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-The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Barren Ground of Northern Canada, by
-Warburton Mayer Pike
-
-
-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: The Barren Ground of Northern Canada
-
-
-Author: Warburton Mayer Pike
-
-
-
-Release Date: June 17, 2012  [eBook #40019]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
-
-
-***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN
-CANADA***
-
-
-E-text prepared by Moti Ben-Ari and the Online Distributed Proofreading
-Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
-Internet Archive (http://archive.org)
-
-
-
-Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
-      file which includes the original illustrations.
-      See 40019-h.htm or 40019-h.zip:
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-      or
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40019/40019-h.zip)
-
-
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      http://archive.org/details/barrengroundnort00pikeiala
-
-
-Transcriber's note:
-
-      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: Cover]
-
-
-THE BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN CANADA
-
-
-[Illustration: Ready for Tracking]
-
-
-THE BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN CANADA
-
-by
-
-WARBURTON PIKE
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-New York
-E. P. Dutton & Company
-681 Fifth Avenue
-
-Published, 1917,
-By E. P. Dutton & Co.
-
-
-
-
-AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION
-
-
-In many of the outlying districts of Canada an idea is prevalent,
-fostered by former travellers, that somewhere in London there exists a
-benevolent society whose object is to send men incapable of making any
-useful scientific observations to the uttermost parts of the earth, in
-order to indulge their taste for sport or travel. Several times before I
-had fairly started for the North, and again on my return, I was asked if
-I had been sent out under the auspices of this society, and, I am
-afraid, rather fell in the estimation of the interviewers when I was
-obliged to confess that my journey was only an ordinary shooting
-expedition, such as one might make to the Rocky Mountains or the
-interior of Africa, and that no great political reformation depended
-upon my report as to what I had seen.
-
-In talking with officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, many of whom had
-been stationed for long periods in the Athabasca and Mackenzie River
-districts, I had often heard of a strange animal, a relic of an earlier
-age, that was still to be found roaming the Barren Ground, the vast
-desert that lies between Hudson's Bay, the eastern ends of the three
-great lakes of the North, and the Arctic Sea. This animal was the
-Musk-ox, but my informants could tell me nothing from personal
-experience, and all that was known on the subject had been gathered from
-Indian report. Once or twice some enthusiastic sportsman had made the
-attempt to reach the land of the Musk-ox, but had never succeeded in
-carrying out his object; specimens had been secured by the officers of
-the various Arctic expeditions, but no one had ever seen much of these
-animals or of the methods of hunting them employed by the Northern
-Indians.
-
-This, then, was the sole object of my journey; to try and penetrate this
-unknown land, to see the Musk-ox, and find out as much as I could about
-their habits, and the habits of the Indians who go in pursuit of them
-every year. But the only white men who had succeeded in getting far out
-into the Barren Ground were the early explorers,--Hearne, Sir John
-Franklin, Sir George Back, and Dr. Richardson, while long afterwards Dr.
-Rae and Stewart and Anderson went in search of the missing Franklin
-expedition. With the exception of Hearne, who threw in his lot with the
-Indians, these leaders were all accompanied by the most capable men that
-could be procured, and no expense was spared in order to make success as
-certain as possible; yet in spite of every precaution the story of Sir
-John Franklin's first overland journey and the death of Hood are among
-the saddest episodes in the history of the Arctic exploration.
-
-My best chance seemed to be to follow Hearne's example, and trust to
-the local knowledge of Indians to help me; and I think, as the sequel
-showed, that I was right in not taking a crew from Winnipeg. The Indians
-and half-breeds of the Great Slave Lake, although very hard to manage,
-are certainly well up in Barren Ground travel; they are possessed of a
-thorough knowledge of the movements of the various animals at different
-seasons, and thus run less danger of starvation than strangers, however
-proficient the latter may be in driving dogs and handling canoes.
-
-In following out this plan I naturally passed through a great deal of
-new country, and discovered, as we white men say when we are pointed out
-some geographical feature by an Indian who has been familiar with it
-since childhood, many lakes and small streams never before visited
-except by the red man. I have attempted in a rough map to mark the
-chains of lakes by which we reached the Barren Ground, but their
-position is only approximate, and perhaps not even that, as I had no
-instruments with which to make correct observations, and in any case
-should have had little time to use them. Let no eminent geographer waste
-his time in pointing out the inaccuracies in this map; I admit all the
-errors before he discovers them. All that I wish to show is that these
-chains of lakes do exist and can be used as convenient routes, doing
-away with the often-tried method of forcing canoes up the swift and
-dangerous streams that fall into the Great Slave Lake from the northern
-tableland.
-
-The success of my expedition is to be attributed entirely to the
-assistance which was given me by the Hudson's Bay Company, and I take
-this opportunity of thanking them for all the hospitality that was shown
-to me throughout my journey; I was never refused a single request that I
-made, and, although a total stranger, was treated with the greatest
-kindness by everybody, from the Commissioner at Winnipeg to the engaged
-servant in the Far North. My thanks are especially due to Lord Anson,
-one of the directors in London, to Messrs. Wrigley and William Clark at
-Winnipeg, Mr. Roderick MacFarlane, lately of Stuart's Lake, British
-Columbia, a well-known northern explorer who put me in the way of making
-a fair start, Dr. Mackay of Athabasca, Mr. Camsell of Mackenzie River,
-Mr. Ewen Macdonald of Peace River, and most of all to Mr. Mackinlay of
-Fort Resolution on the Great Slave Lake, who was my companion during a
-long summer journey in the Barren Ground.
