on the forms of the men, who, having finished their pipes, were +all extended in a row, side by side, under the large canoe. As they +possessed only a single green blanket each, they had to make the most of +their coverings, by rolling them tightly around their bodies, and +doubling the ends down under their feet and over their heads; so that +they resembled a row of green bolsters, all their feet being presented +towards the fire, and all their heads resting on their folded capotes. +A good deal of loud and regular snoring proved that toil and robust +health seldom court the drowsy god long in vain. Turning to his own +canoe, Frank observed that his Indian friends were extended out under +it, with a wide space between them, in which his own bedding was neatly +arranged. The grave sons of the forest had lain down to rest long +before their white comrades, and they now lay as silent and motionless +as the canoe that covered their heads. Being a small canoe, it did not +afford protection to their legs and feet; but in fine weather this was +of no consequence, and for the morrow they cared not. + +Before lying down Frank kneeled to commend himself and his comrades to +the protection of God; then stirring up the embers of the fire, he +pulled out a small Bible from his breast pocket and sat down on a log to +read. Frank was a careless, rollicking, kind-hearted fellow, and how +much there was of true religion in these acts none but himself could +tell. But the _habit_ of reading the Word, and of prayer, had been +instilled into him from infancy by a godly mother, and he carried it +with him into the wilderness. + +When he drew his blanket over him and laid his head on his capote the +stars were still twinkling, and the moon still sailed in a clear sky and +gave silver edges to the ice upon the sea. All was calm and solemn and +beautiful, and it seemed as if it could never be otherwise in such a +tranquil scene. But nature does not always smile. Appearances are +often deceitful. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +BRYAN'S ADVENTURE WITH A POLAR BEAR, ETCETERA. + +Ice, ice, ice! everything seemed to have been converted into ice when +the day broke on the following morning and awoke the sleepers in the +camp. A sharp frost during the night, accompanied by a fall of snow, +had, as if by magic, converted spring into winter. Icy particles hung +upon and covered, not only the young leaves and buds of the bushes, but +the branches also, giving to them a white and extremely airy appearance. +Snow lay on the upper sides of the canoes, and weighed heavily on the +tent, causing its folds, once seemingly so pure and white, to look dirty +by contrast. Snow lay on the protruding legs of the men, and encircled +the black spot where rested the ashes of last night's brilliant fire. +Ice grated on the pebbles of the shore; ice floated on the sea; icy +hummocks and mounds rose above its surface; and icebergs raised their +pinnacles on the far-off horizon, and cut sharply into the bright blue +sky. + +It was cold, but it was not cheerless; for when Eda put out her head at +the curtain doorway of the tent, and opened her eyes upon the magic +scene, the sun's edge rose above the horizon, as if to greet her, and +sent a flood of light far and near through the spacious universe, +converting the sea into glass, with islands of frosted silver on its +bosom. It was a gorgeous scene, worthy of its great Creator, who in His +mysterious working scatters gems of beauty oftentimes in places where +there is scarce a single human eye to behold their excellence. + +Although the sea was covered with ice, there were, nevertheless, several +lanes of open water not far from the shore; so that when Stanley called +a council, composed of Frank Morton, Dick Prince, and Massan, it was +agreed unanimously that they should attempt to proceed. And it was well +that they did so; for they had not advanced many miles, winding their +way cautiously among the canals of open water, when they doubled a +promontory, beyond which there was little or no ice to be seen, merely a +few scattered fragments and fields, that served to enhance the beauty of +the scene by the airy lightness of their appearance in contrast with the +bright blue of the sea and sky, but did not interrupt the progress of +the travellers. The three canoes always maintained their relative +positions during the journey as much as possible. That is to say, Frank +and the two Indians went first in the small canoe, to lead the way, +while the two large canoes kept abreast of each other when the open +water was wide enough to permit of their doing so. This, besides being +more sociable, enabled the two crews to join in the chorus of those +beautiful songs with which they frequently enlivened the voyage. + +During all this day, and for many days following, they continued to +enjoy fine weather and to make rapid progress. Sometimes the ice was +pretty thick, and once or twice they narrowly escaped being nipped by +collapsing masses, which caused them to jump out, hastily throw the +baggage on the ice, and haul the canoes out of the water. On these +occasions the men proved themselves to be sterling fellows, nearly all +of them being cool, prompt, and collected in the moment of danger. No +doubt there were exceptions. La Roche, when any sudden crisis of danger +arose, usually threw himself blindly over the side of the canoe on to +the ice with the lightness and agility of a harlequin. He recked not +whether he came down on his head or his feet, and more than once nearly +broke his neck in consequence of his precipitancy. But La Roche was no +coward, and the instant the first burst of excitement was over he rushed +to render effective assistance. Bryan, too, although not so mercurial +as La Roche, was apt to lose self-command for about five minutes when +any sudden danger assailed him, so that he frequently sat still, staring +wildly straight before him, while the others were actively unloading the +canoes; and once, when the danger was more critical than usual, having +sat till the canoe was empty, and paid no attention to a prompt, gruff +order to jump ashore, he had been seized by the strong arms of Gaspard +and tossed out of the canoe like a puppy dog. On these occasions he +invariably endeavoured to make up for his fault by displaying, on +recovery, the most outrageous and daring amount of unnecessary +recklessness,--uttering, at the same time, an amazing number of strange +expressions, among which "Tare an' ages!" "Och! murder!" and several +others less lucid in signification, predominated. Chimo was always +first ashore, and instantly wheeled round to greet Eda, who was also +_always_ second, thanks to the strong and prompt arm of Francois, who +sat just in front, and by tacit agreement took her under his special +charge. As for Mrs Stanley, the arm that was rightfully her own, and +had been her shield in many a scene of danger, proved ever ready and +able to succour the "first volunteer" to Ungava. + +At times the sea was quite free of ice, and many miles were soon added +to the space which separated the little band of adventurers from the +rest of the human world. Their encampments varied according to the +nature of the coast, being sometimes among pine-trees, or surrounded by +dwarf willows; at other times on the bare sand of the sea-shore; and +occasionally at the extremity of long-projecting capes and promontories, +where they had to pitch their tent and make their beds in the clefts of +the solid rock. But wherever they laid them down to rest--on the rock, +or on the sand, or within the shade of the forest--it was always found, +as Mrs Stanley remarked of the first night's encampment, that they were +extremely comfortable and eminently snug. + +They were successful, too, in procuring an ample supply of fresh +provisions. There were ducks and geese of various kinds, and +innumerable quantities of plover, cormorants, gulls, and eider-ducks, +the eggs of which they found in thousands. Many of these birds were +good for food, and the eggs of most of them, especially those of the +eider-duck, were excellent. Reindeer were also met with; and, among +other trophies of his skill as a hunter, Frank one day brought in a +black bear, parts of which were eaten with great gusto by the Esquimaux +and Indians, to the immense disgust of Bryan, who expressed his belief +that the "haythens was barely fit to live," and were most justly locked +out from society in "thim dissolate polar raygeons." There were many +seals, also, in the sea, which put up their ugly, grotesque heads ever +and anon, gazed at the canoes with their huge, fishy eyes, as in +surprise at the sight of such novel marine monsters, and then sank +slowly beneath the wave. These animals were never molested, out of +respect to the feelings of the two Indians, who believed them to be +gods, and assured Stanley that the destruction of one would infallibly +bring down ill-luck and disaster on the heads of the party. Stanley +smiled inwardly at this, but gave orders that no seals should be shot-- +an order which all were very willing to obey, as they did not require +the animals either for food or any other purpose. Several white polar +bears were seen, but they also were spared, as they require a great deal +of shot to kill them, if not hit exactly behind the ear; and besides, +neither their bodies nor skins were of any use to the travellers. + +Thus all went favourably for a time. But life is a chequered story, and +the sun of prosperity does not always shine, as we shall see. + +One fine morning, as they were paddling cheerfully along in the +neighbourhood of Cape Jones, it struck Mr Stanley that he might prove +the correctness of his sextant and other instruments before entering +upon the country which to most of the party was _terra incognita_. This +was the more necessary that he could not depend on the guidance of +Oostesimow and Ma-Istequan, they having travelled only once, long ago, +through part of the country, while the latter part of it was totally +unknown to them. It was one of those beautiful mornings that are +peculiar to arctic regions, when the air is inexpressibly still, and all +inanimate nature seems hushed in profound repose--a repose which is +rather rendered more effective than otherwise by the plaintive cries of +wild-fowl or the occasional puffing of a whale. There was a peculiar +brilliancy, too, in the atmosphere, caused by the presence of so many +fields and hummocks of white ice, looming fantastically through a thin, +dry, gauze-like haze, which, while it did not dim the brightness of the +solar rays, lent an additional charm to every object by shrouding it in +a veil of mystery. + +On passing the point the men ceased rowing, and proceeded to solace +themselves with a five-minutes' pipe--an indulgence which voyageurs +always claim as their due after a long spell at the oars or paddles. + +"Put ashore here, Massan," said Stanley, turning to the guide; "I shall +take an observation, if possible, and you can set the men to hunt for +eggs. We shall want them, as the larder is rather low just now." + +Massan muttered assent, and, shouting to the other canoe to put ashore, +ran alongside the rocks. + +"You'd better hail the little canoe," said Stanley, as he landed. "I +shall want Mr Morton to assist me." + +Massan stepped upon an elevated rock, and, shading his eyes with his +hands, looked earnestly ahead where he observed the little canoe almost +beyond vision, and just going to double a point of land. Transferring +his hands to his mouth, he used them as a trumpet, and gave forth a +shout the like of which had never startled the echoes of the place +before. + +"It's no use, sir," said Massan; "he's past hearin'. I'm afeerd that +they're off in the direction o' the White Bear Hills, in hopes o' +gittin' a shot." + +"Try again, Massan," urged Stanley; "raise your pipe a little higher. +Perhaps it will reach them." + +Massan shook his head. "Try it, Bryan," he said, turning to the +Irishman, who was sitting on a rock leisurely filling his short, black +pipe. + +"Is it to halloo ye want me?" replied Bryan, rising. "Shure the great +gun of Athlone itself could niver hold a candle to ye, Massan, at +yellin'; but I'll try, anyhow;" and putting his hands to his mouth he +gave forth a roar compared to which Massan's was nothing. There was a +sort of crack in the tone of it, however, that was so irresistibly +ridiculous that the whole party burst incontinently into a fit of +laughter. Loud though it was, it failed to reach the ears of those in +the little canoe, which in a few seconds doubled the point and +disappeared. + +"Ah, bad luck to it!" said Bryan, in disgust; "the pipe's damaged +intirely. Small pace to ye, Bob Mahone; for shure it was howlin' and +screechin' at your wake like a born scrandighowl that broke it." + +"Never mind, lad; what remains of it is not bad," said Stanley, +laughing, as he proceeded to open the box containing his scientific +instruments. + +Meanwhile his wife and Edith wandered along the rocks picking up shells +and pebbles; and the men dispersed, some to smoke and chat, others to +search for eggs. Bryan and La Roche, who were both aspiring geniuses, +and had formed a sort of rough attachment to each other, asked +permission to take a walk to the point ahead, where they would wait for +the canoes. Having obtained it, they set off at a good round pace, that +would have been "throublesome to kape up," as Bryan remarked, "with +payse in yer shoes!" + +"Why you come for to jine de company?" inquired La Roche, as they jogged +along. + +"Why? bekase I'd nothin' else to do, as the ould song says. Ye see, +Losh," (Bryan had invented a contraction for his friend's name, which he +said was "convanient")--"ye see, Losh, there may be more nor wan raison +for a gintleman lavin' his native land in order to thravel in furrin +parts. It's thrue I had nothin' in the univarse to do, for I could +niver git work nohow, an' whin I got it I could niver kape it. I niver +could onderstan' why, but so it was. Nivertheless I managed to live +well enough in the ould cabin wid the murphies--" + +"Vat is murphies?" inquired La Roche. + +"Bliss yer innocent face, don't ye know it's praties?" + +"'Tis vat?" + +"Praties, boy, or pit-taties, if I must be partic'lar." + +"Ah! goot, goot, I understan'--pettitoes. Oui, oui, ye call him _pomme +de terre_." + +"Hum! well, as I was sayin', I got on pretty well wid the pumdeterres +an' the pig, but the pig died wan day--choked hisself on a murphy--that +is, a pumbleterre; an' more betoken, it was the last murphy in the +house, a powerful big wan that my grandmother had put by for supper. +After this ivery thin' wint to smithereens. The rot came, and I thought +I should have to list for a sodger. Well, Bob Mahone died o' dhrink and +starvation, an' we had a beautiful wake; but there was a rig'lar shindy +got up, an' two or three o' the county p'lice misbehaved themselves, so +I jist floored them all, wan after the other, an' bolted. Well, I wint +straight to Dublin, an' there I met wid an ould friend who was the +skipper o' a ship bound for New York. Says he, `Bryan, will ye go?' +Says I, `Av coorse; 'an 'shure enough I wint, an' got over the say to +'Meriky.' But I could niver settle down, so, wan way or another, I came +at last to Montreal and jined the Company; an' afther knockin' about in +the Columbia and Mackenzie's River for some years, I was sint to Moose, +an' here I am, Losh, yer sarvant to command." + +"Goot, ver' goot, mais peculiaire," said La Roche, whose intimacy with +this son of Erin had enabled him to comprehend enough of his jargon to +grasp the general scope of his discourse. + +"Av ye mane that lavin' the ould country was _goot_," said Bryan, +stooping to pick up a stone and skim it along the smooth surface of the +sea, "p'raps ye're right; but there's wan thing I niver could make my +mind aisy about," and the blacksmith's voice became deep and his face +grave as he recalled these bygone days. + +"Vat were dat?" inquired La Roche. + +"Why, ye see, Losh, I was so hard druve by the p'lice that I was forced +to lave wid-out sayin' good day to my ould mother, an' they tould me it +almost broke her heart; but I've had wan or two screeds from the priest +wid her cross at them since, and she's got over it, an' lookin' out for +my returnin'--bliss her sowl!--an' I've sint her five pounds ivery year +since I left: so ye see, Losh, I've great hope o' seein' her yit, for +although she's ould she's oncommon tough, an' having come o' a +long-winded stock, I've great hopes o' her." + +Poor Bryan! it never entered into his reckless brain to think that, +considering the life of almost constant peril he led in the land of his +pilgrimage, there was more hope of the longevity of his old mother than +of himself. Like many of his countrymen, he was a man of strong, +passionate, warm feelings, and remarkably unselfish. + +"Is your contry resemblance to dat?" inquired La Roche, pointing, as he +spoke, towards the sea, which was covered with fields and mountains of +ice as far out as the eye could discern. + +"Be the nose o' my great-grandmother (an' that was be no manes a short +wan), no!" replied Bryan, with a laugh. "The say that surrounds ould +Ireland is niver covered with sich sugar-plums as these. But what have +we here?" + +As he spoke they reached the point at which they were to await the +coming up of the canoes, and the object which called forth Bryan's +remark was the little canoe, which lay empty on the beach just beyond +the point. From the manner in which it lay it was evident that Frank +and his Indians had placed it there; but there was no sign of their +presence save one or two footprints on the sand. While La Roche was +examining these, his companion walked towards a point of rock that +jutted out from the cliffs and intercepted the view beyond. On turning +round this, he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror. And +little wonder, for just two yards before him stood an enormous polar +bear, whose career was suddenly arrested by Bryan's unexpected +appearance. It is difficult to say whether the man or the beast +expressed most surprise at the rencounter. They both stood stock still, +and opened their eyes to the utmost width. But the poor Irishman was +evidently petrified by the apparition. He turned deadly pale, and his +hands hung idly by his sides; while the bear, recovering from his +surprise, rose on his hind legs and walked up to him--a sure sign that +he was quite undaunted, and had made up his mind to give battle. As for +La Roche, the instant he cast his eyes on the ferocious-looking +quadruped, he uttered a frightful yell, bounded towards a neighbouring +tree, and ceased not to ascend until its topmost branches were bending +beneath his weight. Meanwhile the bear walked up to Bryan, but not +meeting with the anticipated grapple of an enemy, and feeling somewhat +uneasy under the cataleptic stare of the poor man's eyes--for he still +stood petrified with horror--it walked slowly round him, putting its +cold nose on his cheek, as if to tempt him to move. But the five +minutes of bewilderment that always preceded Bryan's recovery from a +sudden fright had not yet expired. He still remained perfectly +motionless, so that the bear, disdaining, apparently, to attack an +unresisting foe, dropped on his forelegs again. It is difficult to say +whether there is any truth in the well-known opinion that the calm, +steady gaze of a human eye can quell any animal. Doubtless there are +many stories, more or less authentic, corroborative of the fact; but +whether this be true or not, we are ready to vouch for the truth of +_this_ fact--namely, that under the influence of the blacksmith's gaze, +or his silence it may be, the bear was absolutely discomfited. It +retreated a step or two, and walked slowly away, looking over its +shoulder now and then as it went, as if it half anticipated an onslaught +in the rear. + +We have already said that Bryan was no craven, and that when his +faculties were collected he usually displayed a good deal of reckless +valour on occasions of danger. Accordingly, no sooner did he see his +shaggy adversary in full retreat, than the truant blood returned to his +face with a degree of violence that caused it to blaze with fiery red, +and swelled the large veins of his neck and forehead almost to bursting. +Uttering a truly Irish halloo, he bounded forward like a tiger, tore +the cap off his head and flung it violently before him, drew the axe +which always hung at his belt, and in another moment stood face to face +with the white monster, which had instantly accepted the challenge, and +rose on its hind legs to receive him. Raising the axe with both hands, +the man aimed a blow at the bear's head; but with a rapid movement of +its paw it turned the weapon aside and dashed it into the air. Another +such blow, and the reckless blacksmith's career would have been brought +to an abrupt conclusion, when the crack of a rifle was heard. Its echo +reverberated along the cliffs and floated over the calm water as the +polar bear fell dead at Bryan's feet. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Frank Morton, as he sprang from the bushes, knife in +hand, ready to finish the work which his rifle had so well begun. But +it needed not. Frank had hit the exact spot behind the ear which +renders a second ball unnecessary--the bear was already quite dead. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +A STORM BREWING--IT BURSTS, AND PRODUCES CONSEQUENCES--THE PARTY TAKE TO +THE WATER PER FORCE--ALL SAVED. + +"Ah, Bryan! `a friend in need is a friend indeed,'" said Frank, as he +sat on a rock watching the blacksmith and his two Indians while they +performed the operation of skinning the bear, whose timely destruction +has been related in the last chapter. "I must say I never saw a man +stand his ground so well, with a brute like that stealing kisses from +his cheek. Were they sweet, Bryan? Did they remind you of the fair +maid of Derry, hey?" + +"Ah! thrue for ye," replied the blacksmith, as he stepped to a rock for +the purpose of whetting his knife; "yer honour was just in time to save +me a power o' throuble. Bad skran to the baste! it would have taken +three or four rounds at laste to have finished him nately off, for +there's no end o' fat on his ribs that would have kep' the knife from +goin' far in." + +Frank laughed at this free-and-easy way of looking at it. "So you think +you would have killed him, do you, if I had not saved you the trouble?" + +"Av coorse I do. Shure a man is better than a baste any day; and +besides, had I not a frind at my back ridy to help me?" Bryan cast a +comical leer at La Roche as he said this, and the poor Frenchman +blushed, for he felt that his conduct in the affair had not been very +praiseworthy. It is due to La Roche to say, however, that no sooner had +he found himself at the top of the tree, and had a moment to reflect, +than he slid rapidly to the bottom again, and ran to the assistance of +his friend, not, however, in time to render such assistance available, +as he came up just at the moment the bear fell. + +In half an hour afterwards the two large canoes came up, and Bryan and +his little friend had to undergo a rapid fire of witticism from their +surprised and highly-amused comrades. Even Moses was stirred up to say +that "Bryan, him do pratty well; he most good 'nuff to make an Eskimo!" + +Having embarked the skin of the bear, the canoes once more resumed their +usual order and continued on their way. The carcass of the bear being +useless for food, was left for the wolves; and the claws, which were +nearly as large as a man's finger, were given by Frank to the +blacksmith, that he might make them into a necklace, as the Indians do, +and keep it in remembrance of his rencounter. + +But the weather was now beginning to change. Dick Prince, whose black +eye was ever roving about observantly, told Massan that a storm was +brewing, and that the sooner he put ashore in a convenient spot the +better. But Stanley was anxious to get on, having a long journey before +him, at the termination of which there would be little enough time to +erect a sufficient protection against the winter of the north; so he +continued to advance along shore until they came to a point beyond which +there was a very deep bay that would take them many hours to coast. By +making a traverse, however, in a direct line to the next point, they +might cross it in a much shorter time. + +"How say you, Prince? shall we cross?" asked Stanley, as they rested on +their paddles and cast furtive glances up at the dark clouds and across +the still quiet bay. + +Prince shook his head. "I fear we won't have time to cross. The clouds +are driving too fast and growin' black." + +"Well, then, we had better encamp," said Stanley.--"Is there a proper +place, Massan, hereabouts?" + +"No, sir," replied the guide. "The stones on the beach are the only +pillows within six mile o' us." + +"Ho! then, forward, boys, make a bold push for it," cried Stanley; "if +it does begin to blow before we're over, we can run back again at all +events." + +In another moment the canoes swept out to sea, and made for the point +far ahead like race-horses. Although the clouds continued to gather, +the wind did not rise, and it seemed as though they would get over +easily, when a sudden gust came off the shore--a direction whence, from +the appearance of the clouds, it had not been expected. Ruffling the +surface of the water for a few seconds, it passed away. + +"Give way, boys, give way," cried Massan, using his large steering +paddle with a degree of energy that sent the canoe plunging forward. +"We can't go back, an' if the storm bursts off the shore--" + +A loud peal of thunder drowned the remainder of the sentence, and in a +few seconds the wind that had been dreaded came whistling violently off +the shore and covered the sea with foam. The waves soon began to rise, +and ere long the frail barks, which were ill calculated to weather a +storm, were careering over them and shipping water at every plunge. + +It now became a matter of life and death with them that they should gain +the point, for, deeply loaded as they were, it was impossible that they +could float long in such a sea. It is true that a wind off the shore +does not usually raise what sailors would consider much of a sea; but it +must be remembered that, although it was off shore, the bay which they +were crossing extended far inland, so that the gale had a wide sweep of +water to act upon before it reached them. Besides this, as has already +been explained, canoes are not like boats. Their timbers are weak, the +bark of which they are made is thin, the gum which makes their seams +tight is easily knocked off in cold water, and, in short, they cannot +face a sea on which a boat might ride like a sea-gull. + +For a considerable time the men strained every nerve to gain the +wished-for point of land, but with so little success that it became +evident they would never reach it. The men began to show signs of +flagging, and cast uneasy glances towards Stanley, as if they had lost +all hope of accomplishing their object, and waited for him to suggest +what they should do. Poor Mrs Stanley sat holding on to the gunwale +with one hand and clasping Edith round the waist with the other, as she +gazed wistfully towards the cape ahead, which was now almost lost to +view under the shadow of a dark cloud that rolled towards them like a +black pall laden with destruction. + +"God help us!" murmured Stanley, in an undertone, as he scanned the +seaward horizon, which was covered with leaden clouds and streaks of +lurid light, beneath which the foaming sea leaped furiously. + +"Call upon Me in the time of trouble, and I will deliver thee," said +Mrs Stanley, who overheard the exclamation. + +Stanley either heard her not or his mind was too deeply concentrated on +the critical nature of their position to make any reply. As she buried +her face in her hands, Edith threw her trembling arms round her mother +and hid her face in her bosom. Even Chimo seemed to understand their +danger, for he crept closer to the side of his young mistress and whined +in a low tone, as if in sympathy. The waves had now increased to such a +degree that it required two of the men to bail incessantly in order to +prevent their being swamped, and as Stanley cast a hurried glance at the +other canoes, which were not far off, he observed that it was as much as +they could do to keep afloat. "Could we not run back, Massan?" asked +Stanley, in despair. + +"Unposs'ble, sir," replied the guide, whose voice was almost drowned by +the whistling of the wind. "We're more nor half-way over, an' it would +only blow us farther out to sea if we was to try." + +While the guide spoke, Stanley was gazing earnestly in the direction of +the horizon. + +"Round with you, Massan," he exclaimed suddenly; "put the canoe about +and paddle straight out to sea.--Hallo!" he shouted to the other canoes, +"follow us out to sea--straight out." + +The men looked aghast at this extraordinary order. "Look alive, lads," +continued their leader; "I see an island away there to leeward. Perhaps +it's only a rock, but any way it's our only chance." + +The canoes' heads were turned round, and in another moment they were +driving swiftly before the wind in the direction of the open sea. + +"Right, right," murmured Dick Prince, as they made towards this new +source of hope; "mayhap it's only a bit o' ice, but even that's better +than nothin'." + +"If 'tis only ice," cried La Roche, "ye have ver' pauvre chance at all." + +"Shure, an' if we are to go ashore at all, at all," said Bryan, whose +spirits had suddenly risen with this gleam of hope from fifty degrees +below to fifty above zero--"if we are to go ashore at all, at all, it's +better to land on the ice than on the wather." + +With such a breeze urging them on, the three canoes soon approached what +appeared to be a low sand-bank, on which the sea was dashing in white +foam. But from the tossing of the waves between them and the beach, it +was difficult to form a conjecture as to its size. Indeed, at times +they could scarcely see it at all, owing to the darkness of the day and +the heavy rain which began to fall just as they approached; and more +than once Stanley's heart sank when he lost sight of the bank, and he +began to think that he had made a mistake, and that they were actually +flying out to the deep sea, in which case all hope would be gone for +ever. But God's mercy was extended to them in this hour of peril. The +island appeared to grow larger as they neared it, and at last they were +within a stone's-throw of the shore. But a new danger assailed them +here. The largest canoe, which neared the island first, had begun to +leak, and took in water so fast that the utmost efforts of those who +bailed could not keep it under, and from the quantity that was now +shipped they made very little way. To add to the horror of the scene, +the sky became very dark, and another crash of thunder pealed forth +accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning. + +"Paddle, boys, paddle for your lives!" cried Stanley, throwing off his +coat, and seizing a tin dish, with which he began to throw out the +water. + +The canoe rose on a huge wave which broke all round it. This nearly +filled it with water, and carried it towards the shore with such +velocity that it seemed as if they should be dashed in pieces; but they +fell back into the trough of the sea, and lay motionless like a heavy +log, and in a sinking condition. + +"Now, lads, look out for the next wave, and give way with a will," cried +Massan. The worthy steersman acted rather too energetically on his own +advice, for he dipped his paddle with such force that it snapped in two. + +"Be ready to jump out," cried Dick Prince, standing up in the bow in +order to give more power to his strokes. + +As he spoke, Stanley turned to his wife, and said, "Jessie, hold on by +my collar; I'll take Eda in my arms." At that instant the canoe gave a +lurch, and before Stanley could grasp his child, they were all +struggling in the sea! At this awful moment, instead of endeavouring to +do as her husband directed, Mrs Stanley instinctively threw her arms +around Edith, and while the waves were boiling over her, she clasped the +child tightly to her bosom with her left arm, while with her right she +endeavoured to raise herself to the surface. Twice she succeeded, and +twice she sank, when a box of merchandise providentially struck her arm. +Seizing this, she raised herself above the water, and poor Edith gasped +convulsively once or twice for air. Then the box was wrenched from her +grasp by a wave, and with a wild shriek she sank again. Just then a +strong arm was thrown around her, her feet touched the ground, and in a +few seconds she was dragged violently from the roaring waves and fell +exhausted on the beach. + +"Thanks be to God, we are saved!" murmured Mrs Stanley, as her husband +assisted her to rise and led her beyond the reach of the waves, while +Edith still clung with a deadly grasp to her mother's neck. + +"Ay, Jessie, thank God indeed! But for His mercy we should have all +been lost. I was floundering about beside the canoe when your scream +showed me where you were, and enabled me to save you. But rest here, in +the lee of this bale.--I cannot stay by you. Frank is in danger still." + +Without waiting for a reply, he sprang from her side and hurried down to +the beach. Here everything was in the utmost confusion. The two large +canoes had been saved and dragged out of the reach of the waves, and the +men were struggling in the boiling surf to rescue the baggage and +provisions, on which latter their very lives depended. As Stanley +reached the scene of action, he observed several of the men watching the +small canoe which contained Frank and his two Indians. It had been left +some distance behind by the others, and was now approaching with arrow +speed on the summit of a large wave. Suddenly the top of the billow +curled over, and in another moment the canoe was turned bottom up! Like +a cork it danced on the wave's white crest, then falling beneath the +thundering mass of water, it was crushed to pieces and cast empty upon +the beach. But Frank and his men swam like otters, and the party on +shore watched them with anxious looks as they breasted manfully over the +billows. At last a towering wave came rolling majestically forward. It +caught the three swimmers in its rough embrace, and carrying them along +on its crest, launched them on the beach, where it left them struggling +with the retreating water. Those who have bathed in rough weather on an +exposed coast know well how difficult it is to regain a firm footing on +loose sand while a heavy wave is sweeping backward into its parent +ocean. Frank and the two Indians experienced this; and they might have +struggled there till their strength had been exhausted, were it not for +Stanley, Prince, and Massan, who rushed simultaneously into the water +and rescued them. + +As the whole party had now, by the goodness of God, reached the land in +safety, they turned their undivided energies towards the bales and boxes +which were rolling about in the surf. Many of these had been already +collected, and were carried to the spot where Mrs Stanley and Edith lay +under the shelter of a bale. As the things were successively brought up +they were piled around the mother and child, who soon found themselves +pretty well sheltered from the wind, though not from the rain, which +still fell in torrents. Soon after Frank came to them, and said that +all the things were saved, and that it was time to think of getting up +some sort of shelter for the night. This was very much needed, for poor +Edith was beginning to shiver from the wet and cold. + +"Now then, Francois, Massan," shouted Frank, "lend a hand here to build +a house for Eda. We'll be all as snug as need be in a few minutes." + +Despite the cold and her recent terror, the poor child could not help +smiling at the idea of building a house in a few minutes, and it was +with no little curiosity that she watched the operations of the men. +Meanwhile Mr Stanley brought some wine in a pannikin, and made Edith +and his wife drink a little. This revived them greatly, and as the rain +had now almost ceased they rose and endeavoured to wring the water out +of their garments. In less than half an hour the men piled the bales +and boxes in front of the largest canoe, which was turned bottom up, and +secured firmly in that position by an embankment of sand. Over the top +of all, three oil-cloths were spread and lashed down, thus forming a +complete shelter, large enough to contain the whole party. At one end +of this curious house Mr Stanley made a separate apartment for his wife +and child, by placing two large bales and a box as a partition; and +within this little space Edith soon became very busy in arranging +things, and "putting the house to rights," as she said, as long as the +daylight lasted, for after it went away they had neither candles nor +fire, as the former had been soaked and broken, and as for the latter no +wood could be found on the island. The men's clothes were, of course, +quite wet, so they cut open a bale of blankets, which had not been so +much soaked as the other goods, having been among the first things that +were washed ashore. + +At the time they were wrecked the dashing spray and the heavy rain, +together with the darkness of the day, had prevented the shipwrecked +voyageurs from ascertaining the nature of the island on which they had +been cast; and as the night closed in while they were yet engaged in the +erection of their temporary shelter, they had to lie down to rest in +ignorance on this point. After such a day of unusual fatigue and +excitement, they all felt more inclined for rest than food; so, instead +of taking supper, they all lay down huddled together under the canoe, +and slept soundly, while the angry winds whistled round them, and the +great sea roared and lashed itself into foam on the beach, as if +disappointed that the little band of adventurers had escaped and were +now beyond the reach of its impotent fury. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +THE SAND-BANK--DISMAL PROSPECTS--CONSULTATIONS--INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS +EXPOSED AND DETAILED. + +Of all the changes that constantly vary the face of nature, the calm +that succeeds a storm is one of the most beautiful, and the most +agreeable, perhaps, to the feelings of man. Few conditions of nature +convey to the mind more thoroughly the idea of complete repose--of deep +rest after mortal strife, of sleep after exhausting toil; and those who +have passed through the violence of the storm and done battle with its +dangers are, by the physical rest which they enjoy after it is over, the +more fitted to appreciate and sympathise with the repose which reigns +around them. + +When the sun rose, on the morning after the storm, it shone upon a scene +so calm and beautiful, so utterly unconnected with anything like the sin +of a fallen world, and so typical, in its deep tranquillity, of the mind +of Him who created it, that it seemed almost possible for a moment to +fancy that the promised land was gained at last, and that all the dark +clouds, the storms and dangers, the weary journeyings and the troubles +of the wilderness, were past and gone for ever. So glorious was the +scene that when Edith, rising from her rude couch and stepping over the +prostrate forms of her still slumbering companions, issued from the +shelter of the canoe and cast her eyes abroad upon the glassy sea, she +could not restrain her feelings, and uttered a thrilling shout of joy +that floated over the waters and reverberated among the glittering crags +of the surrounding icebergs. + +The island on which the travellers had been cast was a mere knoll of +sand, not more than a few hundred yards in circumference, that scarcely +raised its rounded summit above the level of the water, and at full tide +was reduced to a mere speck, utterly destitute of vegetation. The sea +around it was now smooth and clear as glass, though undulated by a long, +regular swell, which rolled, at slow, solemn intervals, in majestic +waves towards the sand-bank, where they hovered for a moment in curved +walls of dark-green water, then, lipping over, at their crests, fell in +a roar of foam that hissed a deep sigh on the pebbles of the beach, and +left the silence greater than before. Masses of ice floated here and +there on the surface of the deep, the edges and fantastic points of +which were tipped with light. Not far from the northern extremity of +the sand-bank a large iceberg had grounded, from the sides of which +several pinnacles had been hurled by the shock and now lay stranded on +the beach. + +The shout with which Edith had welcomed the morning roused the whole +party, and in a few minutes they were all assembled outside of their +little hut, some admiring the scene, others--of a less enthusiastic and +more practical turn--examining the circumstances of their position, and +considering the best course that should be pursued in their difficulty. + +Mr Stanley, Dick Prince, and Massan, as was their wont, held a council +upon the existing state of things, and after much gazing round at the +sea and up at the sky, and considerable grunting of his deep voice and +rubbing of his capacious chin, on the part of the latter, he turned to +Dick Prince, as if appealing to his superior sagacity, and said-- + +"Well, ye see, my 'pinion's jist this: yonder's the mainland there" +(pointing to the eastward, where, about ten miles distant, the rocks and +trees were seen distorted and faintly looming through a tremulous haze), +"an' there's our canoes _there_" (jerking his thumb over his shoulder in +the direction of the large canoes, whose torn sides and damaged ribs, as +they lay exposed on the sand, bore sad testimony to the violence of the +previous night's storm), "and there's the little canoe yonder," +(glancing towards the craft in question, which lay on the beach a +hopelessly-destroyed mass of splinters and shreds of bark that projected +and bristled in all directions, as in uncontrollable amazement at the +suddenness and entirety of its own destruction). "Now, that bein' the +case, an' the baggage all wet, an' the day parfitly beautiful, an' the +sun about hot enough to bile the sea, we can't do better nor stay where +we are, an' mend the canoes, dry the goods, an' start fair to-morrow +mornin'." + +Stanley looked at Prince, as if expecting a remark from him; but the +grave countenance of the silent bowman indicated that he was absorbed in +contemplation. + +"'Tis quite evident, Massan," said Stanley, "that we must repair the +canoes; but a few hours could do that, and I don't like the idea of +staying another night on a strip of sand like this, which, I verily +believe, another stiff nor'-wester would blow away altogether.--But what +say you, Prince? Do you advise our remaining?" + +"Yes," replied Dick, "I do. Ye see there's no fear of another storm +soon. 'Tis a good chance for dryin' the goods, so I vote for stoppin'." + +"Well, then, we shall stay," replied Stanley. "To say truth, I agreed +with you at first, Massan, but it's always advisable to look at both +sides of a question--" + +"Yes, and `in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom,'" said Frank +Morton, coming up at the moment, and tapping his friend on the shoulder. +"If you will include me in your confabulation, you shall have the +benefit of deep experience and far-sighted sagacity." + +"Come, then, Master Frank," replied Stanley, "what does your sagacity +advise on the point of our staying on this sandbank? Shall we spend +another night on it in order to dry the goods, or shall we up and away +to _terra firma_ as soon as the canoes are seaworthy?" + +"Stay, of course," said Frank. "As to the sand-bank, 'tis firm enough, +to my mind, after resisting the shock of the wave that dashed me ashore +last night. Then we have everything we need--shelter and food, and even +fuel." As Frank mentioned the last word, he glanced round with a rueful +countenance and pointed to the bark and timbers of his broken canoe. + +"True, Frank, we have wherewith to boil the kettle, and as the +water-cask was full when we started yesterday morning, there will be +enough at least for one or two days." + +"By the way, that reminds me that Eda and your wife are particularly +desirous of having breakfast," said Frank. "In fact they sent me +specially to lay their melancholy case before you; and I have great +fears that Eda will lay violent hands on the raw pork if her morning +meal is delayed much longer. As for Chimo, he is rushing about the +island in a state of ravenous despair; so pray let us be going." + +"Be it so, Frank," said Stanley, taking his friend's arm, and sauntering +towards the canoe, while Massan and Prince went to inform their comrades +of the determination of their leader. + +In an hour after the above discourse breakfast was over, and the men, +under Stanley's inspection, arranged and examined the baggage, which, +considering that it had been rolled about by the surf for a considerable +time, was not so much soaked as might have been expected. The two kegs +of gunpowder were first inspected, being the most valuable part of the +cargo, as on them depended much of their future livelihood. They were +found to be quite dry, except a small portion of powder at the seams of +the staves, which, having caked with the moisture, had saved the rest +from damage. Some of the bales, however, containing knives and other +hardware, were very wet, and had to be opened out and their contents +wiped and spread out to dry. Blankets, too, and other woollen garments +that had suffered, were also spread out on the sand, so that in a short +time the little island was quite covered with a strange assortment of +miscellaneous articles, that gave to it the appearance of a crowded +store. The entire wealth of the fur-traders was now exposed to view, +and it may perhaps be interesting to enumerate the different articles, +in order to give some idea of the outfit deemed necessary on such an +expedition. + +And, first, there were two kegs of gunpowder, as before mentioned, +containing each thirty pounds, with four bags of ball and three of shot +of various sizes--in all, about 250 pounds of lead. Six nets of four +and a half inch mesh. A large quantity of twine for making nets--most +of the men being able to construct these useful articles. A small bag +of gun-flints. Sixty pounds of roll tobacco. Twelve large axes. Six +augers. Seven dozen scalping-knives. Six pounds of variously-coloured +beads. Two dozen fire-steels, and a pretty large assortment of awls, +needles, thread, nails, and such like small articles, which, though +extremely useful, were too numerous and comparatively insignificant to +mention in detail. Besides these, there was a small bale containing +gaudy ornaments and attractive articles, which were intended as +propitiatory presents to the Esquimaux when they should be met with. +Then there were two runlets of salt pork, containing about ninety pounds +each, and in the centre of each runlet were two hams. A barrel of flour +and a barrel of oatmeal constituted all their provision, if we except a +small cask of hard biscuit, and a little tea and sugar, which were the +private property of Stanley and Frank Morton. There was also a large +deerskin tent, capable of holding from twenty to thirty men, which was +intended to be used while they were engaged in building their winter +residence at Ungava. As to arms, each man had one of the long +single-barrelled fowling-pieces that are supplied by the Fur Company to +the natives, and are styled Indian guns. Stanley had a double-barrelled +flint fowling-piece; and Frank had a rifle, besides a single gun of a +description somewhat finer than that supplied to the Indians. Of course +each man carried a scalping-knife and an axe in his belt, not for the +purpose of self-defence, but for carving their food and cutting their +fuel. + +It may be well to remark here that the goods and provisions which we +have detailed above were merely intended as a supply for their immediate +necessities, and to enable them to commence active operations at once on +arriving at their destination, while the heavy stores and goods +necessary for the year's trade were to be forwarded in a small sloop +from the depot direct through Hudson's Straits to Ungava Bay. + +When the work of unpacking and exposing the things to dry in the sun was +accomplished, it was long past noon, and high time for dinner; so a fire +was lighted by Bryan, who cut up another portion of Frank's canoe for +the purpose. A rasher of pork and a flour cake were disposed of by each +of the party in a surprisingly short time, and then the men bestirred +themselves in mending the canoes. This was a more troublesome job than +they expected, but being accustomed not only to mend but to make canoes, +they worked with a degree of skill and diligence that speedily put all +to rights. In Massan's canoe there was a hole large enough, as Bryan +remarked, to stick his head through, though it was a "big wan, an' no +mistake." Taking up a roll of bark, which was carried with them for the +purpose, Massan cut from it a square patch, which he _sewed_ over the +hole, using an awl for a needle and the fibrous roots of the pine tree, +called wattape, for thread. After it was firmly sewed on, the seams +were covered with melted gum, and the broken spot was as tight and +strong as ever. There were next found several long slits, one of them +fully three feet, which were more easily managed, as they merely +required to be sewed and covered with gum. Several broken ribs, +however, were not so easily repaired. Had there been any wood on the +island, Massan's quick knife would have soon fashioned new ribs; as it +was, he had to make the best job he could, by splicing the old ones with +several pieces abstracted from Frank's little canoe. + +It was sunset before all was put in complete order, the goods repacked, +and placed in readiness for a start at daybreak on the following +morning. After all was done, the remains of the small canoe were +converted into a bonfire, round which the tired and hungry travellers +assembled to smoke and chat, while supper was being prepared by the +indefatigable Bryan and his friend La Roche. As the day faded away the +stars came out, one by one, until they glittered in millions in the sky, +while the glare of the fire became every moment more and more intense as +the darkness deepened. It was a strange, wild scene,--especially when +viewed from the extremity of the little sand-bank, which was so low as +to be almost indiscernible in the dark night, and seemed scarce a +sufficient foundation for the little busy group of human beings who +stood radiant in the red light of their camp-fire, like a blazing gem +cast upon the surface of the great, cold sea. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +START AFRESH--SUPERSTITIOUS NOTIONS--THE WHIRLPOOL--THE INTERIOR-- +FISHING IN THE OLD WAY ON NEW GROUND, AND WHAT CAME OF IT--A COLD BATH-- +THE RESCUE--SAVED--DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE WILDERNESS. + +As if to make amends for its late outrageous conduct, the weather, after +the night of the great storm, continued unbrokenly serene for many days, +enabling our travellers to make rapid progress towards their +destination: It would be both tiresome and unnecessary to follow them +step by step throughout their journey, as the part of it which we have +already described was, in many respects, typical of the whole voyage +along the east coast of Hudson's Bay. Sometimes, indeed, a few +incidents of an unusual character did occur. Once they were very nearly +being crushed between masses of ice; twice the larger canoe struck on a +hummock, and had to be landed and repaired; and frequently mishaps of a +slighter nature befell them. Their beds, too, varied occasionally. At +one time they laid them down to rest on the sand of the sea-shore; at +another, on the soft turf and springy moss of the woods. Sometimes they +were compelled to content themselves with a couch of pebbles, few of +which were smaller than a man's fist; and, not unfrequently, they had to +make the best they could of a flat rock, whose unyielding surface seemed +to put the idea of anything like rest to flight, causing the thin men of +the party to growl and the fat ones to chuckle. Bryan was one of the +well-favoured, being round and fleshy; while his poor little friend La +Roche possessed a framework of bones that were so sparingly covered with +softer substance, as to render it a matter of wonder how he and the +stones could compromise the matter at all, and called forth from his +friend frequent impertinent allusions to "thridpapers, bags o' bones, +idges o' knives, half fathoms o' pump water," and such like curious +substances. But whatever the bed, it invariably turned out that the +whole party slept soundly from the time they lay down till the time of +rising, which was usually at the break of day. + +Owing to the little Indian canoe having been wrecked on the sand-bank, +Frank and his men had to embark in the smaller of the large canoes; a +change which was in some respects a disadvantage to the party, as Frank +could not now so readily dash away in pursuit of game. However, this +did not much matter, as, in a few days afterwards, they arrived at the +mouth of the river by which they intended to penetrate into the interior +of the country. The name of the river is Deer River, and it flows into +Richmond Gulf, which is situated on the east shore of Hudson's Bay, in +latitude 56 degrees North. Richmond Gulf is twenty miles long, and +about the same in breadth; but the entrance to it is so narrow that the +tide pours into it like a torrent until it is full. The pent-up waters +then rush out on one side of this narrow inlet while they are running in +at the other, causing a whirlpool which would engulf a large boat and +greatly endanger even a small vessel. Of course it was out of the +question to attempt the passage of such a vortex in canoes, except at +half flood or half ebb tide, at which periods the waters became quiet. +On arriving at the mouth of the gulf, the travellers found the tide out +and the entrance to it curling and rolling in massive volumes, as if all +the evil water-spirits of the north were holding their orgies there. +Oostesimow and Ma-Istequan, being by nature and education intensely +superstitious, told Stanley--after they had landed to await the flow of +the tide--that it was absolutely necessary to perform certain ceremonies +in order to propitiate the deities of the place, otherwise they could +not expect to pass such an awful whirlpool in safety. Their leader +smiled, and told them to do as they thought fit, adding, however, that +he would not join them, as he did not believe in any deities whatever, +except the one true God, who did not require to be propitiated in any +way, and could not be moved by any other means than by prayer in the +name of Jesus Christ. The red men seemed surprised a little at this, +but, with their proverbial stoicism, refrained from any further or more +decided expression of feeling. + +Nevertheless, the Indians sufficiently showed their faith in their own +doctrines by immediately setting about a series of curious and elaborate +ceremonies, which it was impossible to comprehend, and decidedly +unprofitable to describe. They appeared, however, to attach much +importance to their propitiatory offerings, the chief among which seemed +to be a few inches of tobacco, with which it was fondly hoped the +deities of the gulf would condescend to smoke the pipe of peace while +their red children ventured to trespass a little on their domain; and +hard indeed must have been the hearts of the said spirits had they +refused so valuable an offering, for tobacco is the life and marrow, the +quintessence of terrestrial felicity, the very joy and comfort of a +voyageur, and the poor Indians had but little of it to spare. + +While this was going on, Bryan stood with his back to the fire, a +remarkably short and peculiarly black pipe in his mouth, and his head +inclined sagaciously to one side, as if he designed, by dint of a +combination of intense mental abstraction, partial closing of his eyes, +severe knitting of his brows, and slow but exceedingly voluminous +emission of smoke, to come to a conclusion in regard to the unfathomable +subject of Indian superstition. La Roche, steeped in unphilosophic +indifference on such matters, and keenly alive to the gross cravings of +hunger, busied himself in concocting a kettle of soup; while the rest of +the party rambled about the beach or among the bushes in search of eggs. +In this latter search Frank and Edith were very successful, and +returned with pockets laden with excellent eggs of the eider-duck, which +were immediately put into the kettle, and tended not a little to +increase the excellence of the soup and the impatience of the men. + +Meanwhile the tide rose, the power of the current was gradually checked, +and towards noon they passed the dangerous narrows in safety. From the +view that was now obtained of the interior, it became evident that the +worst of their journey yet lay before them. On arriving at the mouth of +Deer River, the mountains were seen to rise abruptly and precipitously, +while far away inland their faint blue peaks rose into the sky. Indeed +from this point the really hard work of the voyage may be said to have +commenced; for scarcely had they proceeded a few miles up the river, +when their further progress, at least by water, was effectually +interrupted by a rapid which came leaping madly down its rocky bed, as +if the streams rejoiced to escape from the chasms and mountain gorges, +and find rest at last on the ample bosom of the great deep. + +"What think ye of that, boy?" said Stanley to Frank Morton, as they +leaped from their respective canoes, and stood gazing at the rugged glen +from which the rapid issued, and the wild appearance of the hills +beyond. "It seems to me that report spoke truly when it said that the +way to Clearwater Lake was rugged. Here is no despicable portage to +begin with; and yonder cliffs, that look so soft and blue in the far +distance, will prove to be dark and hard enough when we get at them, I +warrant." + +"When we get at them!" echoed Mrs Stanley, as she approached, leading +Edith by the hand. "Get at them, George! Had any one asked me if it +were possible to pass over these mountains with our canoes and cargoes, +I should have answered, `Decidedly not!'" + +"And yet you were so foolish and reckless as to be the first to +volunteer for this decidedly impossible expedition!" replied Stanley. + +"There you are inconsistent," said Mrs Stanley, smiling. "If reckless, +I cannot be foolish, according to your own showing; for I have heard you +give it as your opinion that recklessness is one of the most essential +elements in the leaders of a forlorn hope. But really the thing does +seem to my ignorant mind impossible.