-
-My only excuse for publishing this account of my travels is that the
-subject is a reasonably new one, and deals with a branch of sport that
-has never been described. I have spared the reader statistics, and I
-have kept my story as short as possible. I hope that in return anyone
-who may be interested in these pages will spare his comments on faulty
-style, and the various errors into which a man who has spent much time
-among the big game is sure to fall when he is rash enough to lay down
-his rifle and take up the pen.
-
-I have also cut out the chapter with which these books usually begin,--a
-description of the monotonous voyage by Atlantic steamer and Canadian
-Pacific Railway, and start at once from Calgary, a thriving cattle-town
-close under the eastern foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains.
-
-LONDON, 1891.
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-  Ready for Tracking                               _Frontispiece_
-                                                             PAGE
-  The Old Hudson Bay Post at Edmonton                           2
-  The Hudson Bay Fort at Edmonton                               6
-  The "Grahame" Towing Freight-scows on Lake
-    Athabasca                                                  16
-  Patching a Birch-bark on the Slave River                     26
-  King Beaulieu                                                32
-  A Dead White Wolf                                            57
-  The Indians Driving Caribou                                  89
-  Making Camp                                                 102
-  Taking the Post Dogs for Exercise                           142
-  Skins in the Post Store-room                                142
-  Dog-rib Powwow at Fort Resolution                           167
-  A Group of Dog-ribs                                         167
-  Starting up the Peace River                                 233
-  Junction of the Peace and Smoky Rivers                      248
-  The Arrival of the Dog Train                                295
-  Edmonton                                                    298
-
-
-MAP
-
-  A SKETCH MAP to illustrate Mr. Warburton
-  Pike's journeys to the Barren Ground of
-  Northern Canada                                _To face p._ 302
-
-
-
-
-THE BARREN GROUND
-OF
-NORTHERN CANADA
-
-
-
-
-THE
-BARREN GROUND
-OF
-NORTHERN CANADA
-
-
-CHAPTER I
-
-
-In the middle of June, 1889, I left Calgary for a drive of two hundred
-miles to Edmonton, the real starting-point for the great northern
-country controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, and, with the exception
-of their scattered trading-posts, and an occasional Protestant or Roman
-Catholic Mission, entirely given up to what it was evidently intended
-for, a hunting-ground for the Indian.
-
-My conveyance was a light buckboard, containing my whole outfit, which
-was as small as possible, consisting almost entirely of ammunition for a
-12-bore Paradox and a 50-95 Winchester Express, besides a pair of large
-blankets and a little necessary clothing.
-
-Forest fires were raging in the Rocky Mountains close at hand, and the
-thick smoke obscuring the sun, the heat was not nearly so fierce as
-usual at this time of the year; the road was good for a prairie road,
-and comfortable stopping-places each night made the journey quite easy.
-About sixty miles out the country loses the appearance of what is known
-among cattlemen as the bald-headed prairie, and is dotted with clumps of
-poplar, and occasionally pines; half way to Edmonton the road crosses
-the broad stream of the Red Deer, and passes through the most attractive
-country that I have seen in the north-west territories. It is being
-rapidly settled, and, with the convenience of a railway now building
-between Calgary and Edmonton, cannot fail to be an important farming and
-stock-raising district within a few years.
-
-On the morning of the fifth day I reached Edmonton, a pleasant little
-town scattered along the far bank of the North Saskatchewan, and
-historical in the annals of the Hudson's Bay Company, by whom it was
-established as a fur trading-post many years ago; it is fated shortly to
-lose its individuality in the stream of advancing civilization, and will
-probably develop into an ordinary prairie-town of some importance.
-
-[Illustration: Old Hudson Bay Post at Edmonton]
-
-Finding that I had no time to spare if I wished to catch the steamer
-down the Athabasca river, I left again the same evening, after buying a
-small supply of flour and bacon. I changed the buckboard for a wagon,
-having for driver a French half-breed who had spent his early life on
-the prairie in buffalo-hunting, but, on the extinction of the game, had
-been earning a living by freighting for the Hudson's Bay Company, and
-farming on a small scale. He was a much pleasanter companion than the
-smartly dressed young man, "come of good folks in the East," who had
-been my driver from Calgary, and many an interesting tale he told me on
-our three-days' journey to the banks of the Athabasca; tales of the good
-old times when the buffalo were thick, and the Crees waged perpetual war
-against the Blackfeet, and whisky formed the staple article of trade for
-the Indian's fur. At the present day the Prohibition Act orders that
-even the white men of the north-west territories must be temperate,
-thereby causing whisky to be dear and bad, but plentiful withal, and it
-is surprising how such a law exists in a country where nine men out of
-ten not only want to drink, but do drink in open defiance of the
-commands of a motherly Government.
-
-A fair road some hundred miles in length has been made by the Hudson's
-Bay Company through a rolling sandy country, crossing several large
-streams and passing through a good deal of thick pine timber where some
-heavy chopping must have been necessary. The flies bothered us greatly;
-the large bulldogs, looking like a cross between a bee and a
-blue-bottle, drove the horses almost to madness, and after our mid-day
-halt it was no easy matter to put the harness on; fortunately we had
-netting, or the poor beasts would have fared much worse: as it was the
-blood was streaming from their flanks during the heat of the day. The
-mosquitos appeared towards evening, but as the nights were usually
-chilly they only annoyed us for a few hours. There were no houses along
-the road, but plenty of firewood and feed for the horses; we had a good
-camp every night, sleeping in the open air, starting very early and
-resting long in the middle of the day.
-
-Two days took us over the divide between the Saskatchewan and Athabasca
-rivers, and now the water in the little streams that we crossed
-eventually reached the sea far away in the frozen Arctic Ocean at the
-mouth of the great Mackenzie. Early on the fourth day we came in sight
-of the Athabasca running between high pine-clad banks, and, dropping
-down a steep hill, found the Company's steamer loading up with freight
-for the far north. This spot is known as the Athabasca landing, and
-consists of a large depot for goods, trading-store, and several
-workmen's houses, while the house of the officer in charge stands on the
-hillside a little way back from the river. From the landing there is
-water communication down stream, broken of course by portages, to the
-Arctic sea, while the Lesser Slave Lake lies within a few days' travel
-up stream, from the north end of which a road seventy-five miles in
-length has been cut to the bank of Peace River. I spent a pleasant
-enough day loafing about, Mr. Wood, who was in charge, showing me great
-kindness and giving me much useful information about my route, and at
-twelve o'clock the following day we started down stream. The only other
-passengers were a Mr. Flett and his wife and daughter, who were on their
-way to take charge of Fort Smith during the coming winter. Mr. Flett was
-just returning from a visit to his native country, the Orkney Islands,
-after an absence of forty-four years in the service of the Company, all
-of which time was spent in the wildest part of the North. He was full of
-the wonderful changes that had taken place since he was a boy, but
-finding himself completely lost in civilization, had hurried back to the
-land of snow. Unfortunately Mrs. Flett had been unable to stand the
-climate of the old country, and was quite broken down in her health. I
-was sorry to hear during the winter that she died a few days after we
-left her at Fort Chipeweyan.
-
-Owing to the very light snowfall in the mountains in the winter of
-1888-89, the water in the river was unusually low, and, as we expected,
-on the third day the steamer, a large light-draught stern-wheeler, after
-striking several times on shallow bars, had to abandon the attempt to
-reach the Grand Rapids. We accordingly tied up to the bank, and, sending
-a skiff down to take the news, awaited the arrival of boats from below
-to take our cargo. For ten days we lay at the junction of Pelican River,
-a small stream coming in on the north side of the Athabasca. There was
-absolutely nothing to do; the low gravelly banks on each side were
-fringed with thick willows backed by a narrow belt of poplars, and
-behind these the gloomy pine woods, with here and there a solitary
-birch, stretched away in an unbroken mass as far as the eye could see.
-The forest was alive with mosquitos, although owing to the low water in
-the river they were said to be much less numerous than usual; they were
-sufficiently thick however to make any exploration in the woods a
-misery. Fishing we tried without much result, and everybody was pleased
-when at last Mr. Scott Simpson, who was in charge of the river transport
-that summer, arrived with two boats. The steamer's cargo was unloaded,
-partly into the boats and partly on to the bank, and early in the
-morning she started back for the landing while we proceeded on our
-journey down stream.
-
-These inland boats, as they are termed, are extraordinary specimens of
-marine architecture, long open craft, classified according to shape as
-York boats, sturgeon-heads, and scows, capable of carrying a load of ten
-tons, manned by a crew of eight oars and a steersman, rowed down stream
-and tracked up, running rapids and bumping on rocks. Planks, nails, and
-pitch are always kept ready to effect repairs, and are in frequent
-demand. The crews are generally half-breeds from the Lesser Slave Lake
-and Lake La Biche, both of which pour their waters into the Athabasca;
-but there are also volunteers from all parts of the North, as the wages
-are good and the work is suited to the half-breed's character, besides
-the certainty of receiving rations every day, which is a great
-attraction in a land of scarcity. Sometimes crews of Locheaux Indians
-are sent up from the Mackenzie, and have the reputation of being the
-best workers; they certainly seemed to me to be less given to rebellion
-and more easily managed than the half-breeds. The boats are steered with
-a huge sweep passed through a ring in the stern post, and great
-responsibility rests on the steersman, who at times requires all his
-skill and strength to throw the heavily-laden boat clear of a rock in a
-boiling rapid.
-
-[Illustration: The Hudson Bay Fort at Edmonton]
-
-In three days, without accident, we reached the island at the head of
-the Grand Rapids, just in time to rescue a Company's clerk named Mackay
-from a very unenviable position. He had come up with the boat-brigade
-from Fort MacMurray, and, provisions running short, had travelled
-overland accompanied by a half-breed to meet the steamer from which they
-expected to get supplies to take down to the crews. On reaching the
-island they were unable to attract the attention of the man left in
-charge of the freight lying there, so they walked a couple of miles up
-the north bank and built a raft on which to cross the river. They
-thought they would be able to pole the raft, but the water proved too
-deep, and being unable to get steerage way on her, they soon broke
-their unmanageable vessel to pieces against a rock. It was now a case of
-swimming in a strong current that was forcing them over the big rapid
-where certain death awaited them; the half-breed succeeded in fetching
-the island, but Mackay, seeing he was being swept over the fall, swam to
-a rock and managed to climb on to it. The half-breed found the sole
-inhabitant of the island in his cabin, but there was no boat in which to
-go to the rescue, and if there had been it was no easy matter for two
-men to lower it down, without all going over the rapid. They were
-engaged in building a raft to make the attempt when they saw our brigade
-coming down the river. By the aid of a long line and plenty of hands the
-smallest boat was lowered down to the rocks, and what might have been a
-very serious accident was luckily averted. Mackay was much chilled by
-sitting on the rocks for several hours in wet clothes after two days
-without eating; but, when he had had a good meal he was none the worse
-for his rough experience, and, as is always the case when the danger is
-past, had plenty of chaff to put up with.
-
-The channel on the south side of the island can be used for dropping a
-light boat down with a line, but all cargo has to be portaged; the north
-channel is quite impracticable for navigation, having a heavy overfall
-with an immense body of broken water. The whole river-bed above the
-island is covered with round boulders of soft sandstone, many above
-water, which make the approach to the landing difficult. The north bank
-is a sand-bluff with many similar boulders protruding from the steep
-cliff, the south bank lower and timbered close to the water's edge. Many
-perfect specimens of petrifaction are to be seen on the island and along
-the river-banks.