--What think you, Eda?" + +Mrs Stanley bent down and looked into the face of her child, but she +received no reply. The expanded eyes, indeed, spoke volumes; and the +parted lips, on which played a fitful, exulting smile, the heightened +colour, and thick-coming breath, told eloquently of her anticipated +delight in these new regions, which seemed so utterly different from the +shores of the bay: but her tongue was mute. + +And well might Mrs Stanley think the passage over these mountains +impossible; for, except to men accustomed to canoe travelling in the +American lakes and rivers, such an attempt would have appeared as +hopeless as the passage of a ship through the ice-locked polar seas in +winter. + +Not so thought the men. Already several of the most active of them were +scrambling up the cliffs with heavy loads on their backs; and, while +Stanley and his wife were yet conversing, two of them approached +rapidly, bearing the large canoe on their shoulders. The exclamation +that issued from the foremost of these proved him to be Bryan. + +"Now, bad luck to ye, Gaspard! can't ye go stidy? It's mysilf that'll +be down on me blissid nose av ye go staggerin' about in that fashion. +Sure it's Losh, the spalpeen, that would carry the canoe better than +you." + +Gaspard made no reply. Bryan staggered on, growling as he went, and in +another minute they were hid from view among the bushes. + +"What do you see, Frank?" inquired Stanley; "you stare as earnestly as +Bryan did at the white bear last week. What is't, man? Speak!" + +"A fish," replied Frank. "I saw him rise in the pool, and I'm certain +he's a very large one." + +"Very likely, Frank; there ought to be a fish of some sort there. I've +been told--hist! there he's again. As I live, a salmon! a salmon, +Frank! Now for your rod, my boy." + +But Frank heard him not, for he was gone. In a few minutes he returned +with a fishing-rod, which he was busily engaged in putting up as he +hurried towards the rocks beside the pool. + +Now, Frank Morton was a fisher. We do not mean to say that he was a +fisher by profession; nor do we merely affirm that he was rather fond of +the gentle art of angling, or generally inclined to take a cast when he +happened to be near a good stream. By no means. Frank was more than +that implies. He was a steady, thorough-going disciple of Izaak Walton; +one who, in the days of his boyhood, used to flee to the water-side at +all seasons, in all weathers, and despite all obstacles. Not only was +it his wont to fish when he could, or how he could, but too often was he +beguiled to fish at times and in ways that were decidedly improper; +sometimes devoting those hours which were set apart expressly for the +acquirement of Greek and Latin, to wandering by mountain stream or tarn, +rod in hand, up to the knees in water, among the braes and woodlands of +his own native country. And Frank's enthusiasm did not depend entirely +on his success. It was a standing joke among his school-fellows that +Frank would walk six miles any day for the chance of a nibble from the +ghost of a minnow. Indeed he was often taunted by his ruder comrades +with being such a keen fisher that he was quite content if he only +hooked a drowned cat during a day's excursion. But Frank was +good-natured; he smiled at their jests, and held on the even tenor of +his way, whipping the streams more pertinaciously than his master +whipped _him_ for playing truant; content alike to bear ignominy and +chastisement, so long as he was rewarded by a nibble, and overjoyed +beyond expression when he could return home with the tail of a +two-pounder hanging over the edge of his basket. Far be it from us to +hold up to ridicule the weakness of a friend, but we cannot help adding +that Master Frank made the most of his tails. His truthful and manly +nature, indeed, would not stoop to actual deception, but he had been +known on more than one occasion to offer to carry a friend's waterproof +fishing-boots in his basket, when his doing so rendered it impossible to +prevent the tails of his trout from protruding arrogantly, as if to +insinuate that there were shoals within. Another of Frank's weaknesses +was, upon the hooking of every fish, to assert, with overweening +confidence and considerable excitement, that it was a tremendously big +one. Experience had, during all his piscatorial career, contradicted +him ninety-nine times out of every hundred; but Frank's firm belief in +his last minnow being a big trout--at least until it lay gasping on the +bank at his feet--was as unshaken after long years of mistaken +calculation as when first he sallied forth to the babbling brook with a +willow branch, a fathom of twine, and a crooked pin! + +Such untiring devotion, of course, could not fail to make Frank +particularly knowing in all the details and minutiae of his much-loved +sport. He knew every hole and corner of the rivers and burns within +fifteen miles of his father's house. He became mysteriously wise in +regard to the weather; knew precisely the best fly for any given day, +and, in the event of being unhappily destitute of the proper kind, could +dress one to perfection in ten minutes. As he grew older and taller, +and the muscles on his large and well-made limbs began to develop, Frank +slung a more capacious basket on his back, shouldered a heavier rod, +and, with a pair of thick shoes and a home-spun shooting suit, stretched +away over the Highland hills towards the romantic shores of the west +coast of Scotland. Here he first experienced the wild excitement of +salmon-fishing; and here the Waltonian chains, that had been twining and +thickening around him from infancy, received two or three additional +coils, and were finally riveted for ever. During his sojourn in +America, he had happened to dwell in places where the fishing, though +good, was not of a very exciting nature; and he had not seen a salmon +since the day he left home, so that it is not matter for wonder that his +stride was rapid and his eye bright while he hurried towards the pool, +as before mentioned. + +He who has never left the beaten tracks of men, or trod the unknown +wilderness, can have but a faint conception of the feelings of a true +angler as he stands by the brink of a dark pool which has hitherto +reflected only the antlers of the wild deer--whose dimpling eddies and +flecks of foam have been disturbed by no fisher since the world began, +except the polar bear. Besides the pleasurable emotions of strong hope, +there is the additional charm of uncertainty as to what will rise, and +of certainty that if there be anything piscatine beneath these +fascinating ripples it undoubtedly _will_ rise--and bite too! Then +there is the peculiar satisfaction of catching now and then a drop of +spray from, and hearing the thunder of, a cataract, whose free, surging +bound is not yet shackled by the tourist's sentimental description; and +the novelty of beholding one's image reflected in a liquid mirror whose +geographical position is not yet stereotyped on the charts of man. Alas +for these maps and charts! Despite the wishes of scientific geographers +and the ignorance of unscientific explorers, we think them far too +complete already; and we can conceive few things more dreadful or +crushing to the enterprising and romantic spirits of the world than the +arrival of that time (if it ever shall arrive) when it shall be said +that _terra incognita_ exists no longer--when every one of those +fairy-like isles of the southern seas, and all the hidden wonders of the +polar regions, shall be put down, in cold blood, on black and white, +exposed profanely on the schoolroom walls, and drummed into the thick +heads of wretched little boys who don't want to learn, by the +unsympathising hands of dominies who, it may be, care but little whether +they do or not! + +But to return. While Frank stood on the rocks, attaching to the line a +salmon-fly which he had selected with much consideration from his book, +he raised his eyes once or twice to take a rapid glance at his position +and the capabilities of the place. About fifty yards further up the +river the stream curled round the base of a large rock, and gushed into +a pool which was encircled on all sides by an overhanging wall, except +where the waters issued forth in a burst of foam. Their force, however, +was materially broken by another curve, round which they had to sweep +ere they reached this exit, so that when they rushed into the larger +pool below they calmed down at once, and on reaching the point where +Frank stood, assumed that oily, gurgling surface, dimpled all over with +laughing eddies, that suggests irresistibly the idea of fish not only +being there, as a matter of course, but being there expressly and solely +for the purpose of being caught! A little further down, the river took +a slight bend, and immediately after, recurring to its straight course, +it dashed down, for a distance of fifty yards, in a tumultuous rapid, +which swept into sudden placidity a few hundred yards below. Having +taken all this in at a glance, Frank dropped the fly into the water and +raised his rod to make a cast. In this act he almost broke the rod, to +his amazement; for, instead of whipping the fly lightly out of the +water, he dragged a trout of a pound weight violently up on the bank. + +"Bravo!" cried Stanley, laughing heartily at his friend's stare of +mingled wonder and amazement,--"bravo, Frank! I'm no fisher myself, but +I've always understood that fish required a little play before being +landed. However, you have convinced me of my ignorance. I see that the +proper way is to toss them over your head! A salmon must be rather +troublesome to toss, but no doubt, with your strong arms, you'll manage +it easily, hey?" + +"Why, what an appetite they must have!" replied Frank, answering his +friend's badinage with a smile. "If the little fellows begin thus, what +will not the big ones do?" + +As he spoke, he disengaged the fish and threw it down, and made the next +cast so rapidly, that if another trout was waiting to play him a similar +trick, it must have been grievously disappointed. The line swept +lightly through the air, and the fly fell gently on the stream, where it +had not quivered more than two seconds when the water gurgled around it. +The next moment Frank's rod bent like a hoop, and the line flew through +the rings with whirring rapidity, filling these lonely solitudes for the +first time with the pleasant "music of the reel." Almost before Frank +had time to take a step in a downward direction, fifty yards were run +out, the waters were suddenly cleft, and a salmon sprang like a bar of +burnished silver twice its own height into the air. With a sounding +splash it returned to its native element; but scarcely had its fins +touched the water, when it darted towards the bank. Being brought up +suddenly here, it turned at a tangent, and flashed across the pool +again, causing the reel to spin with renewed velocity. Here the fish +paused for a second, as if to collect its thoughts, and then coming, +apparently, to a summary determination as to what it meant to do, it +began steadily to ascend the stream, not, indeed, so rapidly as it had +descended, but sufficiently so to give Frank some trouble, by means of +rapidly winding up, to keep the line tight. Having bored doggedly +towards the head of the rapid, the fish stopped and began to shake its +head passionately, as if indignant at being foiled in its energetic +attempts to escape. After a little time, it lay sulkily down at the +bottom of the pool, where it defied its persecutor to move it an inch. + +"What's to be done now?" asked Stanley, who stood ready to gaff the fish +when brought near to the bank. + +"We must rouse him up," said Frank, as he slowly wound up the line. +"Just take up a stone and throw it at him." + +Stanley looked surprised, for he imagined that such a proceeding would +frighten the fish and cause it to snap the line; but seeing that Frank +was in earnest, he did as he was directed. No sooner had the stone sunk +than the startled fish once more dashed across the river; then taking a +downward course, it sped like an arrow to the brink of the rough water +below. To have allowed the salmon to go down the rapid would have been +to lose it, so Frank arrested the spinning of his reel and held on. For +a second or two the rod bent almost in a circle, and the line became +fearfully rigid. + +"You'll break it, Frank," cried Stanley, in some anxiety. + +"It can't be helped," said Frank, compressing his lips; "he must not go +down there. The tackle is new; I think it will hold him." + +Fortunately the tackle proved to be very good. The fish was arrested, +and after one or two short runs, which showed that its vigour was +abated, it was drawn carefully towards the rocks. As it drew near it +rolled over on its side once or twice--an evident sign of being much +exhausted. + +"Now, Stanley, be careful," said Frank, as his friend stepped cautiously +towards the fish and extended the gaff. "I've seen many a fine salmon +escape owing to careless gaffing. Don't be in a hurry. Be sure of your +distance before you strike, and do it quickly. Now, then--there--give +it him! Hurrah!" he shouted, as Stanley passed the iron hook neatly +into the side of the fish, and lifted it high and dry on the rocks. + +The cheer to which Frank gave vent, on this successful termination to +the struggle, was re-echoed heartily by several of the men, who, on +passing the spot with their loads, had paused and become deeply +interested spectators of the sport. + +"Powerful big fish, sir," said Bryan, throwing down his pack and taking +up the salmon by the gills. "Twinty pounds at laste, av it's an ounce." + +"Scarcely that, Bryan," said Stanley; "but it's not much less, I +believe." + +"Ah! oui, 'tis ver' pritty. Ver' superb for supper," remarked La Roche. + +The little Frenchman was right in saying that it was pretty. Unlike the +ordinary salmon, it was marked with spots like a trout, its head was +small and its shoulders plump, while its silvery purity was exceedingly +dazzling and beautiful. + +"'Tis a Hearne-salmon," said Massan, approaching the group. "I've seed +lots o' them on the coast to the south'ard o' this, an' I've no doubt +we'll find plenty o' them at Ungava." + +While the men were discussing the merits of the fish, Frank had hooked +another, which, although quite as large, gave him much less trouble to +land; and before the men had finished carrying the canoes and goods over +the portage, he had taken three fish out of the same pool. Wishing, +however, to try for a larger one nearer the sea, he proceeded to take a +cast below the rapid. + +Meanwhile, La Roche, whose activity had enabled him to carry over his +portion of the cargo long before his comrades, came to the pool which +Frank had just left, and seating himself on a large stone, drew forth +his tobacco-pouch. With a comical leer at the water which had so +recently been deprived of its denizens, he proceeded leisurely to fill a +pipe. + +It is impossible to foresee, and difficult to account for, the actions +of an impulsive human being. La Roche sat down to smoke his pipe, but +instead of smoking it, he started to his feet and whirled it into the +river. This apparently insane action was followed by several others, +which, as they were successively performed, gradually unfolded the drift +of his intentions. Drawing the knife which hung at his girdle, he went +into the bushes, whence he quickly returned, dragging after him a large +branch. From this he stripped the leaves and twigs. Fumbling in his +pocket for some time, he drew forth a piece of stout cord, about four +yards long, with a cod-hook attached to the end of it. This line had +been constructed some weeks before when the canoes were wind-bound at a +part of the coast where La Roche, desirous of replenishing the kettle, +had made an unsuccessful attempt at sea-fishing. Fastening this line to +the end of his extemporised rod, La Roche proceeded to dress his hook. +This he accomplished by means of the feather of a duck which Frank shot +the day before, and a tag from his scarlet worsted belt; and, when +finished, it had more the appearance of some hideous reptile than a gay +fly. However, La Roche surveyed it for a moment or two with an +expression of deep satisfaction, and then, hurrying to the brink of the +water, made a violent heave. + +"Oh! cent milles tonnerres!" he exclaimed angrily, as the enormous hook +caught in the leg of his trousers. The large and clumsy barb was deeply +imbedded, so there was no help for it but to use the knife. The second +throw was more successful, and the hook alighted in the water with a +splash that ought to have sent all the fish in the pool away in +consternation. Instead of this, however, no sooner did the reptile +trail upon the stream than a trout dashed at it in such violent haste +that it nearly missed it altogether. As it was, it hooked itself very +slightly, and the excitable Frenchman settled the matter by giving the +line a violent tug, in his anxiety to land the fish, that pulled the +hook entirely out of its mouth. + +"Ah! c'est dommage, ver' great; mais try it encore, my boy," exclaimed +the mortified angler. The next throw, although well accomplished, +produced nothing; but at the third attempt, ere the reptile had settled +on the water for a second, it was engulfed by a salmon fully six pounds +weight, and La Roche's rod was almost drawn out of his grasp. + +"Hilloa, Losh! what have ye got there?" exclaimed Bryan, as, with +several of the men, he approached to where the Frenchman and the salmon +strove in uncertain conflict. + +"By the mortial, he's hucked a whale! Out with it, boy, afore it pulls +ye in!" said the Irishman, running to the rescue. + +Just then the salmon gave a pull of more than ordinary vigour, at the +same moment La Roche slipped his foot, and, ere Bryan could lay hold of +him, fell headlong into the water and disappeared. Bryan's hands hung +helplessly down, his jaw dropped, and his eyes opened wide, as he gazed +in mute wonderment at the spot where his friend's toes had vanished. +Suddenly he wrenched off his cap and flung it down, and proceeded to +tear off his coat, preparatory to leaping into the river to the rescue, +when his arms were pinioned to his sides by the powerful grip of Massan. + +"Come, Bryan," said he, "you know very well that you can't swim; you'd +only make things worse." + +"Och! murder! _he_ can't swim neither. Let me go, ye black villain. +Thunder an' turf! will ye see the poor lad drownded forenint yer two +eyes?" cried the poor Irishman, as he made violent but unavailing +struggles to get free. But Massan knew that to allow him to escape +would only add to the number requiring to be saved, and as he himself +could not swim, he saw at once that the only service he could render +under the circumstances would be to hold the Irishman down. Clasping +him, therefore, as in a vice, he raised his head and gave a shout for +help that rolled in deep echoes among the overhanging cliffs. Another +shout was uttered at the same instant. Edith, who happened to come up +just as La Roche's head emerged from the water gasping for breath, +uttered a wild shriek that made more than one heart among the absentees +leap as they flew to the rescue. + +Meanwhile La Roche rose and sank several times in the surges of the +pool. His face on these occasions exhibited a mingled expression of +terror and mischievous wildness; for although he could not swim a +stroke, the very buoyancy of his mercurial temperament seemed partially +to support him, and a feeling of desperate determination induced him to +retain a death-like gripe of the rod, at the end of which the salmon +still struggled. But his strength was fast going, and he sank for the +fourth time with a bubbling cry, when a step was heard crashing through +the adjacent bushes, and Dick Prince sprang down the slope like a deer. +He did not pause when the scene burst upon his view, but a smile of +satisfaction played upon his usually grave face when he saw Edith safe +on the banks of the stream. Another spring and an agile bound sent him +headlong into the pool about a yard from the spot where La Roche had +last sunk. Scarcely had he disappeared when the dog Chimo bounded +towards the scene of action, and, with what intent no one could tell, +leaped also into the water. By this time Frank, Stanley, and nearly all +the party had assembled on the bank of the river, ready to render +assistance. In a few seconds they had the satisfaction of seeing Dick +Prince rise, holding poor La Roche by the collar of his capote with his +left hand, while he swam vigorously towards the shore with his right. +But during the various struggles which had taken place they had been +gradually sucked into the stream that flowed towards the lower rapid, +and it now became apparent to Prince that his only chance of safety was +in catching hold of the point of rock that formed the first obstruction +to the rush of water. Abandoning all effort, therefore, to gain the +bank beside him, he swam with the current, but edged towards the shore +as he floated down. + +"Hallo! La Roche!" he exclaimed loudly. "Do you hear? do you +understand me?" + +"Ah! oui, vraiment. I not dead yit." + +"Then let go that rod and seize my collar, and mind, sink deep in the +water. Show only enough o' your face to breathe with, or I'll drown +ye." + +The Frenchman obeyed to the extent of seizing Dick's collar and sinking +deep in the water, so as not to overburden his friend; but nothing could +induce him to quit the rod to which he had clung so long and so +resolutely. Prince's arms being now free, one or two powerful strokes +placed him beyond the influence of the strong current, and as he passed +the rocks before mentioned, he seized an overhanging branch of a small +shrub, by which he endeavoured to drag himself ashore. This, however, +he found to be impossible, partly owing to the steepness of the shelving +rock, and partly to the fact that Chimo, in his ill-directed attempts to +share in the dangers of his friends, had seized La Roche by the skirts +of the coat in order to prevent himself from going down the stream. +Those on shore, on seeing Prince make for the rock, ran towards the +spot; but having to make a slight detour round the bend of the river, +they did not reach it until he seized the branch, and when Frank, who +was the first, sprang down, the slope to the rescue, he found them +streaming out and waving to and fro in the current, like some monstrous +reptile--Dick holding on to the branch with both hands, La Roche holding +on to Dick, Chimo holding on by his teeth to La Roche, and the +unfortunate salmon holding on to the line which its half-drowned captor +scorned to let go. + +A few seconds sufficed to drag them dripping from the stream; and the +energetic little Frenchman no sooner found his feet on solid ground than +he hauled out his fish and landed it triumphantly with his own hand. + +"'Tis a pretty fish, La Roche," said Frank, laughing, as he busied +himself in taking down his rod, while several of the men assisted Dick +Prince to wring the water out of his clothes, and others crowded round +La Roche to congratulate him on his escape--"'tis a pretty fish, but it +cost you some trouble to catch it." + +"Throuble, indeed!" echoed Bryan, as he sat on a rock smoking his pipe; +"troth it's more nor him came to throuble by that same fish: it guve me +the throuble o' bein' more nor half choked by Massan." + +"Half choked, Bryan! what mean you?" asked Frank. + +"Mane? I just mane what I say; an' the raison why's best known to +himself." + +A loud peal of laughter greeted Massan's graphic explanation of the +forcible manner in which he had prevented the Irishman from throwing +himself into the river. + +The party now turned earnestly to the more serious duties of the +journey. Already too much time had been lost in this "playing +themselves with fish," as Stanley expressed it, and it behoved them to +embark as speedily as possible. About a mile above the pool which had +nearly proved fatal to La Roche was the head of a series of +insurmountable rapids, which extended all the way down to the waterfall. +Beyond this was a pretty long reach of calm water, up which they +proceeded easily; but as they advanced the current became so strong that +no headway could be made with the paddles, and it was found necessary to +send a party of the men ashore with a long line, by means of which the +canoes were slowly dragged against the current. At length they came to +shallow water, which necessitated another portage; and as it was about +sunset when they reached it, Stanley ordered the tent to be pitched for +the night, and the fire lighted, under the shadow of a stupendous +mountain, the rocky sides of which were sprinkled with dwarf pine trees, +and partially covered with brush and herbage. Here Edith and her mother +discovered multitudes of berries, the most numerous being cloud and crow +berries; both of which were found to be good, especially the former, and +a fragrant dish of these graced the towel that evening at supper. + +Thus, day by day, our adventurous travellers penetrated deeper and +deeper into the heart of the wilderness, which became more savage and +mountainous as they left the coast. Stanley drew forth his quadrant and +compass, wherewith he guided the party towards their future home. At +night, after the labour of the day was over, he and Frank would spread +their charts in the blaze of the camp fire, and study the positions of +the land so far as it was laid down; while Edith sat beside her mother, +helping her to repair the torn and way-worn habiliments of her husband +and Frank, or listening with breathless interest to the men, as they +recounted their experiences of life in the different regions through +which they had travelled. Many of these tales were more or less +coloured by the fancy of the narrators, but most of them were founded on +fact, and proved an unfailing source of deep interest to the little +child. Frank's fishing-rod was frequently in requisition, and often +supplied the party with more than enough of excellent fish; and at every +new bend and turn of the innumerable lakes and rivers through which they +passed, reindeer were seen bounding on the mountain-sides, or trotting +down the ravines to quench their thirst and cool their sides in the +waters; so that food was abundant, and their slender stock of provisions +had not to be trenched upon, while the berries that grew luxuriantly +everywhere proved a grateful addition to their store. Thus, day by day, +they slowly retreated farther and farther from the world of mankind-- +living in safety under the protection of the Almighty, and receiving the +daily supply of all their necessities from His fatherly and bountiful +hand; thus, day by day, they rose with the sun, and lay down at night to +rest upon the mountain's side or by the river's bank; and thus, day by +day, they penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of the unknown +wilderness. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +A NEW SCENE--THE ESQUIMAU--DEER-SLAYING--ENEMIES IN THE BUSH. + +Turn we now to another, a more distant, and a wilder scene. Near the +bleak shores of Hudson's Straits there flows a river which forms an +outlet to the superfluous waters of the almost unknown territory lying +between the uninhabited parts of Labrador and that tract of desert land +which borders Hudson's Bay on the east, and is known to the fur-traders +by the appellation of East Main. This river is called the Caniapuscaw, +and discharges itself into Ungava Bay. + +The scene to which we would turn the reader's attention is upwards of +twenty miles from the mouth of this river, at a particular bend, where +the stream spreads itself out into a sheet of water almost worthy of +being called a lake, and just below which two bold cliffs shut out the +seaward view, and cause an abrupt narrowing of the river. The scene is +peculiar, and surpassingly grand. On each side of the stream majestic +mountains raise their bald and rugged peaks almost into the clouds. +Little herbage grows on the more exposed places, and nothing, save here +and there a stunted and weather-worn pine, breaks the sharp outline of +the cliffs. But in the gorges and dark ravines--for there are no +valleys--clumps of small-sized spruce--fir and larch trees throw a +softness over some of the details of a spot whose general aspect is one +of sterility. The mountains rise in a succession of irregular steps or +terraces, whose faces are so precipitous that they cannot be ascended. +To accomplish the feat of scaling the mountain-tops it would be +necessary to clamber up a ravine until the first terrace should be +gained, then, walking along that, ascend the next ravine, and so on. At +the upper end of the lake (as we shall hereafter call this wide part of +the river) lies a low island, fringed with a scanty growth of willows; +and not far from this, on the eastern bank of the river, lies a small +patch of level sand. This spot is somewhat peculiar, inasmuch as it is +backed by a low platform of rock, whose surface is smooth as a table. +At the foot of this rock bubbles a little spring, which, meandering +through a tangled spot of stunted shrubbery ere it mingles with the +sand, gives unusual green-ness and vitality to the surrounding herbage. +On the edge of this rocky platform sat the figure of a man. + +It was evening. The declining sun shot its last few rays over the brow +of the opposite mountains, and bathed him in mellow light, as he sat +apparently contemplating the scene before him. The man's costume +bespoke him a native of the savage region in the midst of which he +seemed the only human being. But although an Esquimau, he exhibited +several physical peculiarities not commonly supposed to belong to that +people. To an altitude of six feet three he added a breadth of shoulder +and expansion of chest seldom equalled among men of more highly-favoured +climes; and his real bulk being very greatly increased by his costume, +he appeared to be a very giant--no unfitting tenant of such giant +scenery. The said costume consisted of an extremely loose coat or shirt +of deerskin, having the hair outside, and a capacious hood, which +usually hung down behind, but covered his head at this time, in order to +protect it from a sharp north-west breeze that whirled among the gullies +of the mountains, and surging down their sides, darkened the surface of +the water. A pair of long sealskin boots encased his limbs from foot to +thigh; and a little wallet or bag of sealskin, with the hair outside, +hung from his shoulders. Simple although this costume was, it had a +bulky rotundity of appearance that harmonised well with the giant's +frank, good-humoured countenance, which was manly, firm, and massive, +besides being rosy, oily, and fat. In the latter peculiarity he partook +of the well-known characteristic of his tribe; but the effeminacy in +appearance that is produced by a round, fat face was done away in the +case of our giant by a remarkably black though as yet downy moustache +and beard, of a length suitable to twenty-three winters. His hair was +long, straight, and black, besides being uncommonly glossy--an effect +attributable to the prevalence of whale-oil in these regions. On the +forehead the locks were cut short, so as to afford free scope to his +black eyes and sturdy-looking nose. By his side lay a long hunting +spear, and a double-bladed paddle, fully fifteen feet long; which latter +belonged to a kayak, or Esquimau canoe, that lay on the sand close to +the water's edge. Sitting there, motionless as the rocks around him, +the giant looked like a colossal statue of an Esquimau. He was no +figure of stone, however, but a veritable human being, as was proved by +his starting suddenly from his reverie and hastening towards the spring +before mentioned, at which he stooped and drank rapidly, like one who +had to make up for lost time. + +After a few hurried gulps, the man strode towards his canoe; but as he +went his restless eye became fixed on the branching antlers of a deer, +that were tossed in the air on the summit of a neighbouring cliff. Like +one who is suddenly paralysed, the Esquimau stood transfixed in the +attitude in which he had been arrested. He did not even seem to +breathe, as the antlers moved to and fro, clearly defined against the +blue sky. At length they disappeared, and the animal to which they +belonged slowly descended a ravine towards the river. Then, as if set +free from a spell, the man glided into his kayak, and swept rapidly but +noiselessly behind a projecting point of rock, where he waited patiently +till the deer took to the water. He had not long to wait, however, for +in a few minutes afterwards the deer, followed by several companions, +walked out upon the patch of sand, snuffed the air once or twice, and +entered the stream with the intention of crossing. + +But there was an enemy near whom they little dreamed of--not an enemy +who would dash excitedly into the midst of them, or awaken the thunders +of the place with his noisy gun, but a foe who could patiently bide his +time, and take cool and quiet advantage of it when it came. When the +deer had proceeded about a hundred yards into the river, the Esquimau +dipped his paddle twice, and the narrow, sharp-pointed canoe, which, at +a short distance, seemed little more than a floating plank, darted +through the water and ranged alongside of the startled animals. The +fattest of the herd was separated from its fellows and driven towards +the shore from which it had started, while the others struggled across +the river. Once or twice the separated deer endeavoured to turn to +rejoin its comrades--an attempt which was frustrated by the Esquimau, +who could paddle infinitely faster over the water in his skin canoe than +the deer could swim. As they neared the shore, the giant cast on it one +or two glances, and having made up his mind as to the most convenient +spot for landing, he urged the point of his canoe between the antlers of +the deer, and steered it in this manner to the sand-bank. The deer, +thus directed, had no resource but to land where its persecutor chose; +but no sooner did its foot touch ground, than it sprang convulsively +forward in the vain hope to escape. The same instant its captor's canoe +shot beside it. Grasping the long lance before mentioned in his hand, +he placed its glittering point on the deer's side, tickled it slowly to +ascertain that it was between two ribs, and, with a quick thrust, +stabbed it to the heart. A convulsive shudder, as the deer's head sank +in the stream, proved that, though cold-blooded in appearance, the +action was more effective and less cruel than many other more approved +methods of killing game. + +Our Esquimau thought neither of the method of slaying his deer nor of +man's opinion regarding it. His sole object was to procure supper, +having tasted nothing since early morning; and the manner in which he +ate showed at once the strength of his appetite and his total +indifference to cookery, for he ate it raw. There was a certain +appearance of haste in all his actions which, however, seemed +unaccountable, considering the peaceful nature of the vast solitudes +around him. Scarcely had he cut off and devoured a portion of the deer +than he hastened again to his canoe, and darted like an arrow from the +shore. This is no exaggerated simile. The long, thin, sharp Esquimau +kayak is highly suggestive of an arrow in its form, and much more so in +its extraordinary speed. It consists of an extremely light framework of +wood covered with sealskin parchment, which is stretched upon it all +over as tight as a drum. The top of the canoe being covered as well as +the bottom, it is thus, as it were, decked; and a small hole in the +middle of this deck admits its occupant. The kayak can only hold one +person. The paddle, as already said, is a long pole with a blade at +each end. It is dipped alternately on each side, and is used not only +to propel the kayak, but to prevent it from upsetting. Indeed, so +liable is it to upset that nothing but the wonderful adroitness of its +occupant prevents it from doing so with every swing of his body. + +Quick, however, though the kayak sped over the rippling wave, it could +not have escaped the messenger of death that seemed about to be +dispatched after it by a dark-skinned, red-painted Indian, who, at the +moment the vessel left the shore, leapt from behind a rocky point, and, +levelling a long gun, took a steady aim at the unconscious Esquimau. A +little puff of powder answered to the click of the lock, as the gun +missed fire. With an exclamation of anger the savage seized his +powder-horn to reprime, when a rude grasp was laid on his shoulder, and +another Indian, who, from the eagle feather in his hair, and his general +bearing, appeared to be a chief, exclaimed-- + +"Fool! you have the impatience of a woman, and you have not yet shown +that you have the heart of a man. Would the scalp of yon +Eater-of-raw-flesh pay us for coming so far from our hunting-grounds? +If your gun had spoken among these mountains, we would have found the +empty wigwams of his people, instead of fringing our belts with their +scalps." + +With a frown of anger the chief turned on his heel and retraced his +steps into the ravine from which he had emerged, followed by his abashed +and silent companion. + +Meanwhile the Esquimau, ignorant of the fate from which he had just +escaped, continued to ply his paddle with right good will. The little +craft, obedient to the powerful impulse, combined as it was with the +current of the ebb-tide, flew rather than floated toward the narrows, +through which it passed, and opened up a view of the ice-encumbered +waters of Ungava Bay. Directing his course along the western shores of +the river, the Esquimau speedily reached the coast at a point where +several low, rough-built summer huts clustered near the shore. Here he +ran his kayak into a little creek, and, having lifted it beyond tide +mark, betook himself to his dwelling. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +SAVAGE LOVE--A WIFE PURCHASED--THE ATTACK--THE FLIGHT--THE ESCAPE--THE +WOUNDED MAN. + +Scarcely had the stout Esquimau proceeded a few steps along the shore, +when he was met by a young girl who laid her hand on his arm. Taking +her gently by the shoulders, he drew her towards him and kissed her on +both cheeks--an action which caused her to blush deeply as, with a half +smile half frown on her face, she pushed him away. + +Love is the same all the world over, whether it glows beneath the +broad-cloth and spotless linen of a civilised gentleman, or under the +deerskin coat of a savage. And its expression, we suspect, is somewhat +similar everywhere. The coy repulse of pretended displeasure came as +naturally from our plump little arctic heroine as it could have done +from the most civilised flirt, and was treated with well-simulated +contrition by our arctic giant, as they walked slowly towards the huts. +But the Esquimau had other matters than love in his head just then, and +the girl's face assumed a grave and somewhat anxious look as he +continued to whisper in her ear. + +At the little hamlet they separated, and the maiden went to her +grandfather's abode; while her lover, lifting the skin-curtain door of a +rudely-constructed hut, entered his own humble dwelling. The room was +empty, and its owner did not seem as if he meant to cheer it with his +presence long. In one corner lay a pile of miscellaneous articles, +which he removed, and, taking the tusk of a walrus which lay near his +hand, began to dig with it in the sand. In a few seconds it struck a +hard substance, and the Esquimau, putting his hand into the hole, drew +forth a glittering axe, upon which he gazed with supreme satisfaction. + +Now be it known to you, reader, that among the Esquimaux of the frozen +north iron is regarded with about as much delight as gold is by +ourselves. And the reason is simple enough. These poor people live +entirely upon the produce of the chase. Polar bears, seals, walruses, +and whales are their staff of life. To procure these animals, spears +are necessary; to skin and cut them up, knives are needful. But bone +and stone make sorry knives and spears; so that, when a bit of iron, no +matter how poor its quality or small its size, can be obtained, it is +looked on as the most valuable of possessions; and the ingenuity +displayed by Esquimaux in fashioning the rudest piece of metal into the +most useful of implements is truly astonishing, proving, in the most +satisfactory way, that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. The +precious metal is obtained in two ways: by the discovery of a wreck, +which is extremely rare; and by barter with those tribes which sometimes +visit the Moravian settlements of Labrador. But neither source is very +productive. Even a nail is treasured as a blessing, while an axe is a +fortune! When our giant, therefore, drew forth the shining implement, +and gazed with delight at its keen edge, he experienced as great +satisfaction as a miser does when gloating over his banker's book! + +Having satisfied himself that the axe was free from all approximation to +rust, he stuck it into a belt of raw hide, which he put on for the +express purpose of sustaining it, as Esquimaux do not generally wear +belts. He then sallied forth, and walked with the air of a man who +wears the grand cross of the Legion of Honour. As he went to the hut in +which lived the oldest man of the tribe, the shade of anxiety, which had +clouded his brow more than once during the day, again rested on his +face. On entering, he observed the old Esquimau listening with anxious +countenance to the young girl whom we have already introduced to the +reader. + +Now this girl--Aneetka by name--was by no means an angel in Esquimau +habiliments. Among civilised folk probably she would not have been +deemed even pretty. Nevertheless, in the eyes of her lover she was most +decidedly beautiful, and round, and fat, and rosy, and young, awkward, +and comfortable! And the giant loved her--never so strongly, perhaps, +as when he saw her striving to allay the fears of her old grandfather. +But this same grandfather was obstinate. He wanted her to become the +wife of an Esquimau who lived far to the westward, and who once had +dealings with the fur-traders, and from whom he expected to derive +considerable advantages and gifts of bits of hoop-iron and nails. But +_she_ wanted to become the giant's wife; so there the matter stood. + +"The spirits o' the wind and sea protect us, and may the god o' the mist +cover us!" said the old man, as the young Esquimau sat down on a dead +seal beside him. "Is it true that you saw the men of fire?" + +This was, of course, said in the language of the Esquimaux, and we +render it as literally as possible. + +"Yes, it is true," replied the young man. "I saw them at the rapid +water in Caniapuscaw, and I took kayak to bring the news." + +Various exclamations of mingled surprise and anger escaped from the +compressed lips of several stalwart natives, who had crowded into the +tent on hearing of the arrival of their comrade. + +"Yes," continued the young man, "we must go away this night. They had +fire-tubes, and there were thirty men. We have only ten." + +Again a murmur ran through the listeners, but no one spoke for a few +seconds. + +"Did they see you?" asked the old man anxiously. + +"No. I came on them suddenly, when I was chasing deer, and almost ran +into their camp; but I saw, and fell in the grass. I thought the chief +raised his head quickly when I fell; but he looked down again, and I +crawled away." + +In this the young Esquimau was mistaken. He knew little of the craft +and the quickness of the Red Indian, and easily fell into the snare of +his savage enemy, who, having been momentarily startled by the sudden +sound of the Esquimau approach, had endeavoured to throw him off his +guard, by pretending that although he heard the sound he thought nothing +of it. But no sooner had the Esquimau retired than he was closely +followed and watched by the whole party. They could have easily shot +him, but refrained from doing so, that he might unwittingly be their +guide to the habitations of his people. The rapid flight of his kayak +distanced his pursuers at first, but they made up for this during an +hour or two in the night, when the tired Esquimau allowed himself a +short season of repose to recruit his energies for the following day's +journey. During this period the Indians shot far ahead of him, and when +he arrived at the coast next day they were not much in the rear. + +"And now, old man," said our young Esquimau, "it is time that I should +have my wife. If the Allat [see note 1] come here to-night, as I know +they will, I want to have a right to defend her, and carry her away when +we flee. Are you willing?" + +The young giant said this with a degree of roughness and decision that +at any other time would have made the obstinate old grandfather refuse +point blank; but as there was every probability of having to flee for +his life ere the break of another day, and as his old heart trembled +within him at the thought of the dreaded guns of the Indians, he merely +shook his head and pondered a little. + +"What will you give me?" he said, looking up. + +The young man answered by drawing the axe from his belt and laying it on +the ground before him. The old man's eyes glistened with pleasure as he +surveyed the costly gift. + +"Good; that will do. Take her and go." + +A second bidding was not needed. The young man arose hastily, took his +blushing bride by the hand, and led her from the tent of her grandfather +towards his own. Here she set to work instantly to assist her husband +in hurriedly packing up their goods and chattels; and, immediately +afterwards, the little village became a perfect Babel of confusion, as +the alarmed inhabitants, on learning the threatened danger, prepared for +instant flight. In less than an hour the most of them were ready. The +men launched their kayaks, while the women, having loaded their oomiaks +with their goods, tossed their dogs and children on the top of them. + +The oomiak, or women's boat, is quite a different affair from the kayak, +in which the men travel singly. It is usually made large and capacious, +in order to hold the entire household of the Esquimau. Like the kayak +it is made of skin, but has no covering above, and is propelled by means +of short single-bladed paddles, which are worked by the women, upon whom +devolves the entire care and management of the oomiak. It is a clumsy +affair to look at, but, like the boats of savages generally, it is +uncommonly useful and a good sea-boat. + +While the Esquimaux were busied in completing their arrangements, one of +the dogs rushed towards the bushes that lined the shore just behind the +village, and barked vociferously. Instantly it was joined by the whole +pack, and the Esquimaux, who, ever since they had heard of the proximity +of their Indian foes, were in a state of the utmost trepidation, made a +general rush towards their canoes. Before they reached them, however, a +volley of musketry was fired from the bushes, and three of their +number--a man and two women--filled the air with their death-shriek, as +they fell dead upon the beach; while the Indians sprang from their +concealment, and, brandishing their knives and tomahawks, rushed with a +fearful yell upon the terror-stricken Esquimaux. + +Shrill and terrible though the Indian war-cry is proverbially known to +be, it was excelled in appalling wildness by the shriek which arose from +the Esquimaux, as they hurried tumultuously into their canoes and put +off to sea. These poor creatures were naturally brave--much more so, +indeed, than their assailants; but the murderous effects of the terrible +gun caused the sternest brow among them to blanch and the stoutest heart +to quail. The arrow and the spear, however rapid, could be avoided, if +observed in time; but this dreaded implement of destruction was so +mysterious to them, and its death-dealing bullet so quick, and the +smoke, the fire, and the loud report so awful, that they shuddered even +when they thought of it. No wonder, then, that they uttered a +despairing cry when it actually sounded in their ears. + +When the dogs first gave tongue, our tall Esquimau was alone in his hut, +having just sent his wife down with a bundle to the oomiak. When the +volley rang in his ears, he rushed towards the beach, supposing that she +was there before him. This was not the case, however. Aneetka had gone +towards her grandfather's hut, and when the Indians fired she rushed in +to assist him to fly. But the old man was already gone. Turning +instantly, she sprang nimbly towards the shore. At that moment a single +shot was fired, and she saw her husband stumble forward and fall +headlong to the earth, where he lay motionless. Her first impulse was +to run towards the body and throw herself upon it; but this intention +was effectually checked by a strong, dark-skinned arm which encircled +her waist, and, despite her cries and struggles, bore her away into the +bushes. Her captor was the Indian whose gun once before on that day had +been levelled at her lover's head. + +When the young Esquimau fell, as already related, he was so close to the +water that he stumbled into it, and, fortunately, not a yard distant +from an oomiak which the women were frantically thrusting into the sea. +They had no time to lift so heavy a weight on board, but, as the light +craft darted from the shore, an old woman, who had often received kind +attentions from the good-natured youth, leant over the stern and seized +him by the hair. In this manner he was dragged through the water until +they were out of gun-shot, when he was lifted inside and laid beside the +dogs and children. + +Meanwhile the Indians had rushed into the water up to their middle, in +the hope of catching the last of the little fleet, but without success. +Mad with disappointed rage, they waded back to the shore, and, standing +in a line along the edge of the waves, reloaded their guns with the +utmost rapidity. The poor Esquimaux knew well what would follow, and +strained every nerve to increase their distance. Once more the guns +belched forth their leaden shower, which went skipping over the water +towards the flotilla. Only one kayak was hit by the discharge. It was +that of the old grandfather already mentioned. The ball ripped up the +side of the canoe, which filled and upset, and the poor old man would +certainly have been drowned but for the opportune coming up of the +oomiak containing his wounded grandson. The old woman who had already +saved the life of the young giant of the tribe, again put forth her +skinny hand and grasped the patriarch, who was soon hauled on board in +safety. A few minutes more placed the whole party out of danger. + +In the meantime, the Indians, furious with disappointment, scalped the +three dead bodies and tossed them into the sea; after which they went +into the huts in order to collect all the valuables that might have been +left behind. Very little, however, was to be found, as the entire +property of an Esquimau is not worth much to a red man. The most useful +thing they laid hands on was the axe which the old grandfather had left +behind in his hurried flight. Having taken all they could carry, the +savages destroyed the rest; and then, setting fire to the village, they +returned to the bush. Here a fire was made, and a council of war held. + +When the Indian who had captured the Esquimau girl led her forward +towards the fire, there was a general yell of indignation. Tomahawks +were grasped, and more than one knife was unsheathed. But the chief +commanded silence. + +"What does White Heart mean to do with the Eater-of-raw-flesh?" he +inquired, turning to the young man. + +"He will take her to the hunting-grounds of the Crees." + +"That cannot be," said the chief. "The girl must die, and White Heart +must kill her." + +The young man made no reply. + +"If," continued the chief sarcastically, "White Heart is afraid to see +blood on his knife, another warrior will show him how to do it!" + +As he spoke, a dark-visaged savage drew his scalping-knife, and, with +one stride, stood beside the trembling girl, who, during the +consultation of the savages, had stood silently beside her captor +listening intently to the words which she did not comprehend. + +Seizing her by the shoulder, the savage plunged his knife at her bosom; +but, ere the keen point reached it, the arm was caught by the young +Indian, and the scowling savage was hurled violently back. With dilated +eye and expanded nostril, the young man, not deigning to bestow a glance +upon his fallen comrade, turned to his chief and said-- + +"Did not I take her? The girl is mine. I will carry her to my tent and +make her my _wife_." + +"Be it so," replied the chief abruptly. Then turning to his followers, +he gave orders to start immediately. + +In a few minutes all was ready. The chief led the way into the bush. +The Esquimau girl and her captor followed; and the whole band, silently +and in single file, commenced to retrace their steps to the far distant +hunting-grounds of the Cree Indians. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Esquimau name for Indians. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +THE PURSUIT--SEAL-SPEARING--THE GIANT'S DESPAIR. + +When the young Esquimau began to recover from the lethargic state into +which his wound had thrown him, he found himself lying at the bottom of +the women's oomiak with his old grandfather by his side, and a noisy +crew of children and dogs around him. Raising himself on his elbow, he +brushed the clotted blood and hair from his temples, and endeavoured to +recall his scattered faculties. Seeing this, the old crone who had +saved his life laid down her paddle and handed him a sealskin cup of +water, which he seized and drank with avidity. Fortunately the wound on +his forehead, although it had stunned him severely at first, was +trifling, and in a few minutes after partaking of the cool water, he +recovered sufficiently to sit up and look around him. + +Gradually his faculties returned, and he started up with a troubled +look. + +"Where are the Allat? Where is my wife?" he exclaimed vehemently, as +his eye fell on the prostrate form of his still insensible grandfather. + +"Gone," answered several of the women. + +"Gone!" repeated the youth, gazing wildly among the faces around him in +search of that of his wife. "Gone! Tell me, is she in one of the other +oomiaks?" + +The women trembled as they answered, "No." + +"Have the Allat got her?" + +There was no reply to this question, but he did not need one. Springing +like a tiger to the stern of the oomiak, he seized the steering paddle, +and turning the head of the boat towards the shore, paddled with all his +energy. Nearly two hours had elapsed since they had commenced their +flight, and as all danger of pursuit was over the moment the Indians +turned their backs on the sea, the Esquimaux had gradually edged +in-shore again, so that a few minutes sufficed to run the prow of the +oomiak on the shingle of the beach. Without saying a word, the young +man sprang over the side, drew a hunting-spear from the bottom of the +boat, and hurried back in the direction of the deserted village at the +top of his speed. The women knew that nothing could stop him, and +feeling that he was quite able to take care of himself, they quietly put +to sea again, and continued their voyage. + +The limbs of the young Esquimau, as we have already said, were gigantic +and powerful, enabling him to traverse the country at a pace which few +of his fellows could keep up with; and although a stern-chase is +proverbially a long one, and the distance between two parties travelling +in opposite directions is amazingly increased in a short space of time, +there is no doubt that he would have overtaken his Indian foes ere many +hours had passed, but for the wound in his head, which, although not +dangerous, compelled him more than once to halt and sit down, in order +to prevent himself from falling into a swoon. Hunger had also something +to do with this state of weakness, as he had eaten nothing for many +hours. In his hasty departure from the boat, however, he had neglected +to take any provisions with him, so that he had little hope of obtaining +refreshment before arriving at the village, where some scraps might +perhaps be picked up. + +Slowly, and with a reeling brain, he staggered on; but here no relief +awaited him, for every scrap of food had been either taken away or +destroyed by the Indians, and it was with a heavy sigh and a feeling +akin to despair that he sat down beside the blackened ruins of his late +home. + +But Esquimaux, more than other men, are accustomed to reverses of +fortune, and the sigh with which he regarded the ruins of his hut had no +reference whatever to the absence of food. He knew that about this time +the mouth of the river would be full of ice, carried up by the +flood-tide, and that seals would, in all probability, be found on it; so +he started up, and hastening along the beach soon gained the floes, +which he examined carefully. A glance or two sufficed to show him that +he was right in his conjecture. On a sheet of ice not more than a +couple of hundred yards from shore were two seals fast asleep. These he +prepared to stalk. Between the floe and the shore ran a stream of water +twenty yards broad. Over this he ferried himself on a lump of loose +ice; and, on reaching the floe, he went down on his hands and knees, +holding the spear in his right hand as he advanced cautiously towards +his victim. + +The Esquimau seal-spear is a curious weapon, and exhibits in a high +degree the extraordinary ingenuity of the race. The handle is sometimes +made of the horn of the narwal, but more frequently of wood. It has a +movable head or barb, to which a long line of walrus hide or sealskin is +attached. This barb is made of ivory tipped with iron, and is attached +to the handle in such a way that it becomes detached from it the instant +the animal is struck, and remains firmly imbedded in the wound with the +line fastened to it, while the handle floats away on the water or falls +on the ice, as the case may be. + +When the Esquimau had approached to within a hundred yards, he lay down +at full length and slowly worked himself forward. Meanwhile the seals +raised their heads, but seeing, as they imagined, a companion coming +towards them, they did not make for their holes, which were a few yards +distant from them. Having drawn near enough to render the animals +suspicious, the young giant now sprang up, rushed forward, and got +between one seal and its hole just as its more active companion dived +into the water. In another moment the deadly lance transfixed its side +and killed it. This was a fortunate supply to the Esquimau, whose +powers of endurance were fast failing. He immediately sat down on his +victim, and cutting a large steak from its side, speedily made a meal +that far exceeded the powers of any alderman whatsoever! It required +but a short time to accomplish, however, and a shorter time to transfer +several choice [junks] chunks to his wallet; with which replenished +store he resumed his journey. + +Although the man's vigour was restored for a time, so that he travelled +with great speed, it did not last long, owing to the wound in his head, +which produced frequent attacks of giddiness, and at last compelled him, +much against his will, to halt for a couple of hours' repose. Glancing +round, in order to select a suitable camping ground, he soon observed +such a spot in the form of a broad, overhanging ledge of rock, beneath +which there was a patch of scrubby underwood. Here he lay down with the +seal blubber for a pillow, and was quickly buried in deep, untroubled +slumber. In little more than two hours he awoke with a start, and, +after a second application to the contents of the wallet, resumed his +solitary march. The short rest seemed to have quite restored his wonted +vigour, for he now stalked up the banks of the river at a rate which +seemed only to accelerate as he advanced. As has been already said, +these banks were both rugged and precipitous. In some places the rocks +jutted out into the water, forming promontories over which it was +difficult to climb; and frequently these capes terminated in abrupt +precipices, necessitating a detour in order to advance. In other places +the coast was indented with sandy bays, which more than doubled the +distance the traveller would have had to accomplish had he possessed a +kayak. Unfortunately in his hasty departure he neglected to take one +with him; but he did his best to atone for this oversight by making +almost superhuman exertions. He strode over the sands like an ostrich +of the desert, and clambered up the cliffs and over the rocks--looking, +in his hairy garments, like a shaggy polar bear. The thought of his +young and pretty bride a captive in the hands of his bitterest foes, and +doomed to a life of slavery, almost maddened him, and caused his dark +eye to flash and his broad bosom to heave with pent-up emotion, while it +spurred him on to put forth exertions that were far beyond the powers of +any member of his tribe, and could not, under less exciting +circumstances, have been performed even by himself. As to what were his +intentions should he overtake the Indians, he knew not. The agitation +of his spirits, combined with the influence of his wound, induced him to +act from impulse; and the wild tumult of his feelings prevented him from +calculating the consequences or perceiving the hopelessness of an attack +made by one man, armed only with knife and spear, against a body of +Indians who possessed the deadly gun. + +Alas! for the sorrows of the poor human race. In all lands they are +much the same, whether civilised or savage--virtue and vice alternately +triumphing. Bravery, candour, heroism, in fierce contest with +treachery, cowardice, and malevolence, form the salient points of the +record among all nations, and in all ages. No puissant knight of old +ever buckled on his panoply of mail, seized his sword and lance, mounted +his charger, and sallied forth singlehanded to deliver his mistress from +enchanted castle, in the face of appalling perils, with hotter haste or +a more thorough contempt of danger than did our Esquimau giant pursue +the Indians who had captured his bride; but, like many a daring spirit +of romance, the giant failed, and that through no fault of his. + +On arriving at the rocky platform beside the spring where we first +introduced him to the reader, the Esquimau sat down, and, casting his +spear on the ground, gazed around him with a look of despair. It was +not a slight matter that caused this feeling to arise. Notwithstanding +his utmost exertions, he had been unable to overtake the Indians up to +this point, and beyond this point it was useless to follow them. The +mountains here were divided into several distinct gorges, each of which +led into the interior of the country; and it was impossible to ascertain +which of these had been taken by the Indians, as the bare, rocky land +retained no mark of their light, moccasined feet. Had the pursuer been +an Indian, the well-known sagacity of the race in following a trail, +however slight, might have enabled him to trace the route of the party; +but the Esquimaux are unpractised in this stealthy, dog-like quality. +Their habits and the requirements of their condition render it almost +unnecessary; so that, in difficult circumstances, their sagacity in this +respect is not equal to the emergency. Add to this the partial +confusion created in the young giant's brain by his wound, and it will +not appear strange that despair at length seized him, when, after a +severe journey, he arrived at a spot where, as it were, half a dozen +cross-roads met, and he had not the most distant idea which he had to +follow. It is true the valley of the river seemed the most probable +route; but after pursuing this for a whole day without coming upon a +vestige of the party, he gave up the pursuit, and, returning to the +spring beside the rock, passed the night there with a heavy heart. When +the sun rose on the following morning he quitted his lair, and, taking a +long draught at the bubbling spring, prepared to depart. Before setting +out, he cast a melancholy glance around the amphitheatre of gloomy +hills; shook his spear, in the bitterness of his heart, towards the dark +recesses which had swallowed up the light of his eyes, perchance for +ever; then, turning slowly towards the north, with drooping head, and +with the listless tread of a heart-broken man, he retraced his steps to +the sea-coast, and, rejoining his comrades, was soon far away from the +banks of the Caniapuscaw River. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +END OF THE VOYAGE--PLANS AND PROSPECTS--EXPLORING PARTIES SENT OUT. + +Three weeks alter the departure of the Esquimaux from the neighbourhood +of Ungava Bay, the echoes of these solitudes were awakened by the merry +song of the Canadian voyageurs, as the two canoes of Stanley and his +comrades swept down the stream and approached the spring at the foot of +the flat rock. + +As the large canoe ran its bow lightly on the sand, the first man who +leaped ashore was La Roche. He seemed even more sprightly and active +than formerly, but was a good deal darker in complexion, and much +travel-stained. Indeed, the whole party bore marks of having roughed it +pretty severely for some time past among the mountains. Edith's face +was decidedly darker than when she left Moose, and her short frock +considerably shorter in consequence of tear and wear. + +"Bad luck to ye, Losh! Out o' the way, an' let yer betters land before +ye," exclaimed Bryan, as he jumped into the water, and dragged the canoe +towards the beach. + +The only marks that rough travelling had put on Bryan were one or two +additional wrinkles in his battered white hat; as for his face, it was +already so thoroughly bronzed by long exposure, that a week or two more +or less made no difference in its hue. + +"Jump into my arms, Miss Edith," said Francois, as he stood in the water +beside the canoe. + +"Steady, boy; mind the gum," cried Massan, as Oolibuck strained the +canoe roughly in shouldering a package. + +"Look out ashore, there," cried Dick Prince, throwing the tent poles on +the beach as he spoke. + +Regardless of the warning, Gaspard did not "look out," and received a +rap on the leg from one of the poles, whereat he growled savagely, and +threw down a sack, which rested on his shoulder, so violently that it +nearly knocked over Ma-istequan, who was passing at the time with the +camp-kettle in his hand. + +"What an ould buffalo it is!" exclaimed Bryan, pushing Gaspard rudely +aside with his left shoulder, and hitching off La Roche's cap with his +right, as he sprang back to the canoe for another load. "Pardonay mwa, +Losh, may garson," he exclaimed, with a broad grin. "Now thin, boys, +out wid the fixin's. Faix it's mysilf is plazed to git ashore anyhow, +for there's nothin' gone into my intarior since brickfust this mornin'." + +At this moment the bow of the other canoe grated on the sand, and Frank +Morton leaped ashore. + +"Capital place to camp, Frank," said Stanley, who had just finished +pitching the tent on the scrimp herbage that forced its way through the +sand. "There's a splendid spring of pure water below yonder rock. I've +just left my wife and Eda busy with the tea-cups, and La Roche +preventing them from getting things ready, by way of helping them." + +"It does indeed seem a good place," replied Frank, "and might do for +temporary headquarters, perhaps, while we make excursions to the coast +to fix on a spot for our new home." + +Stanley gazed contemplatively around him as his friend spoke. "Hand me +the telescope, Frank; it strikes me we are nearer the sea than you +think. The water here is brackish, and yonder opening in the mountains +might reveal something beyond, if magnified by the glass." + +After a lengthened survey of the surrounding hills, Frank and Stanley +came to the conclusion that they could make nothing of it, at least that +night; and as it was becoming gradually dark, they resolved to postpone +all further consideration of the subject till the next day. + +Meanwhile, the men busied themselves in preparing supper, and Chimo +unexpectedly lent them some assistance by bringing into camp a ptarmigan +which he had just killed. True, Chimo had, in his innocence, designed +this little delicacy of the season for his own special table; but no +sooner was he seen with the bird between his teeth, than it was snatched +from him and transferred to the pot forthwith. + +The following day was an era in the existence of the travellers. For +the first time since commencing their arduous voyage, the cargoes were +left behind, and the canoes paddled away, light and buoyant, on a trip +of investigation. Stanley had rightly judged that they were now near +the sea, and the great breadth of the river led him to believe that +there might be water sufficient to float the vessel in which the goods +for the station were to be forwarded. If this should turn out as he +expected, there could not be a better spot for establishing a fort than +that on which they had encamped, as it was situated just below the last +rapids of the river; had a fine spring of fresh water in its vicinity; +and was protected from the cold blasts of winter, to some extent at +least, by the surrounding mountains. + +"Now, Frank," added Mr Stanley, after stating his opinion on this +point, "what I mean to do is this: I shall take the large canoe, with +Dick Prince, Francois, Gaspard, La Roche, and Augustus--the last to +interpret should we fall in with Esquimaux, whom I am surprised not to +have found hereabouts. With these I will proceed to the sea, examine +the coast, observe whether there be any place suitable for building on, +and, if all goes well, be back to supper before sunset. You will take +the other canoe, with Bryan, Massan, Oolibuck, and Ma-istequan, and +proceed down the opposite side of the river a short way. Examine the +shores there, and above the island; see whether there be any place +better than where we stand for a permanent residence; and at night we +shall compare notes. My wife and Eda shall remain in camp under the +care of Oostesimow and Moses." + +"And pray who is to defend your poor wife and innocent child in the +event of an attack by a band of savage natives?" inquired Mrs Stanley, +as she joined her husband and Frank. + +"No fear of the wife and child," replied Stanley, patting his better +half on the shoulder. "If Indians should find out the camp, Oostesimow +can palaver with them; and should Esquimaux pay you a visit, Moses will +do the polite. Besides, had you not interrupted, I was going to have +given special instructions to Frank regarding you. So, Master Frank, be +pleased to take Eda off your shoulder, and give ear to my instructions. +While you are examining the other side of the water, you will keep as +much as possible within eye-shot, and always within ear-shot, of the +camp. In a still day like this a gun-shot can be heard five or six +miles off; and should you see any sign of the natives having been here +recently, return instantly to the camp." + +Frank promised implicit obedience to these instructions, and the whole +party then set to work to pile the goods on a ledge in the steep cliffs +behind the spring, so that a fortress was soon formed, which, with two +such stout and courageous men as Moses and Oostesimow, armed with two +guns each, a brace of pistols, two cutlasses, and an ample supply of +ammunition, could have stood a prolonged siege from much more practised +enemies than Indians or Esquimaux. After having completed these +defensive arrangements, and provided occupation for those who remained +in camp, by laying on them the duty of having the goods examined, in +order to see that nothing had been damaged by wet or rough usage, the +two canoes pushed from the shore, and bounded lightly away, while the +men sang merrily at their easy labour; for now that the canoes were +light, they might have been propelled by two men. Frank directed his +course obliquely up the river, towards the island already alluded to, +and Stanley proceeded with the current towards the narrows beyond which +he expected to catch sight of the sea. + +After passing above the island, which was found to be low and thinly +covered with vegetation and a few scrubby bushes, Frank and his men +pushed over to the other side and proceeded carefully to examine the +coast. It was found to be much the same as that which they had just +left. A narrow belt of sandy and shingly beach extended along the +margin of the river, or, as it might be more appropriately termed, the +lake, at least in as far as appearance went. This strip or belt was +indented here and there with numerous bays and inlets, and in many +places was intersected by rocky capes which jutted out from the +mountains. These mountains were bare and precipitous, rising abruptly, +like those on the other side, from the edge of the sand, and ascending +in a succession of terraces, whose faces were so steep that it was +almost impossible to scale them. They could be ascended in succession, +however, by means of the ravines and numerous gullies which rose in +rugged and zigzag lines from the beach to the mountain tops. In the +very first of these gullies in which the exploring party landed, they +found the remains of an Esquimau summer encampment. These consisted of +a few stunted trees, which appeared to have been built in the form of +rude huts; but they were thrown about in some confusion, and altogether +bore evidence of having remained in a state of ruin for many years. +Another discovery of a more satisfactory kind was made--namely, the +tracks of deer, which were so fresh as to induce Frank to take his rifle +and mount the ravine in search of the animals, accompanied by Massan, +whose natural temperament was exceedingly prone to enjoy the excitement +of the chase. So much, indeed, was this the case, that the worthy guide +had more than once been on the point of making up his mind to elope to +the backwood settlements of the States, purchase a rifle and ammunition +there, don a deerskin hunting-shirt, and "make tracks," as he styled it, +for the prairies, there to dwell and hunt until his eye refused to draw +the sight and his finger to pull the trigger of a Kentucky rifle. But +Massan's sociable disposition came in the way of this plan, and the +thought of leading a solitary life always induced him to forego it. + +"It's my 'pinion, sir," remarked the guide, as he followed Frank up the +ravine, the sheltered parts of which were covered with a few clumps of +stunted pines--"it's my 'pinion that we'll have to cut our logs a long +bit up the river, for there's nothin' fit to raise a fort with +hereabouts." + +"True, Massan," replied Frank, glancing from side to side, hunter +fashion, as he walked swiftly over the broken ground; "there's not a +tree that I can see big enough to build a backwoods shanty with." + +"Well, master, 'twill do for firewood, if it's fit for nothin' else, and +that's a blessin' that's not always to be comed by everywhere. Let's be +thankful for small matters. I see sticks growin' up them gullies +that'll do for stakes for the nets, an' axe handles, an' paddles, an' +spear shafts, an'--" + +The honest guide's enumeration of the various articles into which the +small timber of the place might be converted was brought to a sudden +pause by Frank, who laid his hand on his shoulder, and while he pointed +with the butt of his rifle up the ravine, whispered, "Don't you see +anything else up yonder besides trees, Massan?" + +The guide looked in the direction indicated, and by an expressive grunt +showed that his eye had fallen on the object referred to by his +companion. It was a deer which stood on an overhanging ledge of rock, +high up the cliffs--so high that it might easily have been mistaken for +a much smaller animal by less practised sportsmen. Below the shelf on +which it stood was a yawning abyss, which rendered any attempt to get +near the animal utterly hopeless. + +"What a pity," said Frank, as he crouched behind a projecting rock, +"that it's out of shot! It would take us an hour at least to get behind +it, and there's little chance, I fear, of its waiting for us." + +"No chance whatever," replied Massan decidedly. "But he's big enough to +cover from where we stand." + +"To cover! Ay, truly, I could point straight at his heart easy enough-- +indeed I would think it but slight boasting to say I could cover his eye +from this spot--but the bullet would refuse to go, Massan; it's far +beyond shot." + +"Try, sir, try," exclaimed the guide quickly, for as they spoke the deer +moved. "I've been huntin' on the Rocky Mountains afore now, an' I know +that distance cheats you in sich places. It's not so far as you +think--" + +He had scarcely finished speaking when Frank's rifle poured forth its +contents. The loud echoes of the crags reverberated as the smoke +floated away to leeward. The next instant the deer sprang with one wild +bound high into the air--over the cliff--and descending with lightning +speed through the dark space, was dashed almost in pieces on the rocks +below. + +Massan gave a low chuckle of satisfaction as he walked up to the mangled +animal, and pointing to a small round hole just over its heart, he said, +"The old spot, Mr Frank; ye always hit them there." + +Having paid Frank this compliment, Massan bled the animal, which was in +prime condition, with at least two inches of fat on its flanks, and +having placed it on his shoulders, returned with his companion to the +canoe. + +While Frank was thus engaged, Stanley had descended towards the shores +of Ungava Bay, which he found to be about twenty-five miles distant from +the encampment beside the spring. He made a rapid survey of the coast +as they descended, and sounded the river at intervals. When he reached +its mouth he had made two important discoveries. The one was, that +there did not seem to be a spot along the whole line of coast so well +fitted in all respects for an establishment as the place whereon their +tents were already pitched. The other was, that the river, from its +mouth up to that point, was deep enough to float a vessel of at least +three or four hundred tons burden. This was very satisfactory, and he +was about to return to the camp when he came upon the deserted Esquimau +village which, a few weeks before, had been the scene of a murderous +attack and a hasty flight. On a careful examination of the place, the +marks of a hasty departure were so apparent that Stanley and his men +made a pretty near guess at the true state of affairs; and the former +rightly conjectured that, having made a precipitate flight in +consequence of some unexpected attack, there was little probability of +their returning soon to the same locality. This was unfortunate, but in +the hope that he might be mistaken in these conjectures, and that the +natives might yet return before winter, he set up a pole on a +conspicuous place, and tied to the top of it a bag containing two dozen +knives, one dozen fire-steels, some awls and needles, several pounds of +beads, and a variety of such trinkets as were most likely to prove +acceptable to a savage people. + +While Bryan was engaged in piling a heap of stones at the foot of this +pole to prevent its being blown down by the wind, the rest of the party +re-embarked, and prepared to return home; for although the camp beside +the spring was scarcely one day old, the fact that it was likely to +become the future residence of the little party had already invested it +with a species of homelike attraction. Man is a strange animal, and +whatever untravelled philosophers may say to the contrary, he speedily +makes himself "at home" _anywhere_! + +"Hallo, Bryan!" shouted Stanley from the canoe, "look sharp; we're +waiting for you!" + +"Ay, ay, yer honour," replied the Irishman, lifting a huge mass of rock; +"jist wan more, an' it'll be stiff an' stidy as the north pole himself." +Then in an undertone he added, "`Look sharp,' is it ye say? It's blunt +ye are to spake that way to yer betters. Musha! but it's mysilf +wouldn't give a tinpinny for all that bag houlds, twinty times doubled; +an' yit thim haythens, thim pork-faced Huskimos, 'll dance round this +here pole wi' delight till they're fit to dhrop. Och! but salvages is a +quare lot; an', Bryan, yer a cliver boy to come this far all the way to +see thim." + +With this self-complimentary conclusion, Bryan resumed his place at the +paddle, and the party returned to the camp. + +Here they found things in a most satisfactory state. Frank and his +party had returned, and the deer, now cut up into joints and steaks, was +impaled on a number of stakes of wood, and stuck up to roast round a +large and cheering fire. The savoury steam from these, with the +refreshing odour of the tea-kettle, produced a delectable sensation in +the nostrils of the hungry explorers. Stanley's tent was erected with +its back towards the mountains and its open door towards the fire, which +lighted up its snug interior, and revealed Mrs Stanley and Edith +immersed in culinary operations, and Chimo watching them with a look of +deep, grave sagacity--his ears very erect, and his head a good deal +inclined to one side, as if that position favoured the peculiar train of +his cogitations. La Roche was performing feats of agility round the +fire, that led one to believe he must be at least half a salamander. At +a respectful distance from Stanley's tent, but within the influence of +the fire, the men were employed in pitching, for the first time, the +large skin tent which was to be their residence until they should build +a house for themselves; and on a log, within dangerous proximity to the +mercurial La Roche, sat Frank Morton, busily employed in entering in his +journal the various events of the day. + +There was much talk and loud laughter round the fire that night, for the +different parties had much to tell and much to hear regarding the +discoveries that had been made, and discussions as to the prospects of +the expedition were earnest and long. It was generally admitted that +first appearances were, upon the whole, favourable, although it could +not be denied that the place looked dreadfully barren and rugged. Under +the happy influence of this impression, and the happier influence of the +savoury steaks on which they had supped, the entire party lay down to +rest, and slept so profoundly that there was neither sound nor motion to +indicate the presence of human beings in the vast solitudes of Ungava, +save the fitful flame of the fire as it rose and fell, casting a lurid +light on the base of the rugged mountains, and a sharp reflection on the +dark waters. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY BEGIN TO DEVELOP--BRYAN DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF-- +FISHING EXTRAORDINARY. + +There is a calm but deep-seated and powerful pleasure which fills the +heart, and seems to permeate the entire being, when one awakens to the +conviction that a day of arduous toil is about to begin--toil of an +uncertain kind, perhaps connected with danger and adventure, in an +unexplored region of the earth. Ignorance always paints coming events +in glowing colours; and the mere fact that our adventurers knew not the +nature of the country in which their tent was pitched--knew not whether +the natives would receive them as friends or repel them as foes--knew +not whether the nature and capabilities of the country were such as +would be likely to convert the spot on which they lay into a comfortable +home or a premature grave;--the mere fact of being utterly ignorant on +these points was, in itself, sufficient to fill the poorest spirit of +the band (had there been a poor spirit among them) with a glow of +pleasurable excitement, and a firm resolve to tax their powers of doing +and suffering to the uttermost. + +When the sun rose on the following morning the whole party was astir, +the fire lighted, and an early breakfast in course of preparation. Much +had to be done, and it behoved them to set about it with energy and at +once, for the short autumn of these arctic regions was drawing on apace, +and a winter of great length and of the utmost severity lay before them. + +There was also one consideration which caused some anxiety to Stanley +and Frank, although it weighed little on the reckless spirits of the +men, and this was the possibility of the non-arrival of the ship with +their winter supply of provisions and goods for trade. Without such a +supply a winter on the shores of Ungava Bay would involve all the +hardships and extreme perils that too often fall to the lot of arctic +discoverers; and he who has perused the fascinating journals of those +gallant men, knows that these hardships and perils are neither few nor +light. The leaders of the expedition were not, indeed, men to +anticipate evils, or to feel unduly anxious about possible dangers; but +they would have been more or less than human had they been able to look +at Mrs Stanley and little Edith without a feeling of anxiety on their +account. This thought, however, did not influence them in their +actions; or, if it did, it only spurred them on to more prompt and +vigorous exertions in the carrying out of their undertaking. + +After breakfast Stanley assembled his men, and gave each special +directions what to do. One of the most important points to ascertain +was whether there were many fish in the river. On this hung much of the +future comfort and well-being, perhaps even the existence, of the party. +Gaspard was, therefore, ordered to get out his nets and set them +opposite the encampment. Oolibuck, being officially an interpreter of +the Esquimau language, and, when not employed in his calling, regarded +as a sort of male maid-of-all-work, was ordered to assist Gaspard. The +next matter of primary importance was to ascertain what animals +inhabited the region, and whether they were numerous. Dick Prince, +being the recognised hunter of the party, was directed to take his gun +and a large supply of ammunition, and sally forth over the mountains in +search of game; and as Massan was a special friend of his, a good shot, +and, moreover, a sagacious fellow, he was ordered to accompany him. +They were also directed to observe particularly the state of the woods +and the quality of the timber growing therein; but as this last required +special attention, the style and size of the future fort being dependent +on it, Francois, the carpenter, was appointed to make a journey of +observation up the Caniapuscaw River, in company with Augustus the +Esquimau and Ma-istequan the Indian--it being thought probable that if +natives were to be met with at all, they would be on the banks of the +river rather than in the mountains. It was further arranged that Frank +Morton should ascend the mountains in company with Bryan, and ascertain +if there were any lakes, and whether or not they contained fish. As for +Mr Stanley, he resolved to remain by the camp. On entering his tent +after dispatching the several parties, he said to his wife-- + +"I'm going to stay by you to-day, Jessie. All the men, except Moses, +Oostesimow, Gaspard, and La Roche, are sent off to hunt and fish in the +mountains, and I have kept these four to paddle about this +neighbourhood, in order to take soundings and examine the coast more +carefully; because, you see, it would be an unfortunate thing if we +began our establishment in a place not well suited for it." + +Mrs Stanley and Edith were, of course, quite pleased with this +arrangement, and while the males of the party were absent, the former +employed herself in dressing the skin of the deer that had been shot the +day before. She accomplished this after the Indian fashion, by scraping +and rubbing it with the animal's brains. Afterwards she smoked it over +a fire of green wood, and in this way produced a soft, pliant substance +similar to chamois leather, but coarser and stouter. As for Edith, she +rambled at will among the bushes of the nearest ravine, under the +faithful guardianship of Chimo, and hurried back to the camp almost +every hour, laden with cloudberries, cranberries, blaeberries, and +crowberries, which grew in profusion everywhere. + +Opposite to the camp the water was found to be eight fathoms deep. This +was of great importance, as affording facility for unloading the ship +abreast of the establishment. Higher up the river the ground was more +favourable for building, both on account of its being more sheltered and +better wooded with timber fit for the construction of houses; but the +water was too shallow to float the ship, and the island before +mentioned, which was named Cross Island, proved an effectual barrier to +the upward progress of any craft larger than a boat. But as Stanley +surveyed the spot on which the tent was pitched, and observed the +sheltering background of mountains, with their succession of terraces; +the creek or ravine to the right, with its growth of willows and stunted +pines; the level parcel of greensward, with the little fountain under +the rock; and the fine sandy bay in which Gaspard and Oolibuck were +busily engaged in setting a couple of nets,--when he surveyed all this, +he felt that, although not the best locality in the neighbourhood, it +was, nevertheless, a very good one, and well suited in many respects for +the future establishment. + +"Please, sir, the net him set," shouted Oolibuck from the shore to his +master, who floated in the bay at the distance of a hundred yards, +busily engaged with the sounding-line. On receiving this piece of +information, Stanley ran the canoe on the beach, and said to his +follower-- + +"Oolibuck, I have been thinking much about that river which we saw +yesterday, off the mouth of this one; and I cannot help fearing that the +ship will run into it, instead of into this, for the land is very +deceptive." + +"Me t'ink dat is true," answered the Esquimau, with a look of grave +perplexity. "If de ship go into dat riv'r he t'ink we no arrive, and so +he go 'way, and we all starve!" + +"Nay, Oolibuck, I trust that such would not be the sad result of the +ship failing to find us; but in order to prevent this, if possible, I +intend to send you down to the coast, with a few days' provisions, to +keep a look-out for the ship, and light a fire if you see her, so that +she may be guided to the right place. So get a blanket and your gun as +fast as you can, and be off. I can only afford you four days' +provisions, Oolibuck, so you will have to prove yourself a good hunter, +else you'll starve. Will four days' provisions do?" + +Oolibuck's eyes disappeared. We do not mean to say that they flew away, +or were annihilated. But Oolibuck was fat--so fat that, when he +laughed, his eyes reduced themselves into two little lines surrounded by +wrinkles; a result which was caused by a physical incapacity to open the +mouth and eyes at the same time. As a general rule, when Oolibuck's +mouth was open his eyes were shut, and when his eyes were open his mouth +was shut. Being a good-humoured fellow, and of a risible nature, the +alternations were frequent. It was the idea of Stanley doubting the +sufficiency of four days' provisions that closed the eyes of the +Esquimau on the present occasion. + +"Two days' grub more dan 'nuff," said Oolibuck. "Give me plenty powder +and shot, and me no starve--no fear." + +"Very well," rejoined Stanley, laughing, "take as much ammunition as you +require, but be careful of it; if the ship fails us we shall need it +all. And don't be too eager after the deer, Oolibuck; keep a sharp +look-out seaward, be on the hill-tops as much as you can, and keep your +eyes open." + +Oolibuck replied by closing the said eyes with a smile, as he hurried +towards the tent to prepare for his expedition. In the meantime Stanley +directed Oostesimow and La Roche to set about building a small canoe out +of the birch bark which they had carried with them for the purpose, the +large canoes being too cumbrous for the purpose of overhauling the nets. + +The nets had been set by Gaspard in the usual way--that is, with stones +attached to the lower lines to act as sinkers, and floats attached to +the upper lines to keep them spread; and it was with no little +impatience that the party in the camp awaited the issue. Indeed they +scarcely permitted an hour to pass without an inspection being ordered; +but to their chagrin, instead of finding fish, they found the nets +rolled up by the conflicting currents of the river and the tide into the +form of two ropes. + +"This will never do," cried Stanley, as they brought the nets ashore. +"We must set stake-nets immediately. It is nearly low tide now, so if +we work hard they may be ready to set up before the tide has risen +much." + +In pursuance of this plan, Stanley and his men went to the ravine, of +which mention has been already made, and proceeded to cut stakes for the +nets; while Oolibuck, having explained to Mrs Stanley and Edith that he +was "going to look _h_out for de ship," shouldered his wallet and gun, +and ascending the ravine, speedily gained the first terrace of the +mountains, along which he hastened in the direction of the sea-coast. + +While the party in the camp were thus engaged, Frank Morton and Bryan +instituted a thorough investigation of the country that lay directly in +the rear of the camp, in the course of which investigation they made +sundry interesting discoveries. + +After ascending the ravine in which we left Stanley and his men cutting +stakes for the nets, Frank and Bryan reached the first terrace, and +proceeded along it in the opposite direction from that pursued by +Oolibuck. A walk of a quarter of a mile, or less, brought them to +another ravine, into which they turned, and the first thing that greeted +them as they pushed their way through the stunted willows that thickly +covered this gorge in the mountains was a covey of ptarmigan. These +birds are similar in form and size to ordinary grouse, perhaps a little +smaller. In winter they are pure white--so white that it is difficult +to detect them amid the snow; but in summer their coats become brown, +though there are a few of the pure white feathers left which never +change their colour. Being unaccustomed to the sight of man, they stood +gazing at Frank and Bryan in mute surprise, until the latter hastily +threw forward his gun, when they wisely took to flight. But Frank +arrested his follower's arm. + +"Don't waste your powder and shot, Bryan, on such small game. There may +be something more worthy of a shot among the mountains; and if you once +raise the echoes among these wild cliffs, I fear the game will not wait +to inquire the cause thereof." + +"Maybe not, sir," replied Bryan, as he fell back a pace, and permitted +Frank to lead the way; "but there's an ould proverb that says, `A bird +in the hand's worth two in the buss,' an' I've great belaif in that +same." + +"Very true, Bryan, there is much wisdom in old proverbs; but there are +exceptions to every rule, and this is a case in point, as you will admit +if you cast your eyes over yonder valley, and observe the edge of the +mountain-top that cuts so clear a line against the sky." + +Frank pointed, as he spoke, to the shoulder or spur of one of the +mountains which rose at a considerable distance in the interior, and +from which they were separated by a dark glen or gorge; for none of the +ravines in this part of the country merited the name of valley, save +that through which flowed the Caniapuscaw River. The ravine up which +they had been toiling for some time led into this darksome glen, and it +was on rounding a bold precipice, which had hitherto concealed it from +view, that Frank's quick eye caught sight of the object to which he +directed the attention of his companion. + +"'Tis a crow," said Bryan, after a gaze of five minutes, during which he +had gone through a variety of strange contortions--screwing up his +features, shading his eyes with his hand, standing on tip-toe, although +there was nothing to look over, and stooping low, with a hand on each +knee, though there was nothing to look under, in the vain hope to +increase by these means his power of vision. + +Frank regarded him with a quiet smile, as he said, "Look again, Bryan. +Saw you ever a crow with antlers?" + +"Anthlers!" exclaimed the Irishman, once more wrinkling up his +expressive face, and peering under his palm; "anthlers, say you? Sorra +a thing duv I see 'xcept a black spot on the sky. If ye see anthlers on +it, ye're nothin' more nor less than a walkin' spy-glass." + +"Nevertheless I see them, Bryan; and they grace the head of a noble +buck. Now, you see, it is well you did not fire at the ptarmigan. Away +with you, lad, down into that ravine, and clamber up the mountain +through yonder gap with the fallen rock in the middle of it--d'ye see?-- +and wait there, lest the deer should turn back. In the meantime I'll +run round by the way we came, and descend to the water's edge, to +receive him when he arrives there. Now don't lose yourself, and take +care not to fire at smaller game." + +As Frank concluded these orders, which he issued in a quick low voice, +he threw his gun into the hollow of his left arm and strode rapidly +away, leaving his companion gazing after him with an expression of blank +stupidity on his face. Gradually his cheeks and brow were overspread +with a thousand wrinkles and a smile took possession of his lips. + +"`Don't lose yersilf!' Faix, Master Frank, ye're free an' aisy. Arrah +now, Bryan dear, don't lose yersilf; you that's crossed the salt saes, +an' followed the Red Injins to the prairie, and hunted in the Rocky +Mountains, and found yer way to Ungava--not to mintion havin' comed +oraginally from ould Ireland--which ov itsilf secures ye agin mistakes +of every kind whatsumdiver. Lose yersilf! Musha, but ye had better git +some wan to look after ye, Bryan boy. Take care now; go softly and kape +yer eyes open, for fear ye lose yersilf!" + +As Bryan mumbled forth this bantering soliloquy, he lifted up a large +bag which contained a couple of fishing-lines and a few hooks, and +throwing it across the stock of his gun, and both across his shoulder, +he took his way down the rugged but well-beaten deer-path which led to +the ravine or glen. The idea of losing himself seemed to have taken +such a hold of Bryan's mind, and afforded him so much amusement and such +scope for the continued flow of bantering soliloquy to which he was in +truth much addicted, that he failed to note the fact that he was walking +along the edge of a steep declivity, at the foot of which lay a small, +dark sheet of water, which was connected by a short river or strait with +a larger lake, whose wavelets rippled at the base of the mountain +beyond. The scene was magnificently wild and lonely, and would have +riveted the attention and excited the admiration of any one less absent +than Bryan. High, rugged, and to all appearance inaccessible mountains +surrounded the vale on all sides; and although there were several +outlets from it, these were so concealed by the peculiar formation of +the wild mountains that they could not be seen until they were actually +entered. + +Had Bryan's eyes been more active, he would have seen that the fringe of +bushes by the side of the deer-track, along which he walked, concealed a +declivity so steep that it almost merited the name of a precipice. But +Bryan was lost in philosophic contemplation, and the first thing that +awakened him to the fact was the slipping of a stone, which caused him +to trip and fall headlong over the bank! The Irishman grasped +convulsively at the bushes to arrest his fall, but the impetus with +which he had commenced the descent tore them from his grasp, and after +one or two unpleasant bounds and a good deal of crashing through shrubs +that tore his garments sadly, he found himself stretched at full length +on the margin of the river that connected the two lakes. So nearly had +he been hurled into this strait by the violence of his descent that his +head was hanging over the bank ere he stopped! Being partially stunned +by the fall, Bryan lay for a few seconds motionless. As his shaken +faculties returned, however, he became aware of the fact that a fish of +fully two feet long lay at the bottom of the pool over which his head +hung. Starting up, and totally forgetting his bruises, he turned to +look for the bag containing the fishing-lines, and observing it lying on +the ground not far distant, still wrapped round the gun, he ran to pick +it up. + +"Oh! wow! poor thing!" he exclaimed, on lifting up his gun, which, +though fortunately not broken, was sadly bent, "ye're fit for nothin' +but shootin' round the corner now! It's well for you, Bryan, ye +spalpeen, that your backbone is not in the same fix." + +While he thus muttered to himself, Bryan drew from the bag a stout +cod-line, to which he fastened a hook of deadly dimensions, and dressed +it into the form of a fly, much in the same manner as was formerly done +by La Roche. This line and fly he fastened to the end of a short stout +pole which he cut from a neighbouring tree, and approaching cautiously +to the bank of the strait--for there was too little motion in it to +entitle it to be called a stream--he cast the fly with a violent splash +into the water. The violence was unintentional--at least the +exclamations of reproach that followed the cast would lead us to suppose +so. The fish here were as tame as those caught in Deer River. In a few +seconds the fly was swallowed, and Bryan, applying main force to the +pole, tossed a beautiful trout of about two pounds weight over his head. + +"Och! ye purty crature," exclaimed the delighted Irishman, rubbing his +hands with glee as he gazed at the fish after having unhooked it. +"Shure ye'll make a beautiful fagure in the kittle this night. An' +musha! there's wan o' yer relations to kape ye company," he added, as, +exerting an enormous degree of unnecessary force, he drew another trout +violently from the water. The second trout was larger than the first, +and Bryan soon became so excited in the sport that he totally forgot +Frank's orders, and the deer, and everything else in the world, for the +time being. Having caught six or seven trout, varying from two to four +pounds in weight, he changed his position a little, and made a cast over +a deep pool nearer to the large lake. As heretofore, the fly was +engulfed the instant it fell on the water; but Bryan did not, as +heretofore, haul the fish violently out of its native element. It is +true he attempted to do so, but the attempt proved utterly futile; +moreover, the fish darted with such velocity and strength towards the +lake, that the angler, albeit entirely ignorant of his art, experienced +an inward conviction that the thick cord would snap altogether if not +eased of the enormous strain. He therefore followed the fish at the top +of his speed, uttering incomprehensible sounds of mingled rage and +amazement as he went, and tripping over rocks and bushes in his headlong +career. After a smart run of half a minute the fish stopped, turned, +and darted back so rapidly that Bryan tripped in turning and fell into +the water! The place was shallow, but having fallen on his back, he was +thoroughly drenched from head to foot. He did not lose the grasp of his +rod, however. Spluttering, and gasping, and dripping, he followed the +fish in its wild career until it turned again at a tangent, and darted +towards the bank on which he stood. There was a shelving bed of +pebbles, where the water shoaled very gradually. Bryan saw this. +Availing himself of the fish's impetus, and putting all his force to the +rod, he dragged it into two inches of water, when the line broke. +Instantly the fish struggled towards deep water; but it was so large, +and the place to which it had been dragged so shallow, that it afforded +the excited angler time to rush forward and throw himself bodily on the +top of it! + +The battle that now ensued was of an energetic and deadly character on +the part of both man and fish. Those who have not grasped a live salmon +in their arms have no conception of the strength of a fish; and perhaps +it may be said with equal truth that those who have never wielded a +forehammer have but a faint conception of the strength of a blacksmith's +knuckles. Bryan had thrown his whole weight on the fish, and grasped +it, as with a vice, in both hands; but at every struggle of its powerful +frame he felt how uncertain was the hold he had of its slippery body. +Once it almost escaped, and dashed the spray over its adversary's face +with its tail, as it wriggled out of his grasp; but with a desperate +plunge Bryan seized it by the head and succeeded in thrusting his thumb +under its gill and choking it, while himself was well-nigh choked at the +same moment by unintentionally swallowing a gulp of the muddy compound +which they had stirred up in their struggles. Slowly and with caution +Bryan rose on one knee, while he crushed the fish against the bottom +with both hands; then making a last exertion, he hurled it up the bank, +where it fell beyond all hope of return to its native element. + +The fish thus captured was a beautiful trout of about twenty pounds +weight. The lake trout of North America are, some of them, of enormous +size, being not unfrequently taken of sixty pounds weight, so that as a +specimen of those inhabiting these lakes this was by no means a large +one. Nevertheless it was a splendid fish, and certainly the largest +that had ever been captured by the worthy son of Vulcan. + +The thick coat of liquid mud with which his face was covered could not +entirely conceal the smile of intense satisfaction with which he +regarded his prize, as he sat down on the bank before it. + +"Kape quiet now, honey!" he exclaimed, as the trout made a last +fluttering attempt to escape; "kape quiet. Have patience, darlint. +It's o' no manner o' use to hurry natur'. Just lie still, an' it'll be +soon over." + +With this consolatory remark, Bryan patted the fish on the head, and +proceeded to wring the water from his upper garments, after which he +repaired his broken tackle, and resumed his sport with an eagerness and +zest that cold and water and mud could not diminish in the smallest +degree. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +SUCCESSES AND ENCOURAGEMENT--BRYAN LOST AND FOUND. + +It was evening before the tide began to fall and uncover the stake-nets, +which were eagerly and earnestly watched by those who had remained in +the camp. Mrs Stanley and Edith were seated on an empty box by the +margin of the sandy bay; Mr Stanley sat on a nail-keg beside them; La +Roche and the Indian were still working at the small canoe a few yards +from the tent; and Gaspard, with folded arms, and an unusual smile of +good humour playing on his countenance, stood close behind Stanley. + +None of the hunting and exploring parties had returned, although the sun +had long since disappeared behind the mountains, and the mellow light of +evening was deepening over the bay. + +"There's a tail, sir," said Gaspard, as he hurried towards the net. + +"So it is!" cried Stanley, leaping up. "Come along, Eda, and take the +first fish." + +Edith needed no second invitation, but bounded towards the edge of the +water, which was now gradually leaving the nets. Gaspard had already +disengaged a white fish from the mesh, and wading to the beach, gave it +to the little girl, who ran with it joyously to her mother. Meanwhile, +another and another fish was left by the tide, and Stanley soon after +brought up a splendid salmon of about twenty-five pounds weight, and +laid it at Edith's feet. + +"Oh, how very beautiful!" cried the child, as she gazed in delight at +the silvery scales of the fish. + +"My mind is much relieved by this, Jessie," said Stanley, reseating +himself on the keg, while Oostesimow and La Roche carried the fish +ashore as Gaspard freed them from the nets. "I now see that there are +plenty of fish in the river, and if the hunters bring in a good report +to-night, our anxiety on the score of food will be quite removed." + +Although none of the party had ever set a net on stakes before, they had +frequently heard of this manner of fishing, and their first attempt +proved eminently successful. At low tide stakes had been driven into +the sand, extending from the edge of the water towards high-water mark. +On these the nets had been spread, and thus the misfortune which had +attended the setting of the nets with floats and sinkers was avoided. +The quantity of fish taken gave promise of an ample supply for the +future. There were two Hearne-salmon (that is, spotted like trout), and +one large common salmon, besides thirty white-fish, averaging between +two to six pounds weight each, all of which were in excellent condition. +The white-fish is of the salmon species, but white in the flesh, and +being less rich than the salmon, is much preferred by those who have to +use it constantly as an article of food. + +"This is a most fortunate supply," remarked Stanley, "and will prevent +the necessity of putting the men on short allowance." + +"Short allowance!" exclaimed his wife; "I thought we had more than +enough of food to last us till the arrival of the ship." + +"Ay, so we have. But until now I did not feel at liberty to use it; for +if through any accident the ship does not come, and if there had chanced +to be no fish in the river, the only course open to us would be to +retrace our steps, and as that would be a long and slow process, we +would require to economise our food. In fact, I had resolved to begin +operations by putting the men on short allowance; but this haul of fish +shows me that we shall have more than enough. + +"But who comes here?" he added, on observing the figure of a man +approaching the camp. "He seems to carry a burden on his back, as far +as I can make out in the uncertain light." + +"Did any of the men go out alone?" inquired Mrs Stanley. + +"No; but I suppose that this one must have separated from his comrade.-- +Hallo! who goes there?" + +The man tossed the bundle from his shoulders, and hastening forward +revealed the flushed countenance of Frank Morton. + +"What! Frank! why, man, you seem to have had a hard day of it, if I may +judge by your looks." + +"Not so hard but that a good supper will put its effects to flight," +replied Frank, as he rested his gun against a rock and seated himself on +the keg from which Stanley had risen. "The fact is, I have slain a +noble buck, and being desirous that the men should have as much of it as +possible, I loaded myself rather heavily. The ground, too, is horribly +bad; but pray send Gaspard for the bundle. I should have been here +sooner but for the time required to dissect the animal." + +"Where is Bryan, Frank?" inquired Mrs Stanley. "You went away +together." + +"Bryan! I know not. He and I parted in the mountains some hours ago; +and as he failed to keep his appointment with me, I concluded that he +must have become foot-sore and returned to camp." + +"He has not returned," said Stanley; "but I have no fear for the honest +blacksmith. He's too old a nor'wester to lose himself, and he's too +tough to kill. But come, Frank, let us to our tent. I see that La +Roche has already prepared our salmon for the kettle, and so--" + +"Salmon!" interrupted Frank. + +"Ay, lad, salmon! a twenty-five pounder too! But come, change your +foot-gear, and then we shall have our supper, in the course of which we +shall exchange news." + +As they proceeded towards the camp the voices of some of the men were +heard in the distance; it was now too dark to see them. In a few +minutes Francois, followed by Augustus and Ma-istequan, strode into the +circle of light around the fire, and laying aside their guns proceeded +to light their pipes, while they replied to the questions of Frank and +Stanley. + +"You do not come empty-handed," remarked the latter, as Francois and his +comrades threw down several fat ducks and a few grouse, which, after the +fashion of hunters, they had carried pendent by the necks from their +belts. + +"We only shot a few, monsieur," replied Francois, "to put in the kettle +for supper. We might have loaded a canoe had we chosen." + +"That is well," said Stanley; "but the kettle is full already, and +supper prepared. See, Frank has shot a deer, so that we shall fare well +to-night.--Ah, Prince! come along. What! more game?" he added, as Dick +and Massan entered the halo of light, and threw down the choice morsels +of a fat deer which they had killed among the mountains. + +"Ah! oui, monsieur," said Massan, chuckling as he laid aside his axe and +gun; "we might ha' killed three o' them if we had been so minded; but we +couldn't ha' brought them into camp, an', as Dick said, 'tis a pity to +kill deer to feed the wolves with." + +"Right!" exclaimed Frank; "but did any of you see Bryan? He gave me the +slip in the mountains, and, I fear, has lost himself." + +To this the men replied in the negative, and some of them smiled at the +idea of the blacksmith being lost. + +"No fear, vraiment! He no lost," cried La Roche with a laugh, as he +lifted the huge kettle from the fire and placed it in the midst of the +men, having previously abstracted the best portions for the special +benefit of his master. "No fear of Bryan, certainment; he like one bad +shilling--he come up toujours. Ah! mauvais chien, him give me all de +trouble ov get supper ready mylone." + +"I trust it may be so," said Stanley. "We are all here except him and +Oolibuck, whom I have sent to the coast for a few days to watch for the +ship. But let us have supper, La Roche, and spread ours nearer the fire +to-night--it is rather cold; besides, I want to hear the reports of the +men." + +In compliance with this order, the lively Frenchman spread the supper +for his master's family close beside that of the men, and in a few +minutes more a most vigorous attack was made on the viands, during the +first part of which the hungry travellers maintained unbroken silence. +But as the cravings of nature began to be satisfied, their tongues found +time to remark on the excellence of the fare. The salmon was superb. +Even Edith, who seldom talked about what she ate, pronounced it very +good. The white-fish were better than any of the party had ever eaten +in their lives, although most of them had travelled over the length and +breadth of the North American wilderness. The ducks were perfect. Even +the ptarmigan were declared passable; and the venison, with an inch of +fat on the haunches--words were not found sufficiently expressive to +describe it. Those who are philosophically inclined may suspect that +some of this super-excellence lay in the keen appetites of the men. +Well, perhaps it did. + +While the travellers were in the midst of this, and ere yet their +tongues were fairly loosened, a loud unearthly shout rang with appalling +reverberations among the surrounding cliffs, causing the entire party to +start up and rush for their arms. Again the cry was heard. + +"Ah! bad skran to ye, Losh!--Hould on, Moses, ye fat villain. Lave me +wan mouthful, jist wan, to kape me from givin' up the ghost intirely." + +A shout of laughter greeted the advent of Bryan's voice, but it was +nothing to the peals that burst forth on the appearance of that +individual in _propria persona_. To say that he was totally dishevelled +would convey but half the truth. Besides being covered and clotted with +mud, he was saturated with water from head to foot, his clothes rent in +a most distressing manner, and his features quite undistinguishable. + +"Why, Bryan, what ails you? Where have you been?" inquired Stanley, in +a tone of sympathy. + +"Bin, is it? Sorra wan o' me knows where I've bin. It's mysilf is glad +to be sartin I'm here, anyhow." + +"I'm glad you're certain of it," said Frank, "for if it were not for the +sound of your voice, I should doubt it." + +"Ah monsieur," said La Roche, "make your mind easy on dat. No von but +Bryan ever regard de kettle dat way." + +"Taizy voo, ye petit varmint," said Bryan, approaching the said kettle, +and smiling rapturously through the mud that encrusted his face on +beholding its contents. Without waiting to change his garments the +hungry blacksmith began supper, having first, however, directed +attention to the bag which he had brought in. From this bag La Roche +now extracted about a dozen trout, some of which were of great size-- +especially one, whose bulk exceeded that of the large salmon. + +"There's plinty more where thim comed from," said Bryan, through a +mouthful of venison; "but I'll tell ye ov it afther supper." + +"Ah, true! don't let us interrupt him just now," said Stanley. "In the +meantime, Francois, since you seem to be about done, tell us what you +have seen, and let us hear what you have to say of the country." + +Francois having lighted his pipe, cleared his throat and began:-- + +"Well, monsieur, after we had paddled a short bit beyond the point below +the last rapid in Caniapuscaw River, we shoved the canoe ashore, and +landed Prince and Massan, who set off to look for game, leavin' +Augustus, Ma-istequan, and me to paddle up the river as well as we +could. But we soon found that three men in a big canoe could not make +much way agin the strong current of the river, so we put ashore again +and took to our legs. + +"After making a long tramp up the banks o' the river, we fell in with +some good-sized pines; but although they are big for this part of the +country, they are not big enough for building. Then we pushed into the +gullies, which are sheltered from the cold winds off the bay, and here +we found the trees a good deal bigger. There are pines and larch in +abundance, and some of the larch are even bigger than we require." + +"Are they far inland?" inquired Stanley. + +"No, monsieur, they are only a few hundred yards from the banks of the +river, and growin' on the edge of a small creek, which I noticed is deep +enough to float them down." + +"Good, very good," said Stanley, filling his pipe with a fresh charge of +tobacco; "that is most fortunate, for it will save time, and take fewer +men to bring them here. Go on, Francois." + +"Bien, monsieur. Then I felled one or two o' the trees, to see what +like they are; and I found that they are very tough and good. The pines +are firmer and tougher than any I ever saw in the Indian country, owing, +I suppose, to their stunted growth. While I was thus employed, Augustus +shot the grouse we brought home, and we saw a great many coveys of them. +In fact, we might have shot many more; but as we did not know how far +we should have to walk, we thought it best not to burden ourselves too +much. We also saw a great many ducks, and shot a few, as you see." + +"Did you see goose?" inquired La Roche, whose mind had a natural +tendency to culinary matters. + +"No," replied Francois, "I saw no geese; but I did not go out of my way +to look for them. I was more taken up with the timber than replenishing +the kettle." + +"Ah! that ver' great pity. Oui, grand dommage. De kittle toujours de +most importance t'ing on de voyage. If you forget him, you goot for +not'ing. Mais, Francois, did you look into the deep clear pool at de +foot of de rapid?" + +Francois emitted a cloud of smoke with a negative in the middle of it. + +"An!" said La Roche with a sigh, "I thought not; mais it was pity. You +see one goose for certain, if you have look straight down into dat +pool." + +"Bien," continued Francois, turning to Stanley. "I then went into one +or two more gullies, and saw some more sticks fit for building; but +after all it is only in the gullies they grow, and there are not very +many. The trees on the banks of the river are chiefly pines, and only +fit for firewood." + +"And an important item is firewood, as we shall find ere long," remarked +Stanley. "Your account of the timber is very satisfactory, Francois. +Did you see traces of Indians or Esquimaux?" + +"No; I saw none." + +"Perhaps you did, Prince," continued Stanley, turning to that worthy, +who was stretched, along with Massan, at full length before the blaze, +and had been listening attentively to the conversation while he solaced +himself with his pipe. + +"Yes, sir, we seed the marks they left behind them," answered Prince, +while he glanced towards Massan, as if to invite him to give the desired +information. + +"Ay, we saw their marks, no doubt," said the guide, knocking the ashes +out of his pipe, and raising himself from his reclining posture to that +of a tailor, the more conveniently to recharge that beloved implement. +"Ay, we saw their marks, and they was by no means pleasant to look on. +After we had landed above the p'int, as Francois told ye, Dick Prince +and me went up one o' the gullies, an' then gettin' on one o' them flat +places that run along the face of all the mountains hereabouts, we +pushed straight up the river. We had not gone far when, on turnin' a +p'int, we both clapped eyes at the same moment on the most ill-lookin' +blackguard of a wolf I ever saw. Up went both our guns at once, and I +believe we were very near puttin' a bullet in each of his eyes, when we +noticed that these same eyes were not bookin' at us, but starin', most +awful earnest like, up a gully in the mountains; so we looked up, an', +sure enough, there we saw a deer on the mountain-top, tossin' its head +and snuffin' round to see that the coast was clear before it came down +to the water. We noticed that a regular beaten deer-track passed down +this gully, and master wolf, who knowed the walk very well, was on the +lookout for his dinner; so we waited quiet till the deer came down, an' +Dick put a bullet in its heart, an' I put one into the wolf's head, so +they both tumbled down the cliffs together. The shot made another deer, +that we had not seen, start off into the river; but before it got a few +yards from the shore, Dick loaded again and put a bullet into its head +too, an' it was washed ashore at the p'int below us. + +"Havin' fixed them off comfortably, we cut up the deer, and put all we +could carry on our shoulders, for we knowed that if we left them we'd +find nothin' but the bones when we came back. About an hour after this +we came upon a deserted camp of Indians. It was so fresh that we think +they must have passed but a few weeks ago. The whole camp was strewed +with bones of deer, as if the red varmints had been havin' a feast. An' +sure enough, a little farther on we came upon the dead carcasses of +ninety-three deer! The rascals had taken nothin' but the tongues an' +tit-bits, leavin' the rest for the wolves." + +"Ay, they're a reckless, improvident set," remarked Stanley. "I've been +told that the Esquimaux are quite different in this respect. They never +kill what they don't require; but the redskins slaughter the deer by +dozens for the sake of their tongues." + +"We also found the broken head of an Esquimau seal-spear, and this +little bit of sealskin." Massan handed these as he spoke to Stanley. + +"I fear," said Frank, "this looks as if they had made an attack on the +Esquimaux very recently." + +"I fear it much," said Stanley, examining the little shred of sealskin, +which had beautifully glossy hair on one side, and on the other, which +was dressed, there were sundry curious marks, one of which bore a rude +resemblance to an Indian wigwam, with an arrow pointing towards it. + +"I found the bit o' sealskin hanging on a bush a little apart from the +place where they camped, an' from what I've seen o' the ways o' +redskins, it's my 'pinion that it was put there for some purpose or +other." + +"Very likely.--Take care of it, Jessie," said Stanley, throwing it to +his wife; "it may be explained some day.--Well, Massan, did you see any +other animals?" + +"Yes, sir, lots o' them. We saw deer on the hill-tops, and might ha' +shot more o' them if we could have brought them into camp. An' we saw +porcupines in all the pine bluffs. An' we saw fish in the lakes among +the mountains. There are lots o' them lakes--small things some o' +them--in all the gullies, and fish in most o' them; but we had neither +lines nor hooks, so we catched none." + +"Faix, if ye catched none, yer betters catched plinty," said Bryan, who, +having concluded supper and changed his garments, was now luxuriating in +a smoke. The blacksmith pointed as he spoke to the bag of splendid +trout which lay at a short distance from the fire. "'Tis mysilf's the +boy to catch them. I would have brought ye two times as much, if it +wasn't that I lost my hook and line. I think it must have bin a +fresh-water whale, the last wan, bad luck to it! for it pulled me into +the wather three times, an' wint off at last with two fathom o' cod-line +trailin' behind it." + +"So then, Bryan," said Frank, "it must have been the yells with which +you accompanied your fishing that frightened the deer I was after and +caused me to lose him. However, as I got another soon afterwards which +must have been frightened towards me by the same halloos, I forgive +you." + +Frank now gave the party an account of what he had seen, but as his +experience merely corroborated that of Dick Prince and Massan, we will +not trouble the reader with the details. The evidence of the various +exploring parties, when summed up, was undoubtedly most satisfactory, +and while it relieved the mind of the leaders of the band, it raised and +cheered the spirits of the men. Timber, although not plentiful or very +large, was to be had close to the spot where they proposed to erect +their fort; game of all kinds swarmed in the mountains in abundance; and +the lakes and rivers were well stocked with excellent fish: so that, +upon the whole, they considered that they had made an auspicious +commencement to their sojourn in the land of the Esquimaux. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +OUTPOST-BUILDING--FORT CHIMO--AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL, WHICH CAUSES MUCH +JOY. + +The band of fur-traders now set earnestly about the erection of their +winter dwelling. The season was so far advanced that the men could no +longer be spared from the work to hunt or fish in the mountains, so that +they lived chiefly on the produce of the stake-nets in front of the +camp, and a small allowance of the provisions with which they had +started from Moose Fort. Occasionally Frank sallied forth and returned +with the best parts of a deer on his shoulders; but these excursions +were rare, as both he and Stanley worked with the men in the erection of +the fort. No one was idle for a moment, from the time of rising-- +shortly after daybreak--to the time of going to rest at night. Even +little Edith found full occupation in assisting her mother in the +performance of a host of little household duties, too numerous to +recapitulate. The dog Chimo was the only exception to the general rule. +He hunted the greater part of the forenoon, for his own special +benefit, and slept when not thus occupied, or received with +philosophical satisfaction the caresses of his young mistress. + +The future fort was begun on the centre of the level patch of +green-sward at the foot of the flat rock by the spring, where the party +had originally encamped. A square was traced on the ground to indicate +the stockade; and within this, Stanley marked off an oblong patch, close +to the back stockade, for the principal dwelling-house, facing the +river. Two other spaces were on either side of this--one for a store, +the other for a dwelling for the men. When finished, the fort would +thus have the form of three sides of a square surrounded by a stockade. +In the centre of this, and the first thing that was erected, was a +flag-staff, on which the H.B.C.--Hudson's Bay Company--flag was hoisted, +and saluted with three cheers as its crimson folds fluttered out in the +breeze for the first time. The plan on which the houses were +constructed was that on which all the dwellings of the fur-traders are +built--namely, a framework of timber, the interstices of which are +filled up with logs sliding into grooves cut in the main posts and +beams. This manner of building is so simple that a house can be erected +without any other instruments than an axe, an auger, and a large chisel; +and the speed with which it is put up would surprise those whose notions +of house-building are limited to stone edifices. + +The axes of the wood-cutters resounded among the gullies and ravines of +Ungava, and awakened the numerous echoes of the mountains. The +encampment no longer presented a green spot, watered by a tiny rill, but +was strewn with logs in all stages of formation, and chips innumerable. +The frameworks of the dwelling-houses began to rise from the earth, +presenting, in their unfinished condition, a bristling, uncomfortable +appearance, suggesting thoughts in the beholder's mind highly +disparaging to art, and deeply sympathetic with outraged nature. The +tents still stood, and the campfire burned, but the superior proportions +of the rising fort threw these entirely into the shade. A rude wharf of +unbarked logs ran from the beach into the river. It had been begun and +finished in a couple of days, for the convenience of Gaspard while +visiting his nets, as he sometimes did before the water left them. +Everything, in short, bore evidence of the most bustling activity and +persevering energy; and in a few weeks from the time of their first +landing, the dwelling-houses were sufficiently weather-tight to be +habitable, and the other portions of the establishment in an advanced +condition. + +The openings between the logs of the houses were caulked with a mixture +of mud and moss, and left in that condition in the meantime, until the +pit-saw could be set to work to produce boards for the better protection +of the walls without and within. The window and door frames were also +made, and covered temporarily with parchment, until the arrival of the +ship should enable them to fill the former with glass and the latter +with broad panels. + +The effect of the parchment-covered door, however, was found to be +somewhat troublesome. Being large, and tightly covered, it sounded, +when shut violently, with a noise so strongly resembling the report of a +distant cannon that, during the first day after its erection, the men +more than once rushed down to the beach in the expectation of seeing the +long and ardently wished-for ship, which was now so much beyond the time +appointed for her arrival that Stanley began to entertain serious +apprehensions for her safety. This ship was to have sailed from York +Fort, the principal depot of the fur-traders in Hudson's Bay, with +supplies and goods for trade with the Esquimaux during the year. She +was expected at Ungava in August, and it was now September. The frost +was beginning, even at this early period, to remind the expedition of +the long winter that was at hand, and in the course of a very few weeks +Hudson's Straits would be impassable; so that the anxiety of the traders +was natural. + +Just before the partitions of the chief dwelling-house were completed, +Stanley went to the tent in which his wife and child were busily +employed in sewing. + +"Can you spare Edith for a short time, wife?" said he, as his partner +looked up to welcome him. + +"Yes, for a short time; but she is becoming so useful to me that I +cannot afford to spare her long." + +"I'm afraid," said Stanley, as he took his child by the hand and led her +away, "that I must begin to put in my claim to the services of this +little baggage, who seems to be so useful. What say you, Eda; will you +allow me to train you to shoot, and fish, and walk on snow-shoes, and so +make a trader of you?" + +"I would like very much, papa, to learn to walk on snowshoes, but I +think the gun would hurt me--it seems to kick so. Don't you think I am +too little to shoot a gun off?" + +Stanley laughed at the serious way in which the child received the +proposal. + +"Well, then, we won't teach you to shoot yet, Eda; but, as you say, the +snow-shoe walking is worth learning, for if you cannot walk on the long +shoes when the snow falls, I fear you'll not be able to leave the fort +at all." + +"Yes, and Francois has promised to make me a pair," said Edith gaily, +"and to teach me how to use them; and mamma says I am old enough to +learn now. Is it not kind of Francois? He is always very good to me." + +"Indeed it is very kind of him, my pet; but all the men seem to be very +good to you--are they not?" + +"Oh yes!--all of them. Even Gaspard is kind now. He never whips Chimo, +and he patted me on the head the other day when I met him alone in the +ravine--the berry ravine, you know, where I go to gather berries. I +wonder if there are berries in all the other ravines?--but I don't care +much, for there are thousands and thousands of all kinds in my own +ravine, and--where are you going, papa?" + +This abrupt question was caused by her father turning into the square of +the new fort, in which the most of the men were at work. + +"I'm going to show you our house, Eda, and to ask you to fix on the +corner you like best for your own room. The partitions are going to be +put up, so we must fix at once." + +As he spoke they passed through the open doorway of the new dwelling, +which was a long, low building; and, placing his little daughter in the +centre of the principal hall, Stanley directed her to look round and +choose a corner for herself. + +For a few minutes Edith stood with an expression of perplexity on her +bright face; then she began to examine the views from each of the corner +windows. This could only be done by peeping through the bullet-hole in +the parchment skins that in the meantime did duty for glass. The two +windows at the back corners looked out upon the rocky platform, behind +which the mountains rose like a wall, so they were rejected; but Edith +lingered at one of them, for from it she saw the spring at the foot of +the rock, with its soft bed of green moss and surrounding willow-bushes. +From the front corner on the left hand Cross Island and the valley of +the river beyond were visible; but from the window on the right the view +embraced the whole sweep of the wide river and the narrow outlet to the +bay, which, with its frowning precipices on either side, and its bold +flanking mountains, seemed a magnificent portal to the Arctic Sea. + +"I think this is the nicest corner," said Edith, turning with a smile to +her father. + +"Then this shall be yours," said Stanley. + +"But," exclaimed Edith, as a sudden thought occurred to her, "perhaps +Frank would like this corner. I would not like to have it if Frank +wants it." + +"Frank doesn't want it, and Frank shan't have it. There now, run to +your mother, you little baggage; she can't get on without you. Off you +go, quick!" + +With a merry laugh Edith bounded through the doorway, and disappeared +like a sunbeam from the room. + +On the 25th of September, Stanley was standing on the beach, opposite +the fort, watching with a smile of satisfaction the fair, happy face of +his daughter, as she amused herself and Chimo by throwing a stick into +the water, which the latter dutifully brought out and laid at her feet +as often as it was thrown in. Frank was also watching them. + +"What shall we call the fort, Frank?" said his companion. "We have a +Fort Good Hope, and a Fort Resolution, and a Fort Enterprise already. +It seems as if all the vigorous and hearty words in the English language +were used up in naming the forts of the Hudson's Bay Company. What +shall we call it?" + +"Chimo! Chimo! Chimo!" shouted Edith to the dog, as the animal bounded +along the beach. + +Both gentlemen seemed to be struck with the same idea simultaneously. + +"There's an answer to your question," said Frank; "call the fort +`Chimo.'" + +"The very thing!" replied Stanley; "I wonder it did not occur to me +before. Nothing could be more appropriate. I salute thee, Fort Chimo," +and Stanley lifted his cap to the establishment. + +In order that the peculiar appropriateness of the name may appear to the +reader, it may be as well to explain that Chimo (the _i_ and _o_ of +which are sounded long) is an Esquimau word of salutation, and is used +by the natives when they meet with strangers. It signifies, _Are you +friendly_? by those who speak first, and seems to imply, _We are +friendly_, when returned as an answer. So well known is the word to the +fur-traders who traffic with the natives of Hudson's Straits that they +frequently apply it to them as a name, and speak of the Esquimaux as +Chimos. It was, therefore, a peculiarly appropriate name for a fort +which was established on the confines of these icy regions, for the +double purpose of entering into friendly traffic with the Esquimaux, and +of bringing about friendly relations between them and their old enemies, +the Muskigon Indians of East Main. + +After playing for some time beside the low wharf, Edith and her dog left +the beach together, and rambled towards a distant eminence, whence could +be obtained a commanding bird's-eye view of the new fort. She had not +sat many minutes here when her eye was arrested by the appearance of an +unusual object in the distance. Frank, who was yet engaged in +conversation with Stanley on the beach, also noticed it. Laying his +hand on the arm of his companion, he pointed towards the narrows, where +a small, white, triangular object was visible against the dark cliff. +As they gazed, a second object of similar form came into view; then a +fore and top sail made their appearance; and, in another second, a +schooner floated slowly through the opening! Ere the spectators of this +silent apparition could give utterance to their joy, a puff of white +smoke sprang from the vessel's bow, and a cannon-shot burst upon the +mountains. Leaping on from cliff to crag, it awakened a crash of +magnificent echoes, which, after prolonged repetitions, died away in low +mutterings like distant thunder. It was followed by a loud cheer from +the schooner's deck, and the H.B.C. flag was run up to the main, while +the Union Jack floated at the peak. + +"Now, Frank, give the word," cried Stanley, taking off his cap, while +the men ran down to the beach _en masse_. + +"Hip, hip, hurrah!" + +"Hurrah!" echoed the men, and a cheer arose among the cliffs that moved +to the very centre the hearts of those who heard and gave it. + +Again and again the stirring shout arose from the fort, and was replied +to from the schooner. It was no matter of form, or cheer of ceremony. +There was a deep richness and a prolonged energy in the tone, which +proved that the feelings and lungs of the men were roused to the +uttermost in its delivery. It told of long gathering anxieties swept +entirely away, and of deep joy at seeing friendly faces in a sterile +land, where lurking foes might be more likely to appear. + +At all times the entrance of a ship into port is a noble sight, and one +which touches the heart and evokes the enthusiasm of almost every human +being; but when the ship arriving is almost essential to the existence +of those who watch her snowy sails swelling out as they urge her to the +land--when her keel is the first that has ever ploughed the waters of +their distant bay--and when her departure will lock them up in solitude +for a long, long year--such feelings are roused to their utmost pitch of +intensity. + +Cheer upon cheer rose and fell, and rose again, among the mountains of +Ungava. Even Edith's tiny voice helped to swell the enthusiastic shout; +and more than one cheer was choked by the rising tide of emotion that +forced the tears down more than one bronzed cheek, despite the iron +wills that bade them not to flow. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +BUSTLE AND BUSINESS--A GREAT FEAST, IN WHICH BRYAN AND LA ROCHE ARE +PRIME MOVERS--NEW IDEAS IN THE ART OF COOKING. + +The scene at Fort Chimo was more bustling and active than ever during +the week that followed the arrival of the schooner. The captain told +Stanley, as they sat sipping a glass of Madeira in the hall of the new +fort, that he had been delayed by ice in the straits so long, that the +men were afraid of being set fast for the winter, and were almost in a +state of mutiny, when they fortunately discovered the mouth of the +river. As had been anticipated by Stanley, the ship entered False River +by mistake, unseen by Oolibuck, notwithstanding the vigilance of his +lookout. Fortunately he observed it as it came out of the river, just +at the critical period when the seamen began to threaten to take the law +into their own hands if the search were continued any longer. Oolibuck +no sooner beheld the object of his hopes than he rushed to the top of a +hill, where he made a fire and sent up a column of smoke that had the +immediate effect of turning the vessel's head towards him. Soon +afterwards a boat was sent ashore, and took the Esquimau on board, who +explained, in his broken English, that he had been watching for them for +many days, and would be happy to pilot the vessel up to the fort. + +"You may be sure," continued the captain, "that I was too happy to give +the ship in charge to the fellow, who seemed to understand thoroughly +what he was about. He is already quite a favourite with the men, who +call him Oily-buss, much to his own amusement; and he has excited their +admiration and respect by his shooting, having twice on the way up shot +a goose on the wing." + +"Not an unusual exhibition of skill among fur-traders," said Stanley; +"but I suppose your men are not much used to the gun. And now, captain, +when must you start?" + +"The moment the cargo is landed, sir," replied the captain, who was +distinguished by that thorough self-sufficiency and prompt energy of +character which seem peculiar to sea-captains in general. "We may have +trouble in getting out of the straits, and, after getting to Quebec, I +am bound to carry a cargo of timber to England." + +"I will do my best to help you, captain. Your coming has relieved my +mind from a load of anxiety, and one good turn deserves another, so I'll +make my fellows work night and day till your ship is discharged." + +Stanley was true to his word. Not only did the men work almost without +intermission, but he and Frank Morton scarce allowed themselves an +hour's repose during the time that the work was going on. Night and day +"yo heave ho" of the Jack Tars rang over the water; and the party on +shore ran to and fro, from the beach to the store, with bales, kegs, +barrels, and boxes on their shoulders. There were blankets and guns, +and axes and knives, powder and shot, and beads and awls, and nets and +twine. There were kettles of every sort and size; cloth of every hue; +capotes of all dimensions, and minute etceteras without end: so that, +had it been possible to prevail on the spirits of the ice to carry to +the Esquimaux intelligence of the riches contained in the store at +Chimo, an overwhelming flood of visitors would speedily have descended +on that establishment. But no such messengers could be found--although +Bryan asserted positively that more than "wan o' them" had been seen by +him since his arrival; so the traders had nothing for it but to summon +patience to their aid and bide their time. + +When the work of discharging was completed, and while Stanley and the +captain were standing on the beach watching the removal of the last +boat-load to the store, the former said to the latter: "Now, captain, I +have a favour to request, which is that you and your two mates will dine +with me to-morrow. Your men will be the better of a day's rest after +such a long spell of hard work. You could not well get away till the +evening of to-morrow at any rate, on account of the tide, and it will be +safer and more pleasant to start early on the day after." + +"I shall be most happy," replied the captain heartily. + +"That's right," said Stanley. "Dinner will be ready by four o'clock +precisely; and give my compliments to your crew, and say that my men +will expect them all to dinner at the same hour." + +Ten minutes after this, Stanley entered his private apartment in the +fort, which, under the tasteful management of his wife, was beginning to +look elegant and comfortable. + +"Wife," said he, "I will order La Roche to send you a box of raisins and +an unlimited supply of flour, butter, etcetera, wherewith you will be so +kind as to make, or cause to be made--on pain of my utmost displeasure +in the event of failure--a plum-pudding large enough to fill the largest +sized washing-tub, and another of about quarter that size; both to be +ready boiled by four to-morrow afternoon." + +"Sir, your commands shall be obeyed. I suppose you intend to regale the +sailors before they leave. Is it not so?" + +"You have guessed rightly for once; and take care that you don't let Eda +drown herself in the compost before it is tied up. I must hasten to +prepare the men." + +Two minutes later and Stanley stood in the midst of his men, who, having +finished their day's work, were now busy with supper in their new house, +into which they had but recently moved. + +"Lads," said Stanley, "you have stuck to your work so hard of late that +I think it a pity to allow you to fall into lazy habits again. I expect +you all to be up by break of day to-morrow." + +"Och! musha!" sighed Bryan, as he laid down his knife and fork with a +look of consternation. + +"I have invited the ship's crew," continued Stanley, "to dine with you +before they leave us. As the larder is low just now, you'll all have to +take to the hills for a fresh supply. Make your arrangements as you +please, but see that there is no lack of venison and fish. I'll +guarantee the pudding and grog." + +So saying, he turned and left the house, followed by a tremendous cheer. + +"Oh! parbleu! vat shall I do?" said La Roche, with a look of affected +despair. "I am most dead for vant of sleep already. C'est impossible +to cook pour everybody demain. I vill be sure to fall 'sleep over de +fire, prehaps fall into him." + +"Och, Losh, Losh, when will ye larn to think nothin' o' yoursilf? Ye'll +only have to cook for the bourgeois; but think o' me! All the min, an' +the ship's crew to boot!" + +The blacksmith concluded by knocking La Roche's pipe out of his mouth, +in the excess of his glee at the prospective feast; after which he +begged his pardon solemnly in bad French, and ducked his head to avoid +the tin can that was hurled at it by the indignant Frenchman. + +At the first streak of dawn the following morning, and long before the +sun looked down into the ravines of Ungava, Massan and Dick Prince were +seen to issue with noiseless steps from the fort, with their guns on +their shoulders, and betake themselves to the mountains. Half an hour +later Bryan staggered out of the house, with a bag on his shoulder, +scarcely half awake, rubbing his eyes and muttering to himself in a low +tone, as he plunged rather than walked into the ravine which led to the +first terrace on the mountain. + +When the sun rose over the mountain-tops and looked down upon the calm +surface of the river, there was not a man remaining in the fort, with +the exception of Stanley and Frank, and their active servant La Roche. + +A deep calm rested on the whole scene. The sailors of the vessel, +having risen to dispatch breakfast, retired to their hammocks again and +went to sleep; Stanley, Frank, and their household, were busy within +doors; Chimo snored in the sunshine at the front of the fort; and the +schooner floated on a sheet of water so placid, that every spar and +delicate rope was clearly reflected. Nothing was heard save the soft +ripple on the shore, the distant murmur of mountain streams, and, once +or twice through the day, the faint reverberation of a fowling-piece. + +But as the day advanced, evidences of the approaching feast began to be +apparent. Early in the forenoon Massan and Prince returned with heavy +loads of venison on their shoulders, and an hour later Bryan staggered +into the fort bending under the weight of a well-filled bag of fish. He +had been at his favourite fishing quarters in the dark valley, and was +dripping wet from head to foot, having fallen, as usual, into the water. +Bryan had a happy facility in falling into the water that was quite +unaccountable--and rather enviable in warm weather. As the cooking +operations were conducted on an extensive scale, a fire was kindled in +the open air in the rear of the men's house; round which fire, in the +course of the forenoon, Bryan and La Roche performed feats of agility so +extravagant, and apparently so superhuman, that they seemed to involve +an element of wickedness from their very intensity. Of course no large +dinner ever passed through the ordeal of being cooked without some +accidents or misfortunes, more or less. Even in civilised life, where +the most intricate appliances are brought to bear on the operation by +_artistes_ thoroughly acquainted with their profession, infallibility is +not found. It would be unjust, therefore, to expect that two +backwoodsmen should be perfectly successful, especially when it is +remembered that their branch of the noble science was what might be +technically termed plain cookery, the present being their first attempt +in the higher branches. + +Their first difficulty arose from the larger of the two plum-puddings, +which La Roche had compounded under the directions of Mrs Stanley and +the superintendence of Edith. + +"I say, Losh," cried Bryan to his companion, whose head was at the +moment hid from view in a cloud of steam that ascended from a large pot +over which he bent, apparently muttering incantations. + +"Vell, fat you want?" + +"Faix, and it's just _fat_ that I don't want," said Bryan, pointing, as +he spoke, to the large pudding, which, being much too large for the +kettle, was standing on the rim thereof like the white ball of foam that +caps a tankard of double X. "It's more nor twice too fat already. The +kittle won't hould it, no how." + +"Oh, stuff him down, dat is de way," suggested La Roche. + +"Stuff it down, avic, an' what's to come o' the wather?" said Bryan. + +"Ah! true, dat is perplexible, vraiment." + +At this moment the large pot boiled over and a cloud of scalding steam +engulfed the sympathetic Frenchman, causing him to yell with mingled +pain and rage as he bounded backwards. + +"Musha! but ye'll come to an early death, Losh, if ye don't be more +careful o' yer dried-up body." + +"Taisez vous, donc," muttered his companion, half angrily. + +"Taisin' ye? avic, sorra wan o' me's taisin' ye. But since ye can't +help me out o' me throubles, I'll try to help mysilf." + +In pursuance of this noble resolve, Bryan went to the store and fetched +from thence another large tin kettle. He then undid the covering of the +unwieldy pudding, which he cut into two equal parts, and having squeezed +them into two balls, tied them up in the cloth, which he divided for the +purpose, and put them into the separate kettles, with the air of a man +who had overcome a great difficulty by dint of unfathomable wisdom. It +was found, however, that the smaller pudding, intended for Stanley's +table, was also too large for its kettle; but the energetic blacksmith, +whose genius was now thoroughly aroused, overcame this difficulty by +cutting off several pounds of it, and transferring the pudding thus +reduced to the kettle, saying in an undertone as he did so, "There's +more nor enough for the six o' ye yit, av yer only raisonable in yer +appetites." + +But the superfluity of the pudding thus caused became now a new source +of trouble to Bryan. + +"What's to be done wid it, Losh? I don't like to give it to the dogs, +an' it's too small intirely to make a dumplin' of." + +"You better heat him raw," suggested La Roche. + +"Faix, an' I've half a mind to; but it would spile my dinner. Hallo! +look out for the vainison, Losh." + +"Ah, oui; oh! misere!" cried La Roche, springing over the fire, and +giving a turn to the splendid haunch of venison which depended from a +wooden tripod in front of the blaze, and, having been neglected for a +few minutes, was beginning to singe. + +"What have ye in the pot there?" inquired Bryan. + +"Von goose, two duck, trois plovre, et von leetle bird--I not know de +name of--put him in pour experiment." + +"Very good, Losh; out wid the goose and we'll cram the bit o' dumplin' +into him for stuffin'." + +"Ah! superb, excellent," cried La Roche, laughing, as he lifted out the +goose, into which Bryan thrust the mass of superfluous pudding; after +which the hole was tied up and the bird re-consigned to the pot. + +Everything connected with this dinner was strikingly suggestive of the +circumstances under which it was given. The superabundance of venison +and wild-fowl; the cooking done in the open air; the absence of women, +and the performance of work usually allotted to them by bronzed and +stalwart voyageurs; the wild scenery in the midst of which it took +place; and the mixture of Irish, English, French, Indian, Esquimau, and +compound tones, that fell upon the ear as the busy work went on,--all +tended to fill the mind with a feeling of wild romance, and to suggest +powerfully the idea of being, if we may so express it, _far, far away_! +As the proceedings advanced towards completion, this feeling was rather +increased than removed. + +Tables and chairs were a luxury that still remained to be introduced at +Fort Chimo, when the men found leisure from more urgent duties to +construct them. Therefore the dining-table in Stanley's hall was +composed of three large packing-cases turned bottom up. There was no +cloth wherewith to cover its rough boards; but this was a matter of +little importance to the company which assembled round it, punctually at +the hour of four. In place of chairs there were good substantial +nail-kegs, rather low, it is true, and uncommonly hard, but not to be +despised under the circumstances. Owing to the unusual demand for +dishes, the pewter plates and spoons and tin drinking-cups--for they had +little crockery--were of every form and size that the store contained; +and the floor on which it all stood was the beaten ground, for the +intended plank flooring was still growing in the mountain glens. + +But if the equipage was homely and rude, the fare was choice and +abundant; and an odour that might have gladdened the heart of an epicure +greeted the nostrils of the captain and his two mates when they entered +the hall, dressed in blue surtouts with bright brass buttons, white duck +trousers, and richly flowered vests [waistcoats]. There was a splendid +salmon, of twenty pounds weight, at one end of the board; and beside it, +on the same dish, a lake-trout of equal size and beauty. At the other +end smoked a haunch of venison, covered with at least an inch of fat; +and beside it a bowl of excellent cranberry jam, the handiwork of the +hostess. A boiled goose and pease-pudding completed the catalogue. +Afterwards, these gave place to the pudding which had caused Bryan so +much perplexity, and several dishes of raisins and figs. Last, but not +least, there was a bottle of brandy and two of port wine; which, along +with the raisins and figs, formed part of the limited supply of luxuries +furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company to Stanley, in common with all the +gentlemen in the service, in order to enable them, now and then, on +great occasions, to recall, through the medium of a feast, the +remembrance of civilised life. + +The display in the men's house was precisely similar to that in the +hall. But the table was larger and the viands more abundant. The +raisins and figs, too, were wanting; and instead of wine or brandy, +there was a small supply of rum. It was necessarily small, being the +gift of Stanley out of his own diminutive store, which could not, even +if desired, be replenished until the return of the ship next autumn. + +On the arrival of the guests a strange contrast was presented. The +sailors, in white ducks, blue jackets with brass buttons, striped +shirts, pumps, and straw hats, landed at the appointed hour, and in +hearty good-humour swaggered towards the men's house, where they were +politely received by the quiet, manly-looking voyageurs, who, in honour +of the occasion, had put on their best capotes, their brightest belts, +their gayest garters, and most highly-ornamented moccasins. The French +Canadians and half-breeds bowed, shook hands, and addressed the tars as +_messieurs_. The sailors laughed, slapped their entertainers on the +shoulders, and called them messmates. The Indians stood, grave and +silent, but with looks of good-humour, in the background; while the +Esquimaux raised their fat cheeks, totally shut up their eyes, and +grinned perpetually, not to say horribly, from ear to ear. But the +babel that followed is beyond the powers of description, therefore we +won't attempt it. + +Here, however, the characteristic peculiarity of our scene ceases. The +actual demolition of food is pretty much the same among all nations that +are not absolutely savage; and, however much contrast might have been +observed in the strange mixture of human beings assembled under the +hospitable roof of Fort Chimo, there was none whatever in the manner in +which they demolished their viands. As the evening advanced, a message +was sent to Monsieur Stanley for the loan of his violin. + +"Ay," said he, as the instrument was delivered to Bryan, who happened to +be the messenger and also the performer--"ay, I thought it would come to +that ere long. Don't be too hard on the strings, lad. 'Twill be a +rough ball where there are no women." + +"Thrue, yer honour," replied the blacksmith, as he received the +instrument, "there's a great want of faymales in thim parts; but the +sailors have consinted to ripresint the purty craytures on the present +occasion, which is but right, for, ye see, the most o' thim's shorter +nor us, an' their wide breeches are more like the pitticoats than our +leggin's." + +Many were the stories that were told and retold, believed, disbelieved, +and doubted, on that memorable night; and loud were the songs and long +and strong the dancing that followed. But it was all achieved under the +influence of pure animal spirits, for the rum supplied afforded but a +thimbleful to each. The consequence was that there were no headaches +the following morning, and the men were up by break of day as fresh and +light as larks. A feeling of sadness, however, gradually crept over the +band as the dawn advanced and the schooner prepared for her departure. + +By six o'clock the flood-tide turned, and a few minutes later all the +sailors were aboard, hoisting the sails and anchor, while the men stood +silently on the beach where they had just parted from their guests. + +"Good-bye once more, Mr Stanley; good-bye, Mr Morton," said the +captain, as he stepped into his boat. "I wish you a pleasant winter and +a good trade." + +"Thank you, thank you, captain," replied Stanley; "and don't forget us +out here, in this lonely place, when you drink the health of absent +friends at Christmas time." + +In a few minutes the anchor was up, and the schooner, bending round with +a fair wind and tide, made for the narrows. + +"Give them a cheer, lads," said Frank. + +Obedient to the command, the men doffed their caps and raised their +voices; but there was little vigour in the cheer. It was replied to +from the schooner's deck. Just as the flying-jib passed the point a gun +was fired, which once more awakened the loud echoes of the place. When +the smoke cleared away, the schooner was gone. + +Thus was severed the last link that bound the civilised world to the +inhabitants of Fort Chimo. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +WINTER APPROACHES--ESQUIMAUX ARRIVE--EFFECT OF A WORD--A SUCKING BABY-- +PROSPECTS OF TRADE. + +For many days after the ship's departure the work of completing the fort +went forward with the utmost rapidity, and not until the houses and +stores were rendered weather-tight and warm did Stanley consider it +advisable to send out hunting and fishing parties into the mountains. +Now, however, the frosts continued a great part of the day as well as +during the night, so it was high time to kill deer and fish, in order to +freeze, and so preserve them for winter's consumption. + +Up to this time no further traces of Esquimaux had been discovered, and +Stanley began to express his fears to Frank that they had left the +neighbourhood altogether, in consequence of the repeated attacks made +upon them by Indians. Soon after this, however, the fur-traders were +surprised by a sudden visit from a party of these denizens of the north. + +It happened on the afternoon of a beautiful day towards the close of +autumn, that charming but brief season which, in consequence of its +unbroken serenity, has been styled the Indian summer. The men had all +been dispatched into the mountains in various directions, some to fish, +others to shoot; and none were left at the fort except its commandant +with his wife and child, and Oolibuck the Esquimau. Stanley was seated +on a stone at the margin of the bay, admiring the vivid alterations of +light and shade, as the sun dipped behind the mountains of the opposite +shore, when his eye was attracted towards one or two objects on the +water near the narrows. Presently they advanced, and were followed by +several others. In a few minutes he perceived that they were Esquimau +canoes. + +Jumping hastily up, Stanley ran to the fort, and bidding his wife and +child keep out of sight, put two pair of pistols in his pockets and +returned to the beach, where he found Oolibuck gazing at the approaching +flotilla with intense eagerness. + +"Well, Oolibuck, here come your countrymen at last," said Stanley. "Do +they look friendly, think you?" + +"Me no can tell; they most too quiet," replied the interpreter. + +Esquimaux in general are extremely noisy and full of animated +gesticulation on meeting with strangers, especially when they meet on +decidedly friendly terms. The silence, therefore, maintained by the +natives as they advanced was looked upon as a bad sign. The fleet +consisted of nine kayaks, and three large oomiaks full of women and +children; and a curious appearance they presented at a distance, for the +low kayaks of the men being almost invisible, it seemed as if their +occupants were actually seated on the water. The oomiaks being much +higher, were clearly visible. On coming to within a quarter of a mile +of the fort, the men halted to allow the women to come up; then forming +in a crescent in front of the oomiaks, the whole flotilla advanced +slowly towards the beach. When within a hundred yards or so, Stanley +said, "Now, Oolibuck, give them a hail." + +"Chimo! Chimo! Chimo-o-o!" shouted the interpreter. + +The word acted like a talisman. + +"Chimo!" yelled the Esquimaux in reply, and the kayaks shot like arrows +upon the sand, while the women followed as fast as they could. In +another minute a loud chattering and a brisk shaking of hands was taking +place on shore. + +The natives were dressed in the sealskin garments with which arctic +travellers have made us all more or less acquainted. They were stout +burly fellows, with fat, oily, and bearded faces. + +"Now tell them, Oolibuck, the reason of our coming here," said Stanley. + +Oolibuck instantly began, by explaining to them that they had come for +the purpose of bringing about peace and friendship between them and the +Indians; on hearing which the Esquimaux danced and shouted for nearly a +minute with joy. But when the interpreter went on to say that they +intended to remain altogether among them, for the purpose of trading, +their delight knew no bounds; they danced and jumped, and whooped and +yelled, tossed up their arms and legs, and lay down on the sand and +rolled in ecstasy. In the midst of all this, Mrs Stanley rushed out of +the house, followed by Edith, in great terror at the unearthly sounds +that had reached her ears; but on seeing her husband and Oolibuck +laughing in the midst of the grotesque group, her fears vanished, and +she stood an amused spectator of the scene. + +Meanwhile, Stanley went down and stepped into the midst of one of the +oomiaks, with a few beads and trinkets in his hands; and while Oolibuck +entertained the men on shore, he presented gifts to the women, who +received them with the most childish demonstrations of joy. There was +something irresistibly comic in the childlike simplicity of these poor +natives. Instead of the stiff reserve and haughty demeanour of their +Indian neighbours, they danced and sang, and leaped and roared, embraced +each other and wept, with the most reckless indifference to appearances, +and seemed upon all occasions to give instant vent to the feelings that +happened to be uppermost in their minds. As Stanley continued to +distribute his gifts, the women crowded out of the other oomiaks into +the one in which he stood, until they nearly sank it; some of them +extending their arms for beads, others giving a jolt to the hoods on +their backs, which had the effect of bringing to light fat, greasy-faced +little babies, who were pointed to as being peculiarly worthy of +attention. + +At length Stanley broke from them and leaped ashore, where he was soon +followed by the entire band. But here new objects--namely, Mrs Stanley +and Edith--attracted their wondering attention. Approaching towards the +former, they began timidly to examine her dress, which was indeed very +different from theirs, and calculated to awaken curiosity and surprise. +The Esquimau women were dressed very much like the men--namely, in long +shirts of sealskin or deerskin with the hair on, short breeches of the +same material, and long sealskin boots. The hoods of the women were +larger than those of the men, and their boots much more capacious; and +while the latter had a short stump of a tail or peak hanging from the +hinder part of their shirts, the women wore their tails so long that +they trailed along the ground as they walked. In some cases these tails +were four and six inches broad, with a round flap at the end, and +fringed with ermine. It was, therefore, with no little surprise that +they found Mrs Stanley entirely destitute of a tail, and observed that +she wore her upper garment so long that it reached the ground. Becoming +gradually more familiar, on seeing that the strange woman permitted them +to handle her pretty freely, one of them gently lifted up her gown to +see whether or not she wore boots; but receiving a somewhat prompt +repulse, she began to caress her, and assured her that she did not mean +to give offence. + +By this time Frank and some of the men had joined the group on the +shore, and as it was getting late Stanley commanded silence. + +"Tell them I have somewhat to say to them, Oolibuck." + +The interpreter's remark instantly produced a dead silence. + +"Now ask them if they are glad to hear that we are going to stay to +trade with them." + +A vociferous jabbering followed the question, which, by Oolibuck's +interpretation, meant that their joy was utterly inexpressible. + +"Have they been long on the coast?" + +"No; they had just arrived, and were on their way up the river to obtain +wood for building their kayaks." + +"Did they see the bundle of presents we left for them at the coast?" + +"Yes, they had seen it; but not knowing whom it was intended for, they +had not touched it." + +On being told that the presents were intended for them, the poor +creatures put on a look of intense chagrin, which, however, passed away +when it was suggested to them that they might take the gifts on their +return to the coast. + +"And now," said Stanley, in conclusion, "'tis getting late. Go down to +the point below the fort and encamp there for the night. We thank you +for your visit, and will return it in the morning. Good-night." + +On this being translated, the Esquimaux gave a general yell of assent +and immediately retired, bounding and shouting and leaping as they went, +looking, in their gleesome rotundity, like the infant progeny of a race +of giants. + +"I like the look of these men very much," said Stanley, as he walked up +to the house with Frank. "Their genuine trustfulness is a fine trait in +their character." + +"No doubt of it," replied Frank. "There is much truth in the proverb, +`Evil dreaders are evil doers.' Those who fear no evil intend none. +Had they been Indians, now, we should have had more trouble with them." + +"I doubt it not, Frank. You would have been pleased to witness the +prompt alacrity with which the poor creatures answered to our cry of +Chimo, and ran their kayaks fearlessly ashore, although, for all they +knew to the contrary, the rocks might have concealed a hundred enemies." + +"And yet," said Frank, with an air of perplexity, "the Esquimau +character seems to me a difficult problem to solve. When we read the +works of arctic voyagers, we find that one man's experience of the +Esquimaux proves them to be inveterate thieves and liars, while another +speaks of them as an honest, truthful people--and that, too, being said +of the same tribe. Nay, further, I have read of a tribe being all that +is good and amiable at one time, and all that is bad and vile at +another. Now the conduct of these good-natured fellows, in reference to +the bundle of trinkets we left at the mouth of the river, indicates a +degree of honesty that is almost too sensitive; for the merest exertion +of common-sense would show that a bundle hung up in an exposed place to +public view must be for the public good." + +"Nevertheless they seem both honest and friendly," returned Stanley, +"and I trust that our experience of them may never change. To-morrow I +shall give them some good advice in regard to procuring furs, and show +them the wealth of our trading store." + +When the morrow came the visit of the Esquimaux was returned by the +entire force of Fort Chimo, and the childish delight with which they +were received was most amusing. The childishness, however, was only +applicable to these natives when expressing their strong feelings. In +other respects, particularly in their physical actions, they were most +manly; and the thick black beards and moustaches that clothed the chins +of most of the men seemed very much the reverse of infantine. The +children were so exactly like to their parents in costume that they +seemed miniature representations of them. In fact, were a child viewed +through a magnifying glass it would become a man, and were a man viewed +through a diminishing glass he would become a child--always, of course, +excepting the beard. + +Bryan became a special favourite with the natives when it was discovered +that he was a worker in iron, and the presents with which he was +overwhelmed were of a most extraordinary, and, in some cases, perplexing +nature. One man, who seemed determined to get into his good graces, +offered him a choice morsel of broiled seal. "No, thankee, lad," said +Bryan; "I've had my brickfust." + +Supposing that the broiling had something to do with the blacksmith's +objection, the Esquimau hastily cut off a slice of the raw blubber and +tendered it to him. + +"D'ye think I'm a haythen?" said Bryan, turning away in disgust. + +"Ah, try it, Bryan," cried La Roche, turning from an Esquimau baby, in +the contemplation of which he had been absorbed--"try it; 'tis ver' +goot, I 'sure you. Ver' goot for your complaint, Bryan. But come, +here, vitement.--Just regardez dat hinfant. Come here, queek!" + +Thus urged, Bryan broke away from his host (who had just split open the +shinbone of a deer, and offered him the raw marrow, but without +success), and, going towards La Roche, regarded the baby in question. +It was a remarkably fine child, seemingly about ten months old, with a +round, rosy, oily face, coal-black hair, and large, round, coal-black +eyes, with which it returned the stare of the two men with interest. +But that which amused the visitors most was a lump of fat or blubber, +with a skewer thrust through it, which its mother had given to the child +to suck, and which it was endeavouring to thrust down its throat with +both hands. + +"Come here, Oolibuck; pourquoi is de stick?" + +"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed Oolibuck. "Dat is for keep de chile quiet; and de +stick is for no let him choke; him no can swallow de stick." + +"Musha! but it would stick av he did swallow it," said Bryan, turning +away with a laugh. + +In the course of the day Stanley and Frank conducted the natives to the +fort, and having given them all an excellent dinner and a few gifts of +needles, scissors, and knives, led them to the store, where the goods +for trade were ranged temptingly on shelves round the walls. A counter +encompassed a space around the entrance-door, within which the natives +stood and gazed on wealth which, to their unsophisticated minds, seemed +a dream of enchantment. + +Having given them time to imbibe a conception of the room and its +treasures, Stanley addressed them through the interpreter; but as +reference to this worthy individual is somewhat hampering, we will +discard him forthwith--retaining his style and language, however, for +the benefit of his fellow-countrymen. + +"Now, you see what useful things I have got here for you; but I cannot +give them to you for nothing. They cost us much, and give us much +trouble to bring them here. But I will give them for skins and furs and +oil, and the tusks of the walrus; and when you go to your friends on the +sea-coast, you can tell them to bring skins with them when they come." + +"Ye vill do vat you vish. Ye most happy you come. Ye vill hunt very +mush, and make your house empty of all dese t'ings if ye can." + +"That's well. And now I am in need of boots for my men, and you have a +good many, I see; so, if you can spare some of these, we will begin to +trade at once." + +On hearing this, the natives dispatched several of their number down to +the camp, who soon returned laden with boots. These boots are most +useful articles. They are neatly made of sealskin, the feet or soles +being of walrus hide, and perfectly waterproof. They are invaluable to +those who have to walk much in ice-cold water or among moist snow, as is +the case in those regions during spring and autumn. In winter the frost +completely does away with all moisture, so that the Indian moccasin is +better at that season than the Esquimau boot. + +For these boots, and a few articles of native clothing, Stanley paid the +natives at the rates of the regular tariff throughout the country; and +this rate was so much beyond the poor Esquimau estimate of the relative +value of boots and goods, that they would gladly have given all the +boots and coats they possessed for what they received as the value of +one pair. + +Overjoyed at their good fortune, and laden with treasure, they returned +to their camp to feast, and to sing the praises of the _Kublunat_, as +they termed the fur-traders. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +SILENT CONVERSATION--RAW FOOD--FEMALE TAILS--A TERRIBLE BATTLE +TERMINATED BY THE INTERPOSITION OF A GIANT. + +Of all the people at Fort Chimo no one was more interested in the +Esquimaux than little Edith. She not only went fearlessly among them, +and bestowed upon them every trinket she possessed, but, in her +childlike desire for the companionship and sympathy of human beings of +her own age and sex, she took forcible possession of two little girls +who happened to be cleaner, and, therefore, prettier than the others, +and led them away to her own ravine, where she introduced them to her +favourite berries and to her dog Chimo. At first the dog did not seem +to relish the intrusion of these new favourites, but seeing that they +did not induce his mistress to caress him less than before, he +considerately tolerated them. Besides, the Esquimaux had brought their +dogs along with them; and Chimo, being of an amicable disposition, had +entered into social fellowship with his own kind. We have said that +Chimo was sagacious, and it is quite possible he may have felt the +propriety of granting to Edith that liberty which he undoubtedly claimed +for himself. + +But Edith's intercourse with her little Esquimau _protegees_ was +necessarily confined to looks--the language of the eye making up for the +absence of that of the tongue. There were many things, however, in +which language was not required as a medium of communication between the +children. When the berries were good, the brightening eyes and smacking +lips spoke a language common to all the human race. So, also, when the +berries were sour or bitter, the expression of their faces was +peculiarly emphatic. The joyous shout, too, as they discovered a new +scene that pleased their eyes, while they roved hand in hand through the +ravines, or the shrinking glance of fear as they found themselves +unexpectedly on the edge of a precipice, was sufficiently intelligible +to the trio. The little friends presented a striking and grotesque +contrast. It would have been difficult to say whether the little +Esquimaux were boys or girls. If anything, the costume seemed more to +indicate the former than the latter. Like their mothers, they wore +loose deerskin shirts with the hair on the outside, which gave them a +round, soft, burly appearance--an appearance which was increased by +their little boots, which were outrageously wide, and quite as long as +their legs. The frocks or shirts had hoods and tails, which latter, +according to fashion, were so long that they trailed on the ground. The +inconvenience of the tail is so great that the women, while travelling +on a journey, get rid of it by drawing it between their legs, and, +lifting up the end, fastening it in front to a button sewed to their +frock for the purpose. In travelling, therefore, Esquimau women seem to +be destitute of this appendage; but, on arriving at camp, they undo the +fastening, and walk about with flowing tails behind them! + +Edith's costume consisted of a short frock made of dark blue cloth, and +a head-dress peculiar to the Indian women among the Crees. It was +preferred by the little wearer to all other styles of bonnet, on account +of the ease with which it could be thrown off and on. She also wore +ornamented leggings and moccasins. Altogether, with her graceful +figure, flaxen curls, and picturesque costume, she presented a strong +contrast to the fat, dark, hairy little creatures who followed her by +brook and bush and precipice the livelong day. + +One morning, about two weeks after the arrival of the Esquimaux, Edith +went down to the camp after breakfast, and found her two companions +engaged in concluding their morning meal. The elder, whose name was +Arnalooa, was peering with earnest scrutiny into the depths of a +marrowbone, from which she had already extracted a large proportion of +the raw material. The younger, Okatook, seized a lump of raw seal's +flesh, as Edith entered their hut, and, cutting therefrom a savoury +morsel, put it into her mouth as she rose to welcome her visitor. + +"Oh! how _can_ you?" said Edith, with a look of disgust at this ravenous +conduct on the part of her friend. But Edith had said, "Oh! how _can_ +you?" and "Oh! shocking!" and "Oh! why don't you give up eating it raw?" +and "Oh! why _won't_ you have it cooked?" nearly every day for the last +two weeks, without producing any other effect than a gleeful laugh from +the little Esquimaux; for, although they did not comprehend her words, +they clearly understood her looks of disapproval. But although they +would not give up the habit of eating raw flesh, which they had been +accustomed to from their infancy, they were prevailed on so far to break +through the habits of their people as to wash their hands and faces +before going out to play. This they did because Edith positively +refused to go with them unless they did so. + +Lifting up the end of her tail and wiping her mouth therewith, Arnalooa +smiled at Edith's look of reproach, and ran laughing towards the shore, +where she and Okatook washed their hands, after which they followed +Edith and Chimo to their favourite ravine. Although she knew that they +did not understand a word of what she said, Edith invariably kept up a +running fire of small talk, in reference chiefly to the objects of +nature by which they were surrounded. To this the little hairy +creatures listened intently with smiling faces, and sometimes they +laughed prodigiously, as though they understood what was said, so that +their companion felt as if she were really conversing with them, +although she was sadly perplexed at the utter impossibility of obtaining +an intelligible reply to a question when she chanced to put one. + +"Oh, what a lovely glen!" cried Edith, her eyes beaming with delight, +as, on turning the point of a projecting crag, she and her companions +found themselves in a spot which they had not before seen during their +rambles. It was a wild, savage gorge, full of fallen rocks, hemmed in +with high cliffs, fringed here and there with willows and mosses, among +which were a few brilliant wild-flowers. The lights and shadows of the +spot were thrown into powerful contrast by a gleam of sunshine which +flashed down among the rugged masses, lighting up peaks and sharp edges +in some spots, while in others they were thrown into the profoundest +gloom. + +"Oh! is it not a delightful place?" cried Edith, as she bounded up the +rugged path, followed by Chimo, while the two Esquimau girls buttoned up +their tails, and followed her as fast as their more cumbrous habiliments +would permit. + +For a quarter of an hour the party toiled up the steep ascent, pausing +now and then to pluck a flower, or to look back on the wild path by +which they had come, until they reached a ridge of rock, beyond which +lay a small lake or pool. So dark and still did it lie within the +shadow of the overhanging cliffs that it resembled a pool of ink. Here +the adventurous explorers sat down to recover breath, and to gaze in +childish delight, not unmixed with awe, at the wild scene around them. + +The peculiar wildness of the spot seemed to exercise an unusual +influence over the dog; for, instead of lying down, as it was wont to +do, at the feet of its young mistress, it moved about uneasily, and once +or twice uttered a low growl. + +"Come here, Chimo," said Edith, when these symptoms of restlessness had +attracted her attention; "what is the matter with you, my dear dog? +Surely you are not frightened at the appearance of this wild place! +Speak, dog; see, Arnalooa is laughing at you." + +Edith might have said with more propriety that Arnalooa was laughing at +herself, for the little Esquimau was much amused at the serious manner +in which her Kublunat friend spoke to her dog. But Chimo refused to be +comforted. He raised his snout, snuffed the air once or twice, and +then, descending the gorge a short distance, put his nose close to the +ground and trotted away. + +"That is very odd of Chimo," said Edith, looking into Arnalooa's face +with an expression of perplexity. + +As she spoke Okatook pointed, with an eager glance, up the ravine. +Turning her eyes hastily in the direction indicated, Edith beheld a deer +bounding towards them. It was closely followed by a savage wolf. The +deer seemed to be in the last stage of exhaustion. Its flanks were wet +with moisture, its eyes starting from their sockets, and its breath +issued forth in deep sobs, as it bounded onwards, seemingly more by the +force of its impetus than by any voluntary exertion. More intent on the +danger behind than on that which lay before it, the deer made straight +for the pass in which the three girls stood, and scarcely had they time +to spring to the sides of the cliff, when it swept by like an arrow. +Instantly after, and ere it had taken two bounds past them, the wolf +sprang forward; caught it by the throat, and dragged it to the ground, +where in a few seconds it worried the noble animal to death. It is +probable that the chase now terminated had begun at early dawn that day, +for deer being fleeter than wolves they prolong the chase until overcome +by the superior strength and dogged perseverance of their ravenous +enemies. Over mountain and hill they had bounded along together, +through glen and gorge, across river and lake, bursting headlong through +bush and brake, or under the shadow of frowning cliffs, and toiling, at +a foot pace and with panting sides, up the steep hills, in the fierce +blaze of the sun, the one impelled by hunger, the other by fear, until +at length the scene closed in the wild pass, almost at the feet of the +three children. + +But retribution was in store for the savage destroyer. Ere yet the +life's blood had teased to flow from the throat of the dying deer, and +while the wolf's fangs were still dripping with its gore, a fierce bark, +followed by a terrific growl, rang among the cliffs, and Chimo, with his +ears laid back and his formidable row of teeth exposed, rushed up the +gorge and seized the wolf by the neck! Thus assailed, the wolf returned +the bite with interest, and immediately a fight of the most energetic +character ensued. + +The wolf was much larger and more powerful than Chimo, but was greatly +exhausted by its long chase, while the dog was fresh and vigorous. Once +or twice Chimo tossed his huge adversary by main strength, but as often +he was overturned and dreadfully shaken, while the long fangs of the +wolf met in his neck, and mingled the blood of the deer, which +bespattered his black muzzle, with the life's blood that began to flow +copiously from Chimo's veins. At this moment a shout was heard farther +up the ravine. The three girls turned hastily, and saw, on a point of +rock which projected from the mountain side and overhung the dark pool, +the figure of a man, of such immense proportions that they instinctively +shrank back with terror. The position in which he stood made him appear +larger than he really was. The scattered gleams and slant rays of +sunshine that played around the spot invested him as with a supernatural +halo, while a bright glow of light on the cliff behind detached him +prominently from the surrounding shadows. He poised a spear in his +right hand, and, while Edith gazed at him in terror, the weapon flew +whistling through the air and was buried in the side of the wolf. But +so close did the spear pass, that Edith involuntarily stepped back as +she heard it whiz. In doing so she lost her balance and fell over the +cliff. Fortunately, Arnalooa caught her by the dress and partially +broke her fall, but the descent was sufficiently steep and rugged to +render the child insensible. + +When Edith recovered consciousness, her first emotion was that of +terror, on beholding a large, dark-bearded face bending over her; but a +second glance showed her that the eyes of the stranger gazed upon her +with a look of tenderness, and that Arnalooa and Okatook were kneeling +beside her with an expression of anxiety. Had anything further been +wanting to allay her fears, the sight of Chimo would have done it. It +is true the sturdy dog panted heavily, and occasionally licked his +wounds, as he sat on his haunches at her feet; but he was wonderfully +calm and collected after his recent mortal conflict, and regarded his +young mistress from time to time with an air of patronising assurance. + +As Edith opened her eyes, the stranger muttered some unintelligible +words, and, rising hastily, went to a neighbouring spring, at which he +filled a rude cup with water. In doing this, he revealed the huge +proportions of the gigantic Esquimau whom we introduced to our reader in +a former chapter. He was dressed in the same manner as when we first +saw him, but his face was somewhat altered, and his black eyebrows were +marked by that peculiar curve which is expressive of deep melancholy. +Returning quickly from the spring, he kneeled beside the little girl, +and, raising her head on his broad hand, held the goblet to her lips. + +"Thank you," said Edith faintly, as she swallowed a few drops; "I think +I had better go home. Is Chimo safe? Chimo!" She started up as the +recollection of the fight with the wolf flashed upon her; but the fall +had stunned her rather severely, and scarcely had she risen to her feet +when she staggered and fell back into the arms of the Esquimau. + +Seeing that she was quite unable to walk, he raised her in his powerful +arm as if she had been a young lamb. Catching the dead wolf by the neck +as he passed, and springing from rock to rock with catlike agility, he +bore his burden down the ravine, and strode towards the fort under the +guidance of Okatook and Arnalooa. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +MAXIMUS--DEER SPEARING--A SURPRISINGLY BAD SHOT--CHARACTER OF THE +NATIVES. + +"Hallo! what have we here?" exclaimed Stanley, starting from his seat in +amazement, as the giant entered the hall of Fort Chimo--his left hand +grasping a blood-stained wolf by the throat, and Edith resting in his +right arm. + +At first the startled father imagined his child must have been wounded, +if not killed, by the savage animal; but his mind was immediately +relieved on this point by Edith herself, who was no sooner laid on her +bed than she recovered sufficiently to narrate the circumstances +attending her fall. + +"Well, Maximus," said Stanley, returning to the hall and applying to the +bulky savage the term that seemed most appropriate to him, "shake hands +with me, my good fellow. You've saved Chimo's life, it seems; and +that's a good turn I'll not forget. But a--. I see you don't +understand a word I say. Hallo! Moses, Moses! you deaf rascal, come +here!" he shouted, as that worthy passed the window. + +"Yis, mossue," said Moses, entering the hall. "Oh, me! what a walrus am +dis! Me do b'lieve him most high as a tree an' more broader nor +iveryt'ing!" + +"Hold thy tongue, Moses, and ask the fellow where he came from; but tell +him first that I'm obliged to him for saving Chimo from that villainous +wolf." + +While Moses interpreted, Arnalooa and Okatook, being privileged members +of the tribe, crossed over to Edith's room. + +"Well, what says he?" inquired Stanley, at the end of a long address +which the giant had delivered to Moses. + +"Him say he heered we have come to trade, from Eskeemo to west'ard, and +so him come for to see us." + +"A most excellent reason," said Stanley. "Has he brought any furs?" + +"Yis; him brought one two fox, and two t'ree deer. No have much furs in +dis country, him say." + +"Sorry to hear that. Perhaps his opinion may change when he sees the +inside of our store. But I would like him to stay about the fort as a +hunter, Moses; he seems a first-rate man. Ask him if he will consent to +stay for a time." + +"P'raps he fuss-rate, p'raps not," muttered Moses in a disparaging tone, +as he turned to put the question. + +"Him say yis." + +"Very good; then take him to your house, Moses, and give him some food +and a pipe, and teach him English as fast as you can, and see that it is +grammatical. D'ye hear?" + +"Yis, mossue, me quite sure for to teach him dat." + +As Moses turned to quit the hall, Stanley called him back. "Ask +Maximus, by-the-bye, if he knows anything of a party of Esquimaux who +seem to have been attacked, not long ago, by Indians in this +neighbourhood." + +No sooner was this question put than the face of Maximus, which had worn +a placid, smiling expression during the foregoing conversation, totally +changed. His brows lowered, and his lips were tightly compressed, as he +regarded Stanley for a few moments ere he ventured to reply. Then, in a +deep, earnest tone, he related the attack, the slaughter of his people, +their subsequent escape, and the loss of his bride. Even Moses was +agitated as he went on, and showed his teeth like an enraged mastiff +when the Esquimau came to speak of his irreparable loss. + +"Stay one moment," said Stanley, when Maximus concluded. "I have +something to show you;" and hastening into his room, he quickly returned +with the little piece of sealskin that had been found at the deserted +Indian camp. "Do you know anything of this, Maximus? Do you understand +these marks?" + +The Esquimau uttered a cry of surprise when his eye fell on the piece of +skin, and he seemed much agitated while he put several quick, earnest +questions to Moses, who replied as earnestly and quickly; then turning +rapidly on his heel, he sprang through the doorway, and was soon lost to +view in the stunted woods of the ravine above the fort. + +"That fellow seems in a hurry," exclaimed Frank Morton, entering the +room just as the savage made his exit. "Who is he, and wherefore in so +great haste?" + +"As to who he is," answered Stanley, "I'll tell you that after Moses has +explained the cause of his sudden flight." + +"He say that him's wife make dat skin, and de arrow on him skin show dat +de Injuns take her to deir tents." + +"But did you not tell him that we found the skin long ago, and that the +Indians must be far, far away by this time--nobody knows where?" +demanded Frank. + +"Yis, me tell him. But he go for to see de spot. T'ink him find more +t'ings, p'raps." + +"Oh, messieurs, voila!" shouted La Roche, pointing towards the river, as +he rushed, breathless with haste, into the hall; "les Esquimaux, dem +kill all de deer dans le kontry. Oui, voila! dans les kayak. Two dozen +at vonce--vraiment!" Without waiting a reply, the excited Frenchman +turned round and rushed out of the house, followed by Stanley and Frank, +who seized their guns, which always hung ready loaded on the walls of +the apartment. + +On reaching the water's edge, the scene that met their eye was indeed +sufficient to account for the excitement of La Roche. A herd of perhaps +fifty or sixty deer, on their way to the coast, and ignorant of the foes +who had so recently invaded their solitudes, had descended the ravine +opposite the fort, with the intention of crossing the river. The +Esquimaux had perceived this, and keeping themselves and their kayaks +concealed until most of the animals were in the water, and the leaders +of the herd more than two-thirds over, they then gave chase, and getting +between the deer and the opposite shore, cut off their retreat, and +drove them towards their encampment. + +Here the slaughter commenced, and Stanley and Frank arrived at the scene +of action while they were in the midst of the wholesale destruction. In +all directions the kayaks, with their solitary occupants, were darting +about hither and thither like arrows in the midst of the affrighted +animals; none of which, however, were speared until they were driven +quite close to the shore. In their terror, the deer endeavoured to +escape by swimming in different directions; but the long double-bladed +paddles of the Esquimaux sent the light kayaks after them like +lightning, and a sharp prick on their flanks turned them in the right +direction. There were so many deer, however, that a few succeeded in +gaining the land; but here the guns of the traders awaited them. In the +midst of this wild scene, Frank's attention was arrested by the cool +proceedings of an Esquimau, whose name was Chacooto. He had several +times exhibited a degree of shrewdness beyond his fellows during his +residence near the fort, and was evidently a man of importance in the +tribe. Chacooto had collected together a band of the herd, amounting to +fifteen, and, by dint of cool decision and quick movements, had driven +them to within a few yards of the shore, exactly opposite the spot +whereon his tent stood. One young buck, of about two years old, darted +away from the rest more than once, but, with a sweep of the paddle and a +prick of the lance, Chacooto turned it back again, while a quiet +sarcastic smile played on his countenance. Having driven the herd close +enough in for his purpose, the Esquimau ended the career of the +refractory buck with a single thrust of his lance, and then proceeded +coolly to stab them all one after another. + +"Och, the spalpeen!" said a voice at Frank's ear. "'Tis himsilf knows +how to do it, an' no mistake. Musha! his lance goes out and in like a +thailor's needle; an' he niver strikes more nor wance, the haythen!" + +"He certainly does know how to do it, Bryan," replied Frank; "and it's a +comfort to know that every thrust kills in a moment. I like to see as +little of the appearance of cruelty as possible in work of this kind." + +"Arrah! there's wan that'll chate 'im, anyhow," cried Bryan, throwing +forward his gun in nervous haste, as one of the deer gained the land, +despite Chacooto's rapidity, and bounded towards the hills. + +Frank smiled at the eager haste of his companion, who was one of the +poor shots of the party, and, consequently, always in a hurry. "Now, +Bryan, there's a chance. Take your time. Just behind the shoulder; a +little low, for that gun kicks horribly." + +"Murder and blazes, she won't go off!" cried the exasperated Irishman, +as, after a wavering effort to take aim, he essayed unsuccessfully to +pull the trigger. + +"Half-cock, man! Cock it!" said Frank quickly. + +"So 'tis, be the mortial! Och, Bryan, yer too cliver, ye are!" he +exclaimed, rectifying his error with a force that nearly tore off the +dog-head. At that instant there was a sharp crack, and the deer, +bounding into the air, fell dead on the sand at the edge of the willows. + +"Forgive me, Bryan," said Massan, chuckling and reloading his piece as +he walked up to his comrade. "I would not ha' taken't out o' yer teeth, +lad, if ye had been ready; but one bound more would ha' put the beast +beyond the reach o' a bullet." + +"Faix, Massan, ye desarve to be hanged for murther. Shure I was waitin' +till the poor crayture got into the bushes, to give it a chance o' its +life, before I fired. That's the way that gintlemen from the ould +country does when we're out sportin'. We always put up the birds first, +and fire afterwards; but you salvages murther a poor brute on the sand, +whin it's only two fathoms from ye. Shame on ye, Massan." + +"See, Massan," cried Frank, pointing to another deer, which, having +escaped its pursuers, had gained the heights above. "That fellow is +beyond us both, I fear. Be ready when it comes into view beyond the +cliff there." + +But Massan did not move; and when Frank threw forward his gun, he felt +his arm arrested. + +"Pardon me, monsieur," said Massan respectfully; "there's a sure bullet +about to start for that deer." + +As he spoke, he pointed to Dick Prince, who, ignorant of the fact that +the deer had been seen by Frank, was watching its reappearance from +behind a neighbouring rock, at some distance from where they stood. In +a second it came into view--the bullet sped--and the deer bounded +lightly into the bushes, evidently unhurt! + +It is difficult to say whether Dick Prince or his comrades exhibited +most amazement in their looks at this result. That the crack shot of +the party--the man who could hit a button in the centre at a hundred +yards, and cut the head off a partridge at a hundred and fifty--should +miss a deer at ninety yards, was utterly incomprehensible. + +"Is it yer own gun ye've got?" inquired Bryan, as the discomfited +marksman walked up. + +"No; it's yours," replied Prince. + +A smile, which resolved itself into a myriad of wrinkles, flitted over +the blacksmith's face as he said-- + +"Ah, Prince! ye'll requare long practice to come to the parfect use o' +that wipon. I've always fired three yards, at laste, to the left, iver +since we fell over the hill togither. If it's a very long shot, it +requares four to take the baste in the flank, or four an' a half if ye +want to hit the shoulder, besides an allowance o' two feet above its +head, to make up for the twist I gave it the other day in the forge, in +tryin' to put it right!" + +This explanation was satisfactory to all parties, especially so to +Prince, who felt that his credit was saved; and if Prince had a weakness +at all, it was upon this point. + +The deer were now all killed, with the exception of those of the band +that had been last in entering the river. These, with a few stragglers, +had returned to the shore from which they started. The remainder of the +evening was devoted to skinning and cutting up the carcasses--an +operation requiring considerable time, skill, and labour. + +While the people at the fort were thus employed, Maximus (who adopted at +once the name given to him by Stanley) returned from his fruitless +journey to the Indian camp, and assisted the men at their work. He made +no allusion whatever to his visit to the deserted Indian camp; but, from +the settled expression of deep sadness that clouded his countenance, it +was inferred that what he had seen there had not tended to raise his +hopes. + +The supply of deer obtained at this time was very seasonable, for the +frost had now begun to set in so steadily that the meat could be hung up +to freeze, and thus be kept fresh for winter's consumption. Some of it, +however, was dried and stored away in bales; while a small quantity was +pounded after being dried, made into pemmican, and reserved for future +journeys. + +As for the Esquimaux, they gave themselves up, during the first night, +to feasting and rejoicing. During the short time that they had been at +the fort, they had converted the promontory on which they were encamped +into a scene of the utmost confusion and filth. A regard for truth +constrains us to say, that although these poor creatures turned out to +be honest, and simple, and kind-hearted, they did not by any means turn +out to be cleanly; quite the reverse. + +They had erected four summer tents on the beach, which were composed of +skins sewed together, and supported on poles in such a way as to afford +ample room for the accommodation of their families. The entrance to +each tent was through a passage, which was also made of skins, hung over +a line fastened to a pole at the distance of twelve or fifteen feet from +the tent. Each side of this entrance was lined with piles of +provisions--seals, fish, ducks, and venison, in various stages of decay, +which rendered the passage into the interior a trying operation. True, +it was intended that the frost should prevent this decay; but, +unfortunately, the frost did not always do its duty. The manner in +which they cut up their deer and prepared them for future use was +curious. After cutting the animals into two, without skinning them, +they pinned up the front half with the heart and liver in the cavity. +The other half they treated in a similar way, minus the heart and liver, +and then put them out to freeze until required. When frozen, they were +frequently used in their tents as seats, until the gradual diminution of +the larder demanded that they should be appropriated to their proper +use. + +The tribe of Esquimaux who resided near Fort Chimo at this time were +possessed of an enormous stone kettle, in which they boiled an entire +deer at one time; and while the good people luxuriated on the flesh of +the animal in their tents, the dogs assembled round the boiler to await +the cooling of the soup--thus verifying the assertion formerly made by +Massan on that head. + +The dogs resembled those of the Newfoundland breed in some respects, but +were scarcely so large or good-looking, and had erect instead of pendent +ears. There were about a dozen of them; and it was wonderful to observe +the patience with which they sat in a circle round the kettle, gazing +earnestly at the soup, licking their chaps the while, in anticipation of +the feast. + +The successful hunt was regarded as worthy of being specially celebrated +by the distribution of a glass of grog to the men, and also to the +Esquimaux; for at the time we write of, the Hudson's Bay Company had not +yet instituted the wise and humane regulation which has since become a +standing order throughout all parts of the country, except where there +is opposition--namely, that ardent spirits shall not be given to the +natives. However, Stanley's natural disposition led him to be very +circumspect in giving spirits to the men and natives, and the supply now +issued was very small. + +In the men it produced a desire for the violin, and created a tendency +to sing and tell stories. In the Esquimaux it produced at first +dislike, and afterwards wild excitement, which, in the case of Chacooto, +ended in a desire to fight. But his comrades, assisted by his wives, +overpowered him, tied him in a sack made of sealskin, and left him to +roar and kick till he fell asleep! + +The honesty of these natives was exhibited very strikingly in all their +dealings with the fur-traders. Although iron tools of every description +were scattered about the fort, while the men were engaged in erecting +the several buildings, not one was missed; and even the useless nails +and scraps of metal that were thrown away, when they were found by +chance by the Esquimaux, were always brought to the house, and the +question asked, "Were they of any use?" before being appropriated. They +were great beggars, however; which was not surprising, considering the +value of the articles possessed by the traders, and their own limited +means of purchasing them. Their chief wealth at this time lay in boots +and deerskins, which the women were constantly employed in preparing; +but Stanley urged them to go into the interior and hunt, as, although +deerskins and boots were useful, furs were infinitely more valuable. +But the Esquimaux had much too lively a dread of the Indians to venture +away from the coast, and seemed inclined to hang about the place in +comparative idleness much longer than was desirable. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +MORE ARRIVALS--HONESTY--INDIANS COME UPON THE SCENE--THE TRIBES +RECONCILED--DISEASE AND DEATH CHANGE THE ASPECT OF THINGS--PHILOSOPHIC +DISCOURSE. + +A day or two after the successful deer-hunt above related, several bands +of Esquimaux arrived at Fort Chimo, and encamped beside their comrades. +This unusual influx of visitors soon exhausted the venison that had been +procured; but hunting parties were constantly on the alert, and as game +of all kinds was plentiful, they lived in the midst of abundance. To +all of these Stanley made small presents of beads and tobacco, and +recommended them strongly to go and hunt for furs. But they seemed to +like their quarters, and refused to move. The new arrivals, along with +those who had first come, formed a band of about three hundred, and were +found, almost without exception, to be a quiet, inoffensive, and honest +people. + +As a proof of this latter quality, we may mention a circumstance that +occurred a few days after the arrival of the last band. Being desirous +of taking some additional soundings, Stanley launched his boat by the +help of the Esquimaux, for his own men were all absent hunting and +fishing. The boat referred to had been sent to the fort in the ship, +and was a most useful and acceptable gift from the Governor of the Fur +Company to the gentleman in charge of Ungava. Stanley hoisted his +sails, and prepared to run down the river; but ere he had advanced a +hundred yards, he was startled by a burst of loud cries from the shore, +and, looking back, he observed the whole band of natives pouring like a +torrent into the fort! His heart leaped within him as he thought of his +unprotected wife and child. Turning the boat towards the shore, he ran +it on the beach, and, leaving it with all the sails standing, he rushed +into the square of the fort, forcing his way through the crush of +natives, whose vociferous talking rendered what they said, for a time, +unintelligible. At length Moses forced his way through the crowd, +followed by one of the natives, who led a large dog by a line fastened +round its neck. + +"What's the matter, Moses? what's wrong?" cried Stanley. + +"Oh, not'ing at all," replied Moses, casting a look of pity at his +countrymen. "Dem are great gooses. Die man here wid de dog, him say +dat de child'n was play in de square of dis fort, an' one o' dem trow +stone and broke a window. It was de son ob dis man what do it, an' him +say he most awful sorry--an' all de people sorry, so dey bring de dog to +pay for de broken window." + +"I'm glad it's nothing worse," cried Stanley, much relieved. "Tell them +I'm happy to find they are sorry, and I hope they will keep the children +out of the square in future; but I don't want the dog. It was an +accident, and not worth making such a noise about." + +The Esquimaux, however, would not agree to look upon this accident as a +light matter. They said truly, that glass was not to be got so easily +as the ice-blocks with which they formed windows to their own winter +houses, so they insisted on the dog being accepted; and at length +Stanley gave in, but took care that the native who gave it should not be +a loser in consequence of his honesty. Moreover, Stanley begged of them +to send up several of their best dogs, saying that he would purchase +them, as he was in want of a team for hauling the winter firewood. + +Next day, while Stanley was engaged in the trading store with a party of +Esquimaux, he was surprised by hearing a volley of musketry fired at the +back of the fort. Snatching up a loaded gun as he ran hastily out, he +found that the shots had been fired by a band of Indians as a salute to +the fort on their arrival. + +This was the first time that Indians had made their appearance since the +arrival of the fur-traders; and their advent at the present time was +most fortunate, as it afforded Stanley an opportunity of commencing his +negotiations as peacemaker in the presence of a considerable band of +both parties. The Indians, fifteen in number, were all clothed, with +the exception of their chief, in deerskin hunting shirts, ornamented +moccasins of the same material, and cloth leggings. They wore no +head-dress, but their long, straight, black hair was decorated with +feathers and small metallic ornaments, among which were several silver +thimbles. Their powder-horns and shot-pouches were gaily ornamented +with bead and quill work; and they were all armed with long guns, on +which they leaned as they stood silently, in a picturesque group, on the +flat, rocky platform above the spring, which has been more than once +alluded to. + +This platform overlooked the fort, and was a favourite promenade of the +traders. At present it formed a sort of neutral ground, on which the +Indians took their stand. The red men were overawed by the very +superior number of the Esquimaux, and felt that they were safe only so +long as they stood on the flat rock, which was the only path leading to +the ravine, through which, if need be, they could easily escape into the +mountains. + +The chief of the Indians, unlike his fellows, was dressed in a costume +of the most grotesque and brilliant character, and, certainly, one +which, however much it might raise the admiration of his savage +companions, did not add to his dignity in the eyes of the traders. He +wore a long, bright scarlet coat, richly embroidered with gold lace, +with large cuffs, and gilt buttons; a pair of blue cloth trousers, and a +vest of the same material; a broad worsted sash, and a hat in the form +of the ordinary beaver or silk hat of Europe. The material, however, +was very coarse; but this was made up for by the silver, and gilt cords, +and tassels with which it was profusely decorated. He evidently felt +his own importance, and stood with a calm, dignified gaze, waiting to be +addressed. + +Hailing Ma-istequan, who leaned on the axe with which he had been +cutting firewood when the volley of the Indians arrested him, Stanley +bade him invite them to enter the fort. + +"We cannot come down," replied the chief, after Ma-istequan had given +the invitation. "The Eskimos are in numbers like the stars; we are few. +If the pale-faces are our friends, let them come up here and take us by +the hand and bring us down." + +"Very reasonable," said Stanley to Frank, who stood beside him; "we must +take care that the Esquimaux do not take advantage of their numbers to +avenge their ancient wrongs." + +Then, turning to the natives, who had now crowded in large numbers into +the fort, Stanley addressed them in a serious tone; told them that the +time had now come when he hoped to reconcile the Innuit and the Allat +[Esquimau name for Indians] together; and that he expected they would +show their gratitude for his many kindnesses to them by treating the +Indians, who were his friends, with hospitality. The Esquimaux promised +obedience, after which Stanley ascended to the promenade, and taking the +Indian chief by the hand, led him towards the fort, followed by the +whole band in single file. + +It is not necessary to detail the speeches that followed on both sides +on this occasion, and the eloquence that was expended that evening in +the cause of peace. Suffice it to say that the Indians and Esquimaux +shook hands and exchanged gifts in the presence of the assembled +garrison of Fort Chimo. But although the traders had reason to +congratulate themselves on having so far succeeded in the establishment +of peace, they could not conceal from themselves the fact that while, on +the one hand, the Esquimaux appeared to be perfectly sincere and cordial +in their professions, on the other hand the Indians evinced a good deal +of taciturnity at first, and even after their reserve was overcome, +seemed to act as men do who are constrained to the performance of a +distasteful action. + +In general character, the Indians of Labrador do not contrast well with +the Esquimaux--at least this may with truth be said of those who +afterwards became attached to the district of Ungava. The Indian is +reserved and taciturn, while the Esquimau is candid, frank, and +communicative. Of course there are exceptions on both sides. + +On the evening of the same day, Stanley had much difficulty in +overcoming the reserve of the Indians, so as to procure information +regarding the interior; and it was not until their hearts were opened by +the influence of tobacco, that they condescended to give the required +information. This was to the effect that there were not many +fur-bearing animals in the immediate vicinity of Ungava, but that there +were a good many in the wooded country lying to the southward and +eastward. Here, however, the Indians do not care to hunt, preferring +rather to keep to the heights of land, and near the coast, where the +deer are numerous. In fact, Stanley afterwards found that the facility +with which the Indians procured deer in this part of the country was a +serious drawback to the fur trade, as they contented themselves with +trapping just enough of otters, foxes, etcetera, to enable them to +procure a supply of ammunition with which to hunt the deer. + +The Indians had brought a few beaver and other furs to trade, and, after +receiving a good meal and a few presents, they took up their quarters on +a plot of ground close to the fort. Here they lived a short time in +perfect friendship with the Esquimaux, visiting them, and hunting in +company; but more than once they exhibited their natural disposition by +stealing the goods of their neighbours. On one occasion, two Esquimau +children were missed from the camp, and in the course of the day they +returned to their parents clothed in Indian costume! This was a very +polite piece of attention on the part of the Indians, but the effect of +it was much marred, the same day, by the abstraction of a knife from an +Esquimau tent. Stanley insisted on the article being restored, and +severely reprimanded the offender. But, although the general harmony of +the camp was sometimes broken by such events, the friendship between the +two parties seemed to be gradually increasing, and Stanley saw with +satisfaction that the Allat and the Innuit bade fair to become fast +friends for the future. + +But an event occurred at this time which put an end to their +intercourse, and very much altered the aspect of affairs. For some time +past the men at the fort had been subject to rather severe attacks of +cold, or a species of influenza. This they unfortunately communicated +to the Esquimaux, who seemed to be peculiarly susceptible of the +disease. Being very fat and full-blooded, it had the most dreadful +effect on the poor creatures, and at a certain stage almost choked them. +At last one night it was reported that ten of their number had died +from absolute suffocation. All of these had been strong and robust, and +they died after two days' illness. + +One of those who were attacked was Edith's little friend, Arnalooa, and +just before the ten Esquimaux died, Edith had gone down to the camp with +a present of beads to console her. She found her much better, and, +after talking to her for some time, she took her leave, promising to pay +her another visit next day. True to her promise, Edith sallied forth +after breakfast with a little native basket on her arm. About half an +hour afterwards, while Stanley was sitting in the hall with his wife and +Frank, they were startled by the sudden appearance of Edith, out of +breath from the speed with which she had run home, and her face +overspread with a deadly paleness. + +"What is the matter, my darling?" cried her mother, starting up in +alarm. + +"Oh! the Esquimaux are lying dead on the sand," gasped Edith, as she +laid her head on her mother's breast, "and the rest are all gone." + +Without waiting to hear more, Frank and Stanley took down their guns and +hastened to the camp. Here a scene of the most horrible kind presented +itself. The whole camp exhibited evidences of a hasty flight, and eight +of the people who had died during the night were lying exposed on the +rocks, with their white faces and ghastly eyeballs turned towards the +sky. The other two had been buried on the rocks under a heap of stones, +which did not conceal them entirely from view. + +"No wonder poor Edith was alarmed," said Stanley sadly, as he leaned on +his fowling-piece and surveyed the scene of desolation and death. + +"I have been told," remarked Frank, "that the Esquimaux have a +superstitious dread of this river. Oolibuck mentioned to me this +morning that he has had a good deal of conversation with the natives +about this disease, and they told him that it invariably attacks them +when they enter this river, and carries them off by dozens; so that they +never come into it except when they require wood, and always stay as +short a time as possible." + +"Ah! that's bad," said Stanley; "I fear that it will go much against the +success of the establishment. But we must hope better things; and, +truly, with this exception, all has gone well hitherto. Said they +anything more, Frank?" + +"Yes; they hinted, it seems, their intention of flying away from this +fatal spot, and taking up their abode for the winter at the mouth of +False River, where they can obtain a livelihood by seal-fishing; but +Oolibuck thought they did not mean to put the threat in execution, and +did not imagine that they were in such alarm that they would go off +without burying their dead." + +"We must do that for them, Frank," said Stanley, turning to retrace his +steps to the fort; "send down as many of the men as you can spare +to-day, and get it done at once." + +"By the way," said Frank, as they walked along the beach, "it seems that +many years ago the Moravian missionaries came to the mouth of this +river, and talked of setting up a trading-fort here; but, from some +cause unknown, they gave up their design and went away. Maximus has +been telling me all he knows about the matter; but his reports are +vague, and the event must have occurred, if it occurred at all, when he +was a child." + +"Very possibly, Frank. You know the Moravians have settlements along +the coasts of Labrador, to the eastward of this. They may have made an +attempt long ago to push as far as this. I have always had a high +opinion of the energy and perseverance of these missionaries, but I +cannot get over the incongruity of their strange way of mingling trade +with religion. It seems to me an unnatural sort of thing for +missionaries to be fur-traders. I do not mean by this to object to +their system, however; I daresay it works well, but I've had no means of +judging." + +"It is strange," replied Frank; "yet it seems a good plan. The +missionaries trade there in order that they may live and preach. +'Twould be a good thing for the Indian country if the same principles +and practice actuated the traders; with this difference, that instead of +missionaries becoming fur-traders, the fur-traders would become +missionaries. It does seem a species of infatuation," continued Frank, +energetically, as he warmed with the subject, "that men, calling +themselves Christians, should live for years and years among the poor +Indians of America and never once name to them the great and saving name +of Christ. Of course I do not wonder at those who make little or no +profession of Christianity; but there are men in the fur-trade who seem +to be deeply impressed with the truths of God's Word--who are alive to +the fact that there is no name under heaven given among men whereby we +can be saved except the name of Christ--who know and feel that the +Indians around them are living without God, and therefore without hope +in the world--who feel that _Christ_ is _all in all_, and that the +Christian religion, however perfect and beautiful as a code of morals, +is utterly worthless as to salvation unless there be in the heart the +special love of Jesus Christ;--men who admit and profess to believe all +this, yet never speak of Christ to the natives--never mention the name +that can alone save them from eternal destruction." + +"Be not hasty, Frank," replied Stanley. "I agree with you, that it is +strange indeed we do not see and hear more of this missionary spirit +among the traders, and I, for one, take your words as a deserved rebuke +to myself; but if there are, as you say, many among us who are deeply +impressed with the truths of God's Word, how know you that we never +mention our Saviour's name to the Indians? Although fur-traders do not +mount the pulpit, they may, in private, make mention of that name, and +do an amount of good that will only be fully known when the trader, the +trapper, and the Indian shall stand side by side before the +judgment-seat of Christ. Observe, I do not say that this is actually +the case; I only suggest that it is possible--may I not add, probable?" + +"It may be so," returned Frank, "it may be so, and God forgive me if I +have judged the men of the fur-trade unjustly; but I certainly know one +who has made somewhat of a profession of Christianity in his day, and +yet has done next to nothing, and that one is Frank Morton." + +"I'll not gainsay that, Frank," said Stanley, with a quiet smile; "and I +think we are not likely to err much when we apply censure to ourselves. +It is curious that you and I should have been thinking of the very same +subject. A few days ago, while my wife and I were conversing together +about the Esquimaux, we agreed to devote a good deal of our leisure time +next winter to reading and explaining the Bible to our Esquimau +interpreters, in the hope that they may afterwards be the means of much +good among their poor countrymen." + +Whether or not the good resolutions made at this time were ever put in +practice we cannot say. Let us hope that they were. + +Not long after the sudden flight of the Esquimaux, the Indians struck +their tents and took their departure for the interior, with the +intention, as they said, of hunting for furs, but more probably, as +Ma-istequan suggested, to hunt the deer. During all the time of their +residence at the fort, Maximus had kept out of their way as much as +possible. He seldom met them without a frown of hatred, for he regarded +them as the representatives of a race which had robbed him of his bride; +and there were times when the giant's spirit chafed so fearfully at the +sight of the red men, that nothing but the remembrance of his promise to +Stanley, to offer them no injury, prevented him from stirring up his +tribe to overwhelm and destroy them. It was, therefore, with a feeling +of relief that Maximus beheld them march single file over the rocky +platform, and disappear in the ravine that led into the mountains. + +The traders of Ungava were once more left in solitude, and from this +time forward, until the winter set in, they devoted all their energies +to laying up a stock of provisions sufficient to last till spring. + +Dick Prince and Massan were sent after the deer in company. Augustus +and Bryan were dispatched to a small lake to establish a fishery; in +which they were very successful, and soon caught a large supply of +excellent white-fish, trout, and carp, which they gutted and hung up by +their tails to dry and freeze. Frank and Moses went to another small +lake, about ten miles down the river, and built a hut of willows, in +which they dwelt while engaged at the fishery. As there was still much +to be done in the way of completing the fort, and making furniture, +Stanley retained La Roche, Oolibuck, and the two Indians to assist him +in this, as well as in the performance of the miscellaneous minor duties +about the station, such as cutting up firewood, covering the roofs of +the stores with tarpaulin, shooting such birds and animals as came near +the fort, constructing rude chairs and tables, cooking, etcetera, +etcetera; while Francois and Gaspard were sent up the river to fell +trees, for the purposes both of building and firewood. Edith and her +mother found ample occupation--the latter in the use of her needle and +the cares of the household; the former in learning her lessons, visiting +her berry-ravine, dressing her doll (for she had a doll, as a matter of +course), and in holding long and frequent converse with Chimo. + +Thus they spent their time; too busily occupied to take much note of its +rapid flight, and scarce noticing the lengthening nights and shortening +days, until needles of ice began with slow and silent progress to shoot +across and solidify the waters of the bay. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +EFFECT OF SNOW ON THE FEELINGS, NOT TO MENTION THE LANDSCAPE--A +WONDERFUL DOME OF ICE. + +There are times and seasons, in this peculiar world of ours, when the +heart of man rejoices. The rejoicing to which we refer is not of the +ordinary kind. It is peculiar; and, whether its duration be long or +short, its effect powerful or slight, it is quite distinct and emphatic. +We do not intend to enter into a detail of the occasions that call +forth this feeling of exultation. Far be it from us to venture into +such perilous depths of philosophy. Our sole reason for making these +preliminary observations is, that we may, with proper emphasis, +introduce the statement, that one of these occasions of rejoicing is, +when man arises from his couch, on a brilliant, sunny, sparkling +morning, gazes forth from his window, and beholds the landscape--which +yesterday was green, and red, and brown, and blue--clad in a soft mantle +of whitest snow! + +What! you don't agree with us? You shudder at the preposterous idea of +such a sight being fitted to rejoice the heart of man in any degree +whatever? Well, well; do not sneer at our weakness. If we cannot +sympathise with each other on this subject, perchance there are other +things in which we can. But whatever be _our_ opinion in regard to +this, the point that we have to deal with at present is, the opinion of +Edith Stanley, who, on rising hastily one morning, and looking forth +from her little window, evinced the rejoicing of her heart most +emphatically, by her loud exclamation of delight and the sparkling of +her bright blue eyes. + +Independently of the cheerful lightness and the virgin purity of the +mantle, which in itself tended to awaken emotions of gladness in Edith's +heart, there was something in its sudden appearance that carried her +back violently and vividly to bygone days. The winter garb had no +associations, yet, with Ungava; but it had with Moose Fort, and the dear +companions she used to play with there. It recalled the time when she +and her little friends sallied forth, each with her small wooden sledge +drawn after her by a line, to slide thereon down the banks of the frozen +river with headlong speed, and upset at the bottom amid shouts of +laughter. It recalled the time when she made the first attempt to walk +in snow-shoes, upon which occasion she tripped and fell into the snow, +as a matter of course, and was advised to wait till she was older. It +recalled the memory of her father's team of dogs, and the delightful +drives she used to have over the frozen river; which drives often +resulted in an upset, perhaps several, and always resulted in fun. It +recalled the house in the old fort that used to be her home; the row of +houses belonging to the men, to which she often went, and was always +welcomed as a great favourite; the water-hole on the river from which +the old Canadian drew his daily supply; and the snow-house in the yard +which she built in company with Frank Morton, and which stood the whole +winter through, but gave way at last before the blazing sun of spring, +and fell--as ill luck would have it--when she and Chimo were sitting +there, so that she and the dog together had a hard struggle ere they got +free. All these, and many more thick-coming memories of other days, +were aroused by the vision of snow that met Edith's gaze that morning, +and caused her heart with peculiar fervour to rejoice. + +Winter had now descended with iron grasp upon Ungava. For some weeks +the frost had been so intense that every lake and pool was frozen many +inches thick, and the salt bay itself was fringed with a thick and +ever-accumulating mass of ice. The snow which now fell was but the +ceremonial coronation of a king whose reign had commenced in reality +long before. + +But the sunshine did not last long. The rolling fogs and vapours of the +open and ice-laden sea beyond ascended over the wild mountains, obscured +the bright sky, and revealed the winter of the north in all its stern, +cold reality. Every cliff and crag and jagged peak had its crown of +snow, and every corrie, glen, and gorge its drifted shroud. In places +where the precipices were perpendicular, the grey rocks of the mountains +formed dark blotches in the picture; but, dark although they were, they +did not equal in blackness the river, on which floated hundreds of +masses of ice and several ponderous icebergs, which had been carried up +from the sea by the flood-tide. Over this inky expanse the frost-smoke +hung like a leaden pall--an evil spirit, as it were, which never left +the spot till protracted and intense frost closed the waters of the +river altogether, and banished it farther out to sea. But this entire +closing of the river very seldom happened, and never lasted long. + +Fort Chimo itself, at least as much of it as remained unburied, was a +mere speck on the edge of the white plain at the mountain's foot, scarce +distinguishable, at a short distance, from the straggling black pines +and willow bushes that seemed thrust out into the waste from the ravines +above and below the fort. But on a nearer approach, the fort assumed an +air of greater importance; the influences, too, of the cold, cheerless +scene we have described, were broken and dissipated by the sights of +comfort and sounds of cheerfulness within. The shout of the +water-drawer, as he roused the dogs and went forth with his empty cask, +hauled on a little sledge, to draw from the bubbling spring behind the +fort; the sounds of the hammer, the chisel, and the axe, in the +carpenter's shop; the merry clank of Bryan's hammer, and the bright +flame that gleamed from the window of the forge,--all bore evidence of +the fact, that however powerful the influence of winter might be +without, it had little power within the wooden walls of Fort Chimo, and +could not check the life, or heart, or industry of man. + +The only other human being visible in the open air, besides the +water-drawer, was La Roche, who, with a fur cap covering his head and +ears, and leathern mittens on his hands, hewed and hacked the billets +with which he purposed to replenish the fire for cooking the mid-day +meal. + +Pausing in his labour, and dusting off the hoar-frost that covered his +eyebrows and whiskers, he looked at the edge of his hatchet for a few +seconds with an expression of contempt. Then, throwing the implement on +his shoulder, he crossed the yard and entered the blacksmith's shop. + +"Bryan," said he, seating himself on the edge of the forge and filling +his pipe, while Vulcan's votary scattered a shower of gems from a +white-hot bar of iron at every blow of his hammer--"Bryan, you no fit +for not'ing. Dat axe is blont encore. Oui, c'est vrai. Now dat is +tres mal. How you not can temper him edge better?" + +"Timper it better, is it?" answered Bryan, putting the iron bar in the +fire, and regarding his companion earnestly while he blew the bellows. +"Faix, 'tis mysilf I'd need to timper better, in order to put up wi' the +likes o' you, ye wretched crature. How can ye expict it to kape its +idge when ye lave it for iver lyin' among yer pots and kittles?" + +"Dat is not it," replied La Roche, applying a glowing coal to his pipe. +"'Tis de mauvais steel. But I not com for to fight wid you. Your +tongue trop long pour dat. I com for ax you to give me turn ov de +grindstone, s'il vous plait." + +"Ye don't desarve it, Losh; but wait till I've finished this job and +I'll lind ye a hand." + +"Be-the-bye," resumed Bryan, when the metal was cooled, "has Francois +finished that sled for Miss Edith?" + +"Oui," replied La Roche, seating himself at the grindstone. "(Ah! pas si +vite, a leet more slow, Bryan.) Oui, him make it all ready; only want +de ring-bolts." + +"Thin it won't want thim long. Ye can take thim over to the shop when +ye go across. There they are on the binch." + +Bryan continued to turn the handle of the stone for some time in +silence. + +"D'ye know, Losh," he resumed, "whin Mister Frank is goin' to the +fishery?" + +"He go demain, I b'lieve, and Mademoiselle Edith go too." + +"None o' the min goin'?" inquired the blacksmith. + +"Non. Monsieur Frank just go for to try if dere be any fish to be cotch +by de hook; and I t'ink he go more for to give Edith one drive dan dat." + +"Very likely, Losh. The poor purty little crature. She's very fond o' +sledgin' and walkin' in snow-shoes. 'Tis well for her, bekase there's a +want o' companions for her here intirely." + +"Ah! mercy, dat is superb, magnifique!" said the Frenchman, feeling the +edge of the axe with his thumb. "It sharp 'nuff to shave de hair off +your ogly face, Bryan." + +"Thin be off wid ye, an' don't kape me longer from my work. An' shut +the door quick behind ye; there's cowld enough in the place already." + +So saying, Bryan resumed his hammer, and La Roche, following the +snow-track across the yard, recommenced his labour of chopping firewood. + +Next day, Frank and Edith made preparations for the excursion alluded to +in the foregoing conversation. + +The object for which this excursion was undertaken was twofold--first, +to ascertain if there were any fish in a large lake about ten miles +distant from the fort; and, secondly, to give little Edith a drive for +the good of her health. Not that her health was bad, but several weeks +of bad weather had confined her much to the house, and her mother +thought the change would be beneficial and agreeable; and tenderly did +that mother's heart yearn over her little child, for she felt that, +although she was all to Edith that a mother could be, nature had +implanted in her daughter's mind a longing desire for the companionship +of little ones of her own age, which could not be satisfied by any +substitute--not even that of a tender mother, who sought, by all the +means in her power, to become a child again for Edith's sake. + +Immediately after breakfast that day Frank took Edith by the hand, and +led her round by the back of the fort, towards the kennel where the dogs +were kept, intending to release Chimo, who was to have the honour of +hauling the sledge of his young mistress. In passing the spring, Edith +paused, as she had often done before during the winter, to gaze with +wonder on the transformation that had taken place in the appearance of +the once green and fertile spot. Not only was it covered with deep +snow, but over the spring there was formed a singular dome of ice. This +dome was a subject of continual astonishment to every one at Ungava. It +had commenced to rise soon after the first hard frosts had sealed up the +little fountain from the open air. As time passed by, the covering +became thick ice, and was bulged gradually up above the surrounding +waste, until it reached an elevation of not much less than twelve or +thirteen feet. Inside of this the spring bubbled up as of yore. + +"What think you, Edith?" said Frank, as a sudden thought occurred to +him; "shall I cut a doorway into that crystal house, and see if the +spirit of the spring dwells there?" + +Edith clapped her hands with delight at the idea, and urged her +companion to begin at once. Then, checking him as he was about to +commence the work with his hatchet, she said earnestly-- + +"Do spirits really dwell in the springs, Frank?" + +"Why, Eda, we must send to England for a lot of fairy tales to teach you +what I mean. I do but jest when I speak of spirits living there. But +many books, have been written about pretended spirits and fairies, which +tell us of their wonderful adventures, and what they said and did long +ago. I shall tell you some of these stories one of these days. But I +daresay there are no spirits in this spring." + +"Faix, an' it would be a rale misfortune if there was, sir," remarked +Bryan, who came up at this moment, and touched his cap; "for it would be +only sperits and wather, which wouldn't kape in this cowld climate. +I've finished the ring-bolts for the sled, sir, an' came to see when ye +would have them fixed." + +"Put them in your pocket, Bryan, for a few minutes, and lend a hand here +to cut a hole through this dome." + +As Frank spoke, he drew a small axe from his belt, and began to lay +about him so vigorously that the icy splinters flew in all directions +like a shower of broken crystal. Bryan seconded his efforts, and in +less than half an hour a block of solid ice, about four feet high and +two broad, was cut out and detached from the side of the dome. + +"That'll do, Bryan," said Frank, when their work was nearly completed; +"I'll finish it myself now. Go to the carpenter's house, and Francois +will show you what to do with the sled." + +As Bryan walked away, Frank dealt the mass of ice a blow that split it +into several pieces, which he quickly removed, revealing to the +astonished and eager gaze of his young companion a cavern of a most +beautiful light blue colour. Taking Edith by the hand, he led her into +this icy cave. Its walls were quite luminous and delicately blue, +except in places where the green moss and earth around the spring had +been torn from the ground and lifted up along with the dome. Icicles +hung in various places from the roof, and the floor was hard and dry, +except in the centre, where the spring bubbled up through it, and cut a +channel across towards one side of the icy wall, where it disappeared +under the snow. + +"Oh, what a beautiful palace!" cried Edith, with delight, after she had +gazed around her for a few minutes in silent wonder and admiration. "I +shall come and live here, Frank. Oh! do come, and let us get chairs and +a small table, and make it our sitting-room. We can come every day when +the sun shines and read, or you can tell me the tales about spirits and +fairies you spoke of!" + +"A good idea, Eda; but I fear we would need a stove to keep us warm. It +strikes me it will make a capital ice-house in spring to keep our fresh +meat in. It will last long after the snow is melted." + +"Then we shall make a palace of it in winter and a meat-store in +spring," cried Edith, laughing, as she walked round this +newly-discovered house, examining its blue walls and peeping into the +cold black spring. Meanwhile Frank examined it with a view to the +utilitarian purpose, and, after both of them had gone round it several +times, they continued on their way towards the dog-kennel. + +The sledge which Francois had constructed for Edith was made after the +model of those used by the Esquimaux. There were two stout runners, or +skates, made of wood, for sliding over the snow. These were slightly +turned up, or rather _rounded_ up, in front, and attached to each other +by means of cross bars and thin planks of wood; all of which were +fastened, not by nails (for iron-work snaps like glass in such a cold +climate as that of Ungava), but by thongs of undressed sealskin, which, +although they held the fabric very loosely together in appearance, were, +nevertheless, remarkably strong, and served their purpose very well. +Two short upright bars behind served as a back to lean against. But the +most curious part of the machine was the substance with which the +runners were shod, in order to preserve them. This was a preparation of +mud and water, which was plastered smoothly on in a soft condition, and +then allowed to freeze. This it did in a few minutes after being +exposed to the open air, and thus became a smooth, hard sheathing, which +was much more durable and less liable to break than iron, or indeed any +other sheathing that could be devised. This substance is, of course, +easily repaired, and is always used by the Esquimaux in winter. + +Esquimau sledges being heavy, and meant for carrying a number of people, +require large teams of dogs. But Edith's sledge--or sled, as the men +called it--was little. Moreover, Edith herself was little and light, +therefore Chimo was deemed sufficiently powerful to draw it. So +thoroughly correct were they in this supposition, that when Edith was +seated in her sledge for a trial trip, and Chimo harnessed, he ran away +with her and gave Frank a chase of half a mile over the river ere he +condescended to stop in his wild career. + +But the intended excursion was suddenly interrupted and postponed, by an +event which we shall relate in the next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +BURIED ALIVE--BUT NOT KILLED--THE GIANT IN THE SNOW-STORM. + +The event which prevented the excursion referred to in the last chapter +was neither more nor less than a snowstorm. "Was that all?" say you, +reader? Nay, that was not all. Independently of the fact that it was a +snowstorm the like of which you have never seen, unless you have +travelled in northern climes, it was a snow-storm that produced results. +Of these, more hereafter. + +The storm began with a sigh--a mysterious sigh, that swept over the +mountains of Ungava with a soft, mournful wail, and died slowly away in +the distant glen of the Caniapuscaw, as if the spirit of the north wind +grieved to think of the withering desolation it was about to launch upon +the land. + +The gathering clouds that preceded and accompanied this sigh induced +Frank Morton to countermand his orders for the intended journey. In +order to console Edith for the disappointment, he went with her into the +hall, and, drawing a low stool towards the blazing stove, placed a +draught-board upon it. Then he placed another and a lower stool beside +the first, on which he seated Edith. Spreading a deerskin robe upon the +ground, he stretched himself thereon at full length, and began to +arrange the men. + +The hall, which was formerly such a comfortless apartment, was now +invested with that degree of comfort which always gathers, more or less, +round a place that is continually occupied. The ceiling was composed of +a carpet of deerskin stretched tightly upon the beams. The walls were +hung all round with the thick heavy coats and robes of leather and fur +belonging to the inmates, and without which they never ventured abroad. +The iron stove in the centre of the apartment, with its pipe to conduct +away the smoke, and its radiant fire of logs, emitted a cheerful glow in +its immediate vicinity; which glow, however, was not intense enough to +melt the thick ice, or rather hoar-frost, an inch deep, with which the +two windows were encrusted, to the almost total exclusion of the view +and the serious diminution of the light. The door was padded all round +its edges with fur, which tended to check the bitter wind that often +blew against it, and tempered the slight draught that did force its way +through. Altogether the hall at Fort Chimo was curious and +comfortable--rather shaggy in its general appearance, but sound and +trustworthy at bottom. + +A small rough table, the work of Frank Morton, stood close to the stove; +and beside it was seated Mrs Stanley, with a soft yellow deerskin +before her, which she was carefully transforming into a hunting coat for +her husband. On another and a larger table was spread the tea equipage. +Those who would understand this aright must for _tea_ read _supper_. +Among fur-traders the two are combined. Candles--dips made at the +fort--had been brought some time ago by La Roche, who entered the hall +by a back door which communicated with a passage leading to the kitchen +behind. + +"What can have become of papa, I wonder?" Mrs Stanley designated her +husband by this epithet, in consequence of her desire to keep up the +fiction of her being Edith's little sister or playfellow. + +Frank looked up from the board. "I know not," said he. "I left him +giving some orders to the men. We have been getting things made snug +about the fort, for we expect a pretty stiff breeze to-night.--Take +care, Eda; your crown's in danger." + +"Oh! so it is," cried Edith, snatching back her piece, and looking with +intense earnestness at the board. + +Frank might have observed, had he not been too deeply engaged with his +game, that the expected stiff breeze had already come, and was whistling +round the fort with considerable vigour. + +"You'll beat me, Eda, if you play so boldly," said Frank, with a smile. +"There, give me another crown." + +"And me too," said Edith, pushing up her piece. As she spoke, the door +burst open, and Stanley sprang into the room. + +"Whew! what a night!" he cried, shutting the door with a forcible bang, +in order to keep out the snow-drift that sought to enter along with him. + +Two moves would have made Frank the conqueror, but the gust of wind +upset the board, and scattered the men upon the floor. + +Stanley looked like a man of white marble, but the removal of his cap, +coat, and leggings produced a speedy and entire metamorphosis. + +"Ho! La Roche!" + +"Oui, monsieur." + +"Here, take my coat and shake the snow off it, and let's have supper as +speedily as may be. The draughts without, Frank, are a little too +powerful for the draughts within, I fear.--What, wife, making another +coat? One would think you had vowed to show your affection for me by +the number of coats you made. How many have you perpetrated since we +were married?" + +"Never mind; go and put on one now, and come to supper while it is hot." + +"I'm glad it is hot," cried Stanley from his bedroom. "One needs +unusual heat within to make up for the cold without. The thermometer is +thirty below." + +While the party in the hall were enjoying their evening meal, the men +were similarly employed beside the stove in their own habitation. There +was not much difference in the two apartments, save that the confusion +in that of the men was much greater, in consequence of the miscellaneous +mass of capotes, caps, belts, discarded moccasins, axes, guns, and +seal-spears, with which they saw fit to garnish the walls. The fumes of +tobacco were also more dense, and the conversation more uproarious. + +"'Tis a howlin' night," observed Massan, as a gust of more than usual +violence shook the door on its hinges. + +"Me t'ink de snow-drift am as t'ick in de sky as on de ground," said +Oolibuck, drawing a live coal from the fire and lighting his pipe +therewith. + +"Hould on, boys!" cried Bryan, seizing his chair with both hands, half +in jest and half in earnest, as another blast shook the building to its +foundation. + +The two Indians sat like statues of bronze, smoking their calumets in +silence, while Gaspard and Prince rose and went to the window. But the +frozen moisture on the panes effectually prevented their seeing out. + +It was indeed an awful night--such a night as had not, until now, +visited the precincts of Fort Chimo. Viewed from the rocky platform on +the hill, the raging of the storm was absolutely sublime. The wind came +sometimes in short, angry gusts, sometimes in prolonged roars, through +the narrows, sweeping up clouds of snow so dense that it seemed as +though the entire mass had been uplifted from the earth, hurling it +upwards and downwards and in circling eddies, past the ravines, and +round the fort, and launching it with a fierce yell into the valley of +the Caniapuscaw. The sky was not altogether covered with clouds, and +the broken masses, as they rolled along, permitted a stray moonbeam to +dart down upon the turmoil beneath, and render darkness visible. +Sometimes the wind lulled for a second or two, as if to breathe; then it +burst forth again, splitting through the mountain gorges with a shriek +of intensity; the columns of snow sprang in thousands from every hollow, +cliff and glen, mingled in wild confusion, swayed, now hither, now +thither, in mad uncertainty, and then, caught by the steady gale, pelted +on, like the charging troops of ice-land, and swept across the frozen +plain. + +Could human beings face so wild a storm as this? Ay, they could--at +least they could dare to try! + +There was one traveller out upon the hills on that tremendous night. +The giant was in the midst of it; but weak as the bulrush were the +mighty limbs of Maximus before the rushing gale. Several days previous +to this the Esquimau had been sent down to his brethren at False River, +to procure some seal-meat for the dogs, and to ascertain the condition +of the natives and their success in fishing. On arriving, he found that +they had been so far successful, that starvation (their too frequent +guest) had not yet visited their dwellings of snow. But Maximus found +the old woman who had formerly saved his life very ill, and apparently +about to die. Having learned from experience the efficacy of Stanley's +medicines, he resolved to procure some for the old woman, whom he had +tenderly watched over and hunted for ever since the eventful day of the +attack. His dogs were exhausted, and could not return. But the bold +Esquimau was in the prime of life, and animated by the fire of vigorous +youth. The storm was beginning to mutter in the distance. What then?-- +Had he not faced the blasts of the frozen regions many a time before?-- +Without saying a word, he threw a junk of seal-flesh into his wallet, +and, striding back upon his track at the mountain's base, he disappeared +in the driving snow. + +Before reaching the fort, however, the full fury of the storm had burst +upon him. It cast him headlong into the snow; but he rose and staggered +on. Again it burst forth, and again he fell before it like a stately +pine. Rising to his knees, Maximus draw the hood of his hairy garment +close round his head and face, and tried to peer through the driving +snow; but he could not see until a slight lull came; then he observed a +hummock of ice at a short distance, and, rising, made towards it. The +lulls were short-lived, however. The storm threw him down again; +instantly he was drifted over with snow; another blast came, lifted the +drift into the air, and left the Esquimau exposed to all its fury. But +Maximus was not conquered. He rose again, panting, it is true, but +sturdy as ever, and ready to take advantage of the next lull. It came +soon; and he saw a rock, or, it might be, the base of a cliff close at +hand. With a quick run he reached it; and, going down on his knees, +began with his gloved hands to scrape a hollow in the snow. Having made +a hole big enough to contain his body, he lay down in it, and, pulling +the superincumbent snow down upon him, was almost buried in the ruin. +Scarcely had he drawn the hood of his coat well over his face, when +another burst of the storm dashed a column of curling drift upon the +rock, and the place where he lay was covered up; not a wrinkle in the +drift remained to mark the spot where he was buried! + +All that night the storm roared among mountains with bitter fury; but +next day the wind was subdued, and the sun shone brightly on the grey +rocks and on the white wreaths of snow. It shone in all the lustre of +an unclouded winter sky. Not only did the sun smile upon the scene, but +two mock suns or parhelia, almost as bright as himself, shone on either +side of him. Yet no ray of light illuminated the dwellings of the +fur-traders. All was darkness there, until Stanley rose from his couch +and lighted a candle, for the purpose of examining his watch. + +"Hallo! Frank, Frank!" he cried, entering the hall, while he hastily +threw on his garments; "turn out, man; there's something wrong here. +'Tis past noon, and dark as midnight. Bring your watch; perhaps I'm +wrong." + +Frank yawned vociferously, and sprang from his bed. In two seconds more +he made his appearance in his trousers and shirt. + +"Past twelve, no doubt of--yea-o-ow! That accounts for my waking three +times and going off again; but--" + +"Hey! what have we here?" cried Stanley, as he opened the front door, +and disclosed to view a solid wall of snow. + +"Snowed up; dear me! eh! that's odd," said Frank, beginning to +comprehend the state of matters. + +Snowed up they were, undoubtedly; so thoroughly snowed up that there was +not a ray of daylight within their dwelling. Had Frank been above the +snow, instead of below it, he would have seen that the whole fort was so +completely buried that nothing was visible above the surface except the +chimneys and the flagstaff. After the first few moments of surprise had +passed, it occurred to Stanley that they might ascend to the regions +above by the chimney, which was wide enough, he thought, to admit a man; +but on looking up, he found that it also was full of drifted snow. +This, however, could have been easily removed; but there was a bar of +iron stretching across, and built into the clay walls, which rendered +escape by that passage impossible. + +"There's nothing for it, Frank, but to dig ourselves out, so the sooner +we begin the better." + +By this time they were joined by Edith and her mother, who, although +much surprised, were not at all alarmed; for rough travelling in a wild +land had taught them to regard nothing as being dangerous until it was +proved to be so. Besides, Stanley had assured them that they had +nothing to fear, as the only evil he anticipated would be the trouble +they were sure to have in getting rid of the superabundant snow. While +they were talking, the back door was opened violently, and La Roche, in +a state of dishabille, burst into the room. + +"O messieurs, c'est fini! Oui, le world him shut up tout togedder. Oh, +misere! Fat shall ye to do?" + +"Hold your tongue, La Roche," said Frank, "and bring the kitchen +shovel." + +The cook instantly turned to obey, and as he rushed towards the kitchen +his voice was heard exclaiming in the passage-- + +"Ah, c'est terrible! Mais I ver' moshe fear de shovel be out in de +neige. Ah, non; here it is. C'est bien." + +Returning in haste to the hall, he handed a much dilapidated iron shovel +to Frank, who threw off his coat and set to work with vigour. The +tables and chairs, and all the furniture, were removed into the inner +apartments, in order to afford room for the snow which Frank dug from +the open doorway and shovelled into the centre of the room. As only one +at a time could work in the narrow doorway, the three men wrought with +the shovel by turns; and while one was digging the tunnel, the other two +piled the debris in a compact mound beside the stove. As no fire had +yet been kindled, the snow, of course, did not melt, but remained crisp +and dry upon the floor. Meanwhile Edith looked on with deep interest, +and occasionally assisted in piling the snow; while her mother, seeing +that her presence was unnecessary, retired to her own room. + +"There," cried Frank, pausing and surveying an immense cavern which he +had dug into the drift, "that's a good spell. Take a turn now, La +Roche, and dig upwards; we should see daylight soon." + +"Ah, vraiment, it be time, for it am von o'clock," replied La Roche, as +he plied the shovel. + +The tunnel was cut in such a way as that, while it ran outwards, it also +sloped upwards; and, from the angle at which it lay, Stanley calculated +that thirty feet or thereabouts would bring them to the surface. In +this he was correct, for when La Roche had worked for half an hour, the +snow above became slightly luminous. But the labour of conveying it +from the end of the tunnel into the hall became, of course, greater as +the work advanced. At length the light penetrated so clearly that La +Roche was induced to thrust his shovel upwards, in the expectation of +penetrating the mass. The effect of this action was striking and +unexpected. Instantly the roof fell in, and a flood of sunshine poured +into the tunnel, revealing the luckless Frenchman struggling amid the +ruins. + +"Oh, pull me hout!" he spluttered, as Frank and Stanley stood laughing +heartily at his misfortune. One of his legs happened to protrude from +the mass as he made this earnest request; so Frank seized it, and +dragged the poor man by main force from his uncomfortable position. +Immediately afterwards they all three scrambled through the aperture, +and stood in open day. + +The sight that met their eyes was a curious though not a satisfactory +one. All that remained visible of Fort Chimo were, as we have said, the +chimneys and the flagstaff. In regard to the general aspect of the +neighbourhood, however, there was little alteration; for the change of +position in the drifts among the mountain gorges, and the addition to +their bulk, made no striking alteration in the rugged landscape. In +some places the gale had cleared the sides of the mountains and left +their cliffs exposed to view; in other spots the gorges and ravines were +choked up, and the pine tops nearly covered; and the open water in the +lake was more encumbered than usual with icebergs. + +"Now, La Roche," said Stanley, after they had surveyed the desolate +scene for a few minutes in silence, "go fetch the shovel and we'll dig +out the men. I daresay, poor fellows, they're beginning to wonder at +the length of the night by this time." + +La Roche prepared to descend into the tunnel, when their attention was +arrested by a strange sound beneath the snow. In a few minutes the +crust began to crack at a spot not more than two yards from where they +stood; then there was a sudden rupture, accompanied by a growl, and +followed by the appearance of the dishevelled head and arms of a man. + +"Musha, boys, but I'm out!" Bryan coughed the snow from around his +mouth, and winked it from his eyes, as he spoke. The first sight that +met his bewildered gaze was three pair of expanded eyeballs and three +double rows of grinning teeth, a few feet from his face. Uttering a cry +of terror, he fell back into the hole, the snow closed over him, and he +was gone! + +It need scarcely be added that Frank and Stanley commenced to dig into +this hole with as much vigour as their frequent explosions of laughter +would allow. In a few minutes it was re-opened, and the men issued one +by one from durance vile. + +"Och, sirs, ye gave me a mortial start!" exclaimed Bryan, as he rose to +view the second time. "I thought for sartin ye were all polar bears. +Faix we've had a job o't down there. I'll be bound to say there's +twinty ton o' snow--bad luck to it--in the middle o' the floor." + +"There's work for us here that'll last two weeks, I guess," said Massan, +as he and several of the others stooped down and gazed into the tunnel +leading to the hall, at the end of which Edith's laughing face met their +view. + +"When did you awake, and begin to suspect that something was wrong?" +inquired Stanley of Dick Prince. + +"Awake!" cried Bryan, answering the question; "we awoke at laste a dozen +times. I suppose it must have bin the time for brikfust; for, ye see, +although we could ha' slept on long enough; our intariors couldn't, be +no manes, forgit their needcessities." + +"We shall have to work a bit yet ere these necessities are attended to, +I fear," said Stanley. "Go, Francois, and one or two of you, and open +up the dog-kennel. The rest of you get all the shovels you can lay +hands on, and clear out the houses as fast as you can." + +"Clear out de chimbleys fust, mes garcons," cried La Roche, looking up +from the tunnel. "Den ve vill git dejeuner ready toute suite." + +"That will we, lad," said Bryan, shouldering a spade and proceeding +towards the chimney of the hall; while the rest of the party, breaking +up into several groups, set to work, with spades, shovels, and such +implements as were suitable, to cut passages through the square of the +fort towards the doors of the several buildings. As Massan had said, it +proved to be no light work. The north-west gale had launched the snow +upon the exposed buildings of Fort Chimo until the drift was fifteen or +sixteen feet deep, so that the mere cutting of passages was a matter of +considerable time and severe labour. + +Meanwhile, Maximus awoke, and sought to raise himself from his lair at +the foot of the rock. But his first effort failed. The drift above him +was too heavy. Abandoning, therefore, the idea of freeing himself by +main force, he turned round on his side and began to scrape away the +snow that was directly above his head. The masses that accumulated in +the course of this process he forced down past his chest; and, as his +motions tended to compress and crush the drift around him in all +directions, he soon made room enough to work with ease. In ten minutes +he approached so near to the surface as to be able, with a powerful +effort, to burst it upwards, and step out of his strange dormitory into +the sunshine. + +This method of spending the night has been resorted to more than once by +arctic travellers who had lost their way; and it is sad to think that +many who have perished might have saved their lives had they known that +burrowing could be practised with safety. The Esquimaux frequently +spend the night in this manner, but they prefer building a snow-house to +burrowing, if circumstances will permit. + +Cutting a slice of seal-meat, and eating as he went, Maximus resumed his +journey, and soon afterwards arrived at the fort, where he found the men +busied in excavating their buried dwellings. + +Here he stated the case of the old woman, and received such medicines as +Stanley, in his amateur medical wisdom, saw fit to bestow. With these +he started immediately to retrace his steps, having been directed to +proceed, after administering them, to the lake where Frank meant to try +the fishing under the ice. A family of Esquimaux had been established +on another lake not so far distant from the fort; and having been taught +by the fur-traders how to set nets under the ice, they succeeded in +procuring more than enough for their subsistence. It was hoped, +therefore, that the larger lake would afford a good supply; and, the +weather having become decidedly fine, Frank prepared to set out on the +following day. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +AN EXCURSION--IGLOO BUILDING, AND FISHING UNDER THE ICE--A SNOW-TABLE +AND A GOOD FEAST--EDITH SPENDS THE NIGHT UNDER A SNOW-ROOF FOR THE FIRST +BUT NOT THE LAST TIME. + +"Now then, Edith," cried Frank, looking in at the door of the hall, +"your carriage waits, and Chimo is very restive." + +"Coming, coming," exclaimed a treble voice within; "I'm getting new +lines put to my snow-shoes, and will be ready in two minutes." + +Two minutes, translated into female language, means ten, sometimes +twenty. Frank knew this, and proceeded to re-adjust the sash that +secured his leathern capote, as he walked towards the little sledge in +front of the fort. He then tied down the ear-pieces of his fur cap more +carefully, for it was very cold, though clear and sunny. The frost had +set fast the lake opposite the fort, and, by thus removing the +frost-cloud that overhung the open water farther out to sea, relieved +the fort from the mists in which it was usually enveloped. By this time +fifteen out of the "two" minutes having elapsed, he re-examined the lock +of his gun, and adjusted the warm deerskin robe on Edith's little +sledge, patted Chimo on the head, looked up at the clouds, and began to +whistle. + +"Now, Frank, here I am," cried Edith, running towards him with her +snow-shoes in her hand, followed by her father and mother. + +"Quiet, Chimo--down, sir!" said Frank, restraining the dog as it sought +to bound towards its mistress. Being harnessed to the sledge, this was +a very improper proceeding and was rebuked accordingly; so Chimo was +fain to crouch on the snow and look back at Edith as Frank placed her in +the sledge, and arranged the deerskin robes round her. + +Edith wore a long fur cloak and cloth leggings. Her feet were protected +from the cold by two pair of blanket socks, besides very thick moccasins +of deerskin. The usual head-dress of civilised females in these regions +is a round fur cap; but Edith had a peculiar affection for the Cree +Indian headdress, and, upon the present occasion, wore one which was +lined with fur and accommodated with ear-pieces, to defy the winter +cold. The child's general appearance was somewhat rotund. Painters +would probably have said there was a little too much breadth, perhaps, +in the picture. Her pointed cap, however, with the little bow of ribbon +on the top, gave her a piquant air, and did away with the heavy +appearance of her costume to some extent; in fact, Edith looked like a +fat little witch. But if she looked fat before being wrapped up in the +sledge furs, she looked infinitely fatter when thus placed, and nothing +of her visible except her two twinkling eyes. So grotesque was she that +the whole party burst into a loud laugh as they surveyed her. The laugh +made Chimo start off at full gallop, which caused Frank to grasp the +line of the sledge that trailed behind, and hurry over the snow at a +most undignified pace. + +"Take care of her," cried Mr Stanley. + +"Ay, ay," shouted Frank.--"Softly, Chimo--softly, you rascal!" + +In ten minutes the travellers were round the point and fairly out of +sight; but the shouts of Frank, and an occasional howl from Chimo, +floated back on the breeze as Stanley and his wife returned leisurely to +the hall. + +The road, or rather the ground, over which Frank Morton drove Edith that +day was exceedingly rough and rugged--so rough that we will not try the +endurance of the reader by dragging him over it. We will merely +indicate its general features. First of all, they drove about three +miles along the level snow at the foot of the mountains. So far the +road was good; and Chimo went along merrily to the music of the little +thimble-like brass bells with which his harness was garnished. Then +they came to a ravine, and Edith had to get out, put on her snow-shoes, +and clamber up, holding by Frank's hand; while Chimo followed, dragging +the sledge as he best could. Having gained one of the terraces, Edith +slipped her feet out of the snow-shoe lines, jumped into the sledge, and +was swept along to the next ravine, where she got out again, resumed her +snow-shoes, and ascended as before. Thus they went up the ravines and +along the terraces until the summit of the first mountain range was +reached. Having rested here a few minutes, Edith once more got into the +sledge, and Chimo set off. But as there was now a long piece of level +ground over which for some miles they could travel in the direction of +the coast, Frank took the sled-line in his hand, and held the dog at a +quick walking pace. Afterwards they turned a little farther inland, and +came into a more broken country, where they had sometimes to mount and +sometimes to descend the hills. There were many gorges and narrow +fissures in the ground here, some of which were covered over and so +concealed with snow that the travellers ran some risk of falling into +them. Indeed, at one place, so narrow was their escape that Chimo fell +through the crust of snow, and disappeared into a fissure which +descended a hundred feet sheer down; and the sledge would certainly have +followed had not Frank held it back by the line; and Chimo was not +hauled up again without great difficulty. After this, Frank went in +front with a pole, and sounded the snow in dangerous-looking places as +he went along. + +Towards the afternoon they arrived at the lake where they intended to +encamp, and, to their great delight, found Maximus there already. He +had only arrived a few minutes before them, and was just going to +commence the erection of a snow-house. + +"Glad to see you, Maximus," cried Frank, as he drove up. "How's the old +woman, eh?" + +"She small better," replied Maximus, assisting Edith to alight. "Dis +goot for fish." + +Maximus was a remarkably intelligent man, and, although his residence at +the fort had been of short duration as yet, he had picked up a few words +of English. + +"A good lake, I have no doubt," replied Frank, looking round. "But we +need not search for camping ground. There seems to be very little wood, +so you may as well build our hut on the ice. We shall need all our +time, as the sun has not long to run." + +The lake, on the edge of which they stood, was about a mile in +circumferenee, and lay in a sort of natural basin formed by +savage-looking hills, in which the ravines were little more than narrow +fissures, entirely devoid of trees. Snow encompassed and buried +everything, so that nothing was to be seen except, here and there, crags +and cliffs of gray rock, which were too precipitous for the snow to rest +on. + +"Now, Eda, I will take a look among these rocks for a ptarmigan for +supper; so you can amuse yourself watching Maximus build our house till +I return." + +"Very well, Frank," said Edith; "but don't be long. Come back before +dark; Chimo and I will weary for you." + +In a few minutes Frank disappeared among the rocks upon the shore; and +Maximus, taking Edith by the hand, and dragging her sledge after him, +led her a couple of hundred yards out on to the ice, or, more properly +speaking, the hard beaten snow with which the ice was covered. Chimo +had been turned loose, and, being rather tired after his journey, had +coiled himself up on a mound of snow and fallen fast asleep. + +"Dis place for house," said Maximus, pausing near a smooth, level part +of the lake. "You stop look to me," he added, turning to the little +girl, who gazed up in his large face with an expression half of wonder +and half of fun. "When you cold, run; when you hot, sit in sled and +look at me." + +In compliance with this request, Edith sat down in her sledge, and from +this comfortable point of view watched the Esquimau while he built a +snow-hut before her. + +First of all, he drew out a long iron knife, which had been constructed +specially far him by Bryan, who looked upon the giant with special +favour. With the point of this he drew a circle of about seven feet in +diameter; and so well accustomed was he to this operation that his +circle, we believe, could not have been mended even by a pair of +compasses. Two feet to one side of this circle he drew a smaller one, +of about four feet in diameter. Next, he cut out of the snow a number +of hard blocks, which were so tough that they could not be broken +without a severe blow, but were as easily cut as you might have sliced a +soft cheese with a sharp knife. These blocks he arranged round the +large circle, and built them above each other, fashioning them, as he +proceeded, in such a manner that they gradually rose into the form of a +dome. The chinks between them he filled compactly with soft snow, and +the last block, introduced into the top of the structure, was formed +exactly on the principle of the key-stone of an arch. When the large +dome was finished, he commenced the smaller; and in the course of two +hours both the houses--or, as the Esquimaux call them, igloos--were +completed. + +Long before this, however, Frank had returned, from an unsuccessful +hunt, to assist him; and Edith had wondered and wearied, grown cold and +taken to running with Chimo, and grown warm and returned to her sledge, +several times. Two holes were left in the igloos to serve as doors; +and, after they were finished, the Esquimau cut a square hole in the top +of each, not far from the key-stones, and above the entrances. Into +these he fitted slabs of clear ice, which formed windows as beautiful +and useful as if they had been made of glass. There were two doorways +in the large igloo, one of which faced the doorway of the smaller. +Between these he built an arched passage, so that the two were thus +connected, and the small hut formed a sort of inner chamber to the +larger. + +"Now, dem done," said Maximus, surveying his work with a satisfied +smile. + +"And very well done they are," said Frank. "See here, Eda, our +snow-fort is finished. The big one is to be the grand hall and +banqueting-room, and yonder little hut is your private boudoir." + +"Mine!" exclaimed Edith, running away from Chimo, with whom she had been +playing, and approaching the new houses that had been so speedily put +up. "Oh, how nice! what fun! only think!--a snow bedroom! But won't it +be cold, Frank? And is the bed to be of snow too?" + +The black moustache of the giant curled with a smile at the energy with +which this was said. + +"We will make the bedsteads of snow, Eda," replied Frank, "but I think +we shall manage to find blankets of a warmer material.--Now, Maximus, +get the things put inside, and the lamp lighted, for we're all tired and +very hungry." + +The lamp to which Frank referred was one which Maximus had brought, +along with a few other articles, from the Esquimau camp. It was made of +soft stone, somewhat in the form of a half moon, about eight inches long +and three broad, and hollowed out in the inside. Esquimaux burn +seal-fat in it, and in winter have no other means of warming their +houses or cooking their food. But for both purposes it is quite +sufficient. The heat created by these lamps, combined with the natural +warmth of the inhabitants, is frequently so great in the igloos of the +Esquimaux that they are fain to throw off a great portion of their upper +garments, and sit in a state of partial nudity; yet the snow-walls do +not melt, owing to the counteracting influence of the intense cold +without. + +Maximus had brought some seal-fat, or blubber, along with him. A +portion of this he now put into the lamp, and, placing the latter on a +snow-shelf prepared expressly for it, he set it on fire. The flame, +although not very steady, was bright enough to illuminate the large +igloo, and to throw a strong gleam into the smaller one. Over this lamp +Frank placed a small tin kettle, filled with snow, which was speedily +converted into water; and while this was being boiled, he assisted Edith +in spreading out the bedding. As we have already said, the floor of +this snow-house was of the same material as the walls. But one-half of +it was raised about a foot above the other half, according to Esquimau +rules of architecture. This elevated half was intended for the bed, +which consisted of a large deer-skin robe, spread entirely over it, with +the soft hair upwards. Another large robe was placed above this for a +blanket, and a smaller one either for a pillow or an additional covering +if required; but both of these were tossed down in a heap at the present +time, to form a luxuriant seat for Frank and Edith. As their legs hung +over the edge of the elevated couch, they were thus seated, as it were, +on an ottoman. A mat of interlaced willows covered the floor, and on +this sat Maximus, towering in his hairy garments like a huge bear, while +his black shadow was cast on the pure white wall behind him. In the +midst stood a small table, extemporised by Frank out of a block of snow, +and covered with the ample skirt of his leathern topcoat, which the +increasing temperature of the air inside the igloo rendered too warm. + +Beside Edith, on the most comfortable portion of the ottoman, sat Chimo, +with an air of majestic solemnity, looking, as privileged dogs always do +look under like circumstances, as if the chief seat belonged to him as a +matter not of favour but of right. On the table was spread a solid lump +of excellent pemmican--excellent, because made by the fair hands of Mrs +Stanley. It stood _vis-a-vis_ to a tin plate whereon lay three large +steaming cuts of boiled fresh salmon--fresh, because, although caught +some months before, it had been frozen solid ever since. There was a +large tin kettle of hot tea in the centre of the board--if under the +circumstances we may use the term--and three tin cups out of which to +drink it; besides a plate containing broken pieces of ship-biscuit and a +small quantity of sugar wrapped up in a morsel of paper. Also a little +salt in a tin box. + +All these things, and tempting delicacies, had up till now been +contained within the compass of a small, compact, insignificant-looking +parcel, which during the journey had occupied a retiring position in the +hinder part of Edith's sledge--so true is it that the really _great_ and +the _useful_ court concealment until duty calls them forth and reveals +their worth and their importance to an admiring world. The admiring +world on the present occasion, however, consisted only of Frank, Edith, +Maximus, and Chimo; unless, indeed, we may include the moon, who at that +moment poured her bright beams through the ice-window of the hut and +flooded the centre of the snow-table with light. + +"Aren't we snug, Eda?" cried Frank, as he filled her tin with tea. +"What a charming house! and so cheap, too! There's sugar beside you. +Take care you don't use salt by mistake.