-
-The portage is the whole length of the island, about one thousand yards,
-and a rough tramway has been built to save the labour of carrying
-cargoes such a distance on men's backs; this tramway is a splendid
-plaything for the crews, and they spend hours in running the trolley
-down the hill and poling it up on the principle of a canoe ascending a
-rapid. Here we passed two weeks in waiting for the boats from below to
-take the whole of the steamer's load, which during this time was brought
-down by the same boats that we had used. The time slipped away quickly,
-though we did nothing but smoke and yarn, and towards the end of July
-the brigade turned up, bringing the first consignment of furs and the
-news from the North. We were soon off on our hundred-and-fifty-miles'
-run to Fort MacMurray, and the travelling was now exciting enough, a
-succession of rapids making hard work for the men, as several had to be
-run with half loads and the boats tracked up for the other half, and at
-a small cascade everything had to be portaged while the boats were
-dropped over with a line.
-
-The worst rapid goes by the name of the Boiler Rapid, from the fact of
-the boiler for the steamer _Wrigley_ which plies on Mackenzie River
-having been lost here through the breaking of a boat. Here the channel
-has a bad turn in the strong water, and neat steering is required to
-clear two reefs of rocks which lie in an awkward position in the middle
-of the stream. Sometimes there were long stretches of quiet water
-between the rapids, and the boats drifted with the current while the men
-smoked or slept; occasionally some one would strike up a snatch from one
-of the old French-Canadian _chansons_, which seem to be dropping out of
-fashion entirely since the steamers have to such a large extent done
-away with the old style of boating. Four, five, and on long days
-sometimes six times we put ashore to eat; a wonderful amount of flour,
-bacon, and tea being consumed by the fifty men composing the brigade.
-Considering the distance from which the provisions are brought, the
-inability of this part of the country to supply any of the necessaries
-of life, and the importance of forwarding trading-goods to the northern
-districts before the short summer closes, it is not surprising that
-there should be at times a scarcity. On the present occasion, however,
-there was no stint, and fine weather made the trip delightful. At night
-the boats were run ashore, and each crew lighting their own fire, the
-encampment presented a most picturesque appearance, the gaudy belts and
-head-gear of the swarthy crews as they moved in the firelight showing
-in strong contrast to the dark background of tall pine trees. We
-generally chose as exposed a place as possible for the camp, to get the
-benefit of any wind there might be to blow away the mosquitos, which
-were bad in this part of the river. I had the post of honour in the
-leading boat steered by the guide of the brigade, a Swampy Indian from
-the Red-River country who had spent many years in voyaging for the
-Hudson's Bay Company. In former days the guide was absolute dictator and
-had full control over all the boats, but nowadays discipline is slack
-and he seems to have little authority.
-
-It was a pretty sight to see the long string of boats leaping the rapids
-behind us, the bowsman standing up and pointing the course to the
-steersman, while the rowers plied their utmost and broke out into the
-wild shouts that can never be suppressed in moments of excitement. The
-Cree language forms the medium of conversation, although many of the
-half-breeds talk fluently in Red-River French; English is little spoken
-in any part of the North that I visited.
-
-On the afternoon of the fourth day we arrived at Fort MacMurray, a small
-post of little importance, standing at the junction of the Athabasca and
-the Clearwater River, a large stream coming in from the southward, and
-until the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway to Calgary the main
-route to the North. The outfits sent from Winnipeg used to reach the
-waters falling into the Arctic Sea far up the Clearwater at the
-northern end of what was known as the Long Portage, but the present
-route is much simpler, as there is no up-stream work with loaded boats.
-After leaving Fort MacMurray the old course is maintained, following
-down stream the main artery of the northern watershed.
-
-The stern-wheel steamer _Grahame_ was waiting for us in the mouth of the
-Clearwater, with Dr. Mackay, the Hudson's Bay Company's officer in
-charge of the Athabasca district of which MacMurray is the most
-southerly post. It extends to the north as far as Fort Resolution on the
-Great Slave Lake, and also takes in Fort Chipeweyan, the head-post of
-the district, situated at the west end of the Athabasca Lake, Fond du
-Lac at the east end of the same sheet of water, Vermillion and Little
-Red River on the Lower Peace River, and Fort Smith at the foot of the
-rapids on the Slave River. It is no sinecure for the man that has to
-keep this vast extent of country supplied with everything necessary for
-the existence of the Indians, making the best bargain he can for the
-products of their hunts, and endeavouring to please the Chipeweyans in
-the woods and the shareholders of the Company in England at the same
-time.
-
-The cargo was put on board the steamer in the evening, and in the early
-morning we started once more for the North. The water was still
-exceedingly low, but not so much so as to be an impediment to
-navigation, as the stream increases in size after the junction of the
-Clearwater, and beyond scraping once or twice on sand-bars, our progress
-was uninterrupted. About twenty miles below MacMurray we stopped to take
-on wood and pitch from the natural tar deposits which are just beginning
-to attract a little attention in Eastern Canada, and the geologists,
-about to be sent from Ottawa to examine into the resources of this part
-of the country, will doubtless make a thorough investigation of the
-amount and quality of the deposit.
-
-The whole of that day we steamed through a wilderness of pine timber
-presenting exactly the same appearance as in the upper reaches of the
-river, but on the following morning the banks became low and swampy, the
-stream sluggish and divided into various branches, and a few miles of
-intricate navigation brought us out on to the Athabasca Lake. Across on
-the north shore we could make out the white houses and church of Fort
-Chipeweyan, and after a couple of hours' steaming, with smooth water, we
-were alongside the rather rough apology for a landing-place.
-
-Fort Chipeweyan was established in the early days of fur-trading, and a
-hundred years ago was the starting-point of Sir Alexander Mackenzie's
-voyage of discovery that resulted in the exploration and naming of the
-immense stream discharging from the Great Slave Lake. It was the scene
-of many stirring events during the rivalry of the North-West and the
-Hudson's Bay Companies, and since their amalgamation has always been an
-important trading-post. At the present day it consists of a long row of
-white painted log-houses occupied chiefly by the Company's servants; at
-the southern end are the officers' quarters in close proximity to the
-large trading and provision stores; at the north end stand the
-Protestant church and Mission buildings, and farther along the lake is
-the Roman Catholic establishment. The numerous houses form quite an
-imposing sight in contrast to the surrounding desolation. The settlement
-is almost at the west end of the Athabasca Lake which stretches away
-some two hundred and fifty miles to the eastward, with Fond du Lac, a
-small outpost, at the far end.
-
-Since the steamers have been running Chipeweyan has been partly supplied
-with the provisions of civilization, but is still chiefly dependent on
-its fisheries for food, and great pains are taken in the autumn to store
-as many whitefish as possible. At the commencement of cold weather every
-available net is working and the fish are hung on stages to freeze; a
-large number are spoilt for eating if the weather turns warm during
-hanging-time, but they are always available for the dogs. Trout-lines
-are worked all the winter, and if the supply seems to be running short,
-nets are also set under the ice, but usually without such good results
-as at the Fall fishery. Caribou from the Barren Ground sometimes wander
-near Fond du Lac, and whenever this occurs the fort is kept well
-supplied by the Indians, but an occasional moose affords as a rule the
-only chance of fresh meat. Many geese and ducks are killed and salted
-during the spring and autumn migration of wild-fowl, which come to the
-Athabasca Lake at these periods in vast numbers. Chipeweyan has a large
-population for the part of the world in which it is situated, and as
-there is a proportionate consumption of food no chance of laying in a
-stock is missed. The lake still affords an excellent field for
-exploration, as beyond the main route to the east end and some of the
-nearer fisheries very little is known to the Whites, and the country in
-every direction from Fond du Lac is mapped chiefly on information
-derived from Indians. It is unlikely that there are any startling
-discoveries to be made, as the general character of the country seems to
-be the same as that of the district lying to the north and east of the
-Great Slave Lake, developing gradually into the Barren Ground; but there
-must be many geographical features in the form of streams and lakes to
-be noticed, which might amply repay the trouble of a summer's
-exploration. All supplies can easily be taken by water-carriage as far
-as the east end of the lake, though of course the well-known difficulty
-of transporting provisions into the Barren Ground would commence as soon
-as the main lake was left.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-
-After a stay of a few hours at the Fort, we started again in the
-_Grahame_ on our voyage to the head of the rapids at Fort Smith, a
-distance of perhaps a hundred miles, and almost immediately passed into
-the main stream leaving the lake, and until the junction of the Peace
-bearing the name of the Rocky River. During the high water in summer
-part of the water of the Peace finds its way into the Athabasca Lake by
-a passage known as the Quatres Fourches, but as the floods subside a
-slight current sets in the opposite direction; the lake thus has another
-outlet into the Peace, which eventually joins the Rocky River about
-thirty miles below; the combined stream is then called the Slave River
-till it debouches into the Great Slave Lake, on leaving which it becomes
-the Mackenzie.
-
-A distinct alteration in the appearance of the country is visible on
-leaving Fort Chipeweyan. The red granite rock shows up and the pine
-timber is smaller and more scattered, burnt in many places, and mixed
-with a thick growth of willows and berry-producing bushes; the scenery
-from the river is monotonous and without landmarks, although a wider
-view can be obtained than in running down the Athabasca, where the big
-pine-trees prevent all chance of seeing far in any direction. The
-current is of no great velocity with the exception of two small rapids
-formed by the contraction of the channel; both are navigable, although
-at certain stages of water it is necessary to put out a rope to assist
-the steamer in mounting the more formidable of the two. We had a very
-merry passage down, Dr. Mackay and several of the officers of his
-district accompanying us, and in good time on the second day we tied up
-to the bank on the west side of the river, just at the head of the
-rapids.
-
-[Illustration: The Grahame Towing Freight-scows on Lake Athabasca]
-
-I must take this opportunity of congratulating the Hudson's Bay Company
-on the efficient manner in which their steamers are managed. Considering
-the utter incapacity of the Indian and half-breed crews when they first
-come on board, great praise is due to the captains and engineers for
-their success in overcoming obstacles in navigation and carrying on the
-Company's business in a country so remote from civilization. Everything
-is done in a quiet and orderly way, and a very noticeable feature is the
-total absence of the swearing and profanity so essential to the
-well-being of a river-steamer in other parts of the American continent.
-
-The next day the work of portaging began, as the whole cargo had to be
-transported sixteen miles to the lower end of the rapids. In former days
-the goods were taken down by water, necessitating many portages and
-great delay; but within the last few years a road has been cut through
-the woods on the west side of the river, and the portage is made with
-Red-River carts drawn by oxen. Twenty carts are in use, starting loaded
-and returning light, on alternate days. The road is fair in a dry
-summer, but full of mud-holes in bad weather, and celebrated as the
-worst place for mosquitos in all the North.