--Maximus, hold out your +pannikin. That's the true beverage to warm your heart, if you take it +hot enough." + +"Tankee, sur," said the giant, extending his cup with one hand, while +with the other he forced into his capacious mouth as much pemmican as it +could hold. + +"Frank," said Edith, "we must build an igloo at the fort when we +return." + +"So we will, now that I know how to do it. Hand me the salt, please, +and poke Chimo's nose away from the salmon. Yes, and we'll invite papa +and mamma to come and take supper at _our_ house.--Maximus, is this the +exact way your friends build their winter houses?" + +"Yis, sur," answered the Esquimau, looking up from the cut of salmon +which he lifted with his fingers in preference to a fork or knife. "Dey +always buil' um so. But not dis t'ing," he added, touching the +snow-table. + +"No, I suppose not," said Frank. "I flatter myself that that is a +recent improvement." + +"We do great many igloo sometime," continued Maximus, "vid two, t'ree, +four--plenty pass'ges goin' into von a-doder." + +"What does he mean by that?" inquired Edith, laughing. + +"I suppose he means that they connect a number of their igloos together +by means of passages.--And do they keep them as clean and snug as this, +Maximus?" + +The Esquimau replied by a loud chuckle, and a full display of his +magnificent teeth, which Frank understood to signify a decided negative. + +When supper was ended Chimo was permitted to devour the scraps, while +Frank assisted Edith to arrange her little dormitory. It was much the +same in its arrangements as the larger apartment, and was really as +comfortable and warm as one could desire. Returning to the large +apartment, Frank spread out the couch on which he and Maximus were to +repose; and then, sitting down beside the stone lamp, he drew forth his +Bible, as was his wont, and began to read. + +Soon after lying down Edith heard the deep voices of her companions +engaged in earnest conversation; but these sounds gradually died away, +and she fell asleep, to dream of her berry-ravine at Fort Chimo. As the +night wore on, the deep breathing of the men told that they, too, had +sought and found repose. The lamp burned slowly down and went out, and, +when the moon threw her parting rays over the scene, there was nothing +to tell of the presence of human beings in that cold, wild spot, save +two little white mounds on the frozen lake below. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +FRANK MORTON GETS INTO DIFFICULTIES. + +Chimo's loud bark and the angry snarl of a large wolf, as it darted away +to seek the shelter of the kills, were the sounds that awoke our +travellers in the grey dawn of the following morning. + +Frank started up, seized his gun, and darted through the doorway of the +igloo; in doing which he dashed the door of snow to atoms. He had only +the satisfaction, however, of seeing the wolf's tail flourish in the +air, as the animal bounded over a snow-drift and disappeared in a +ravine. + +"Ha! how cold it is!" he exclaimed, re-entering the igloo hastily; far +having issued forth without his coat or cap, the two minutes during +which he stood exposed to the open air cooled him down nearly to the +freezing point. "Hallo, Maximus! jump up; light the lamp while I fill +the kettle. Heyday! it solidifies the very marrow in one's bones. Ho, +Edith! up with you, lazy thing; there has been a wolf to bid you +good-morrow." + +While Frank rattled on thus he belted his leathern coat round him, put +on his fur cap, and prepared breakfast; while Edith rose and resumed the +cap and cloak which she had put off on lying down to rest. + +"Maximus," said Frank, after the first duties of the day were concluded, +"we must now go and set the hooks; but as cutting holes in the ice will +occupy you some time, I'll take a short walk along the margin of the +lake with my gun. Be careful of Edith till I return." + +So saying, Frank went off, taking Chimo along with him; while Maximus +seized the axe and ice-chisel, and began the laborious process of +digging through to the water. The ice on the lake was five feet thick, +but by dint of great perseverance the Esquimau succeeded in making +several holes through it ere Frank returned. Each hole was large enough +to contain the body of a man, but a little wider above than below. In +these holes were set stout cod-lines, with hooks of about half an inch +or more in diameter. They were made of white metal, and clumsy enough +to look at; but fish in the lakes of Ungava are not particular. These +hooks were baited with lumps of seal-fat, and ere half an hour elapsed +the success of the anglers was very decided and satisfactory. + +Frank hauled up a white-fish of about six pounds weight at the first +dip, and scarcely had he thrown it on the ice when Maximus gave a +galvanic start, hauled up his line a few yards with laughable eagerness, +then stopped suddenly, under the impression, apparently, that it was a +false alarm; but another tug set him again in motion, and in three +seconds he pulled a fine lake-trout of about ten pounds weight out of +the hole. Edith, also, who had a line under her care, began to show +symptoms of expectation. + +"Capital!" cried Frank, beating his hands violently against his +shoulders; for handling wet line, with the thermometer at twenty below +zero is decidedly cold work--"capital! we must set up a regular fishery +here, I think; the fish are swarming. There's another,--eh? no--he's +off--" + +"Oh! oh!! oh!!!" shrieked Edith in mingled fear and excitement, as, at +each successive "oh!" she received a jerk that well-nigh pulled her into +the ice-hole. + +"Hold hard!" cried Frank; "now then, haul away." Edith pulled, and so +did the fish; but as it was not more than five pounds weight or so, she +overcame it after a severe struggle, and landed a white-fish on the ice. + +The next shout that Edith gave was of so very decided and thrilling a +character that Frank and Maximus darted to her side in alarm, and the +latter caught the line as it was torn violently from her grasp. For a +few minutes the Esquimau had to allow the line to run out, being unable +to hold the fish--at least without the risk of breaking his tackle; but +in a few seconds the motion of the line became less rapid, and Maximus +held on, while his huge body was jerked violently, notwithstanding his +weight and strength. Soon the line relaxed a little, and Maximus ran +away from the hole as fast as he could, drawing the line after him. +When the fish reached the hole it offered decided resistance to such +treatment; and being influenced, apparently, by the well-known proverb, +"Time about's fair play," it darted away in its turn, causing the +Esquimau to give it line again very rapidly. + +"He must be an enormously big fellow," said Frank, as he and Edith stood +close to the hole watching the struggle with intense interest. + +The Esquimau gave a broad grin. + +"Yis, he most very biggest--hie!" + +The cause of this exclamation of surprise was the slacking of the line +so suddenly that Maximus was induced to believe the fish had escaped. + +"Him go be-off. Ho yis!" + +But he was wrong. Another violent tug convinced him that the fish was +still captive--though an unwilling one--and the struggle was renewed. +In about a quarter of an hour Maximus dragged this refractory fish +slowly into the hole, and its snout appeared above water. + +"Oh! _what_ a fish!" exclaimed Edith. + +"Put in de spear," cried the Esquimau. + +Frank caught up a native spear which Maximus had provided, and just as +the fish was about to recommence the struggle for its life, he +transfixed it through the gills, and pinned it to the side of the +ice-hole. The battle was over; a few seconds sufficed to drag the fish +from its native element and lay it at full length on the ice. + +And few anglers have ever had the pleasure of beholding such a prize. +It was a trout of fully sixty pounds weight, and although such fish are +seldom if ever found in other parts of the world, they are by no means +uncommon in the lakes of North America. + +Having secured this noble fish, Maximus cut it open and cleaned it, +after which it was left to freeze. The other fish were then similarly +treated; and while the Esquimau was thus engaged, Frank and Edith +continued their sport. But daylight in these far northern regions is +very short-lived in winter, and they were soon compelled unwillingly to +leave off. + +"Now, Maximus," said Frank, as they rolled up their lines, "I don't +intend to keep you longer with us. Edith and I can manage the fishing +very well, so you may return to your friends at False River, and take +the seal-flesh for the dogs up to the fort. Get the loan of some of +their dogs and a sled to haul it; and come round this way in passing, so +as to pick up any fish we may have ready for you. The moon will be up +in a little, so be off as fast as you can." + +In obedience to these orders, Maximus packed up a small quantity of +provisions, and bidding good-bye to his two friends, set off to make the +best of his way to the coast. + +That night Frank and his little charge sat down to sup together in the +igloo at the head of their snow-table, and Chimo acted the part of +croupier in the room of the Esquimau. And a pleasant evening they +spent, chatting, and laughing, and telling stories, by the light of the +stone lamp, the mellow flame of which shed a warm influence over the +sparkling dome of snow. Before retiring to rest, Frank said that they +must be up with the first light, for he meant to have a hard day's +fishing; but man little knows what a day may bring forth. Neither Frank +nor Edith dreamed that night of the events that were to happen on the +morrow. + +On awaking in the morning they were again roused by the voice of the +wolf which had visited them the day before. In order to catch this +wolf, Maximus had, just before starting, constructed a trap peculiar to +the Esquimaux. It was simply a hole dug down through the ice at the +edge of the lake, not far from the igloo. This hole was just wide +enough to admit the body of a wolf, and the depth sufficient to render +it absolutely impossible for the animal to thrust his snout to the +bottom, however long his neck might be. At the bottom a tempting piece +of blubber, in very _high_ condition, was placed. The result of this +ingenious arrangement was most successful, and, we may add, inevitable. +Attracted by the smell of the meat, our friend the wolf came trotting +down to the lake just about daybreak, and sneaked suspiciously up to the +trap. He peeped in and licked his lips with satisfaction at the +charming breakfast below. One would have thought, as he showed his +formidable white teeth, that he was laughing with delight. Then, +spreading out his fore legs so as to place his breast on the ice, he +thrust his head down into the hole and snapped at the coveted blubber. +But he had mistaken the depth, and blaming himself, no doubt, for his +stupidity, he slid a little further forward, and pushed his head deeper +down. What! not at it yet? Oh! this is preposterous! Under this +impression he rose, shook himself, and advancing his shoulders as far as +prudence would allow, again thrust down his head and stretched his neck +until the very sinews cracked. Then it was, but not till then, that the +conviction was forced on him that that precious morsel was totally and +absolutely beyond his reach altogether. Drawing himself back he sat +down on his haunches and uttered a snarling bark of dissatisfaction. +But the odour that ascended from that hole was too much for the powers +of wolfish nature to resist. Showing his teeth with an expression of +mingled disappointment and ferocity, he plunged his head into the hole +once more. Deeper and deeper still it went, but the blubber was yet +three inches from his eager nose. Another shove--no! dislocation alone +could accomplish the object. His shoulders slid very imperceptibly into +the hole. His nose was within an inch of the prize, and he could +actually touch it with his tongue. Away with cowardly prudence! what +recked he of the consequences? Up went his hind legs, down went his +head, and the tempting bait was gained at last! + +Alas for wolfish misfortunes! His fore legs were jammed immovably +against his ribs. A touch of his hind foot on the ice would remedy this +mishap, but he was too far in for that. Vigorously he struggled, but in +vain. The blood rushed to his head, and the keen frost quickly put an +end to his pains. In a few minutes he was dead, and in half an hour he +was frozen, solid as a block of wood, with his hind legs and tail +pointing to the sky. + +It was at the consummation of this event that another wolf, likewise +attracted by the blubber, trotted down the wild ravine and uttered a +howl of delighted surprise as it rushed forward to devour its dead +companion--for such is the custom among wolves. And this was the howl +that called Frank forth in time to balk its purpose. + +Frank happened to be completely dressed at the time, and as he saw the +wolf bound away up the mountain gorge, he seized his gun and snow-shoes, +and hastily slung on his powder-horn and shot-belt. + +"Edith," he cried, as he was about to start, "I must give chase to that +wolf. I won't be gone long. Light the lamp and prepare breakfast, +dear--at least as much of it as you can; I'll be back to complete it.-- +Hallo, Chimo! here, Chimo!" he shouted, whistling to the dog, which +bounded forth from the door of the hut and followed his master up the +ravine. + +Edith was so well accustomed to solitary wanderings among the rugged +glens in the neighbourhood of Fort Chimo that she felt no alarm on +finding herself left alone in this wild spot. She knew that Frank was +not far off, and expected him back in a few minutes. She knew, also, +that wild animals are not usually so daring as to show themselves in +open ground after the break of day, particularly after the shouts of +human beings have scared them to their dens; so, instead of giving a +thought to any possible dangers that might threaten her, she applied +herself cheerfully and busily to the preparation of their morning meal. +First she lighted the lamp, which instantly removed the gloom of the +interior of the igloo, whose little ice-window as yet admitted only the +faint light of the grey dawn. Then she melted a little snow, and +cleaned out the kettle, in which she placed two cuts of fresh trout; and +having advanced thus far in her work, thought it time to throw on her +hood and peep out to see if Frank was coming. But there was no sign of +Frank, so she re-entered the igloo and began to set things to rights. +She folded up the deerskins on which she had reposed, and piled them at +the head of the willow matting that formed her somewhat rough and +unyielding mattress, after which she arranged the ottoman, and laid out +the breakfast things on the snow-table. Having accomplished all this to +her entire satisfaction, Edith now discovered that the cuts of salmon +were sufficiently well boiled, and began to hope that Frank would be +quick, lest the breakfast should be spoiled. Under the influence of +this feeling she threw on her hood a second time, and going out upon the +lake, surveyed the shore with a scrutinising gaze. The sun was now so +far above the natural horizon that the daylight was pretty clear, but +the high mountains prevented any of his direct rays from penetrating the +gloom of the valley of the lake. Still there was light enough to enable +the solitary child to distinguish the objects on shore; but Frank's tall +form was not visible anywhere. + +Heaving a slight sigh, Edith returned to the hut, soliloquising thus as +she went--"Dear me! it is very strange that Frank should stay away so +long. I fear that the trout will be quite spoiled. Perhaps it would be +very good cold. No doubt of it. We shall have it cold, and then I can +get the tea ready." + +In pursuance of this plan, the anxious little housekeeper removed the +trout from the kettle, which she cleaned out and refilled with snow. +When this was melted and boiled, she put in the tea. In due time this +also was ready, and she sallied forth once more, with a feeling +approaching to anxiety, to look for Frank. Still her companion did not +make his appearance, and for the first time a feeling of dread touched +her heart. She strove to avert it, however, by considering that Frank +might have been obliged to follow the wolf farther than he expected or +intended. Then a thrill of fear passed through her breast as the +thought occurred, "What if the wolf has attacked and killed him?" As +time wore on, and no sound of voice or gun or bark of dog broke the +dreary stillness of that gloomy place, a feeling of intense horror took +possession of the child's mind, and she pictured to herself all kinds of +possible evils that might have befallen her companion; while at the same +time she could not but feel how awful was her unprotected and helpless +condition. One thought, however, comforted her, and this was that +Maximus would certainly come to the hut on his return to the fort. This +relieved her mind in regard to herself; but the very relief on that +point enabled her all the more to realise the dangers to which Frank +might be exposed without any one to render him assistance. + +The morning passed away, the sun rose above the hills, and the +short-lived day drew towards its close; still Frank did not return, and +the poor child who watched so anxiously for him, after many short and +timid wanderings towards the margin of the lake, returned to the igloo +with a heart fluttering from mingled anxiety and terror. Throwing +herself on the deerskin couch, she burst into a flood of tears. As she +lay there, sobbing bitterly, she was startled by a noise outside the +hut, and ere she could spring from her recumbent position, Chimo darted +through the open doorway, with a cry between a whine and a bark, and +laid his head on Edith's lap. + +"Oh! what is it, my dog? Dear Chimo, where is Frank?" cried the child +passionately, while she embraced her favourite with feelings of mingled +delight and apprehension. "Is he coming, Chimo?" she said, addressing +the dumb animal, as if she believed he understood her. Then, rising +hastily, she darted out once more, to cast a longing, expectant gaze +towards the place where she had seen her companion disappear in the +morning. But she was again doomed to disappointment. Meanwhile Chimo's +conduct struck her as being very strange. Instead of receiving with his +usual quiet satisfaction the caresses she heaped upon him, he kept up a +continual whine, and ran about hither and thither without any apparent +object in view. Once or twice he darted off with a long melancholy howl +towards the hills; then stopping short suddenly, stood still and looked +round towards his young mistress. At first Edith thought that the dog +must have lost his master, and had come back to the hut expecting to +find him there. Then she called him to her and examined his mouth, +expecting and dreading to find blood upon it. But there were no signs +of his having been engaged in fighting with wolves; so Edith felt sure +that Frank must be safe from _them_ at least, as she knew that Chimo was +too brave to have left his master to perish alone. The dog submitted +with much impatience to this examination, and at last broke away from +Edith and ran yelping towards the hills again, stopping as before, and +looking back. + +The resolute manner with which Chimo did this, and the frequency of its +recurrence, at length induced Edith to believe that the animal wished +her to follow him. Instantly it occurred that he might conduct her to +Frank; so without bestowing a thought on the danger of her forsaking the +igloo, she ran in for her snow-shoes, and putting on her hood and thick +mittens, followed the dog to the margin of the lake. Chime's impatience +seemed to subside immediately, and he trotted rapidly towards the ravine +into which Frank had entered in pursuit of the wolf that morning. The +dog paused ever and anon as they proceeded, in order to give the child +time to come up with him; and so eager was Edith in her adventure, and +so hopeful was she that it would terminate in her finding Frank, that +she pressed forward at a rate which would have been utterly impossible +under less exciting circumstances. + +At the foot of the ravine she found the remains of the wolf which had +been caught in the snow-trap that morning. Frank had merely pulled it +out and cast it on the snow in passing, and the torn fragments and +scattered bones of the animal showed that its comrades had breakfasted +off its carcass after Frank had passed. Here Edith paused to put on her +snow-shoes, for the snow in the ravine was soft, being less exposed to +the hardening action of the wind; and the dog sat down to wait patiently +until she was ready. + +"Now, Chimo, go forward, my good dog. I will follow you without fear," +she said, when the lines were properly fastened to her feet. + +Chimo waited no second command, but threaded his way rapidly up the +ravine among the stunted willow bushes. In doing so he had frequent +occasion to wait for his young mistress, whose strength was rapidly +failing under the unwonted exertion she forced herself to make. At +times she had to pause for breath, and as she cast her eyes upwards and +around at the dreary desolation of the rugged precipices which +everywhere met her view, she could with difficulty refrain from shedding +tears. But Edith's heart was warm and brave. The thought of Frank +being in some mysterious, unknown danger, infused new energy into her +soul and strengthened her slight frame. Having now recovered somewhat +from the nervous haste which urged her to travel at a rate much beyond +her capacity, she advanced into the ravines of the mountains with more +of that steady, regular tramp which practice in the use of her +snow-shoes had taught her to assume; so that, being of a robust +constitution naturally, she became stronger and more able for her +undertaking as she advanced. + +For nearly two hours Chimo led Edith into the midst of the mountains. +The scenery became, if possible, more savage as they proceeded, and at +length grew so rugged and full of precipices and dark gorges, or rather +_splits_ in the hills, that Edith had much difficulty in avoiding the +danger of falling over many of the latter, which were partially +concealed by, and in some places entirely covered over with, a crust of +snow. Fortunately, as daylight waned, a brilliant galaxy of stars shone +forth, enabling her to pick her steps. + +Hitherto they had followed Frank's snow-shoe track undeviatingly, but +near the top of a cliff Chimo suddenly diverged to the left, and led his +mistress by a steep and tortuous natural path to the bottom. Here he +ran quickly forward, uttering a low whine or whimper, and disappeared +round the corner of the precipice. Hastening after the dog with a +beating heart, Edith speedily gained the projection of the cliff, on +turning which she was startled and terrified by hearing a loud snarling +bark mingled with a fierce growl. In another moment she beheld Chimo +bounding towards a gaunt savage-looking wolf, which stood close beside +the body of a man extended at full length upon the snow. + +At first the wolf did not seem inclined to retreat, but the shriek which +Edith uttered on suddenly beholding the scene before her induced him to +turn tail and fly. In another moment the terrified child sank exhausted +on the snow beside the insensible form of Frank Morton. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +EDITH BECOMES A HEROINE INDEED. + +The shock which Edith received on beholding the bloodstained countenance +of her companion completely paralysed her at first, but only for a few +minutes. + +The feeling of certainty that Frank would perish if assistance were not +rendered tended to restore her scattered faculties, and nerve her heart +for the duties now required of her; and she rose with a feeling of +determination to save her companion or die beside him. Pour child! she +little knew the extent of her own feebleness at that moment; but she +breathed an inward prayer to Him who can, and often does, achieve the +mightiest results by the feeblest means. + +Raising Frank's head from the snow, she placed it in her lap, and with +her handkerchief removed the blood from his forehead. In doing this she +observed, to her inexpressible relief, that he breathed freely, and +seemed rather to be in a state of stupor than insensibility. The place +where he lay was a dark rent or split in the mountain, the precipices of +which rose on either side to a height of between thirty and forty feet. +The top of this chasm was entirely covered over with a crust of snow, +through which there was a large gap immediately above the spot where +Frank lay, revealing at once the cause of his present sad condition. He +had evidently been crossing the ravine by means of the deceptive +platform of snow, unaware of the danger of his position, and had been +suddenly precipitated to the bottom. In descending, his head had struck +the side of the cliff, which cut it severely; but the softness of the +snow into which he fell saved him from further injury, except the +stunning effect of the fall. How long he had lain in this state Edith +had no means of knowing, but it must have been a considerable time, as +Chimo could not have left him until after his fall. Fortunately the +wolf had not touched him, and the wound in his head did not appear to be +very deep. Observing that parts of his face were slightly frostbitten, +Edith commenced to rub them vigorously, at the same time calling upon +him in the most earnest tones to speak to her. The effect of this +roused him a little. In a few minutes he opened his eyes, and gazed +languidly into the child's face. + +"Where am I, Eda?" he said faintly, while a gentle smile played about +his lips. + +"You are in the mountains, Frank. Dear Frank! do open your eyes again. +I'm so glad to hear your voice! Are you better now?" + +The sound of his voice attracted Chimo, who had long ago abandoned the +pursuit of the wolf, and was seated beside his master. Rising, he +placed his cold nose on Frank's cheek. The action seemed to rouse him +to the recollection of recent events. Starting up on his knees, with an +angry shout, Frank seized the gun that lay beside him and raised it as +if to strike the dog; but he instantly let the weapon fall, and +exclaiming, "Ah, Chimo, is it you, good dog?" he fell back again into +the arms of his companion. + +Edith wept bitterly for a few minutes, while she tried in vain to awaken +her companion from his state of lethargy. At length she dried her tears +hastily, and, rising, placed Frank's head on her warm cloak, which she +wrapped round his face and shoulders. Then she felt his hands, which, +though covered with thick leather mittens, were very cold. Making Chimo +couch at his feet, so as to imbue them with some of his own warmth, she +proceeded to rub his hands, and to squeeze and, as it were, shampoo his +body all over, as vigorously as her strength enabled her. In a few +minutes the effect of this was apparent. Frank raised himself on his +elbow and gazed wildly round him. + +"Surely I must have fallen. Where am I, Edith?" Gradually his +faculties returned. "Edith, Edith!" he exclaimed, in a low, anxious +voice, "I must get back to the igloo. I shall freeze here. Fasten the +lines of my snowshoes, dear, and I will rise." + +Edith did as she was desired, and immediately Frank made a violent +effort and stood upright; but he swayed to and fro like a drunken man. + +"Let me lean on your shoulder, dear Eda," he said in a faint voice. "My +head is terribly confused. Lead me; I cannot see well." + +The child placed his hand on her shoulder, and they went forward a few +paces together--Edith bending beneath the heavy weight of her companion. + +"Do I lean heavily?" said Frank, drawing his hand across his forehead. +"Poor child!" + +As he spoke he removed his hand from her shoulder; but the instant he +did so, he staggered and fell with a deep groan. + +"O Frank! dear Frank! why did you do that?" said Edith, anxiously. "You +do not hurt me. I don't mind it. Do try to rise again." + +Frank tried, and succeeded in walking in a sort of half-sleeping, +half-waking condition for about a mile--stumbling as he went, and often +unwittingly crushing his little guide to the ground. After this he fell +once more, and could not again recover his upright position. Poor Edith +now began to lose heart. The utter hopelessness of getting the wounded +man to advance more than a few yards at a time, and her own gradually +increasing weakness, induced the tears once more to start to her eyes. +She observed, too, that Frank was sinking into that state of lethargy +which is so dangerous in cold climates, and she had much difficulty in +preventing him from falling into that sleep which, if indulged in, is +indeed the sleep of death. By persevering, however, she succeeded in +rousing him so far as to creep a short distance, now and then, on his +hands and knees--sometimes to stagger a few paces forward; and at +length, long after the cold moon had arisen on the scene, they reached +the margin of the lake. + +Here Frank became utterly powerless, and no exertion on the part of his +companion could avail to rouse him. In this dilemma, Edith once more +wrapped him in her warm cloak, and causing Chimo to lie at his feet, +hastened over the ice towards the igloo. On arriving she lighted the +lamp and heated the tea which she had made in the morning. This took at +least a quarter of an hour to do, and during the interval she +endeavoured to allay her impatience by packing up a few mouthfuls of +pemmican and biscuit. Then she spread the deerskins out on the couch; +and when this was done, the tea was thoroughly heated. The snow on the +river being quite hard, she needed not to encumber herself with +snow-shoes; but she fastened the traces of her own little sledge over +her shoulders, and, with the kettle in her hand, ran as fast as her feet +could carry her to the place where she had left Frank and Chimo, and +found them lying exactly as they lay when she left them. + +"Frank! Frank! here is some hot tea for you. Do try to take some." + +But Frank did not move, so she had recourse to rubbing him again, and +had soon the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes. The instant he +did so, she repeated her earnest entreaties that he would take some tea. +In a few minutes he revived sufficiently to sit up and sip a little of +the warm beverage. The effect was almost magical. The blood began to +course more rapidly through his benumbed limbs, and in five minutes more +he was able to sit up and talk to his companion. + +"Now, Frank," said Edith, with an amount of decision that in other +circumstances would have seemed quite laughable, "try to get on to my +sled, and I'll help you. The igloo is near at hand now." + +Frank obeyed almost mechanically, and creeping upon the sled with +difficulty, he fell instantly into a profound sleep. Edith's chief +anxiety was past now. Harnessing Chimo to the sled as well as she +could, she ran on before, and a very few minutes brought them to the +snow-hut. Here the work of rousing Frank had again to be accomplished; +but the vigour which the warm tea had infused into his frame rendered it +less difficult than heretofore, and soon afterwards Edith had the +satisfaction of seeing her companion extended on his deerskin couch, +under the sheltering roof of the igloo. Replenishing the lamp and +closing the doorway with a slab of snow, she sat down to watch by his +side. Chimo coiled himself quietly up at his feet; while Frank, under +the influence of the grateful warmth, fell again into a deep slumber. +As the night wore on, Edith's eyes became heavy, and she too, resting +her head on the deerskins, slept till the lamp on the snow-shelf expired +and left the hut and its inmates in total darkness. + +Contrary to Edith's expectations, Frank was very little better when he +awoke next day; but he was able to talk to her in a faint voice, and to +relate how he had fallen over the cliff, and how afterwards he had to +exert his failing powers in order to defend himself from a wolf. In all +these conversations his mind seemed to wander a little, and it was +evident that he had not recovered from the effects of the blow received +on his head in the fall. For two days the child tended him with the +affectionate tenderness of a sister, but as he seemed to grow worse +instead of better, she became very uneasy, and pondered much in her mind +what she should do. At last she formed a strange resolution. Supposing +that Maximus must still be at the Esquimau village at the mouth of False +River, and concluding hastily that this village could not be very far +away, she determined to set out in search of it, believing that, if she +found it, the Esquimau would convey her back to the igloo on the lake, +and take Frank up to Fort Chimo, where he could be properly tended and +receive medicine. + +Freaks and fancies are peculiar to children, but the carrying of their +freaks and fancies into effect is peculiar only to those who are +precocious and daring in character. Such was Edith, and no sooner had +she conceived the idea of attempting to find the Esquimau camp than she +proceeded to put it in execution. Frank was in so depressed a condition +that she thought it better not to disturb or annoy him by arousing him +so as to get him to comprehend what she was about to do; so she was +obliged to commune with herself, sometimes even in an audible tone, in +default of any better counsellor. It is due to her to say that, in +remembrance of her mother's advice, she sought the guidance of her +heavenly Father. + +Long and earnest was the thought bestowed by this little child on the +subject ere she ventured to leave her companion alone in the snow-hut. +Frank was able to sit up and to assist himself to the articles of food +and drink which his little nurse placed within his reach, so that she +had no fear of his being in want of anything during the day--or two at +most--that she expected to be absent; for in her childlike simplicity +she concluded that if Maximus could travel thither in a few hours, she +could not take much longer, especially with such a good servant as Chimo +to lead the way. Besides this, she had observed the way in which the +Esquimau had set out, and Frank had often pointed out to her the +direction in which the camp lay. She knew also that there was no danger +from wild animals, but determined, nevertheless, to build up the door of +the igloo very firmly, lest they should venture to draw near. She also +put Frank's loaded gun in the spot where he was wont to place it, so as +to be ready to his hand. + +Having made all her arrangements, Edith glided noiselessly from the hut, +harnessed her dog, closed the door of the snow-hut, and jumping into the +furs of her sledge, was soon far away from the mountain lake. At first +the dog followed what she thought must be the track that Maximus had +taken, and her spirits rose when, after an hour's drive, she emerged +upon a boundless plain, which she imagined must be the shores of the +frozen sea where the Esquimaux lived. Encouraging Chimo with her voice, +she flew over the level surface of the hard frozen snow, and looked +round eagerly in all directions for the expected signs of natives. + +But no such signs appeared, and she began to fear that the distance was +greater than she had anticipated. Towards the afternoon it began to +snow heavily. There was no wind, and the snow fell in large flakes, +alighting softly and without any sound. This prevented her seeing any +great distance, and, what was worse, rendered the ground heavy for +travelling. + +At length she came to a ridge of rocks, and supposing that she might see +to a greater distance from its summit, she got out of the sledge and +clambered up, for the ground was too rough for the sledge to pass. Here +the view was dreary enough--nothing but plains and hummocks of ice and +snow met her view, except in one direction, where she saw, or fancied +that she saw, a clump of willows and what appeared to be a hut in the +midst of them. Running down the rugged declivity, she crossed the plain +and reached the spot; but although the willows were there, she found no +hut. Overcome with fatigue, fear, and disappointment, she sat down on a +wreath of snow and wept. But she felt that her situation was much too +serious to permit of her wasting time in vain regrets, so she started up +and endeavoured to retrace her steps. This, however, was now a matter +of difficulty. The snow fell so thickly that her footsteps were almost +obliterated, and she could not see ten yards before her. After +wandering about for a few minutes in uncertainty, she called aloud to +Chimo, hoping to hear his bark in reply. But all was silent. + +Chimo was not, indeed, unfaithful. He heard the cry and responded to it +in the usual way, by bounding in the direction whence it came. His +progress, however, was suddenly arrested by the sledge, which caught +upon and was jammed amongst the rocks. Fiercely did Chimo strain and +bound, but the harness was tough and the sledge immovable. Meanwhile +the wind arose, and although it blew gently, it was sufficient to +prevent Edith overhearing the whining cries of her dog. For a time the +child lost all self-command, and rushed about she knew not whither, in +the anxious desire to find her sledge; then she stopped, and restrained +the pantings of her breath, while with both hands pressed tightly over +her heart, as if she would fain stop the rapid throbbing there, she +listened long and intently. But no sound fell upon her ear except the +sighing of the cold breeze as it swept by, and no sight met her anxious +gaze save the thickly falling snow-flakes. + +Sinking on her knees, Edith buried her face in her hands and gave full +vent to the pent-up emotions of her soul, as the conviction was at +length forced upon her mind that she was a lost wanderer in the midst of +that cold and dreary waste of snow. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +A DARK CLOUD OF SORROW ENVELOPS FORT CHIMO. + +Three days after the events narrated in the last chapter the fort of the +fur-traders became a place of weeping; for on the morning of that day +Maximus arrived with the prostrate form of Frank Morton, whom he had +discovered alone in the igloo on the lake, and with the dreadful news +that little Edith Stanley was nowhere to be found! + +It may be more easily imagined than described the state of mind into +which the parents of the child were thrown; but after the first burst of +emotion was past, Stanley felt that a thorough and immediate search was +the only hope that remained to him of finding his little one alive. +Still, when he considered the intensity of the cold to which she must +have been exposed, and the length of time which had already elapsed +since she was missed, his heart sank, and he could scarcely frame words +of comfort to his prostrated partner. Maximus had examined the +immediate neighbourhood of the lake, in the hope of finding the tracks +of the lost one; but a heavy fall of snow had totally obliterated these, +and he wisely judged that it would be better to convey the sick man to +the fort as quickly as possible and give the alarm, so that parties +might be sent out to scour the country in all directions. + +Frank was immediately put to bed on his arrival, and everything done in +order to restore him. In this attempt they succeeded so far as to +obtain all the information he could give concerning his fall; but he +remembered nothing further than that Edith had been the means of +bringing him to the snow-hut, where he lay in a deep, torpid slumber, +until the voice and hand of Maximus awakened him. When Frank was told +that Edith was lost, he sprang from his bed as if he had received an +electric shock. The confusion of his faculties seemed swept away, and +he began to put on his garments with as much vigour as if he were well +and strong; but ere he belted on his leather coat his cheek grew pale, +his hand trembled, and he fell in a swoon upon the bed. This convinced +him of the impossibility of doing anything in the search, and he was +prevailed on, after two or three similar failures, to leave the work to +others. + +Meanwhile the mountains and valleys of Ungava were traversed far and +near by the agonised father and his men. The neighbourhood of the lake +was the first place searched, and they had not sought long ere they +discovered the little sledge sticking fast among the rocks of the +sea-coast, and Chimo lying in the traces almost dead with cold and +hunger. The dog had kept himself alive by gnawing the deerskin of which +the traces were made. Around this spot the search was concentrated, and +the Esquimaux of the neighbouring camp were employed in traversing the +country in all directions; but, although scarce a foot of ground escaped +the eager scrutiny of one or other of the party, not a vestige of Edith +was to be seen--not so much as a footprint in the snow. + +Days and nights flew by, and still the search was continued. Frank +quickly recovered under the affectionate care of the almost heartbroken +mother, who found some relief from her crushing sorrow in ministering to +his wants. But the instant he could walk without support, and long +before it was prudent to do so, Frank joined in the search. At first he +could do little, but as day after day passed by his strength returned so +rapidly that the only symptoms that remained to tell of his late +accident were his pale cheek and the haggard expression of his +countenance. But the mysterious disappearance of Edith had more to do +with the latter than illness. + +Weeks passed away, but still the dark cloud of sorrow hung over Fort +Chimo, for the merry young voice that was wont to awake the surrounding +echoes was gone. The systematic search had now been given up, for every +nook, every glen, and gorge, and corrie within fifteen miles of the spot +where they had found the little sledge, had been searched again and +again without success. But hope clung with singular tenacity to the +parents' hearts long after it had fled from those of the men of the fort +and of the Esquimaux. Every alternate day Stanley and Frank sallied +forth with heavy steps and furrowed brows to explore more carefully +those places where the child was most likely to have strayed, expecting, +yet fearing, to find her dead body. But they always returned to the +bereaved mother with silent lips and downcast looks. + +They frequently conversed together about her, and always in a hopeful +tone, each endeavouring to conceal from the other the real state of his +own mind. Indeed, except when necessity required it, they seldom spoke +on any other subject. + +One day Stanley and Frank were seated by the blazing stove in the hall +conversing as usual about the plan of the search for that day. Mrs +Stanley was busied in preparing breakfast. + +"'Tis going to blow hard from the north, Frank," said Stanley, rising +and looking out of the window; "I see the icebergs coming into the river +with the tide. You will have a cold march, I fear." + +Frank made no reply, but rose and approached the window. The view from +it was a strange one. During the night a more than usually severe frost +had congealed the water of the lake in the centre, and the icebergs that +sailed towards the Caniapuscaw River in stately grandeur went crashing +through this young ice as if it had been paper, their slow but steady +progress receiving no perceptible check from its opposition. Some of +these bergs were of great size, and in proceeding onwards they passed so +close to the fort that the inhabitants feared more than once that a +falling pinnacle might descend on the stores, which were built near to +the water's edge, and crush them. As the tide gradually rose it rushed +with violence into the cavities beneath the solid ice on the opposite +shore, and finding no escape save through a few rents and fissures, sent +up columns or spouts of white spray in all directions, which roared and +shrieked as they flew upwards, as if the great ocean were maddened with +anger at finding a power strong enough to restrain and curb its might. +At intervals the main ice rent with a crash like the firing of +artillery; and as if nature had designed to carry on and deepen this +simile, the shore was lined with heaps of little blocks of ice which the +constantly recurring action of the tide had moulded into the shape and +size of cannon balls. + +But such sights were common to the inhabitants of Fort Chimo, and had +long ago ceased to call forth more than a passing remark. + +"May it not be possible," murmured Stanley, while he leant his brow on +his hand, "that she may have gone up False River?" + +"I think not," said Frank. "I know not how it is, but I have a strange +conviction that she is yet alive. If she had perished in the snow, we +should certainly have found her long ago. I cannot explain my feelings, +or give a reason for them, but I feel convinced that darling Eda is +alive." + +"Oh, God grant it!" whispered Stanley in a deep voice, while his wife +hastened from the room to conceal the tears which she could not +restrain. + +While Frank continued to gaze in silence on the bleak scene without, a +faint sound of sleigh-bells broke upon his ear. + +"Hark!" he cried, starting, and opening the door. + +The regular and familiar sound of the bells came floating sweetly on the +breeze. They grew louder and louder, and in a few seconds a team of +dogs galloped into the fort, dragging a small sled behind them. They +were followed by two stalwart Indians, whose costume and manner told +that they were in the habit of associating more with the fur-traders +than with their own kindred. The dogs ran the sled briskly into the +centre of the fort, and lay down panting on the snow, while the two men +approached the hall. + +"'Tis a packet," cried Stanley, forgetting for the moment his sorrow in +the excitement of this unexpected arrival. + +In a moment all the men at the fort were assembled in the square. + +"A packet! Where come you from?" + +"From Moose Fort," replied the elder Indian, while his comrade +unfastened from the sled a little bundle containing letters. + +"Any news? Are all well?" chorused the men. + +"Ay, all well. It is many day since we left. The way is very rough, +and we did not find much deer. We saw one camp of Indian, but they +'fraid to come. I not know why. But I see with them one fair flower +which grow in the fields of the Esquimaux. I suppose the Indian pluck +her, and dare not come back here." + +Stanley started, and his cheek grew pale. + +"A fair flower, say you? Speak literally, man: was it a little white +girl that you saw?" + +"No," replied the Indian, "it was no white girl we saw. It was one +young Esquimau woman." + +Stanley heaved a deep sigh and turned away, muttering, "Ah! I might +have known that she could not have fallen into the hands of Indians so +far to the south." + +"Well, lads, take care of these fellows," he cried, crushing down the +feelings that had been for a brief moment awakened in his heart by the +Indian's words, "and give them plenty to eat and smoke." So saying he +went off with the packet, followed by Frank. + +"Niver fear ye; come along, honey," said Bryan, grasping the elder +Indian by the arm, while the younger was carried off by Massan, and the +dogs taken care of by Ma-istequan and Gaspard. + +On perusing the letters, Stanley found that it would be absolutely +necessary to send a packet of dispatches to headquarters. The +difficulties of his position required to be more thoroughly explained, +and erroneous notions corrected. + +"What shall I do, Frank?" said he, with a perplexed look. "These +Indians cannot return to Moose, having received orders, I find, to +journey in a different direction. Our own men know the way, but I +cannot spare the good ones among them, and the second-rate cannot be +depended on without a leader." + +Frank did not give an immediate reply. He seemed to be pondering the +subject in his mind. At length he said, "Could not Dick Prince be +spared?" + +"No; he is too useful here. The fact is, Frank, I think I must send +you. It will do you good, my dear boy, and tend to distract your mind +from a subject which is now hopeless." + +Frank at first objected strongly to this plan, on the ground that it +would prevent him from assisting in the forlorn search for Edith; but +Stanley pointed out that he and the men could continue it, and that, on +the other hand, his (Frank's) personal presence at headquarters would be +of great importance to the interests of the Company. At length Frank +was constrained to obey. + +The route by which he purposed to travel was overland to Richmond Gulf +on snow-shoes; and as the way was rough, he determined to take only a +few days' provisions, and depend for subsistence on the hook and gun. +Maximus, Oolibuck, and Ma-istequan were chosen to accompany him; and +three better men he could not have had, for they were stalwart and +brave, and accustomed from infancy to live by the chase, and traverse +trackless wastes, guided solely by that power of observation or instinct +with which savages are usually gifted. + +With these men, a week's provisions, a large supply of ammunition, a +small sledge, and three dogs, of whom Chimo was the leader, Frank one +morning ascended the rocky platform behind the fort, and bidding adieu +to Ungava, commenced his long journey over the interior of East Main. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +AN OLD FRIEND AMID NEW FRIENDS AND NOVELTIES--A DESPERATE BATTLE AND A +GLORIOUS VICTORY. + +The scene of our story is now changed, and we request our patient reader +to fly away with us deeper into the north, beyond the regions of Ungava, +and far out upon the frozen sea. + +Here is an island which for many long years has formed a refuge to the +roedeer during the winter, at which season these animals, having +forsaken the mainland in autumn, dwell upon the islands of the sea. At +the time of which we write the island in question was occupied by a +tribe of Esquimaux, who had built themselves as curious a village as one +could wish to see. The island had little or no wood on it, and the few +willow bushes that showed their heads above the deep snow were stunted +and thin. Such as they were, however, they, along with a ledge of rock +over which the snow had drifted in a huge mound, formed a sort of +protection to the village of the Esquimaux, and sheltered it from the +cold blasts that swept over the frozen sea from the regions of the far +north. There were about twenty igloos in the village, all of which were +built in the form of a dome, exactly similar to the hut constructed by +Maximus on the lake. They were of various sizes, and while some stood +apart with only a small igloo attached, others were congregated in +groups and connected by low tunnels or passages. The doorways leading +into most of them were so low that the natives were obliged to creep out +and in on their hands and knees; but the huts themselves were high +enough to permit the tallest man of the tribe to stand erect, and some +of them so capacious that a family of six or eight persons could dwell +in them easily. We may remark, however, that Esquimau ideas of +roominess and comfort in their dwellings differ very considerably from +ours. Their chief aim is to create heat, and for this end they +cheerfully submit to what we would consider the discomfort of crowding +and close air. + +The village at a little distance bore a curious resemblance to a cluster +of white beehives; and the round, soft, hairy natives, creeping out and +in continually, and moving about amongst them, were not unlike (with the +aid of a little imagination) to a swarm of monstrous black bees--an idea +which was further strengthened by the continuous hum that floated on the +air over the busy settlement. Kayaks and oomiaks lay about in several +places supported on blocks of ice, and seal-spears, paddles, dans, +lances, coils of walrus-line, and other implements, were intermingled in +rare confusion with sledges, sealskins, junks of raw meat and bones, on +which latter the numerous dogs of the tribe were earnestly engaged. + +In the midst of this village stood a hut which differed considerably +from those around. It was built of clear ice instead of snow. There +were one or two other igloos made of the same material, but none so +large, clean, or elegant as this one. The walls, which were +perpendicular, were composed of about thirty large square blocks, +cemented together with snow, and arranged in the form of an octagon. +The roof was a dome of snow. A small porch or passage, also of ice, +stood in front of the low doorway, which had been made high enough to +permit the owner of the mansion to enter by stooping slightly. In front +and all around this hut the snow was carefully scraped, and all +offensive objects--such as seal and whale blubber--removed, giving to it +an appearance of cleanliness and comfort which the neighbouring igloos +did not possess. Inside of this icy residence, on a couch of deerskin +was seated Edith Stanley! + +On that terrible night when the child lost her way in the dreary plain, +she had wandered she knew not whither, until she was suddenly arrested +by coming to the edge of the solid ice on the shores of Ungava Bay. +Here the high winds had broken up the ice, and the black waters of the +sea now rolled at her feet and checked her progress. Terrified at this +unexpected sight, Edith endeavoured to retrace her steps; but she found +to her horror that the ice on which she stood was floating, and that the +wind, having shifted a point to the eastward, was driving it across to +the west side of the bay. Here, in the course of the next day, it +grounded, and the poor child, benumbed with cold and faint with hunger, +crept as far as she could on to the firm land, and then lay down, as she +thought, to die. + +But it was otherwise ordained. In less than half an hour afterwards she +was found by a party of Esquimaux. These wild creatures had come from +the eastward in their dog-sledges, and having passed well out to the +seaward in order to avoid the open water off the mouth of False River, +had missed seeing their countrymen there, and therefore knew nothing of +the establishment of Fort Chimo. In bending towards the land again +after passing the bay they came upon Edith's tracks, and after a short +search they found her lying on the snow. + +Words cannot convey an adequate impression of the unutterable amazement +of these poor creatures as they beheld the fair child, so unlike +anything they had ever seen or imagined; but whatever may have been +their thoughts regarding her, they had sense enough to see that she was +composed of flesh and blood, and would infallibly freeze if allowed to +lie there much longer. They therefore lifted her gently upon one of the +large sleighs, and placed her on a pile of furs in the midst of a group +of women and children, who covered her up and chafed her limbs +vigorously. Meanwhile the drivers of the sledges, of which there were +six, with twenty dogs attached to each, plied their long whips +energetically; the dogs yelled in consternation, and, darting away with +the sledges as if they had been feathers, the whole tribe went hooting, +yelling, and howling away over the frozen sea. + +The surprise of the savages when they found Edith was scarcely, if at +all, superior to that of Edith when she opened her eyes and began to +comprehend, somewhat confusedly, her peculiar position. The savages +watched her movements, open-mouthed, with intense curiosity, and seemed +overjoyed beyond expression when she at length recovered sufficiently to +exclaim feebly,--"Where am I? where are you taking me to?" + +We need scarcely add that she received no reply to her questions, for +the natives did not understand a word of her language, and with the +exception of the names of one or two familiar objects, she did not +understand a word of theirs. Of how far or how long they travelled +Edith could form no idea, as she slept profoundly during the journey, +and did not thoroughly recover her strength and faculties until after +her arrival at the camp. + +For many days after reaching the Esquimau village poor Edith did nothing +but weep; for, besides the miserable circumstances in which she was now +placed, she was much too considerate and unselfish in her nature to +forget that her parents would experience all the misery of supposing her +dead, and added to this was the terrible supposition that the natives +into whose hands she had fallen might never hear of Fort Chimo. The +distracted child did her utmost by means of signs to make them +understand that such a place existed, but her efforts were of no avail. +Either she was not eloquent in the language of signs, or the natives +were obtuse. As time abated the first violence of her grief, she began +to entertain a hope that ere long some wandering natives might convey +intelligence of her to the fur-traders. As this hope strengthened she +became more cheerful, and resolved to make a number of little ornaments +with her name inscribed on them, which she meant to hang round the necks +of the chief men of the tribe, so that should any of them ever chance to +meet with the fur-traders, these ornaments might form a clue to her +strange residence. + +A small medal of whalebone seemed to her the most appropriate and +tractable material, but it cost her many long and weary hours to cut a +circular piece of this tough material with the help of an Esquimau +knife. When she had done it, however, several active boys who had +watched the operation with much curiosity and interest, no sooner +understood what she wished to make than they set to work and cut several +round pieces of ivory or walrus-tusk, which they presented to their +little guest, who scratched the name EDITH on them and hung them round +the necks of the chief men of the tribe. The Esquimaux smiled and +patted the child's fair head kindly as they received this piece of +attention, which they flattered themselves, no doubt, was entirely +disinterested and complimentary. + +Winter wore gradually away, and the ice upon the sea began to show +symptoms of decay opposite to the camp of the Esquimaux. During the +high winds of spring the drift had buried the village so completely that +the beehives were scarcely visible, and the big black bees walked about +on the top of their igloos, and had to cut deep down in order to get +into them. For some time past the natives had been unsuccessful in +their seal-hunting; and as seals and walruses constituted their chief +means of support, they were reduced to short allowance. Edith's +portion, however, had never yet been curtailed. It was cooked for her +over the stone lamp belonging to an exceedingly fat young woman whose +igloo was next to that of the little stranger, and whose heart had been +touched by the child's sorrow; afterwards it was more deeply touched by +her gratitude and affection. This woman's name was Kaga, and she, with +the rest of her tribe, having been instructed carefully by Edith in the +pronunciation of her own name, ended in calling their little guest +Eeduck! Kaga had a stout, burly husband named Annatock, who was the +best hunter in the tribe; she also had a nephew about twelve or fourteen +years old, named Peetoot, who was very fond of Edith and extremely +attentive to her. Kaga had also a baby--a mere bag of fat--to which +Edith became so attached that she almost constituted herself its regular +nurse; and when the weather was bad, so as to confine her to the house, +she used to take it from its mother, carry it off to her own igloo, and +play with it the whole day, much in the same way as little girls play +with dolls--with this difference, however, that she considerately +restrained herself from banging its nose against the floor or punching +out its eyes! + +It was a bright, clear, warm day. Four mock suns encircled and emulated +in brilliancy their great original. The balmy air was beginning to melt +the surface of the snow, and the igloos that had stood firm for full +half a year were gradually becoming dangerous to walk over and unsafe to +sit under. Considerable bustle prevailed in the camp, for a general +seal-hunting expedition was on foot, and the men of the tribe were +preparing their dog-sledges and their spears. + +Edith was in her igloo of ice, seated on the soft pile of deerskins +which formed her bed at night and her sofa by day, and worrying Kaga's +baby, which laughed vociferously. The inside of this house or apartment +betokened the taste and neatness of its occupant. The snow roof, having +begun to melt, had been removed, and was replaced by slabs of ice, +which, with the transparent walls, admitted the sun's rays in a soft, +bluish light, which cast a fairy-like charm over the interior. On a +shelf of ice which had been neatly fitted into the wall by her friend +Peetoot lay a rude knife, a few pieces of whalebone and ivory (the +remains of the material of which her medals had been made), and an ivory +cup. The floor was covered with willow matting, and on the raised half +of it were spread several deerskins with the hair on. A canopy of +willow boughs was erected over this. On another shelf of ice, near the +head of the bed, stood a small stone lamp, which had been allowed to go +out, the weather being warm. The only other articles of furniture in +this simple apartment were a square table and a square stool, both made +of ice blocks and covered with sealskins. + +While Edith and her living doll were in the height of their uproarious +intercourse, they were interrupted by Peetoot, who burst into the room, +more like a hairy wild-man-o'-the-wood than a human being. He carried a +short spear in one hand, and with the other pointed in the direction of +the shore, at the same time uttering a volley of unintelligible sounds +which terminated with an emphatic "Eeduck!" + +Edith's love for conversation, whether she made herself understood or +not, had increased rather than abated in her peculiar circumstances. + +"What is it, Peetoot? Why do you look so excited? Oh dear, I wish I +understood you--indeed I do! But it's of no use your speaking so +fast.--(Be quiet, baby darling.)