-
-While this was going on we amused ourselves with duck-shooting on some
-lakes and muskegs a few miles back from the landing, and our bag was
-always a welcome addition to the table, as no other kind of fresh meat
-was to be had. Big game is very scarce along the main route, and though
-there are still a few moose and bear it is rarely that an animal is seen
-close to the banks of the river. As soon as the cargo was all over we
-went across to Fort Smith, standing just below the rapids, to await the
-arrival of the Mackenzie River steamboat which was expected at any time.
-Dr. Mackay took me down the old boat-route in a canoe, and I had a good
-opportunity of seeing what labour and risk there must have been with
-heavily-laden boats; we made some fifteen portages in all, which
-occupied a long afternoon, with only a light canoe. A large colony of
-pelicans have taken possession of some islands among the rapids, and
-rear their young without fear of molestation.
-
-Fort Smith, in spite of its fine situation on an open flat high above
-the river, is the most disreputable establishment I came across in the
-North, and the contrast was more striking as most of the forts are kept
-rather smartly. Several half-breeds have settled close round, and a
-large band of Indians, known as the Caribou-Eaters, whose hunting-ground
-lies between the two big lakes, get their supplies from here. Within a
-short distance is Salt River, which produces all the salt consumed in
-the country, and saves the expense of importing this necessary article.
-
-On August 13th, after several days' waiting, the steamer _Wrigley_
-arrived, bringing up the Mackenzie River furs and several of the
-officers from that district. Among her passengers was a French
-half-breed, King Beaulieu, who afterwards became my guide to the Barren
-Ground. He agreed to go in this capacity at a consultation held in Dr.
-Mackay's presence, swearing eternal fidelity and promising to do
-everything in his power to ensure the success of the expedition. Nobody
-could give him a very good character, but as he was known as a pushing
-fellow and first-rate traveller, besides having made a successful
-musk-ox hunt in the previous year, I concluded that my best chance lay
-in going with him. Certainly, with all his faults, I must say that he
-was thoroughly expert in all the arts of travel with canoes or
-dog-sleighs, quick in emergencies, and far more courageous than most of
-the half-breeds of the Great Slave Lake. When I was alone with him I
-found him easy enough to manage; but his three sons, who accompanied us,
-are the biggest scoundrels I ever had to travel with, and as they seem
-to demoralize the old man when they are together, the united family is a
-bad combination.
-
-Two more days were passed in loading the _Wrigley_, and in discussion
-among the officers from the two districts, who only meet on this
-occasion, and have to make the most of the short stay to go over the
-news of the last year and prospects for the next. Mr. Camsell, who is in
-charge of Mackenzie River district, was on board, and, although I never
-actually went within his dominions, was exceedingly kind in giving me
-supplies from his own outfit, and in doing everything he could do to
-help me during the year that I spent in the neighbourhood of the Great
-Slave Lake.
-
-The _Wrigley_, having the rough crossing of the lake to make, is a very
-different style of boat to the stern-wheelers above, which do all their
-work in smooth water. She is a screw-boat, drawing seven feet when
-loaded; and it gives an idea of the great size of the Mackenzie when I
-mention that a vessel with this draught of water has a clear run of
-thirteen hundred miles from Fort Smith to Peel's River, a tributary
-joining the main stream from the west a short distance above its mouth.
-She has never, I believe, steamed into the Arctic Sea, partly on account
-of the channel being unknown, and partly owing to the shortness of the
-season, which necessitates her being constantly at work to supply the
-forts before the closing of navigation.
-
-After leaving Fort Smith and passing the mouth of Salt River the Slave
-River widens considerably, and, with a slight current running between
-low banks and numerous islands, follows a more circuitous course than in
-its upper reaches. The steamer's course covers a distance of one hundred
-and eighty miles to the Great Slave Lake, but, in travelling with canoes
-or dogs, a number of portages are made to cut off bends of the river,
-and about one-third of the distance is saved.
-
-The granite formation is quickly lost sight of from the water. The sandy
-banks are covered with a dense growth of willows backed by the pine
-forest; a gloomy uninviting stretch of country, to which the tall dead
-trees charred by former fires give a peculiar air of desolation. The
-soft nature of the sand, and the fact that much of the bank has fallen
-in through the action of the ice breaking up in the spring, render
-tracking difficult on this part of the river; the fallen timber leaning
-over it at all angles, and making it impossible to pass the line. The
-sluggish nature of the current, however, compensates for this, as its
-strength can always be overcome by oars or paddles in the bad places.
-Early on the second day we steamed through the low delta lands at the
-mouth of the river, and, passing cautiously among the sandy battures
-lying far off shore, arrived in heavy rain and strong westerly wind at
-Fort Resolution, situated about ten miles to the westward of the river's
-mouth. Mr. Mackinlay, who is in charge of the fort, was away; but, as
-the steamer was delayed for a couple of days by the storm that was
-blowing, Mr. Camsell gave me very valuable assistance in making
-preparation for my voyage.
-
-The resources of the fort were at the lowest; no supplies had yet
-arrived from outside, and the people were entirely dependent on their
-nets for food: as is usually the case at this time of year, fish were
-scarce and hard times prevalent. A boat had been fitted out to be sent
-to the east end of the lake to trade for meat with the Indians hunting
-there; but after waiting a long time for the steamer, to obtain the
-ammunition necessary for trading, she was blown ashore and broken up on
-the night of our arrival. I had intended to take a passage by this boat;
-but as a party of men had to be sent to Fort Smith to bring down another
-one, and I was anxious to get among the game with as little delay as
-possible, I determined to make the journey as well as I could with
-canoes.
-
-It was now that I made the acquaintance of King Beaulieu's sons,
-Francois, Jose, and Paul, each of them married and father of such a big
-family that it makes one tremble for the future of the Great Slave Lake
-country when the next generation has grown up. The original Beaulieu
-seems to have been a French half-breed brought in by the Hudson's Bay
-Company among the early _voyageurs_ from Red River. He settled at Salt
-River, where buffalo were numerous at the time, and by an indefinite
-number of wives raised a large family which is threatening gradually to
-inundate the North. King's father appears to have been a fighting man,
-and great stories of his bravery and prowess are told by his sons and
-grandsons; but his name only appears in the Company's records in
-connection with various deeds of violence not much to his credit.
-
-All King's family were hanging about the fort in a state of
-semi-starvation, and I was glad when we eventually started well on in
-the afternoon of August 19th, with the hope of reaching first some good
-fishing-ground to supply them with food for immediate want, and
-afterwards the country of the caribou in the woods to the north of the
-lake, while beyond that again was the prospect of finding the musk-ox
-far out in the Barren Ground.
-
-In character a Beaulieu is a mixture of a very simple child and a German
-Jew; all the lack of reason of the one combined with the greed of the
-other, and a sort of low cunning more like that of an animal than a
-human being. He is not a nice man to travel with, as he always keeps a
-longing eye on his master's possessions, even though he is fully as
-well-equipped himself, and is untrustworthy if you leave anything in his
-charge. To your face he is fairspoken and humble enough, and to hear
-him talk you would think he had a certain amount of regard for you; but
-out of sight the promises are forgotten, and he is devising some scheme
-to annoy you and get something out of you. The only way to treat him is
-as you would treat a dog; if you are kind to him he takes it as a sign
-that you are afraid of him, and acts accordingly. With the exception of
-King there is no fear of violence; but his passion is at times so
-uncontrollable that he is capable of anything. It is needless to relate
-all the bother I had with these people, and I shall content myself with
-saying that the whole time I was with them the camp was the scene of one
-continuous wrangle; sometimes they would quarrel with me and sometimes
-among themselves, but we never did anything without having a row.
-
-As far as Fort Resolution the travelling had been almost as easy,
-although there were many delays, as in civilization; but directly you
-branch from the Company's main route you are thrown entirely on your own
-resources, and, owing to the impossibility of carrying enough provision
-for a prolonged journey in the Barren Ground, the rifle and net are the
-only means of obtaining food. This is a point to be well considered
-before undertaking a trip to the country of the musk-ox, as, however
-well you may be supplied at starting, you are sure to experience some
-hard times before your object is accomplished.
-
-My only provisions consisted of a couple of sacks of flour and about
-fifty pounds of bacon, and I might as well have started with none at
-all. My companions had all the improvidence of the Indian nature, and
-hated the idea of keeping anything for hard times. There was such a
-constant begging, not without a certain excuse from hunger, to be
-allowed to eat flour and bacon, that I was really rather glad when it
-was all gone, which was actually the case before we left the Great Slave
-Lake. We had a good supply of tea and tobacco, though it proved after
-all insufficient, plenty of ammunition for the three Winchester rifles,
-and powder, shot, and ball for the muzzle-loading weapons of the party;
-we had also nets and a few hooks and lines, matches, needles, and awls
-to be used in the manufacture of moccasins and the deer-skin clothes so
-essential for winter travel; knives of various shapes and sizes,
-scrapers for dressing skins, and a small stock of the duffel imported by
-the Company for lining mittens and wrapping up the feet during the
-intense cold that we were sure to experience during the trip.
-
-Our fleet numbered three large birch-bark canoes, crowded with men,
-women, and children, amounting in all to over twenty souls, or, to be
-more practical, mouths. Besides these there were fifteen gaunt and
-hungry dogs, which had been spending their short summer's rest in
-starving as a preparation for the hard work and harder blows which were
-in store for them in the coming winter.
-
-I was of course the only white man in the party, and whatever
-conversation I held with the three or four half-breeds that I could
-understand was carried on in the French patois of the North. Among
-themselves they used the Montaignais dialect of the Chipeweyan language,
-which is spoken with variations to the northward of the Cree-speaking
-belt, till its place is taken by the Slavi and Locheaux language of the
-Mackenzie River; in a couple of months I had picked up enough
-Montaignais to be able to mix it with French and make myself fairly well
-understood.
-
-Four deerskin lodges made our encampment. I lived with King, as his camp
-was always the quietest; in the other lodges there was a continual
-screaming of children, or yelping of hungry dogs as they felt the cruel
-blow of axe or paddle, which was the sure result of approaching the
-savoury-smelling kettle too close. We camped the first night in the
-delta of the Slave, or, as it is more usually called, the Big River. I
-distributed a little ammunition, and we killed enough ducks to provide
-the whole party with a night's provision. The next day a gale of wind
-was blowing from the lake, and, after following winding muddy channels
-all the morning, we were obliged to camp again on a point of willows
-beyond which we should have been exposed to the full violence of the
-storm, and our overloaded canoes would have had no chance of living in
-the heavy sea. Here we remained two days, still within twenty miles of
-the fort. Wild-fowl were numerous, but the great autumn migration had
-not yet set in, and all the birds that we found had been bred in the
-muskegs that surrounded us on all sides; they were mostly mallard,
-widgeon, teal, shoveller, and pintail, the latter being particularly
-plentiful. Musk-rats swam in all the little creeks and lakes, and, as
-they are esteemed as an article of food, and their skins are of a
-trifling value, we killed a great many.
-
-[Illustration: Patching a Birch-bark on the Slave River]
-
-On the third day we paddled along the shore of the lake against a strong
-head-wind, passing the Isle de Pierre, one of the best fisheries in the
-neighbourhood, and camped at the Point of Rocks, the first spot on the
-south side of the lake where the red granite again shows up, and the end
-of the muskeg country that extends far on each side of the Big River.