--I see you want me to do or say +something; what can it be, I wonder?" + +Edith looked into the boy's face with an air of perplexity. + +Again Peetoot commenced to vociferate and gesticulate violently; but +seeing, as he had often seen before, that his young friend did not +appear to be much enlightened, he seized her by the arm, and, as a more +summary and practical way of explaining himself, dragged her towards the +door of the hut. + +"Oh, the baby!" screamed Edith, breaking from him and placing her charge +in the farthest and safest part of the couch. "Now I'll go with you, +though I don't understand what you want. Well, I suppose I shall find +out in time, as usual." + +Having led Edith towards the beach, Peetoot pointed to his uncle's +sledge, to which the dogs were already harnessed, and made signs that +Edith should go with them. + +"Oh, I understand you now. Well, it is a charming day; I think I will. +Do you think Annatock will let me? Oh, you don't understand. Never +mind; wait till I put on my hood and return the baby to its mother." + +In two minutes Edith reappeared in her fur cloak and Indian hood, with +the fat baby sprawling and laughing on her shoulder. That baby never +cried. It seemed as though it had resolved to substitute laughing in +its stead. Once only had Edith seen tears in its little black eyes, and +that was when she had given it a spoonful of soup so hot that its mouth +was scalded by it. + +Several of the sledges had already left the island, and were flying at +full speed over the frozen sea, deviating ever and anon from the +straight line in order to avoid a hummock of ice or a gap of open water +caused by the separation of masses at the falling of the tide, while the +men shouted, and the dogs yelled as they observed the flourish of the +cruelly long and heavy lash. + +"Shall I get in?" said Edith to Annatock, with an inquiring look, as she +approached the place where the sledge was standing. + +The Esquimau nodded his shaggy head, and showed a row of remarkably +white teeth environed by a thick black beard and moustache, by way of +reply to the look of the child. + +With a laughing nod to Kaga, who stood watching them, Edith stepped in +and seated herself on a deerskin robe; Annatock and Peetoot sat down +beside her; the enormous whip gave a crack like a pistol-shot, and the +team of fifteen dogs, uttering a loud cry, bounded away over the sea. + +The sledge on which Edith was seated was formed very much in the same +manner as the little sled which had been made for her at Fort Chimo. It +was very much larger, how ever, and could have easily held eight or ten +persons. The runners, which were shod with frozen mud (a substance that +was now becoming nearly unfit for use owing to the warm weather), were a +perfect wonder of ingenuity--as, indeed, was the whole machine--being +pieced and lashed together with lines of raw hide in the most +complicated manner and very neatly. The dogs were each fastened by a +separate line to the sledge, the best dog being placed in the centre and +having the longest line, while the others were attached by lines +proportionably shorter according to the distance of each from the +leading dog, and the outsiders being close to the runners of the sledge. +All the lines were attached to the front bar of the machine. There +were many advantages attending this mode of harnessing, among which were +the readiness with which any dog could be attached or detached without +affecting the others, and the ease with which Annatock, when so +inclined, could lay hold of the line of a refractory dog, haul him back +without stopping the others, and give him a cuffing. This, however, was +seldom done, as the driver could touch any member of the team with the +point of his whip. The handle of this terrible instrument was not much +more than eighteen or twenty inches long, but the lash was upwards of +six yards! Near the handle it was about three inches broad, being thick +cords of walrus-hide platted; it gradually tapered towards the point, +where it terminated in a fine line of the same material. While driving, +the long lash of this whip trails on the snow behind the sledge, and by +a peculiar sleight of hand its serpentine coils can be brought up for +instant use. + +No backwoodsman of Kentucky was ever more perfect in the use of his +pea-rifle or more certain of his aim than was Annatock with his +murderous whip. He was a dead shot, so to speak. He could spread +intense alarm among the dogs by causing the heavy coil to whiz over them +within a hair's-breadth of their heads; or he could gently touch the +extreme tip of the ear of a skulker, to remind him of his duty to his +master and his comrades; or, in the event of the warning being +neglected, he could bring the point down on his flank with a crack like +a pistol-shot, that would cause skin and hair to fly, and spread yelping +dismay among the entire pack. And how they did run! The sledge seemed +a mere feather behind the powerful team. They sprang forth at full +gallop, now bumping over a small hummock or diverging to avoid a large +one, anon springing across a narrow gap in the ice, or sweeping like the +snowdrift over the white plain, while the sledge sprang and swung and +bounded madly on behind them; and Annatock shouted as he flourished his +great whip in the excitement of their rapid flight, and Peetoot laughed +with wild delight, and Edith sat clasping her hands tightly over her +knees--her hood thrown back, her fair hair blown straight out by the +breeze, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted, and her eyes sparkling with +emotion as they whirled along in their mad and swift career. + +In half an hour the low village was out of sight, and in half an hour +more they arrived at the place where a number of the Esquimaux were +scattered in twos and threes over the ice, searching for seal-holes, and +preparing to catch them. + +"What is that man doing?" cried Edith, pointing to an Esquimau who, +having found a hole, had built a semicircular wall of snow round it to +protect him from the light breeze that was blowing, and was sitting, +when Edith observed him, in the attitude of one who listened intently. +The hood of his sealskin coat was over his head, so that his features +were concealed. At his feet lay a stout, barbed seal-spear, the handle +of which was made of wood, and the barb and lower part of ivory. A +tough line was attached to this, and the other end of it was fastened +round the man's waist; for when an Esquimau spears a seal, he prepares +to conquer or to die. If he does not haul the animal out of the hole, +there is every probability that it will haul him into it. But the +Esquimau has laid it down as an axiom that a man is more than a match +for a seal; therefore he ties the line round his waist,--which is very +much like nailing the colours to the mast. There seems to be no +allowance made for the chance of an obstreperously large seal allowing +himself to be harpooned by a preposterously small Esquimau; but we +suppose that this is the exception to the rule. + +As Edith gazed, the Esquimau put out his hand with the stealthy motion +of a cat and lifted his spear. The next instant the young ice that +covered the hole was smashed, and, in an instant after, the ivory barb +was deep in the shoulder of an enraged seal, which had thus fallen a +sacrifice to his desire for fresh air. The Esquimau immediately lay +back almost at full length, with his heels firmly imbedded in two +notches cut in the ice at the edge of the hole; the seal dived, and the +man's waist seemed to be nearly cut in two. But the rope was tough and +the man was stout, and although the seal was both, it was conquered in +the course of a quarter of an hour, hauled out, and thrown exultingly +upon the ice. + +This man had only watched at the seal-hole a couple of hours, but the +natives frequently sit behind their snow walls for the greater part of a +day, almost without moving hand or foot. + +Having witnessed this capture, Annatock drove on until the most of his +countrymen were left behind. Suddenly he called to the dogs to halt, +and spoke in a deep, earnest tone to his nephew, while both of them +gazed intently towards a particular quarter of the sea. Edith looked in +the same direction, and soon saw the object that attracted their +attention, but the only thing it seemed like to her was an enormous cask +or barrel. + +"What is it?" said she to Peetoot, as Annatock selected his largest +spear and hastened towards the object. + +Of course Edith received no reply save a broad grin; but the little +fellow followed up this remark, if we may so call it, by drawing his +fingers through his lips, and licking them in a most significant manner. +Meanwhile Annatock advanced rapidly towards the object of interest, +keeping carefully behind hummocks of ice as he went, and soon drew near +enough to make certain that it was a walrus, apparently sound asleep, +with its blunt snout close to its hole, ready to plunge in should an +enemy appear. + +Annatock now advanced more cautiously, and when within a hundred yards +of the huge monster, lay down at full length on his breast, and began to +work his way towards it after the manner of a seal. He was so like a +seal in his hairy garments that he might easily have been mistaken for +one by a more intellectual animal than a walrus. But the walrus did not +awake, and he approached to within ten yards. Then, rising suddenly to +his feet, Annatock poised the heavy weapon, and threw it with full force +against the animal's side. It struck, and, as if it had fallen on an +adamantine rock, it bounded off and fell upon the ice, with its hard +point shattered and its handle broken in two. + +For one instant Annatock's face blazed with surprise; the next, it +relapsed into fifty dimples, as he roared and tossed up his arms with +delight at the discovery that the walrus had been frozen to death beside +its hole! + +This catastrophe is not of unfrequent occurrence to these _elephants_ of +the northern seas. They are in the habit of coming up occasionally +through their holes in the ice to breathe, and sometimes they crawl out +in order to sleep on the ice, secure, in the protection of their +superabundant fat, from being frozen--at least easily. When they have +had enough of sleep, or when the prickling sensation on their skin warns +them that nothing is proof against the cold of the Polar Seas, and that +they will infallibly freeze if they do not make a precipitate retreat to +the comparatively warm waters below, they scramble to their holes, crush +down the new ice with their tusks and thick heads, and plunge in. But +sometimes the ice which forms on the holes when they are asleep is too +strong to be thus broken, in which case the hapless monster lays him +down and dies. + +Such was the fate of the walrus which Annatock was now cutting up with +his axe into portable blocks of beef. For several days previous to the +thaw which had now set in, the weather had been intensely cold, and the +walrus had perished in consequence of its ambitious desire to repose in +the regions above. + +Not far from the spot where this fortunate discovery had been made, +there was a large sheet of recently-formed black ice, where the main ice +had been broken away and the open water left. The sheet, although much +melted by the thaw, was still about three inches thick, and quite +capable of supporting a man. While Annatock was working with his back +to this ice, he heard a tremendous crash take place behind him. Turning +hastily round, he observed that the noise was caused by another enormous +walrus, the glance of whose large round eyes and whose loud snort showed +clearly enough that he was not frozen like his unfortunate companion. +By this time the little boy had come up with Edith and the sledge. So +Annatock ordered him to take the dogs behind a hummock to keep them out +of sight, while he selected several strong harpoons and a lance from the +sledge. Giving another lance to Peetoot, he signed to Edith to sit on +the hummock while he attacked the grisly monster of the deep. + +While these preparations were being made, the walrus dived; and while it +was under water, the man and the boy ran quickly forward a short +distance, and then lay down behind a lump of ice. Scarcely had they +done so when the walrus came up again with a loud snort, splashing the +water with its broad, heavy flippers--which seemed a sort of compromise +between legs and fins--and dashing waves over the ice as it rolled about +its large, unwieldy carcass. It was truly a savage-looking monster, as +large as a small elephant, and having two tusks of a foot and a half +long. The face bore a horrible resemblance to that of a man. Its crown +was round and bulging, its face broad and massive, and a thick, +bristling moustache--rough as the spines of a porcupine--covered its +upper lip, and depended in a shaggy dripping mass over its mouth. After +spluttering about a short time it dived again. + +Now was Annatock's time. Seizing a harpoon and a coil of line, he +muttered a few words to the boy, sprang up, and running out upon the +smooth ice, stood by the edge of the open water. He had not waited here +more than a few seconds when the black waters were cleft by the blacker +head of the monster, as it once more ascended to renew its elephantine +gambols in the pool. As it rose, the Esquimau threw up his arm and +poised the harpoon. For one instant the surprised animal raised itself +breast-high out of the water, and directed a stare of intense +astonishment at the man. That moment was fatal. Annatock buried the +harpoon deep under its left flipper. With a fierce bellow the brute +dashed itself against the ice, endeavouring in its fury to reach its +assailant; but the ice gave way under its enormous weight, while +Annatock ran back as far as the line attached to the harpoon would +permit him. + +The walrus, seeing that it could not reach its enemy in this way, seemed +now to be actually endued with reason. It took a long gaze at Annatock, +and then dived. But the Esquimau was prepared for this. He changed his +position hastily, and played his line the meanwhile, fixing the point of +his lance into the ice, in order to give him a more effective hold. +Scarcely had he done so than the spot he had just left was smashed up, +and the head of the walrus appeared, grinning and bellowing as if in +disappointment. At this moment Peetoot handed his uncle a harpoon, and, +ere the animal dived, the weapon was fixed in his side. Once more +Annatock changed his position; and once again the spot on which he had +been standing was burst upwards. It was a terrible sight to see that +unearthly-looking monster smashing the ice around it, and lashing the +blood-stained sea into foam, while it waged such mortal war with the +self-possessed and wary man. How mighty and strong the one! how +comparatively weak and seemingly helpless the other! It was the triumph +of mind over matter--of reason over blind brute force. But Annatock +fought a hard battle that day ere he came off conqueror. Harpoon after +harpoon was driven into the walrus; again and again the lance pierced +deep into its side and drank its life-blood; but three hours had passed +away before the dead carcass was dragged from the deep by the united +force of dogs and man. During this terrible combat Edith had looked on +with such intense interest that she could scarcely believe her eyes when +she found, from the position of the sun, that the day was far advanced. +It was too late now to think of cutting up the carcasses without +assistance, so Annatock determined to return home and tell his +countrymen of his good fortune. + +It is a custom among the Esquimaux to consider every animal that is +killed as the common property of all--the successful hunter being +entitled to all the titbits, besides his portion of the equal dividend; +so that Annatock knew he had only to give the signal, and every +able-bodied man in the village, and not a few of the women and children, +would descend like vultures on the spoil. Jumping into his sledge, he +stretched out his exhausted frame at full length beside Edith, and +committed the whip to Peetoot. + +"I'm so glad," cried Edith, with a beaming face, "that we have killed +this beast. The poor people will have plenty to eat now." + +"Ha! ha! _ha_!" roared Peetoot, giving increased emphasis to each +successive shout, and prolonging the last into a yell of delight, as he +cracked the ponderous whip from side to side like a volley of pistolry. + +"O Peetoot!" exclaimed Edith, in a remonstrative tone, as the sledge +swayed to and fro with the rate at which they were sweeping over the +plain, "don't drive so fast; you will kill the poor dogs!" + +"Ho! ho! _ho-o-o_! Eeduck!" roared the boy, aiming a shot at the +leader's left ear, and bringing the thick end of the whip down on the +flanks of the six hindmost dogs. + +Thus, amid a volley of roars, remonstrances, yells, yelps, and pistolry, +Edith and her friends scoured over the frozen sea, and swept into the +Esquimau camp like a whirlwind. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +ANOTHER DESPERATE BATTLE, AND A DECIDED VICTORY--THE ESQUIMAUX SUFFER A +SEVERE LOSS. + +The night that followed the day of which we have given an account in the +last chapter was a night of rest to Edith, but not to the Esquimaux. + +Scarcely allowing themselves time to harness their dogs, after the news +reached them, they set off for the scene of action in a body. Every +sledge was engaged, every able-bodied male and female started. None +were left in camp except the sick, of whom there were few; and the aged, +of whom there were fewer. While engaged in the hurried preparations for +departure the women sang with delight, for they had been living on very +short allowance for some weeks past, and starvation had been threatening +them; so that the present success diffused among these poor creatures a +universal feeling of joy. But their preparations were not numerous. A +short scene of excited bustle followed Annatock's arrival, a few yells +from the dogs at starting, and the deserted camp was so silent and +desolate that it seemed as if human beings had not been there for +centuries. + +It did not continue long, however, in this state. Two or three hours +later, and the first of the return parties arrived, groaning under the +burdens they carried and dragged behind them. The walrus-flesh was +packed on the dog-sledges; but as for the few seals that had been +caught, they were sledges to themselves--cords being tied to their +tails, to which a dozen natives attached themselves, and dragged the +carcasses over the snow. + +Peetoot, whose spirit that night seemed to be intoxicated with success, +and who felt that he was the lion of the night (after Annatock!), seated +himself astride of one of the dead seals, and was dragged into camp on +this novel sledge, shouting a volley of unintelligible jargon at the top +of his voice, in the midst of which "Eeduck" frequently resounded. At +length the last lingerer arrived, and then began a feast of the most +extraordinary kind. The walrus-flesh was first conveyed to the igloo of +Annatock, where it was cut up and distributed among the natives. The +women seemed quite frantic with joy, and went about from hut to hut +embracing one another, by way of congratulation. Soon the lamps of the +village were swimming with oil, the steaks stewing and roasting, the +children provided with pieces of raw blubber to keep them quiet while +the larger portions were being cooked, and the entire community +gormandising and rejoicing as savages are wont to do when suddenly +visited with plenty in the midst of starvation. + +During all this scene, Edith went about from hut to hut enjoying +herself. Nay, reader, be not horrified; thou knowest not the pliable +and accommodating nature of humanity. Edith did not enjoy the filth by +which she was surrounded--far from it; neither did she enjoy the sight +of raw blubber being sucked by little babies, especially by her own +favourite; but she _did_ enjoy the sight of so much plenty where, but a +few hours ago, starvation had begun to threaten a visit; and she did +enjoy and heartily sympathise with the undoubted and great happiness of +her hospitable friends. A very savoury dish, with a due proportion of +lean to the fat, cut specially to suit her taste, smoked on Eeduck's +table that night, and Peetoot and the baby helped her to eat it. Really +it would be a matter of nice calculation to ascertain whether Peetoot or +the baby laughed most on this jovial occasion. Undoubtedly the former +had the best of it in regard to mere noise; nevertheless the pipe of the +latter was uncommonly shrill, and at times remarkably racy and +obstreperous. But as the hours flew by, the children throughout the +camp generally fell asleep, while their seniors sat quietly and +contentedly round their kettles and lamps, eating and slumbering by +turns. The amount of food consumed was enormous, and quite beyond the +belief of men accustomed to the appetites of temperate zones; but we beg +them to remember that arctic frosts require to be met with arctic +stimulants, and of these an immense quantity of unctuous food is the +best. + +Next morning the Esquimaux were up and away by daybreak, with their dogs +and sledges, to bring home the remainder of the walrus-meat; for these +poor people are not naturally improvident, and do not idle their time in +luxurious indolence until necessity urges them forth again in search of +food. In this respect they are superior to Indians, who are notoriously +improvident and regardless of the morrow. + +This day was signalised by another piece of success on the part of +Annatock and his nephew, who went to the scene of yesterday's battle on +foot. Edith remained behind, having resolved to devote herself entirely +to the baby, to make up for her neglect of the previous day. On +reaching the place where the walrus had been slain, Annatock cut off and +bound up a portion with which he intended to return to the camp. While +he was thus employed, along with a dozen or more of his countrymen, +Peetoot came running towards him, saying that he thought he saw a seal +lying on the ice far ahead. Having a harpoon and two spears with them, +Annatock left his work and followed his nephew to the spot where it was +supposed to be lying. But on reaching the place they found that it was +gone, and a few bells floating at the surface of the hole showed where +it had made its descent to the element below. With the characteristic +indifference of a man accustomed to the vicissitudes and the +disappointments of a hunter's life, the elder Esquimau uttered a grunt +and turned away. But he had not proceeded more than a few paces when +his eye became riveted on the track of some animal on the ice, which +appeared to his practised eye to be quite fresh. Upon examination this +proved to be the case, and Annatock spoke earnestly for a few minutes +with his nephew. The boy appeared from his gestures to be making some +determined remarks, and seemed not a little hurt at the doubting way in +which his uncle shook his head. At length Peetoot seized a spear, and, +turning away, followed the track of the animal with a rapid and +determined air; while Annatock, grasping the other spear, followed in +the boy's track. + +A brisk walk of half an hour over the ice and hummocks of the sea +carried them out of sight of their companions, but did not bring them up +with the animal of which they were in chase. At length Peetoot halted, +and stooped to scrutinise the track more attentively. As he did so an +enormous white bear stalked out from behind a neighbouring hummock of +ice, and after gazing at him for a second or two, turned round and +walked slowly away. + +The elder Esquimau cast a doubtful glance at his nephew, while he +lowered the point of his spear and seemed to hesitate; but the boy did +not wait. Levelling his spear, he uttered a wild shout and ran towards +the animal, which instantly turned towards the approaching enemy with a +look of defiance. If Annatock had entertained any doubts of his +nephew's courage before, he had none now; so, casting aside all further +thought on the subject, he ran forward along with him to attack the +bear. This was a matter attended with much danger, however, and there +was some reason in the man feeling a little uncertainty as to the +courage of a youth who, he was aware, now faced a bear for the first +time in his life! + +At first the two hunters advanced side by side towards the +fierce-looking monster, but as they drew near they separated, and +approached one on the right, the other on the left of the bear. As it +was determined that Annatock should give the death-wound, he went +towards the left side and hung back a moment, while Peetoot advanced to +the right. When about three yards distant the bear rose. The action +had a powerful and visible effect upon the boy; for as polar bears are +comparatively long-bodied and short-legged, their true proportions are +not fully displayed until they rear on their hind legs. It seemed as if +the animal actually grew taller and more enormous in the act of rising, +and the boy's cheek blanched while he shrank backwards for a moment. It +was only for a moment, however. A quick word of encouragement from +Annatock recalled him. He stepped boldly forward as the bear was +glancing savagely from side to side, uncertain which enemy to attack +first, and, thrusting his lance forward, pricked it sharply on the side. +This decided the point. With a ferocious growl the animal turned to +fall upon its insignificant enemy. In doing so its left shoulder was +fully exposed to Annatock, who, with a dart like lightning, plunged his +spear deep into its heart. A powerful shudder shook the monster's frame +as it fell dead upon the ice. + +Annatock stood for a few minutes leaning on his spear, and regarding the +bear with a grim look of satisfaction; while Peetoot laughed, and +shouted, and danced around it like a maniac. How long he would have +continued these wild demonstrations it is difficult to say--probably +until he was exhausted--but his uncle brought them to a speedy +termination by bringing the butt-end of his spear into smart contact +with Peetoot's flank. With a howl, in which consternation mingled with +his glee, the boy darted away over the ice like a reindeer to convey the +glad news to his friends, and to fetch a sledge for the bear's carcass. + +On returning to the village there was immediately instituted another +royal feast, which continued from day to day, gradually decreasing in +joyous intensity as the provender decreased in bulk, until the walruses, +the bear, and the seals were entirely consumed. + +Soon after this the weather became decidedly mild, and the power of the +sun's rays was so great that the snow on the island and the ice on the +sea began to be resolved into water. During this period several +important changes took place in the manners and customs of the +Esquimaux. The women, who had worn deerskin shoes during the winter, +put on their enormous waterproof summer boots. The men, when out on the +ice in search of seals, used a pair of wooden spectacles, with two +narrow slits to peep through, in order to protect their eyes from the +snow-blindness caused by the glare of the sun on the ice and snow--a +complaint which is apt to attack all arctic travellers in spring if not +guarded against by some such appliance as the clumsy wooden spectacles +of the Esquimaux. Active preparations were also made for the erection +of skin summer tents, and the launching of kayaks and oomiaks. +Moreover, little boys were forbidden to walk, as they had been wont to +do, on the tops of the snow-houses, lest they should damage the +rapidly-decaying roofs; but little boys in the far north inherit that +tendency to disobedience which is natural to the children of Adam the +world over, and on more than one occasion, having ventured to run over +the igloos, were caught in the act by the thrusting of a leg now and +then through the roofs thereof, to the indignation of the inmates below. + +A catastrophe of this sort happened to poor Peetoot not long after the +slaying of the polar bear, and brought the winter camp to an abrupt +termination. + +Edith had been amusing herself in her house of ice all the morning with +her adopted baby, and was in the act of feeding it with a choice morsel +of seal-fat, partially cooked, to avoid doing violence to her own +prejudices, and very much under-done in order to suit the Esquimau +baby's taste--when Peetoot rushed violently into the hut, shouted Eeduck +with a boisterous smile, seized the baby in his arms, and carried it off +to its mother. Edith was accustomed to have it thus torn from her by +the boy, who was usually sent as a messenger when Kaga happened to +desire the loan of her offspring. + +The igloo in which Kaga and her relations dwelt was the largest in the +village. It was fully thirty feet in diameter. The passage leading to +it was a hundred yards long, by five feet wide and six feet high, and +from this passage branched several others of various lengths, leading to +different storehouses and to other dwellings. The whiteness of the snow +of which this princely mansion and its offices were composed was not +much altered on the exterior; but in the interior a long winter of +cooking and stewing and general filthiness had turned the walls and +roofs quite black. Being somewhat lazy, Peetoot preferred the old plan +of walking over this palace to going round by the entrance, which faced +the south. Accordingly, he hoisted the fat and smiling infant on his +shoulder, and bounded over the dome-shaped roof of Kaga's igloo. Alas +for the result of disobedience! No sooner had his foot touched the +key-stone of the arch than down it went. Dinner was being cooked and +consumed by twenty people below at the time. The key-stone buried a +joint of walrus-beef, and instantly Peetoot and the baby lay sprawling +on the top of it. But this was not all. The roof, unable to support +its own weight, cracked and fell in with a dire crash. The men, women, +and children struggled to disentomb themselves, and in doing so mixed up +the oil of the lamps, the soup of their kettles, the black soot of the +walls and roof, the dogs that had sneaked in, the junks of cooked, +half-cooked, and raw blubber, and their own hairy-coated persons, into a +conglomerate so atrocious to behold, or even think upon, that we are +constrained to draw a curtain over the scene and spare the reader's +feelings. This event caused the Esquimaux to forsake the igloos, and +pitch their skin tents on a spot a little to the southward of their +wintering ground, which, being more exposed to the sun's rays, was now +free from snow. + +They had not been encamped here more than three days when an event +occurred which threw the camp into deep grief for a time. This was the +loss of their great hunter, Annatock, the husband of Kaga. One of those +tremendous north-west gales, which now and then visit the arctic seas +and lands with such devastating fury, had set in while Annatock was out +on the ice-floe in search of seals. Many of his comrades had started +with him that day, but being a bold man, he had pushed beyond them all. +When the gale came on the Esquimau hunters prepared to return home as +fast as possible, fearing that the decaying ice might break up and drift +away with them out to sea. Before starting they were alarmed to find +that the seaward ice was actually in motion. It was on this ice that +Annatock was employed; and his countrymen would fain have gone to warn +him of his danger, but a gap of thirty feet already separated the floe +from the main ice, and although they could perceive their friend in the +far distance, busily employed on the ice, they could not make their +voices heard. As the gale increased the floe drifted faster out to sea, +and Annatock was observed running anxiously towards the land; but before +he reached the edge of the ice-raft on which he stood, the increasing +distance and the drifting clouds of snow hid him from view. Then his +companions, fearful for their own safety, hastened back to the camp with +the sad news. + +At first Kaga seemed quite inconsolable, and Edith exerted herself as a +comforter without success; but as time wore on the poor woman's grief +abated, and hope began to revive within her bosom. She recollected that +the event which had befallen her husband had befallen some of her +friends before in exactly similar circumstances, and that, although on +many occasions the result had been fatal, there were not a few instances +in which the lost ones had been driven on their ice-raft to distant +parts of the shore, and after months, sometimes years, of hardship and +suffering, had returned to their families and homes. + +Still this hope was at best a poor one. For the few instances there +were of return from such dangers, there were dozens in which the poor +Esquimaux were never heard of more; and the heart of the woman sank +within her as she thought of the terrible night on which her husband was +lost, and the great, stormy, ice-laden sea, over whose surging bosom he +was drifted. But the complex machinery of this world is set in motion +and guided by One whose power and wisdom infinitely transcend those of +the most exalted of His creatures; and it is a truth well worthy of +being reiterated and re-impressed upon our memories, that in His hands +those events that seem most adverse to man often turn out to be for his +good. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +EDITH WAXES MELANCHOLY, BUT HER SADNESS IS SUDDENLY TURNED INTO JOY; AND +THE ESQUIMAUX RECEIVE A SURPRISE, AND FIND A FRIEND, AND LOSE ONE. + +The sea! How many stout hearts thrill and manly bosoms swell at the +sound of that little word, or rather at the thought of all that it +conveys! How many there are that reverence and love thy power and +beauty, thy freedom and majesty, O sea! Wherein consists the potent +charm that draws mankind towards thee with such irresistible affection? +Is it in the calm tranquillity of thy waters, when thou liest like a +sheet of crystal, with a bright refulgent sky reflected in thy soft +bosom, and the white ships resting there as if in empty space, and the +glad sea-mews rippling thy surface for a brief moment and then sailing +from the blue below to the deeper blue above, and the soft song of thy +wavelets as they slide upon the shingly shore or lip among the caves and +hollows of the rocks! Or is it in the loud roar of thy billows, as they +dash and fume and lash in fury on the coasts that dare to curb thy +might?--that might which, commencing, mayhap, in the torrid zone of the +south, has rolled and leaped in majesty across the waste of waters, +tossed leviathans as playthings in its strength, rushed impetuously over +half the globe, and burst at last in helplessness upon a bed of sand! +Or does the charm lie in the yet fiercer strife of the tempest and the +hurricane, when the elements, let loose, sweep round the shrinking world +in fury; or in the ever-changing aspect of thy countenance, now bright +and fair, now ruffled with the rising breeze, or darkened by the +thunder-cloud that bodes the coming storm! + +Ah yes! methinks not one but all of these combined do constitute the +charm which draws mankind to thee, bright ocean, and fills his soul with +sympathy and love. For in the changeful aspects of thy visage there are +talismans which touch the varied chords that vibrate in the hearts of +men. Perchance, in the bold whistle of thy winds, and the mad rolling +of thy waves, an emblem of freedom is recognised by crushed and chafing +spirits longing to be free. They cannot wall thee round. They cannot +map thee into acres and hedge thee in, and leave us naught but narrow +roads between. No ploughshare cleaves thee save the passing keel; no +prince or monarch owns thy haughty waves. In thy hidden caverns are +treasures surpassing those of earth; and those who dwell on thee in +ships behold the wonders of the mighty deep. We bow in adoration to thy +great Creator; and we bow to thee in love and reverence and sympathy, O +sea! + +Edith sat on the sea-shore. The glassy waves were no longer encumbered +with ice, but shone like burnished gold in the light of the summer sun. +Here and there, however, a large iceberg floated on the deep--a souvenir +of winter past, a guarantee of winter yet to come. At the base of these +blue islands the sea, calm though it was, broke in a continual roar of +surf, and round their pinnacles the circling sea-birds sailed. The +yellow sands on which the child sat, the green willows that fringed the +background of brown rocks, and the warm sun, contrasted powerfully with +the vestiges of winter on the sea, while a bright parhelia in the sky +enriched and strengthened these characteristics of an arctic summer. + +There was busy life and commotion in the Esquimau camp, from which Edith +had retired to some distance to indulge in solitude the sad reveries of +home, which weighed more heavily on her mind as the time flew by and the +hope of speedy delivery began to fade. + +"O my own dear mother," sighed the child aloud, while a tear trickled +down each cheek, "shall I never see you more? My heart is heavy with +wishing, always wishing. But no one comes. I never see a boat or a +ship on that wide, wide sea. Oh, when, when will it come?" + +She paused, and, as she had often done before, laid her face on her +hands and wept. But Edith soon recovered. These bursts of grief never +lasted long, for the child was strong in hope. She never doubted that +deliverance would come at _last_; and she never failed to supplicate at +the throne of mercy, to which her mother had early taught her to fly in +every time of trouble and distress. + +Soon her attention was attracted from the sea, over whose wide expanse +she had been gazing wistfully, by the loud voices of the Esquimaux, as a +number of them prepared to embark in their kayaks. Several small whales +had been descried, and the natives, ever on the alert, were about to +attack them. Presently Edith observed Peetoot running along the beach +towards her with a seal-spear or harpoon in his hand. This youth was a +remarkably intelligent fellow, and had picked up a few words and +sentences of English, of which he made the most. + +"Eeduck! Eeduck!" he cried, pointing to one of the oomiaks which the +women were launching, "you go kill whale--funny; yes, Eeduck." + +"I don't think it will be very funny," said Edith, laughing; "but I'll +go to please you, Peetoot." + +"Goot, Eeduck; you is goot," shouted the boy, while he flourished his +harpoon, and seizing his companion by the hand, dragged her in the +direction of the kayaks. + +In a few minutes Edith was ensconced in the centre of the oomiak amid a +pack of noisy Esquimau women, whose tongues were loosed and spirits +raised by the hope of a successful hunt. They went merely for the +purpose of witnessing the sport, which was to be prosecuted by twelve or +thirteen men, each in his arrow-like kayak. The women sat round their +clumsy boat with their faces to the bow, each wielding a short, broad +paddle, with which they propelled their craft at good speed over the +glassy wave; but a few alternate dips of the long double-bladed paddles +of the kayaks quickly sent the men far ahead of them. In the stern of +the oomiak sat an old grey-headed man, who filled the office of +steersman; a duty which usually devolves upon old men after they become +unfit to manage the kayak. Indeed, it requires much vigour as well as +practice to paddle the kayak, for it is so easily upset that a man could +not sit in it for a minute without the long paddle, in the clever use of +which lies the security of the Esquimau. + +When the flotilla had paddled out a short distance a whale rose, and lay +as if basking on the surface of the water. Instantly the men in the +kayaks shot towards it, while the oomiak followed as fast as possible. +On drawing near, the first Esquimau prepared his harpoon. To the barb +of this weapon a stout line, from eight to twelve fathoms long, was +attached, having a _dan_, or float, made of a sealskin at the other end +of it. The dan was large enough to hold fifteen gallons or more. + +Having paddled close to the whale, the Esquimau fixed the harpoon deep +in its side, and threw the dan overboard. The whale dived in an agony, +carrying the dan down along with it, and the Esquimau, picking up the +liberated handle of the harpoon as he passed, paddled in the direction +he supposed the whale must have taken. In a short time the dan +re-appeared at no great distance. The kayaks, as if shot from a bow, +darted towards the spot, and before the huge fish could dive a second +time, it received two more harpoons and several deep stabs from the +lances of the Esquimaux. Again it dived, carrying two additional dans +down with it. But the dragging tendency of these three large floats, +combined with the deep wounds it had received, brought the fish sooner +than before to the surface, where it was instantly met and assailed by +its relentless pursuers, who, in the course of little more than an hour, +killed it, and dragged it in triumph to the shore. + +The natives were still occupied in towing the captured fish, when one of +the men uttered a wild shout, and pointed eagerly out to sea. At first +Edith imagined that they must have seen another whale in the distance; +but this opinion was quickly altered when she observed the eager haste +with which they paddled towards the land, and the looks of surprise with +which, ever and anon, they regarded the object on the horizon. This +object seemed a mere speck to Edith's unaccustomed eyes; but as she +gazed long and earnestly at it, a thought flashed across her mind. She +sprang up; her sparkling eyes seemed as though they would burst from +their sockets in her eager desire to make out this object of so great +interest. At this moment the oomiak touched the land. With a bound +like a gazelle Edith sprang on shore and ran panting with excitement to +the top of a rocky eminence. Here she again directed her earnest gaze +out to sea, while her colour went and came as she pressed her hands upon +her breast in an agony of hope. Slowly but surely the speck came on; +the wind shifted a point, which caused a gleam of sunlight to fall upon +a sail. It was a boat! there could be no doubt of it--and making +directly for the island! Unable to contain herself, Edith, uttering a +piercing cry, sank upon the ground and burst into a passionate flood of +tears. It was the irresistible impulse of hope long deferred at length +realised; for the child did not entertain a doubt that this was at +length the answer to her prayers. + +Meanwhile the Esquimaux ran about in a state of extraordinary +excitement. These people had very probably heard of the ships which +once a year pass through Hudson's Straits on their way to the depots on +the shores of Hudson's Bay; but they had never met with them, or seen a +Kublunat (white face) before that great day in their annals of discovery +when they found little Edith fainting in the snow. Their sharp eyes had +at once detected that the approaching boat was utterly different from +their own kayaks or oomiaks. And truly it was; for as she drew near +with her white sails bending before the evening breeze that had recently +sprung up, and the Union Jack flying from her peak, and the foam curling +before her sharp prow, she seemed a very model of grace and symmetry. + +There were only three figures in the boat, one of whom, by the violent +gesticulations that he made as they approached, bespoke himself an +Esquimau; the other two stood erect and motionless, the one by the +tiller, the other by the sheet. + +"Let go," said a deep soft voice, when the boat was within a +stone's-cast of the shore. + +The sheet flapped in the wind as the peak fell, and in another instant +the keel grated on the sand. + +For one moment a feeling of intense disappointment filled Edith's heart +as she sought in vain for the face of her father or Frank; then with a +cry of joy she sprang forward and flung herself into the arms of her old +enemy, Gaspard! + +"Thank God!" said Dick Prince, with a tremulous voice, as he leaped +lightly from the boat and clasped the child in his arms; "thank God we +have found you, Miss Edith! This will put new life into your poor +mother's heart." + +"Oh! how is she? Why did she not come with you?" sobbed Edith; while +Dick Prince, seating himself on a rock, drew her on his knee and stroked +her fair head as she wept upon his shoulder. + +Meanwhile Annatock was being nearly devoured by his wife and child and +countrymen, as they crowded round him to obtain information, and to heap +upon him congratulations; and Gaspard, in order to restrain, and at the +same time relieve his feelings, essayed to drag the boat out of the +water, in which attempt, giant though he was, being single-handed, he +utterly failed. + +After the first eager questions were answered on both sides, the natives +were informed by their comrade of the nature and objects of the +establishment at Ungava, and they exhibited the most extravagant signs +of joy on hearing the news. When their excitement was calmed down a +little, they conducted the party to their principal tent, and set before +them the choicest viands they possessed, talking vehemently all the +while, and indulging in a few antics occasionally, expressive of +uncontrollable delight. + +"Ye see, Miss Edith," began Prince, when he and Gaspard were seated +before a round of walrus-beef, "the way we came to know your whereabouts +was this: Gaspard and me was sent down to the coast to hunt seals, for +we were getting short o' blubber, and did not like to be obleeged to +give deer's-meat to the dogs. Your father gave us the boat; `for,' says +he, `Prince, it'll take ye down faster than the canoe with this wind; +and if ye see any o' the natives, be sure ye don't forget to ask about +_her_, Prince.' Ye see, Miss Edith, ever since ye was lost we never +liked to mention your name, although we often spoke of you, for we felt +that we might be speakin' o' the dead. Hows'ever, away we went for the +shores o' the bay, and coasted along to the westward a bit. Then we +landed at a place where there was a good lot o' field-ice floatin', with +seals lyin' on it, and we began to catch them. One day, when we was +goin' down to the ice as usual, we saw a black object sittin' on a floe +that had drifted in the night before with a stiff breeze. + +"`That's a queer-lookin' seal,' says Gaspard. + +"`So 'tis,' said I. `If there was ever black bears up hereabouts, I +would say it was one o' them.' + +"`Put a ball in yer gun,' says Gaspard; for ye see, as we had been +blazin' at small birds the day before, there was nothing but shot in it. +So I put in a ball, and took aim at the beast, intendin' to give it a +long shot. But I was mercifully prevented from firin'. Jist as I +squinted along the barrel, the beast rose straight up, and held up both +its fore paws. `Stop!' roars Gaspard, in an awful fright; and sure +enough I lowered my gun, and the beast hailed us in the voice of a man, +and began to walk to the shore. He seemed quite worn out when he +landed, and I could understand enough of his jargon to make out that he +had been blown out to sea on the floe, and that his name was Annatock. + +"While we were talkin' to the Esquimau, Gaspard cries out, `I say, +Prince, look here! There's a sort o' medal on this chap's neck with +somethin' written on it. You're a larned fellow, Prince; see if ye can +make it out.' So I looked at it, and rubbed my eyes once or twice, I +can tell you, for, sure enough, there was EDITH as plain as the nose on +my face." + +"Oh," exclaimed Edith, smiling through her tears, "that was the medal I +hung round his neck long, long ago! I hoped that it might be seen some +day by people who knew me." + +"I thought so, miss," returned Prince--"I thought as much, for I knew +that the Esquimau could never have invented and writ that out of his own +head, ye see. But Gaspard and me had most awful trouble to get him to +explain how he came by it, and where he came from. Howsoever, we made +out at last that he came from an island in this direction; so we just +made up our minds to take the boat and come straight away for the +island, which we did, takin' Annatock to pilot us." + +"Then does my father not know where you are, or anything about your +having heard of me?" inquired Edith, in surprise. + +"Why, no, Miss Edith," replied Prince. "You see, it would have lost us +two or three days to have gone back to Fort Chimo; and, after all, we +thought it might turn out a false scent, and only raise your poor +mother's hopes for nothin'. Besides, we were sent away for a week or +two, so we knew they wouldn't wonder at our absence; so we thought, upon +the whole, it would be best to come at once, specially since it was sich +a short distance." + +"A short distance!" repeated Edith, starting up. "I thought we must be +miles and miles, oh, ever so far away! Is the distance really short?" + +"Ay, that it is, little one," said Prince, patting the child on the +head. "It is not more than three days' rowing from this island, and a +stiff breeze on the quarter would carry us there in less than two." + +"And Frank, where is Frank?" said Edith,--with a look of eager inquiry. + +"Ah, miss," replied Prince, "he has been away almost as long as +yourself. Soon after you were lost a packet came from the south, and he +was obleeged to give up the sarch after you--though he was loath to do +it--and set out with three o' the men for Moose. From that day to this +we've heerd nothin' of him. But the journey he had to make was a long +one--havin' to go round all the way to York Fort--so we didn't expect to +hear o' him afore now. But I'll tell ye more about all your old friends +when we git--things ready for a start to-morrow." + +The remainder of that day was spent in making preparation for setting +sail on the following morning. The first intimation of the existence of +the new trading-fort had thrown the child-like natives into rapturous +delight; but when Prince told them he intended to go off the next day +with the child who had been as a bright spirit in their camp so long, +they fell into the depths of grief. Indeed, there was manifested a +slight desire to offer forcible opposition to this; but when Edith told +them, through the medium of Peetoot, who acted as her interpreter, that +the distance to her father's fort was not great, and that she would +expect them to come often there, and stay long, they became reconciled +to her departure; and when she sought to turn their minds (a work of no +great difficulty at any time) away from that subject by describing to +them the treasures of the trading-store, they danced and laughed and +sang like very children. Even Kaga's baby crowed with a racy richness +of feeling, and smiled with an oily brilliancy of expression, compared +with which all its former exhibitions were mere child's play. + +But when the hour of departure really came, and Edith bade farewell to +her kind friends, whose rude but warm hospitality she had enjoyed so +long, they were again plunged into the deepest distress; and when the +little boat finally put to sea, there was not a tearless eye among the +tribe, while Edith was swiftly borne from their island shore before a +strong and favouring breeze. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +THE CLOUDS ARE BROKEN, THE SUN BURSTS THROUGH AND ONCE MORE IRRADIATE +PORT CHIMO--HOPES AND FEARS FOR MAXIMUS. + +The wings of time moved slowly and heavily along at Fort Chimo. Hope +long deferred, expectation frequently reviving and as often +disappointed, crushed the spirits of the little party. The song, and +jest, and laugh seldom sounded from the houses of the men, who went +through their daily avocations almost in silence. Not only had the loss +of Edith--the bright spirit of the place, the tender rosebud in that +savage wilderness--cast an overwhelming gloom upon the fort, but the +failure of the trade, to a great extent, had added to the general +depression, and now fresh anxiety was beginning to be felt at the +non-appearance of Frank Morton. + +"Jessie," said Stanley one day, as he rose from the desk at which he had +been writing, and put on his cap with the intention of taking a stroll +along the beach, "will you come with me today? I know not how it is, +but every time I go out now I expect to hear the ship's gun as it comes +through the narrows." + +Mrs Stanley rose, and throwing on a shawl and hood, accompanied her +husband in silence. + +"Perhaps," she said at length, "you expect to hear the gun because the +vessel _ought_ to be here by this time." + +As she spoke, La Roche came up and touched his cap. "Please, madame, +vat you vill have pour dinner?" + +"Whatever you please, La Roche. Repeat yesterday's," answered Mrs +Stanley, with the air of one who did not wish to be troubled further on +the subject. But La Roche was not to be so easily put down. + +"Ah, madame! pardonnez moi. Dat is impossible. Ve have fresh fish +yesterday, dere be no fresh fish to-day. More de pity. C'est dommage-- +dat Gaspard him gone away--" + +La Roche was interrupted by a sudden exclamation from his master, who +pointed, while he gazed earnestly, towards the narrows of the river. It +seemed as if the scene of last year were repeated in a vision. Against +the dark rock appeared the white, triangular sail of a vessel. Slowly, +like a phantom, it came into view, for the wind was very light; while +the three spectators on the beach gazed with beating hearts, scarcely +daring to credit their eyes. In a few seconds another sail appeared--a +schooner floated into view; a white cloud burst from her bows, and once +again the long, silent echoes of Ungava were awakened by the roaring of +artillery. The men of the fort left their several employments and +rushed to the beach to welcome the vessel with a cheer; but although it +was heartfelt and vigorous, it was neither so prolonged nor so +enthusiastic as it was on the first occasion of the ship's arrival. + +As the vessel dropped anchor opposite the fort, Frank Morton leaped on +her bow, and along with the crew returned the cheer with a degree of +energy that awakened memories of other days. + +"There's Frank!" cried Stanley, turning on his wife a glance of joy. +"Bless the boy! It warms my heart to see him. He must have picked up +some Indian woman by the way. I see the flutter of a petticoat." + +As he spoke, the boat pushed off from the vessel's side, and a few rapid +strokes sent it bounding towards the shore. + +"Eh! what's this?" exclaimed Stanley, as his wife broke from him, and +with a wild shriek rushed into the lake. + +The figure of a child stood on the boat's bow, with her arms extended to +the shore. + +"Hurrah, lads! give way!" shouted Frank's deep voice. + +"Mother! mother!" cried the child. + +In another moment Frank bounded over the boat's side and placed Edith in +her mother's arms! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Reader, there are incidents in the histories of men which cannot be +minutely described without being marred. Such an one was the meeting +between the father and mother and their long-lost child. We refrain +from attempting to draw aside the curtain further than to say that the +joy and gratitude in more than one heart at Ungava found vent that night +in thanksgiving to Him who can bring light out of darkness and turn +sorrow into joy. + +The greater part of the day was spent at the fort in that feverish +excitement which cannot calm down to steady conversation, but vents +itself in eager, rambling questions and abrupt replies. Meanwhile, the +necessity of discharging the cargo of the vessel, and preparing the furs +for shipment, served to distract the attention and occupy the hands of +the whole party. + +As evening advanced, La Roche, true to his duty, placed supper on the +table, and Stanley and his wife, along with Edith and Frank, while they +partook of the meal, continued their inquiries. + +"Whereabouts was it, Frank, that you fell in with the boat?" said +Stanley. + +"Not more than five miles from the mouth of the river, at about six this +morning. We observed the boat beset by a pretty solid pack of ice, and +you may be sure we were not a little surprised when we saw the Union +Jack run up to her peak; so I ordered our boat to be lowered, intending +to go to her assistance. While the men were doing this, I examined her +with the glass, and then it was that I found, to my amazement and +inexpressible joy, that the boat contained Prince, Gaspard, and Edith." + +"Ah! Frank," said Mrs Stanley, "was it not a strange providence that +you, who were so sad at being compelled to give up the search, should be +the one appointed to find our beloved child, and bring her back to us?" + +"Nay," replied Frank, "it was not I who found her. Let me not rob Dick +Prince and Gaspard of the honour and gratitude which they have nobly +won." + +"And what do you think of the non-arrival of Maximus?" said Stanley, +whose feelings were still too much perturbed to allow him to dwell for +more than a few minutes at a time on any subject. Frank shook his head. + +"I know not what to think," said he. "As I have told you already, we +left him at Moose Fort with his recovered bride, and we got the +missionary to marry them there in due form. Next day they started in a +small canoe on their return voyage to Ungava, and the day following I +left for Lake Superior. I fully expected to find them here on my +return." + +Stanley looked grave. "I fear much," said he, "that some mischance has +befallen the good-hearted Esquimau. He was well armed, you say, and +amply supplied with provisions?" + +"Ay, most certainly. He took two guns with him, saying that his wife +was as good a shot as himself." + +"The men wish to know where the heavy goods are to be put," said Massan, +as he opened the door, and stood, cap in hand, awaiting orders. + +Stanley rose to leave the room. + +"I'll be with you in a minute, Massan.--Then, Frank, we'll expect an +account of your journey to-night. Eda is very anxious that we should be +told all about your wonderful adventures in the mountains. Meanwhile I +shall be off to look after the men." + +When the sun had set that night, and the song of the sailors had ceased, +and most of the wearied inhabitants of Fort Chimo were enjoying a +fragrant pipe after the labours of the day, Frank and Stanley seated +themselves, one on either side of the fire-place, with Mrs Stanley and +Edith in front of the hearth between them. An extra pine-knot was +thrown on the fire, which, in a few minutes, rendered the candle on the +table unnecessary. Stanley lit his pipe, and after drawing one or two +whiffs to make sure that it would keep alight, said,--"Now, Frank, my +boy, we're ready for you; fire away." + +Frank fired away, literally, for he applied a piece of glowing charcoal +to his pipe, and fired off half a dozen rapid puffs in reply, as it +were, to his friend opposite. Then he began. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +ROUGH AND TUMBLE--A POLAR BEAR MADE USEFUL--FISHING AND FLOUNDERING, AND +NARROW ESCAPES--AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY, PRODUCTIVE OF MINGLED +PERPLEXITY AND JOY. + +"You remember, I daresay, that the day on which I left Ungava, last +spring, was an unusually fine one--just such a day, Eda, as those on +which you and I and Chimo were wont to clamber up the berry-glen. But +the clambering that we went through there was nothing to the work we +went through on our third day from the fort. Maximus and Oolibuck were +first-rate climbers, and we would have got over the ground much faster +than we did but for the dogs, which could not travel easily over the +rough ground with their loaded sled. Chimo, indeed, hauled like a hero, +and if the other dogs had been equal to him we would have been here +before to-day. Well, as I said, our third day was one of considerable +toil. Leaving the river we struck into the mountains, but after nearly +breaking our sled to pieces, and endangering our necks more than once, +we found it necessary to return to the river and follow its windings +into the interior. + +"After many days of as rough travelling as I ever experienced, we came +to the lake district on the height of land, and travelled for some time +more rapidly and with much greater ease. There were plenty of ptarmigan +here, so that we saved our provisions--a matter of importance, as you +know, in a country where we might have found nothing fit for food. One +evening, towards sunset, as we were crossing a large lake, it came on to +snow heavily, and ere long we could not see the land. + +"`What shall we do, Maximus?' said I; `it seems to me that if we go on +we may wander out of our course and lose much time ere we find it again. +Shall we turn back?' + +"`Better go on,' replied Maximus. + +"Oolibuck seemed to be of the same opinion, so I gave my whip a flourish +to urge on the dogs, which were beginning to flag, owing to the +difficulty of drawing the sled through the deepening snow. But the two +rear dogs could hardly be prevailed on to move. Even Chimo was knocked +up. In this dilemma Maximus came to my aid. He hung one of the +ptarmigan at his belt, and letting the dogs smell it, walked on before. +The hungry animals brightened up instantly, and went forward for a +considerable distance with alacrity. + +"But after trudging on for two or three miles, the snow fell so thickly +that we thought proper to call a halt and hold another council of war. + +"`Now,' said I, `it is my opinion that we should encamp on the ice; +there is no use in wearying the dogs, and ourselves in uncertainty; what +think you, lads?' + +"`Me t'ink so too,' said Oolibuck. + +"Maximus nodded his head by way of assent, so we immediately set to work +to make our encampment. You recollect the hut we built on the lake when +I was so badly hurt, and when you were lost, Eda? Well, we made a +snow-house just like that one; and as we worked very hard, we had it up +and were all snug under its shelter in little more than two hours. +Meanwhile, the dogs were fed; and a small piece of wood, that we +fortunately brought with us on the sled, was cut up, and a fire kindled. +But this only served long enough to boil the kettle; and then it went +out, leaving us to eat our supper in the dark, for by this time the sun +had set. However, we did not mind that much; and when we had finished, +and were stretched out side by side on the snow, smoking our pipes, +while the dogs lay at our feet and kept us warm, I thought that a palace +could not have been more comfortable than our snow-house. + +"As we had no wood wherewith to make another fire, and so could not +procure water except by the tedious process of digging through the ice, +I resolved to try an experiment which I had once heard had been +attempted with success. This was, to fill a bottle with snow and take +it to bed with me. During the night the heat of my body melted the +snow, and in the morning we had sufficient water to give us each a +draught at breakfast. + +"When morning came we found that it was blowing and drifting so hard +that we could not venture to move; so we made up our minds to remain +where we were until the weather should moderate. + +"`Maximus,' said I, after our breakfast of cold boiled ptarmigan was +over, `set to work outside and dig a hole through the ice. I have no +doubt we shall find fish in this lake. If we do, they will form an +excellent addition to our fare. I will prepare the lines and hooks.' + +"Maximus, whose huge body was stretched out at full length, while he +enjoyed his pipe, rose to obey; but as he was about to leave the hut +Oolibuck said a few words to him. + +"`Please, sir,' said Oolibuck, with his usual oily smile, `my countrymen +fish in igloo when blow hard. Pr'aps ve make hole here, if you like.' + +"`Very good,' said I; `make the hole where you please, and look sharp +about it, else I shall have my lines prepared before you reach the +water.' + +"The two Esquimaux immediately set to work, and in less than an hour a +hole about six feet deep was yawning in the middle of our floor. +Through this we set two lines, and our usual luck attended us +immediately. We caught five or six excellent white-fish, and one or two +trout, in the first half-hour, so that we were enabled to give the dogs +a capital feed. Moreover, we froze as many as we could carry along with +us for future use; but we had not the satisfaction of having a good +dinner of them that day, as we had no wood wherewith to make fire. You +would have been greatly amused had you peeped in at the ice-window of +our igloo that day, as we sat round the hole in the floor with eager, +excited looks. I confess, however, that I left the work principally to +the two men, who seemed to relish it amazingly. Maximus was earnest and +energetic, as he always is; but the expression of Oolibuck's face +underwent the most extraordinary transformations--now beaming with +intense hope, as he felt, or thought he felt, a _tug_; anon blazing with +excitement, while his body jerked as if a galvanic shock had assailed +it, under the influence of a decided _pull_. Then his visage was +elongated as the fish escaped, and was again convulsed by another pull, +or shone in triumph as he hauled the wriggling captive into the light of +day. + +"Towards evening the wind fell, and we resumed our journey. We were not +again interrupted by weather for more than a week after this, but were +much perplexed by the chains of small lakes into which we came. At last +we reached Clearwater Lake, and had a long consultation as to the best +course to pursue, because it was now a question whether we should follow +the chain of lakes by which we came up to Ungava in our canoes, or make +a straight cut for the coast and take our chance of finding it. While +we were yet uncertain what to do, our course was decided by a polar +bear!" + +"A polar bear!" cried Edith, in surprise. + +"Ay; a polar bear and her cub settled the question for us, as you shall +hear presently," replied Frank. "But first hand me papa's +tobacco-pouch, please, as my pipe is exhausted. + +"There, now," continued Frank, re-lighting his pipe, and throwing a +fresh log on the fire, "that's comfortable. Well, as I said, we were +somewhat perplexed as to what we should do, when, in wandering about the +lake endeavouring to find the outlet, I came upon the track of a polar +bear; and by the side of it were little foot-prints, which showed me +that it was a she-bear with her cub. I observed that the tracks were +quite fresh. + +"`Now, then, Maximus,' said I, pointing to the tracks, which went to the +westward, `there is a sure guide who will conduct us by the quickest +route to the coast.' I could tell this, Eda, because I knew that the +bear had found food rather scarce in those high regions, and would +descend Clearwater River in order to fish in the open water at the +falls, which are very numerous in that river. On reaching the coast it +would find plenty seals in the sea. In the meantime I had nothing to do +but follow its track to be conducted by the shortest route to Clearwater +River, the commencement of which was difficult to find owing to the +flatness of the margin of the lake at this end. Away we went then, and, +as I had expected, were soon led to the river, down the banks of which +we scrambled, over rocks and crags, through bushes and snow, until we +came to the coast at Richmond Gulf. + +"But it took us many weeks to accomplish the journey which I have +briefly sketched thus far, and when we reached the coast, worn with hard +travel, and our clothing uncomfortably ragged, the spring was well +advanced--rivers were breaking up, ducks and geese were passing to the +north, and there were thousands of deer, so that we found ourselves +suddenly in the midst of abundance. Just before reaching the gulf I +witnessed the breaking up of a river, which was one of the grandest +sights I ever saw. + +"The river was not a very large one. On reaching it we were much struck +with a curious barrier of ice that was jammed across it. On examination +I saw that the ice had given way some time before we arrived there, and +an enormous cake, of many yards surface and fully six feet thick, had, +while being hurled along by the swelling water, caught upon the rugged +rocks and been tilted upon end. Thus it formed a temporary barrier, +against which other masses were forced until the outlet was completely +checked, and the water began to rise with great rapidity. As we stood +on the high cliff, looking down on the wild ravine in which this was +going on, I heard a loud crack. In another instant the obstructing +barrier burst like a thunderclap, and the pent-up waters leaped with one +mighty roar into their accustomed channel! The devastation created was +inconceivably grand. Rocks of many tons weight were torn up, cast like +playthings on the rushing ice, and hurled on the cliffs below, while +trees, and ice, and water swept down the gorge in a mad whirl, that made +my brain reel as I gazed at it. In an hour the worst of this awful +scene was over, but the unutterable desolation that was left will remain +for centuries, I believe, to tell of the mighty _rush_ that happened +there. + +"Our first experience of Richmond Gulf was not by any means pleasant. +When we arrived it was covered with ice; but we did not know that, +although it appeared to be solid enough, it was in reality little better +than frozen sludge or foam. Oolibuck happened to be walking first, with +the line of his little sled over his shoulder. For a short distance we +plodded on, intending to cross the gulf; but I was suddenly aroused from +a reverie by a shout from Maximus. Looking hastily up, I beheld nothing +of Oolibuck except his head above the ice, while Maximus was trying to +pull him out by hauling at the tail-line of the sled. Luckily Oolibuck +had kept fast hold of the line which was over his shoulder, and after +much trouble we succeeded in dragging him out of the water. A sharp +frost happened to have set in, and before we got back to the shore the +poor fellow's garments were frozen so stiff that he could not run. + +"`This is a bad job, Maximus,' said I; `we must carry him. Do you lift +his head, and I'll take the feet.' + +"`Oh be queek! I is frizzen up,' cried Oolibuck, casting a rueful look +through his tangled locks, which were a mere mass of icicles! + +"Maximus gave a loud chuckle, and before I could assist him he seized +his comrade in his powerful arms, heaved him over his shoulder like a +sack, and ran towards the shore as lightly as if his burden were a child +instead of a big over-fed Esquimau! + +"Arrived at the woods, we wrapped Oolibuck in our blankets; then we +kindled a fire, and in two hours after his clothes were dried and +himself ready to proceed. This might have turned out a more serious +accident, however, and we felt very thankful when we had our damp +companion steaming beside a good fire. The lesson was not thrown away, +for we coasted round Richmond Gulf instead of attempting to cross it. + +"And now," continued Frank, stirring the fire and re-lighting his pipe, +which invariably went out at the interesting parts of his +narrative--"now I come to that part of my story which bears on the fate +of Maximus. + +"As I have said, we had arrived at the coast, and began to look forward +to Moose Fort as the first resting-place on our journey. By far the +greater part of the journey lay before us, Eda; for, according to my +calculation, I have travelled since last spring a distance of three +thousand miles, nearly a thousand of which have been performed on foot, +upwards of a thousand in boats and canoes, and a thousand by sea; and in +the whole distance I did not see a civilised spot of ground or a single +road--not so much as a bridle-path. As Bryan's favourite song has it-- + +"`Over mountains and rivers I was pelted to shivers.' + +"But I'm happy to say I have not, as the same song continues, `met on +this land with a wathery grave.' I was very near it once, however, as +you shall hear. + +"Well, away we went along the coast of James's Bay, much relieved to +think that the mountains were now past, and that our road henceforth, +whatever else it might be, was level. One evening, as we were plodding +wearily along, after a hard day's march over soft snow alternated with +sandy beach--for the spring was fast advancing--we came suddenly on a +camp of Indians. At first I thought they must be some of the Moose +Indians, but on inquiry I found that they were a party of Muskigons, who +had wandered all over East Main, and seemed to be of a roving, unsettled +disposition. However, we determined to encamp along with them for that +night, and get all the information we could out of them in regard to +their hunting-grounds. + +"We spent a great part of the night in the leathern wigwam of the +principal chief, who was a sinister-looking old rascal, though I must +say he received us hospitably enough, and entertained us with a good +deal of small-talk, after time and the pipe had worn away his reserve. +But I determined to spend part of the night in the tent of a solitary +old woman who had recently been at Moose Fort, and from whom I hoped to +hear some news of our friends there. You know I have had always a +partiality for miserable old wives, Eda; which accounts, perhaps, for my +liking for you! This dame had been named Old Moggy by the people at +Moose; and she was the most shrivelled, dried-up, wrinkled old body you +ever saw. She was testy too; but this was owing to the neglect she +experienced at the hands of her tribe. She was good-tempered by nature, +however; a fact which became apparent the longer I conversed with her. + +"`Well, Old Moggy,' said I, on entering her tent, `what cheer, what +cheer?' + +"`There's no cheer here,' she replied peevishly, in the Indian tongue. + +"`Nay, then,' said I, `don't be angry, mother; here's a bit o' baccy to +warm your old heart. But who is this you have got beside you?' I +asked, on observing a good-looking young girl, with a melancholy cast of +countenance, seated in a dark corner of the wigwam, as if she sought +concealment. I observed that she was whiter than Indians usually are, +and supposed at first that she was a half-breed girl; but a second +glance convinced me that she had little if any of the Indian blood in +her veins. + +"`She is my only friend,' said Old Moggy, her dark eye brightening as +she glanced towards the girl. `She was to have been my son's wife, but +the Great Spirit took my son away. She is all that is left to me now.' + +"The old woman's voice trembled as she spoke the last few words, and she +spread her skinny hands over the small fire that smouldered in the +centre of the floor. + +"I was proceeding to make further inquiries into this girl's history, +when the curtain-door of the tent was raised and Oolibuck thrust in his +shaggy head. + +"`Please, sir, de ole chief him wants baccy. I have smoke all mine. +Vill you give some?' + +"`Here you are,' said I, throwing a lump to the Esquimau. `Send Maximus +to me; I want to speak with him.' + +"`I is here,' said Maximus, outside the tent. + +"`Ah! that's right.--Now, Old Moggy, I'll be back in a few minutes, so +don't go to sleep till I return.' + +"As I was about to issue from the tent, the young girl passed me +hastily, and, drawing the hood over her head and face, darted through +the opening. I found Maximus gazing after her in surprise. + +"`Hallo, Maximus! what's wrong? Do you think the girl's a witch?' + +"`No; but I t'ink she be funny. She look close into my face, and fly +'way when you come hout o' tent.' + +"`That's odd. Did you ever see her before?' + +"`I not see her yet. She keep face covered up.' + +"`Well, come along, it doesn't signify. I want you to go with me to the +chief's wigwam, to ask where we are to put the dogs for the night, and +to see about our own quarters.' + +"Old Moggy's wigwam stood at the distance of several hundred yards from +the other tents of the village, from which it was separated by a belt of +stunted trees and willows. Through this copsewood Maximus and I took +our way, following one of the many beaten tracks made by the Indians. +The night was clear, and we found no difficulty in picking our steps +among the low shrubs. When we were about half-way through this wood, I +observed a female form gliding among the bushes. She ran towards +Maximus, who walked in advance and concealed me with his bulky form. +But a slight bend in the road revealed my figure, and the woman paused, +as if uncertain what to do. + +"`Surely that is your unknown friend again,' said I, as we both halted. +Then I beckoned her to approach. At first she appeared unwilling to do +so; but suddenly she seemed to change her mind, and walking boldly up to +Maximus, she threw back her hood and stood before him. I observed that +she was Moggy's young friend, but a wondrous change had come over her. +The pale cheeks were now covered with a bright blush, and the sad eyes +were sparkling with animation, as she gazed intently into the face of +the Esquimau. For a few seconds Maximus looked like one thunder-struck. +`Aneetka!' he exclaimed vehemently, and, striding forward with a +suppressed cry, clasped the girl in his arms. + +"You may easily conceive my surprise at this scene. Immediately the +recollection of the attack by the Indians on the Esquimau camp, and of +Maximus's young bride having been carried off, flashed upon me, and I +had no doubt that the Esquimau girl now stood before me. Indeed, the +fact of the broken exclamations uttered by the pair being in the +Esquimau tongue put this beyond a doubt. A feeling of great delight +filled my heart as I looked upon the couple thus unexpectedly reunited; +while they, quite oblivious of my presence, poured out a flood of +question and reply, in the midst of which they ever and anon embraced, +to make sure, no doubt, of their physical identity. Then it suddenly +occurred to me that I was behaving very ill, so I wheeled about and +sauntered away to a little distance in the direction of the shore, in +order to take some astronomical observations of the sky, and gaze +inquiringly up at the moon, which at that moment broke through a bank of +clouds, tipping the icebergs on the sea and the branches of the +overhanging trees with silver light. + +"In quarter of an hour Maximus came to me and presented his long-lost +bride, Aneetka, whose pretty face beamed with joy, while her lover's +frame appeared to expand with felicity until he looked like an +exaggerated Hercules. But we had no time to waste in talking of the +past. The present required our instant and earnest attention; so we sat +down on the stem of a fallen tree to consult as to how we were to get +Aneetka out of the hands of her Indian captors. Her brief history, +after she was captured at Ungava, was as follows:-- + +"The Indian who had intended to make her his bride found her resolved +rather to die than to marry him; but hoping that time would overcome her +objection, he placed her under the care of his widowed mother, Old +Moggy, on returning to his village in the interior. Soon afterwards +this Indian was killed by a brown bear, and the poor mother became a +sort of outcast from the tribe, having no relations to look after her. +She was occasionally assisted, however, by two youths, who came to sue +for the hand of the Esquimau girl. But Aneetka, true to her first love, +would not listen to their proposals. One of these lovers was absent on +a hunting expedition at the time we discovered Aneetka; the other, a +surly fellow, and disliked by the most of his comrades, was in the camp. +From the day of her son's death, a feeling of sympathy had sprung up +between Old Moggy and the Esquimau girl, and this had gradually +strengthened into affection. + +"Thus matters stood when we fell in with her. After much deliberation, +it was resolved that I should go to the old chief and tell him that Old +Moggy and her adopted child wished to quit the tribe and go to Moose +with us, to live there; while Aneetka should go and acquaint her old +protectress with our plans and her own altered circumstances. + +"`Adieu, then, Aneetka,' said I, as the girl pushed her lover away and +bounded into the woods.--`Now, Maximus, nothing will do for it but stout +hearts and strong arms. Come along, lad.' + +"I found, to my surprise, that the old chief had no objection to the +arrangement I proposed. A few of the others did not seem inclined to +part with their captive; but I explained to them the advantage it would +be to them to have friends at court, as it were, and said that the +fur-traders would be glad to support Moggy in her old age--which was +true enough, for you all know as well as I do that there is not a post +in the country where there are not one or more old or otherwise helpless +Indians supported gratuitously by the Hudson's Bay Company. The only +man who resolutely opposed the proposal was Meestagoosh, the rejected +lover; but I silenced him in a novel manner. He was a tall, powerful +fellow, of about my own size. + +"`Come,' said I to his assembled comrades, in the Indian language, for I +found they understood my bad mixture of Cree and Sauteaux very +well--`come, friends, let us deal fairly in this matter. My man there +has taken a fancy to the girl--let Meestagoosh and Maximus wrestle for +her.' + +"A loud laugh greeted this proposal, as the Indians surveyed the huge +proportions of my Esquimau. + +"`Well, then,' I continued, `if Meestagoosh is afraid of the Esquimau, I +have no objections to try him myself.' The Indian looked at me with an +angry glance, and seemed, I thought, half inclined to accept the +challenge; so, to cut the matter short, I took him by the throat and +hurled him to the ground--a feat which was evidently enjoyed by his +countrymen. + +"Meestagoosh rose and retired with a savage scowl on his face, and I saw +no more of him. Indeed, I believe he left the camp immediately. + +"After this no opposition was offered, and I made the matter sure by +distributing a large quantity of powder, shot, and tobacco to the +chiefs. Old Moggy made no objection to our plan, so we set out the next +day with an additional dog purchased from the Indians in order to make +our team strong enough to haul the old woman when she got knocked up +with walking. Six days brought us to Moose Fort, just as the ice on the +river was breaking up. Here, as I have already told you, Maximus and +Aneetka were married in due form by the Wesleyan missionary, after they +had received some instruction and expressed their desire to become +Christians. Then they were supplied with a canoe and all necessary +provisions, and sent off to go round the coast to Ungava, accompanied by +our good dog Chimo, for whom we had now no further use, and by Old +Moggy, who would not consent to be separated from her friend Aneetka. +They started along the coast on a fine spring day, and the back of his +sealskin coat, shining in the sun's rays like velvet, as the canoe swept +out to sea, and disappeared behind a low point, was the last that I saw +of Maximus. + +"I will not weary you just now," continued Frank, "with the details of +my subsequent journeying, as, although full of incidents, nothing of a +very thrilling character occurred except once. At Moose I remained till +the rivers were clear of ice, and then set off into the interior of the +country with a small canoe and five men, Oolibuck being bowsman. For +many days we voyaged by rivers and lakes, until we arrived at the +Michipicoten River, which is a very rough one, and full of tremendous +falls and rapids. One day, while we were descending a rapid that rushed +through a dark gorge of frowning rocks, and terminated in a fall, our +canoe was broken in two, and the most of us thrown into the water. We +all swam ashore in safety, with the exception of one man, who clung to +the canoe, poor fellow, and was carried along with it over the fall. We +never saw him more, although we searched long and carefully for his +body. + +"We now found ourselves in a very forlorn condition. We were dripping +wet, without the means of making a fire, and without provisions or +blankets, in the midst of a wild, uninhabited country. However, we did +not lose heart, but set off on foot to follow the river to its mouth, +where we knew we should find relief at Michipicoten Fort. The few days +that followed were the most miserable I ever passed. We allayed the +cravings of hunger by scraping off the inner bark of the trees, and by a +few of last year's berries which had been frozen and so preserved. Once +or twice we crossed the river on rafts of drift-wood, and at night lay +down close to each other under the shelter of a tree or cliff. At +length we arrived at the fort on Lake Superior, quite worn out with +fatigue and starvation. Here we waited until the canoes from Canada +passed; and after a somewhat similar voyage, through woods, rivers, and +lakes, arrived at length, about the beginning of autumn, at York Fort, +on Hudson's Bay. + +"Here I spent some weeks in recalling to memory and recording on paper +the contents of my dispatches, which had been lost, along with our canoe +and baggage, in Michipicoten River; and when these were finished and +delivered, I embarked, along with our outfit of goods, in the _Beaver_, +and sailed for Ungava. I need scarcely add that the voyage was a +prosperous one, and that the brightest day in it all was that on which +we found the boat, with our dear little Edith, beset among the ice near +the entrance to Ungava Bay." + +While Frank was thus occupied in narrating the events of his long +journey in the hall of Fort Chimo, Oolibuck was similarly employed in +entertaining the men. After the day's toil of unloading the ship was +over, he was placed in the middle of the circle, directly in front of +the blazing fire, by Dick Prince and Massan; while Moses, Oostesimow, +Gaspard, and Ma-istequan sat on his right; and Bryan, La Roche, +Francois, and Augustus supported him on the left--all having pipes in +their mouths, which were more or less blackened by constant use. A pipe +was then handed to Oolibuck, and the order given, generally by Bryan, +"to blaze away." + +This the oily-visaged Esquimau did with right good-will; and the shouts +of laughter which issued from the house occasionally, as he proceeded +with his interminable narration, proved that the spirit and humour of +the stout voyageur had not been crushed by the trials and dangers of his +long, eventful journey. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +A STIRRING PERIOD IN THE LIFE OF MAXIMUS. + +Intermingled joy and sorrow is the lot of man. Thus it has ever been; +thus, no doubt, it shall continue to be until the present economy shall +have reached its termination. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do +right?" is a sufficient reply to those who would fain have it otherwise. +But, independently of this view of the subject, may we not, with the +painter's eye, regard joy as the light, sorrow as the shade, in the +picture of life? And who would have a painting _all_ light or _all_ +shadow? + +Maximus found it so in his experience. The shadows in the picture of +his life had of late been broad and dark, but a flash of vivid +brilliancy had crossed it when he found his bride. Afterwards the light +and shade were chequered, as we shall see. + +On leaving Moose, Maximus proceeded a day's journey along the coast, and +at night, as the weather was fine, he encamped with his wife and Old +Moggy and Chimo on the open seashore. Here he held a consultation as to +their future proceedings. As long as they were on the shore of James's +Bay they were in danger of being found by Indians; but once beyond +Richmond Gulf they would be comparatively safe, and in the land of the +Esquimaux. After mature deliberation it was resolved that they should +travel during the night, and rest and cook their food during the +daytime, when a fire would not be so likely to attract attention if +kindled in sequestered places. + +This plan answered very well, and they passed stealthily along the coast +when the Indians, if there were any there, were buried in repose. On +approaching the camp of the tribe, however, from whom Aneetka had been +taken, Maximus deemed it advisable to paddle far out to sea--the weather +being fortunately calm--and to rest for a day and a night as well as +they could in their frail bark. Maximus sat in the stern of the canoe +and steered; his wife sat in the bow and paddled day after day as +vigorously as if she had been a man. As for poor Old Moggy, she sat in +the middle and paddled a little when she felt cold; but she slept during +the greater part of the journey. Chimo conceived it to be his duty to +enjoy himself, and did so accordingly, at all times and in every +possible way. + +During that livelong day and night, and all the following day, the +giant's arm never flagged; Aneetka, too, rested only once or twice at +the earnest request of her husband; but the little bark never once +slackened its speed until the second night. Then Old Moggy was +awakened. + +"Mother," said Aneetka, who acted as interpreter between her husband and +the old woman, "we want to sleep for an hour or two. You seem to have +rested well. Will you wake and watch?" + +The old woman yawned, rubbed her eyes, and assented, after the question +had been twice repeated. Then laying their heads on opposite sides of +the canoe, without otherwise changing their positions, the husband and +wife sank into repose. + +Two hours afterwards the old Indian woman, who had remained motionless +as a dark statue all the time, uttered a slight sound. Instantly the +sleepers awoke, for those who are in the midst of danger sleep lightly. + +"It is time to go on," said the old woman, as she lay back again in her +lair, rolled herself up into a bundle, and went to sleep. + +Maximus and his wife resumed their paddles, and the light craft glided +swiftly on its way to the far north. + +As the sun rose they neared the land, and soon after they were seated +not far from a high cliff, eating their breakfast beside a small fire, +which sent so thin a column of smoke into the air that it was almost +dissipated ere it reached the tree-tops. It was hoped that the Indians +had been now so far overshot that there was no danger of even a +straggler being near them. But they took the precaution to load their +two guns with ball, and lean them against a tree within reach of their +hands. When the meal was over, Maximus retired from the fire a few +paces, and throwing himself at full length on the green moss beneath a +tree, he fell into a sound sleep. + +He had not lain thus more than quarter of an hour when he was startled +by the report of a gun, which was followed by a wild scream and a chorus +of unearthly yells. At the same instant, and ere he could attempt to +rise, his legs and arms were pinioned to the ground by four powerful +Indians. For an instant Maximus was paralysed. Then the terrible +reality of his position, the scream of Aneetka, and the sight of the +thong with which his captors were about to bind him, caused his spirit +to rebound with a degree of violence that lent him for the moment the +strength of a giant. With a shout, in which even a tone of contempt +seemed to mingle the Esquimau hurled his captors right and left, and +sprang to his feet. The Indians fled; but one, who was a moment later +in rising than the others, received a blow that felled him instantly. +Maximus glanced quickly round in search of his wife, and observed her +being hurried away by two Indians. As the arrow leaps from the bow the +Esquimau sprang forward in pursuit. The Indians saw him coming. In +bitter anger they prepared to let her go and fly, for having dropped +their guns in the scuffle they were unable to fire upon their +approaching foe. But there were other Indians in the bush whose weapons +were levelled at the breast of Maximus, and the next moment would have +been his last, but for a stone thrown from the cliffs above, which +struck him on the forehead and stretched him bleeding and insensible +upon the ground. + +When Maximus recovered from the effects of the blow, he found himself +lying on the cold earth in total darkness, and firmly bound hand and +foot. It is impossible to describe the agony of that bold spirit as he +lay writhing on the ground, in the vain effort to burst the cords that +bound him. He thought of Aneetka and his own utter helplessness, while +she was, no doubt, in urgent need of his strong arm to deliver her. The +thought maddened him, and again he strove in vain to burst his fetters, +and yelled aloud in despair. The echoing rocks gave back his cry, and +then all was silence. The dreadful thought now flashed across him that +the Indians had buried him alive in some dark cavern, and brave though +he was, he trembled in every limb with agony. + +Thus Maximus lay until the grey dawn shone in upon him, and showed that +he was in a cave. Scarcely had he noted this fact when the figure of a +man darkened the cave's mouth and approached him. As the Indian bent +over his helpless foe he revealed the savage features of Meestagoosh. +For an instant he cast a look of mingled hatred and triumph on his +enemy; then drawing a scalping-knife from his girdle, he stooped and cut +the thong that bound his feet, at the same time signing to him to rise, +for he knew that Maximus did not understand Indian. The Esquimau +obeyed, and was led by the Indian through the woods towards the cliff +where the struggle of the previous night had taken place. Here they +came suddenly into view of the Indian camp. + +There were no tents: several green blankets that lay on the moss under +the trees indicated where the party had lain during the night; and at a +considerable distance apart from these sat Old Moggy, with her face +buried in her skinny hands. Beside her stood Aneetka, with a calm but +slightly anxious expression on her pale countenance. Chimo was held in +a leash by an Indian. From the fact of the Indians being without tents +or women, and having their faces daubed with red paint, besides being +armed with knives, guns, and tomahawks, Maximus concluded that they +composed a war party. + +On seeing her husband, Aneetka uttered a suppressed cry and bounded +towards him; but ere she had proceeded two paces an Indian laid his hand +on her arm, and led her back to where the old woman sat. Meestagoosh +led Maximus to the same spot, and having confronted him with his wife, +he said to the latter,--"Now, she-bear of the north, translate between +us. If I think you tell lies, the dogs shall have your bones to pick." + +Aneetka replied meekly, "You cannot hurt one hair of our heads unless +the Great Spirit permit you." + +"We shall see," retorted the Indian with a scornful laugh. "Tell the +polar bear," continued Meestagoosh, in a contemptuous tone, "that I did +not expect to catch him so soon. I have been fortunate. It was kind of +him to come in my way, and to bring his she-bear with him. Tell him +that I and my braves are going to pay a visit to his nation, to take a +few scalps. I let him know this piece of good news because he will +never know it from his friends, as he shall be food for dog very soon." + +On this being translated, the face of Maximus assumed an expression of +deep gravity mingled with sadness. His mind flew to the far north, and +he thought of the midnight assault and the death-cry of women and +children. The nature of the Esquimau was too noble and generous to be +easily ruffled by the contemptuous tone of such a man as Meestagoosh; +but his heart sank within him when he thought of the power as well as +the will that the Indian had to put his threat into execution. + +"Tell him," said Maximus quietly, "that I have no wish to talk with him, +but remind him that Indians are not gods; they are men." + +"Yes, he says truly," retorted Meestagoosh, "the Indians are men, but +Esquimaux are dogs." + +While this conversation was going on, and the Indians were intent upon +the scene, Old Moggy, who was not deemed worthy of being noticed, +contrived unobserved to possess herself of a knife, and springing +suddenly towards Maximus with an agility of which she seemed utterly +incapable, she endeavoured to cut the thongs that bound his arms. Her +hand was caught, however, by Meestagoosh, in time to frustrate her +intention. Without deigning a word of remark, the Indian struck her a +heavy blow on the cheek with the back of his open hand, which nearly +stunned her. Staggering backward, she fell upon the ground with a low +wail. + +The bosom of Maximus felt as if it would burst with rage. Before any +one could prevent him, he raised his foot and struck Meestagoosh so +violently on the chest that he fell as if he had been shot. In a moment +he recovered, drew his knife, and springing like an infuriated tiger at +his enemy, drove it with deadly force at his throat. Fortunately the +arms of Maximus were tied in front of him, so that by raising them he +was enabled to guard his chest and receive the stab on his wrist. The +knife passed quite through the fleshy part of his left arm, but in doing +so it severed one of the cords that bound him. Thought is not quicker +than the mighty wrench with which the Esquimau burst the remaining cord +and dashed his opponent to the ground. Before the astonished Indians +could level their guns, Maximus had seized Aneetka in his arms and was +bounding madly towards the cliff, which was not more than fifty yards +distant. Every gun poured forth its deadly contents before he gained +it; but his very nearness to the Indians seemed to contribute to his +safety, and the suddenness of his flight rendered their hasty aim +uncertain. In another moment he was round the point and behind the +sheltering cliff, while the Indians uttered a terrific yell and darted +forward in pursuit. Just about thirty paces beyond the point of the +cliff that hid him for a few moments from view was the cave in which +Maximus had spent the night. Quick as thought he sprang up the steep +short ascent that led to its narrow entrance and darted in. + +Scarcely had he placed Aneetka behind a projection that formed an ample +shelter at the mouth of the cave, when Chimo, who had broken from his +captors, also darted in and crouched at his master's feet. Meanwhile +the Indians came sweeping round the point, and seeing by the entrance of +the dog where the fugitives had taken shelter, they bounded up the +ascent. The first who reached the cave's mouth rashly passed the +entrance. Ere he could fire his piece he received a blow from the fist +of the Esquimau that fractured his skull, hurled him down the steep +ascent, and dashed him against his comrades in the rear. This sudden +repulse effectually checked the Indians, who are notoriously bad at +storming. Indeed they would never have ventured to enter the cave in +this manner had they not known that Maximus was totally unarmed. + +Withdrawing to a distance of about forty yards, the Indians now formed +in a line, and loading their guns, fired volley after volley into the +cave's mouth. But Maximus and his wife crouched with the dog behind the +ledge of rock at the entrance, and remained there in perfect safety. In +a few minutes the Indians ceased firing, and one of their number +cautiously approached the cave, supposing, no doubt, that the fusillade +must have wounded if it had not killed those within; but the instant he +passed the entrance, knife in hand, he was caught in the powerful arms +of Maximus and hurled down the slope. + +A yell of indignation from the Indians followed this feat, and another +volley was fired into the cave, but without effect; and the savages, +seeing that it was impossible in this way to dislodge their foe, +assembled in a group to consult. + +Meanwhile Old Moggy had made good use of the opportunity thus afforded +her to effect her escape. She darted into the bushes and made for the +rocky ground in the rear of the camp. In doing so she happened to pass +the tree against which leaned the two guns belonging to her friends. +They had escaped notice during the _melee_ of the previous day, and, +with the shot-belts and powder-horns, remained where they had been +placed when she and her companions landed. The old woman eagerly seized +these, and clambered with them over the rocks at a rate that would have +done credit to more youthful limbs. On reaching a ridge of rock that +overlooked the cave where Maximus was sheltered, Old Moggy became aware +of how matters stood. She could also see, from her elevated position, +that a track, or the bed of a dried-up watercourse, led through the +bushes towards the cave. Without a moment's delay she descended it; +but, on drawing near to the cave, she found that there was a barren spot +of about thirty yards in extent between the place of refuge and the edge +of the bushes. This open space was completely exposed to the view of +the natives, who at that time were firing across it into the cavern; +for, after their consultation, they had changed their position and +renewed the fusillade. Moggy was now in despair. She knew that it +would be impossible to pass the open ground without being shot, and she +also felt certain that, when the Indians found their present attempts +were fruitless, they would resort to others, in prosecuting which they +would in all probability discover her. While she meditated thus, she +looked earnestly towards the cave, and observed the astonished gaze of +Maximus fixed upon her; for, from his position behind the ledge of rock, +he could see the old woman without exposing himself to the Indians. +While they gazed at each other a thought occurred to Old Moggy. She +made a series of complicated signs, which, after frequent repetition, +were understood by Maximus to mean that he was to expose himself to the +view of the Indians. Instantly comprehending her meaning, the Esquimau +stepped boldly from his place of concealment and shook his fist +contemptuously in the face of his enemies. A shower of bullets and a +yell of rage followed the act. This was just what Old Moggy had +expected and desired. Not a gun remained undischarged, and before they +could reload, she passed quickly over the open ground and bounded into +the cave, where she turned and shook aloft the two guns with a hoarse +laugh of triumph ere she sought the shelter of the ledge of rock. + +The Indians were so filled with fury at being thus outwitted by an old +woman, that they forgot for a moment their usual caution, and rushed in +a body up the slope; but ere they had accomplished half the distance two +of their number fell, to rise no more. This was sufficient to check +their career. Howling with baffled rage, and without waiting to pick up +their fallen comrades, they darted right and left to seek the shelter of +the bushes, for they could no longer remain in the open ground, now that +their enemies were armed. + +For nearly an hour after this all was silence. Maximus and his +companions could only form conjectures as to the movements of the +Indians, for none of them were to be seen. However, as they had no +resource but to remain in their retreat until night-fall, they +endeavoured to make the place as comfortable as possible, and busied +themselves in cleaning their arms. + +It happened that from the cave's mouth they could see their canoe, which +still lay on the beach where they had originally left it; and, while +they were looking at it, they perceived one of the Indians stealing down +towards it. Fortunately Maximus had a gun in his hand ready loaded, and +the instant the Indian appeared he fired and shot him. No second Indian +dared to venture towards the little craft, although it lay only a few +yards distant from the edge of the forest; for they knew that the +watchful eye of the Esquimau was upon them, and that instant death would +be the fate of him who should make the attempt. The little canoe now +became an object of intense interest to both parties. The Indians knew +that if their foe should succeed in reaching it he could easily escape. +This, of course, he could not hope to do as long as daylight lasted; nor +even when night should arrive, unless it were a very dark one. But, on +the other hand, they knew that they did not dare to venture near it so +long as there was sufficient light to enable Maximus to take aim at them +with his deadly gun. Both parties, therefore, remained silent and +apparently inactive during the remainder of the day. + +But the busy brains both of Indians and Esquimaux were, during this +weary interval, employed in planning how to circumvent each other. As +the shades of night deepened, each became more watchful. Once only did +Maximus move from his post, in order to go to the farther end of the +cave, where the large powder-horn had been placed for safety. As he did +so, Chimo, who was tied to a rock, tried to follow him, and on finding +that he was restrained, uttered a loud, mournful howl. This cry sent a +thrill to the heart of Maximus, for it immediately occurred to him that +any attempt to leave the cave stealthily would instantly be intimated to +the watchful foe by the dog, and to take Chimo with them was impossible. + +"The dog must die," said Old Moggy, who divined at once what was passing +in the man's mind. + +Maximus shook his head sadly. + +"I cannot kill Chimo," he said to Aneetka; "he is Edith's dog." + +Aneetka made no reply, for she felt the power of her husband's objection +to injure the dog of his little favourite; yet she could not but +perceive that the cry--which was invariably repeated when any of the +party moved away from the animal--would betray them in the moment of +danger. Nothing further was said for some time, but Old Moggy, who had +no tender reminiscences or feelings in regard to the dog, proceeded +quietly and significantly to construct a running-noose on the stout +thong of leather that encircled her waist and served as a sash. + +While she was thus engaged the sun's last rays faded away and the night +began to deepen around them. To the satisfaction of both parties the +sky was draped with heavy clouds, which gave promise of a night of +intense darkness. This was absolutely essential not only to the Indians +but to Maximus, who had at length formed a plan by which he hoped to +turn the dreaded cry of the dog to good account, although he had little +hope of saving it from the Indians, should he succeed in escaping with +the women. As the night grew darker he began to put this plan in +execution. + +Taking his station at the entrance of the cave, he took a long and +steady aim at the bow of the canoe, which could now be only seen dimly. +Having adjusted the gun to his satisfaction he marked its position +exactly on the rock, so that, when the canoe should be entirely hid from +sight, he could make certain of hitting any object directly in front of +it. Then he ordered Moggy and his wife to keep moving about the cave, +so that the howling of Chimo should be kept up continually, and thus not +appear unusual when they should really forsake the cave and attempt +their escape. In order to show that he was still on the alert, he +shortly after aimed at the canoe, which was now quite invisible, and +fired. The effect was more startling than had been expected. A +death-cry rent the air and mingled with the reverberations of the shot, +proving that it had taken deadly effect on one of the Indians, who, +under cover of the darkness, had ventured to approach the coveted canoe. +A volley was instantly fired in the direction of the cave from various +parts of the bushes, but without effect. + +Maximus now kept up a continued fire, sometimes discharging a succession +of rapid shots, at other times firing at irregular intervals of from +three to ten minutes. This he did purposely, with a view to his future +plans. In the meantime the dog was made to keep up a continuous +howling. + +"Now, Aneetka," said Maximus, as the ring of his last shot died away, +"go, and may the Great Spirit guide thee!" + +Without a word of reply, the two women glided noiselessly like shadows +into the thick darkness. About two minutes after they had disappeared, +Maximus again fired several shots, taking care, however, to point +considerably to the right of the canoe. Then he ceased for three +minutes, and again fired several shots irregularly. At the last shot he +passed from the cave so silently and quickly that even Chimo was +deceived, and snuffed the air for a moment ere it renewed its sad +wailing. In less than two minutes the Esquimau had glided, with the +noiseless tread of a panther, to the spot where the canoe lay. Here he +found his wife and the old woman crouching beside it. The water's edge +was about ten yards distant. A few seconds would suffice to lift the +light bark in his powerful arms and launch it. Aneetka and the old +woman, who had already received minute instructions what to do, had +glided quietly into the sea the instant Maximus touched them; for, as we +have said, it was intensely dark and they could not see a yard before +them. The women now stood up to the knees in water, with their paddles +in their hands ready to embark. + +Stooping down, the Esquimau seized the canoe; but, just as he was about +to lift it, he observed a tall dark object close to his side. + +"Wah!" whispered the Indian, "you are before me. Quick! the Esquimau +dog will fire again." + +The words of the Indian were cut short by the iron gripe of Maximus on +his throat, and the next instant he was felled by a blow that would have +stunned an ox. So decided and quick was the action that it was not +accompanied by more noise than might have been caused by the Indian +endeavouring to lift the canoe, so that his comrades were not alarmed. +Next moment the canoe was in the water. But the long silence, which had +now been unbroken for eight or ten minutes, except by the howling of +Chimo in the cave, began to arouse the suspicion of the red men; and no +sooner was this the case than they glided from the bushes in all +directions with noiseless tread. In a second or two the body of their +fallen comrade was discovered, and a yell of fury rent the air (for +concealment was now unnecessary), while they dashed into the water in +pursuit. The darkness favoured the fugitives for a few seconds, and +enabled the women to embark; but just as Maximus was about to step into +his place, Meestagoosh seized him by the throat! + +Maximus was possessed of that ready presence of mind and prompt energy +of character which are so necessary to a warrior, especially to him who +wars with the prowling and stealthy savage. Almost in the same instant +he gave the canoe a shove that sent it bounding out to sea, and raised +his hand to catch the invisible arm which he knew must be descending +with the deadly knife towards his heart. He succeeded so far that, +although he did not arrest it, he turned the blow aside, receiving only +a slight wound on the shoulder. Ere it could be repeated, he dealt his +adversary a blow on the forehead, and hurled him back insensible into +the water. + +The Esquimau immediately glided out into deep water; and now, for the +first time in his life, he felt keenly the disadvantage of not being +able to swim. This is an art which the inhabitants of the icy seas have +never acquired, owing probably to the shortness of the season of open +water, and the intense cold of the ice-laden seas, even in summer. The +Indians, on the contrary, who live beside the warm lakes and rivers of +the interior, are many of them pretty expert swimmers. Thus it happened +that Maximus was obliged to stand up to his neck in the water, not +daring to move or utter a sound, while his friends and foes alike sought +in vain for him in the darkness. + +While he stood thus, uncertain how to act, he heard the water rippling +near to him, and distinguished the hard breathing of a swimmer. Soon he +observed a dark head making straight towards him. A sarcastic smile +played for a moment on the face of the gigantic Esquimau, as he thought +of the ease with which he should crush his approaching foe; and his hand +was already raised to strike when it was arrested by a low whine, and +the next moment Chimo was endeavouring to clamber upon his shoulder! + +It instantly occurred to Maximus that he might turn the dog's swimming +powers to good account. Seizing Chimo by the flanks with both hands, he +turned its head out to sea, and keeping it in that position, was dragged +into deep water. When he had been thus conveyed what appeared to be +about fifty yards, he uttered a low cry. He was heard by the Indians as +well as by those in the canoe; but the latter happened to be nearer to +the spot, and a few strokes of the paddles sent them alongside of their +comrade, who quickly caught the stern of the bark. The women plied +their paddles, the Esquimau gave a shout of triumph, and half immersed +in the water, was dragged away from shore. A yell of anger, and, soon +after, a desultory discharge of firearms, told that the Indians had +given up the chase. + +But it was now a question how Maximus was to be got into the canoe. The +frail bark was so crank that a much lighter weight than that of the +burly Esquimau would have upset it easily; and as the stern was sharp, +there was no possibility of climbing over it. This was a matter of +considerable anxiety, for the water was excessively cold, being laden +with ice out at sea. While in this dilemma, the canoe grated on a rock, +and it was discovered that in the dark they had well-nigh run against a +low cape that jutted far out from the land at this part of the coast. +Here Maximus and the dog landed, and while the one shook its wet sides, +the other wrung the moisture from his garments; after which necessary +operation he leaped, with his canine friend, into the canoe, and they +pushed well out to sea. + +When daylight returned, they were far beyond the reach of their Indian +enemies. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +HAPPY MEETINGS AND JOYOUS FEASTINGS--LOVE, MARRIAGE, DESERTION, +DESOLATION, AND CONCLUSION. + +After the escape narrated in the last chapter, the stout Esquimau and +his companions travelled in safety; for they had passed the country of +the Indians, and were now near the lands of their own people. + +But if Maximus had not now to fight with men, he was not exempted from +doing fierce battle with the elements of these inhospitable climes. For +hundreds of miles he travelled along the east coast of Hudson's Bay and +the southern shores of the Straits, now driven ashore by the storm, anon +interrupted by drift-ice, and obliged to carry his canoe for miles and +miles on his shoulders, while the faithful Aneetka trudged by his side, +happy as the day was long; for, although her load was necessarily a +heavy one, her love for Maximus made it rest lighter than the eider-down +that floated from her fingers when she plucked the wild birds for their +evening meal. Moggy, too, waddled along after her own fashion, with a +resolution and energy that said much for her strength and constitution. +She only carried the light paddles and a few trifling articles that did +not incommode her much. + +During the spring and summer and autumn they pursued their arduous +journey, living from hand to mouth on the produce of their guns, nets, +seal-spears, and fishing-lines, which generally supplied them with +enough for their daily wants, sometimes with abundance, but not +unfrequently with just sufficient to keep them alive. Three or four +times they met with Esquimaux, and rendered essential service to them, +and to the fur-traders, by telling them of the new fort at Ungava, +recounting the wonders of the store there, and assuring them that the +chief desire of the traders, after getting their furs, was to do them +good, and bring about friendly intercourse between them and the Indians. + +Late in the autumn the three voyageurs drew near to Ungava Bay, and in +passing along the coast opposite to the island on which Edith had spent +the winter, they overtook Annatock and his whole tribe, with a flotilla +of oomiaks and kayaks, on their way to the same place. At the mouth of +the bay they were joined by the Esquimaux of False River, who were +carrying supplies of seal-blubber to the fort for the use of the dogs in +winter, and a few deerskins to trade. + +It was a bright and beautiful autumn afternoon (a rare blessing in that +dreary clime) when they passed the narrows of the river, and came in +sight of Fort Chimo. + +On that day an unusually successful deer-hunt had taken place, and the +fiddle had, as Bryan expressed it, been "sarved out" to the men, for the +purpose of rejoicing their hearts with sweet sounds. On that day a +small band of Indians had arrived with a rich and unusually large stock +of furs, among which there were one or two silver foxes and a choice lot +of superb martens. This tended to gladden the heart of Stanley; and +truly he needed such encouragement. At one of the Company's inland +trading-posts such a bundle of furs would have been received as a matter +of common occurrence; but it was otherwise with the poverty-stricken +Ungava, from which so much had been expected before its dreary, barren +character was known. + +On that day, too, a picturesque iceberg had grounded near the fort at +high water, and Frank took Edith in the small canoe to paddle her among +its peaked and fantastic fragments. + +"You will be steersman and sit in the stern, Eda," said Frank, as they +embarked. "I will stand in the bow and keep you clear of ice-tongues." + +"How beautiful!" exclaimed the delighted child, as their light craft +glided in and out among the icy pinnacles which overhung them in some +places as they passed. "Don't you hear a strange noise, Frank?" + +Truly Frank did hear a strange noise, and beheld a strange sight, for at +that moment the Esquimau flotilla passed the narrows and swept round the +bay; while the natives, excited by their unusual numbers and the +unexpected return of Maximus, yelled and screamed and threw about their +arms in a manner that defies description. + +"There must be strangers among them," said Frank, as he paddled towards +the shore; "they are too numerous for our friends of False River." + +"That seems to be an Indian canoe coming on ahead," remarked Stanley, +who, along with his wife and most of the men, had hurried to the beach +on hearing the shouts of the approaching multitude. + +"Can it be possible?" exclaimed Frank, as the canoe drew near; "does it +not look like Maximus--eh?" + +"Oh! o-o-o-oh! there's Chimo!" screamed Edith, her eyes dancing with +mingled amazement and delight. + +The dog in his anxiety to reach the shore had leaped into the water; but +he had miscalculated his powers of swimming, for the canoe instantly +darted ahead. However, he was close on the heels of Maximus. + +"Give him a chare, bays," cried Bryan, as he ran down to the beach +waving a large hammer round his head. "Now thin, hooray!" + +The appeal was responded to with heartfelt energy by the whole party, as +their old comrade sprang from the canoe, and leaving his wife to look +after herself, ran toward Stanley and Frank and grasped them warmly by +the hands, while his huge face beamed with emotion. + +"I hope that's your wife you've brought with you, Maximus," said +Stanley. + +"I can answer for that," said Frank; "I know her pretty face well." + +"Ah! le poor chien," cried La Roche; "it vill eat Miss Edith, I ver' +much b'lieve, voila!" + +This seemed not unlikely, for the joy manifested by poor Chimo at the +sight of his young mistress was of a most outrageous character, insomuch +that the child was nearly overturned by the dog's caresses. + +"Musha! what have ye got there, Maximus?" said Bryan, who had been +gazing for some time past in solemn wonder at the figure of Old Moggy, +who, regardless of the noise and excitement around her, was quietly +carrying the goods and chattels from the canoe to the beach. "Shure +ye've found yer ould grandmother. She's the mortial parsonification of +my own mother. Faix if it wasn't that her proboscis is a taste longer, +I'd swear it was herself." + +At this point Massan stepped forward and took Maximus by the arm. + +"Come along, lad; there's too much row here for a comfortable palaver; +bring your wife wi' you. Ye've run out o' baccy, now? Of coorse ye +have. Come, then, to the house; I'll fill yer pipe and pouch, too, +boy.--See after his canoe, La Roche; and bring the old ooman, Bryan." + +"Mind yer own consarns an' let yer shupariors proceed ye," said Bryan, +as he shoved past, and tucking Old Moggy's arm within his own, marched +off in triumph to the fort. + +Meanwhile, the main body of Esquimaux had landed, and the noise and +confusion on the shore were so great that scarcely an intelligible sound +could be heard. In the midst of all this, and while yet engaged in +caressing Chimo, Edith felt some one pluck her by the sleeve, and on +looking round she beheld the smiling faces of her old friends Arnalooa +and Okatook. Scarcely had she bestowed a hearty welcome on them, when +she was startled by an ecstatic yell of treble laughter close to her +ear; and turning quickly round, she beheld the oily visage of Kaga with +the baby--_the_ baby--in her hood, stark naked, and revelling in mirth +as if that emotion of the mind were its native element--as indeed it +was, if taken in connection with seal-fat. + +Scarcely had she recovered from her delight at this meeting, when she +was again startled by a terrific shout, and immediately after Peetoot +performed a violent dance around her, expressive of unutterable joy, and +finished off by suddenly seizing her in his arms, after which he fled, +horrified at his own presumption. + +To escape from this scene of confusion the traders returned to the fort, +having directed the Esquimaux to pitch their camp on the point below; +after which they were to assemble in the yard, for the double purpose of +palavering and receiving a present of tobacco. + +That night was spent by the inhabitants of Fort Chimo in rejoicing. In +her own little room Edith entertained a select tea-party, composed of +Arnalooa, Okatook, Peetoot, Chimo, and the baby; and really it would be +difficult to say which of them made most noise or which behaved most +obstreperously. Upon mature consideration we think that Chimo behaved +best; but that, all things considered, is not saying much for him. We +rather think the baby behaved worst. Its oily visage shone again like a +lustrous blob of fat, and its dimples glided about the surface in an +endless game of hide-and-seek! As for Peetoot, he laughed and yelled +until the tears ran over his cheeks, and more than once, in the excess +of his glee, he rubbed noses with Chimo--a piece of familiarity which +that sagacious animal was at length induced to resent and put a stop to +by a gentle and partial display of two tremendous rows of white ivory. + +In the hall Stanley held a levee that lasted the greater part of the +evening; and in the men's house a ball was got up in honour of the +giant's return with his long-lost Aneetka. + +Ah, reader! although the countenances of the men assembled there were +sunburnt and rough, and their garments weather-worn and coarse, and +their language and tones unpolished, think not that their hearts were +less tender or sympathetic than the hearts of those who are nurtured in +softer scenes than the wilds of Ungava. Their laugh was loud and +uproarious, it is true, but there was genuine, heartfelt reality in it. +Their sympathy was boisterously expressed, mayhap, if expressed at all, +but it was truly and deeply felt, and many an unbidden tear glanced from +the bronzed cheeks of these stalwart men of the north, as they shook +their gigantic comrade by the hand and wished him joy, and kissed his +blooming bride. + +Aneetka had long since laid aside her native garb, and wore the more +graceful and womanly costume of the Indian women, and Maximus wore the +capote and leggings of the voyageur. But there were not wanting +gentlemen from the camp at the point whose hairy garments and hoods, +long hair and beards, did honour to the race of the Esquimaux; and there +were present ladies from the same place, each of whom could a _tail_ +unfold that would have been the admiration and envy of tadpoles, had any +such creatures been there to see them. They wore boots too, to which, +in width at least, those worn by fishermen are nothing. Some of them +carried babies in their hoods--little naked imps, whose bodies and heads +were dumplings (suet dumplings, we may add, for the information of the +curious), and whose arms and legs were sausages. + +Bryan was great that night--he was majestic! The fiddle all but spoke, +and produced a sensation of dancing in the toes of even those who +happened to be seated. Bryan was great as a linguist, too, and +exhibited his powers in this respect with singular felicity in the vocal +entertainment that followed the dancing. The Esquimau language seemed a +mere trifle to him, and he conversed, while playing the violin, with +several "purty craytures" in their native tongue, with an amount of +volubility quite surprising. Certainly it cannot be said that those +whom he addressed expressed much intelligence; but Esquimaux are not +usually found to be quick in their perceptions. Perchance Bryan was +metaphysical! + +Mirth, hearty, _real_ mirth reigned at the fort, not only that day, but +for many a day afterwards; for the dangers, and troubles, and anxieties +of the first year were past. Hope in the future was strong, despite the +partial failures that had been experienced; and through the goodness of +God, all those who composed the original band of the "forlorn hope" were +reunited, after many weary months of travel, danger, and anxiety, during +part of which a dark and dreary cloud (now happily dispelled) had +settled down on Fort Chimo. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Years have rolled away since the song and shout of the fur-trader first +awakened the echoes of Ungava. Its general aspect is still the same, +for there is no change in the everlasting hills. In summer the deer +still wander down the dark ravines and lave their flanks in the river's +swelling tide, and in winter the frost-smoke still darkens the air and +broods above the open water of the sea; but Fort Chimo, the joy and +wonder of the Esquimaux and the hope of the fur-trader, is gone, and a +green patch of herbage near the flat rock beside the spring alone +remains to mark the spot where once it stood. + +In the course of time the changes that took place in the arrangements of +the Fur Company required the presence of Stanley at another station, and +he left Ungava with his wife and child. The gentleman who succeeded him +was a bold, enterprising Scottish Highlander, whose experience in the +fur trade and energy of character were a sufficient guarantee that the +best and the utmost would be done for the interests of the Company in +that quarter. But however resolute a man may be, he cannot make furs of +hard rocks, nor convert a scene of desolation into a source of wealth. +Vigorously he wrought and long he suffered, but at length he was +compelled to advise the abandonment of the station. The Governor of the +Company--a man of extraordinary energy and success in developing the +resources of the sterile domains over which he ruled--was fain to admit +at last that the trade of Ungava would not pay. The order to retreat +was as prompt and decisive as the command to advance. A vessel was sent +out to remove the goods, and in a brief space of time Fort Chimo was +dismantled and deserted. + +The Esquimaux and Indians soon tore down and appropriated to their own +use the frames of the buildings, and such of the materials of the fort +as had been left standing; and the few remnants that were deemed +worthless were finally swept away and every trace of them obliterated by +the howling storms that rage almost continually around these desolate +mountains. + +And now, reader, it remains for me to dismiss the characters who have +played their part in this brief tale. Of most of them, however, I have +but little to say, for they are still alive, scattered far and wide +throughout the vast wilderness of Rupert's Land, each acting his busy +part in a new scene; for it is frequently the fate of those who enter +this wild and stirring service to be associated for a brief season under +one roof, and then broken up and scattered over the land, never again to +be reunited. + +George Stanley, after a long sojourn in the backwoods, retired from the +service, and, with his family, proceeded to Canada, where he purchased a +small farm. Here Edith waxed strong and beautiful, and committed +appalling havoc among the hearts of the young men for thirty miles +around her father's farm. But she favoured no one, and at the age of +seventeen acquired the name of being the coldest as well as the most +beautiful and modest girl in the far west. + +There was a thin young man, with weak limbs and a tendency to fall into +a desponding state of mind, who lived about three miles from Mr +Stanley's farm. This young man's feelings had been so often lacerated +by hopes and fears in reference to the fair Edith, that he mounted his +pony one evening in desperation, and galloped away in hot haste to +declare his passion, and realise or blast his hopes for ever. As he +approached the villa, however, he experienced a sensation of emptiness +about the region of the stomach, and regretted that he had not taken +more food at dinner. Having passed the garden gate, he dismounted, +fastened his pony to a tree, and struck across the shrubbery towards the +house with trembling steps. As he proceeded, he received a terrific +shock by observing the flutter of a scarf, which he knew intuitively +belonged to Edith. The scarf disappeared within a bower which stood not +more than twenty yards distant from him, close beside the avenue that +led to the house. By taking two steps forward he could have seen Edith, +as she sat in the bower gazing with a pensive look at the distant +prospect of hill and dale, river and lake, in the midst of which she +dwelt; but the young man could as easily have leaped over Stanley's +villa, farm and all, as have taken these two steps. He essayed to do +so; but he was rooted to the ground as firmly as the noble trees under +which he stood. At length, by a great effort, he managed to crawl--if +we may so express it--to within a few yards of the bower, from which he +was now concealed only by a few bushes; but just as he had screwed up +his soul to the sticking point, and had shut his eyes preparatory to +making a rush and flinging himself on his knees at Edith's feet, he was +struck powerless by the sound of a deep sigh, and, a moment after, was +all but annihilated by a cough! + +Suddenly the sound of horse-hoofs was heard clattering up the avenue. +On came the rider, as if in urgent haste. In a few seconds a curve in +the avenue brought him into view. He was a man of handsome and massive +proportions, and bestrode a black charger that might have carried a +heavy dragoon like a feather. A wheel-barrow had been left across the +track, over which the steed went with an easy yet heavy bound, +betokening well-balanced strength and weight; and a bright smile lighted +up the rider's bronzed face for an instant, as his straw-hat blew off in +the leap and permitted his curling hair to stream out in the wind. As +he passed the bower at a swinging gallop, an exclamation of surprise +from Edith attracted his attention. The charger's hoofs spurned the +gravel while he was reined up so violently that he was thrown on his +haunches, and almost before the thin young man could wink in order to +clear his vision, this slashing cavalier sprang to the ground and +entered the bower. + +There was a faint scream, which was instantly followed by a sound so +peculiar that it sent a thrill of dismay to the cavity in which the +heart of the weak young man had once lodged. Stretching out his hand he +turned aside the branches, and was brought to the climax of +consternation by beholding Edith in the arms of the tall stranger! +Bewildered in the intellect, and effectually crippled about the knees +and ankles, he could only gaze and listen. + +"So you have come--at last!" whispered Edith, while a brilliant blush +overspread her fair cheek. + +"O Edith!" murmured the stalwart cavalier, in a deep musical voice, "how +my heart has yearned for this day! How I have longed to hear your sweet +and well-remembered voice! In the desolate solitudes of the far north I +have thought of you. Amid the silent glades of the forest, when alone +and asleep on my mossy couch or upon my bed of snow, I have dreamed of +you--dreamed of you as you were, a fair, sweet, happy child, when we +wandered together among the mountains of Ungava--and dreamed of you as I +fancied you must have become, and as I now find you to be. Yes, beloved +girl, my heart has owned but one image since we parted, years ago, on +the banks of the Caniapuscaw River. Your letters have been my bosom +friends in all my long, long wanderings through the wilderness; and the +hope of seeing you has gladdened my heart and nerved my arm. I have +heard your sighs in every gentle air that stirred the trees, and your +merry laugh in the rippling waters. Even in the tempest's roar and the +thundering cataract I have fancied that I heard you calling for +assistance; and many a time and oft I have leaped from my couch to find +that I did but dream. But they were pleasant and very precious dreams +to me. O Edith! I have remembered you, and thought of you, and loved +you, through months and years of banishment! And now--" + +Again was heard the peculiar sound that had thrilled with dismay the +bosom of the weak young man. + +"Halo! whence came this charger?" shouted a hale, hearty voice, as +Stanley walked towards the bower. "Eh! what have we here?" he +exclaimed, rushing forward and seizing the stranger in his +arms,--"Frank--Frank Morton!" + +This was too much. The weak young man suddenly became strong as +Hercules. He turned and fled down the avenue like a deer. The pony, +having managed to unfasten its bridle, stood in the centre of the way +gazing down the avenue with its back towards its master. Unwonted fire +nerved the youth's limbs; with one bound he vaulted leap frog over the +animal's back into the saddle, dashed his spurs into its sides, and fled +like a whirlwind from the scene of his despair. + +Frank Morton and George Stanley, being both men of promptitude and +decision, resolved that one month was long enough to make preparations +for the marriage; and Edith, being the most dutiful daughter that ever +lived, did what she was bid. + +That beautiful cottage which stands in the midst of most exquisite +scenery, about two miles from Stanley's villa, is inhabited by Frank +Morton and his family. That crow which you have just heard proceed from +the nursery was uttered by the youngest of five; and yonder little boy +with broad shoulders, who thrusts his hands into his pockets in a +decided manner, and whistles vociferously as he swaggers down the +avenue, is Master George F. Morton, on his way to school. + +La Roche and Bryan were so fortunate as to be appointed to the same +establishment after leaving Ungava--somewhere near the mouth of the +Mackenzie River, and within the region of all but perpetual frost and +snow. They are sometimes visited by Esquimaux, which is fortunate; for, +as Bryan says, "it guves him an opportunity o' studyin' the peecoolier +dialects o' their lingo." + +Dick Prince was the only one who lost his life in the "forlorn-hope." +He was drowned while out shooting in the bay alone in his canoe. A +sudden storm upset his frail bark and left him struggling in the water. +Prince was a strong swimmer, and he battled long for his life; but the +ice-laden sea benumbed his hardy limbs, and he sank at last, without a +cry, to rise no more. He was a noble specimen of his class--a brave, +modest, unobtrusive son of the forest, beloved and respected by his +companions; and when his warm heart ceased to beat, it was felt by all +that a bright star of the wilderness had been quenched for ever. His +body was found next day on the beach, and was interred by his mourning +comrades in a little spot of ground behind the fort. It was many a long +day after this melancholy event ere Massan could smile; and when the +fort was finally deserted, he put in practice his long-meditated +intention of becoming a hunter and taking to the Rocky Mountains, where +he wanders now, if he has escaped the claws of the dreaded grizzly bear +and the scalping-knife of the Red Indian. + +Moses, finding the life of a fur-trader not quite to his taste, rejoined +his countrymen, and reverted to killing seals and eating raw blubber. +The two Indians also returned to a purely savage life, which, indeed, +they had only forsaken for a time. Augustus and Oolibuck died; and the +latter left a son, who has already rendered good service as interpreter +to the arctic expeditions, as his worthy father did before him. +Francois and Gaspard are still together at one of the posts of the +interior. They are now fast friends, and have many a talk over the days +when they quarrelled and messed together at Fort Chimo. + +As for the poor Esquimaux, they were for a time quite inconsolable at +the departure of the fur-traders, and with a species of childlike +simplicity, hung about the bay, in the hope that they might, after all, +return. Then they went off in a body to the westward, and the region of +Ungava, to which they had never been partial, was left in its original +dreary solitude. It may be that some good had been done to the souls of +these poor natives during their brief intercourse with the traders. We +cannot tell, and we refrain from guessing or speculating on a subject so +serious. But of this we are assured--if one grain of the good seed has +been sown, it may long lie dormant, but it _cannot_ die. + +Maximus accompanied his countrymen, along with Aneetka and Old Moggy, +who soon assumed the native costume, and completely identified herself +with the Esquimaux. Maximus was now a great man among his people, who +regarded with deep respect the man who had travelled through the lands +of the Indians, had fought with the red men, single-handed, and had +visited the fur-traders of the south. But the travelled Esquimaux was +in reality a greater man than his fellows supposed him to be. He fully +appreciated the advantages to be derived from a trading-post near their +ice-girt lands, and resolved, when opportunity should offer, to do all +in his power to strengthen the friendship now subsisting between the +Indians and the Esquimaux of Ungava, and to induce his countrymen, if +possible, to travel south towards the establishment on James's Bay. + +He still retains, however, a lingering affection for the spot where he +had spent so many happy days, and at least once a year he undertakes a +solitary journey to the rugged mountains that encircled Fort Chimo. As +in days of yore, with wallet on shoulder and seal-spear in hand, the +giant strides from rock to rock along the now silent banks of the +Caniapuscaw River. Once again he seats himself on the flat rock beside +the spring, and gazes round in sadness on those wild, majestic hills, or +bends his eye upon the bright green spot that indicates the ancient site +of the trading-post, not a vestige of which is now visible, save the +little wooden cross that marks the lonely grave of Dick Prince; and the +broad chest of the giant heaves with emotion as he views these records +of the past, and calls to mind the merry shouts and joyous songs that +used to gladden that dreary spot, the warm hearth at which he was wont +to find a hearty welcome, and the kind comrades who are now gone for +ever. Ungava spreads, in all its dark sterility, around him, as it did +in the days before the traders landed there; and that bright interval of +busy life, in which he had acted so prominent a part, seems now but the +fleeting fancy of a bright and pleasant dream. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ungava, by R.M. 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