-Here we caught enough whitefish with the nets to enable even the dogs to
-have a small feed, and, as we killed forty ducks while waiting for the
-wind to moderate, everybody was satisfied. In the afternoon we put out
-in a calm to paddle across the open traverse to the first of a group of
-islands about fifteen miles to the north. This traverse is the terror of
-the lake for canoes, both in summer on account of the heavy sea which
-gets up suddenly, and in winter when the drifting snow in stormy weather
-obscures everything and makes it a difficult matter to keep the course
-over the ice. On this occasion we got over just in time, and, camping on
-the nearest island of the group, were delayed for two days by strong
-north-west winds accompanied by showers of driving rain.
-
-These islands, marked on the map as Simpson's Group, extend for a
-hundred miles in a north-easterly direction to Fond du Lac, and, if ever
-explored, will be found to be in immense numbers, varying in size, but
-all of the same red-granite formation, covered with a scanty growth of
-pine, birch, and willows. Many of them rise to a considerable height,
-with the ridges generally running south-west and north-east. A few moose
-still inhabit the larger islands; but the big herds of caribou from the
-Barren Ground that used formerly to come here in their wanderings seem
-to have deserted them of late years. An occasional small pond gives
-harbourage for a few wild-fowl, while wood-grouse, and in winter
-ptarmigan, are plentiful. The bare outlying rocks between the islands
-are the breeding-ground of gulls and terns: divers and a few cormorants
-give additional life to the lake in summer; but at the first sign of
-cold weather the water-birds all leave for a more temperate land, and a
-deathlike silence settles over the frozen channels during the eight
-months of winter.
-
-The island on which we were encamped, being the most westerly of the
-group, was exposed to the full force of the gale. The heavy fresh-water
-seas broke with great violence on the weather shore and on the numerous
-rocks, some above water and others submerged, that make the navigation
-of this part of the lake dangerous for anything larger than a canoe. It
-was no easy matter to get out our nets, even to leeward of the island,
-and the supply of fish was very scanty; dissatisfaction was prevalent in
-the camp, and heavy inroads were made on the flour and bacon that would
-have proved so useful later on. When the weather moderated we started
-against a strong head-wind, and a hard day's paddling brought us to a
-spot known as the Inconnu Fishery, situated on an island halfway to Fond
-du Lac. The Inconnu, or Unknown Fish, is, I believe, entirely restricted
-to the Mackenzie River country, and its southernmost limits seem to be
-the rapids at Fort Smith; it was thus named by the early _voyageurs_ of
-the Company, who were unable to classify it, and even to this day there
-is a great variety of opinion as to what family it is a member of: a
-long thin fish, not unlike a misshapen salmon, running up to fifteen
-pounds in weight, with flabby and unpalatable flesh, it is held in very
-low estimation in comparison with whitefish or trout, and is only
-appreciated in hard times. At this particular island it will take a bait
-readily, but I never heard of its doing so in any other part of the
-lake, although large numbers are caught in the nets. There is some
-peculiarity in the water which may account for this, as, even in the
-dead of winter, there is generally an open hole in the ice; and, in
-passing the Inconnu Fishery, one must keep right ashore to avoid the
-treacherous spot. Here we were wind-bound again, and indeed for several
-days made very little head-way against the northerly gales that seem
-almost incessant at this time of year. We had a pleasant spot to camp in
-every night, but not always enough to eat, and it was the first of
-September before we sighted the high land on the north side of the lake.
-This was the first really fine day we had had since leaving the fort,
-and, taking advantage of it, we left the shelter of the islands, made a
-bold crossing of the wide stretch of open water, and camped among the
-scattering pines on the northern mainland. Exactly opposite to us was
-the narrow entrance to Christie's Bay of the maps, extending some
-hundred miles to the east and south-east, offering another tempting
-field for exploration. On the west side of the entrance is a remarkable
-many-coloured bluff, composed of the soft rock used by the Indians for
-the manufacture of their stone pipes, which are still in common use.
-
-The range of hills along the north shore, which we now had to coast,
-average perhaps five hundred feet in height, occasionally reaching a
-much higher elevation, but without any conspicuous peaks; the land
-begins to rise at once from the lake, in many places taking the form of
-a steep cliff. The vegetation is the same as that on the south side of
-the lake, but more stunted, the pine trees especially showing the
-increased rigour of the climate; small birch trees are still numerous,
-and the growth of the hardy willows is almost as strong as at Fort
-Resolution. Fruit-bearing plants are common. The small muskegs between
-the ridges of rock are full of a much-prized yellow berry, while
-blueberry bushes flourish in the dry spots, and a few raspberries are
-still to be seen; but strawberries, which used to be plentiful on the
-south shore and among the islands, have disappeared. I noticed here the
-low trailing plant bearing a woolly red berry, known as Cannicannick by
-the Indians to the west of the Rocky Mountains, and used by them as
-tobacco; the Slave Lake Indians sometimes smoke it, but prefer the inner
-bark of the red willow; the Hudson's Bay negrohead tobacco is in my
-opinion much improved, as well as economized, by a mixture with either
-of these substances. Countless streams, the outlet of lakes on the
-elevated tableland to the north, foam down the deep gulches in the
-hillside, and confused masses of fallen timber and rocks give evidence
-of the frequent land-slides that take place during the spring thaws.
-
-Again the north wind howled dismally down the lake, and several more
-days were occupied in reaching Fond du Lac. The enforced delay had a
-depressing effect upon the whole party, as fish were scarce, and
-paddling against continual head-winds is always hard work. At last, on
-September 5th, passing through a narrow arm of the lake with a
-perceptible current formed by the prevailing winds, we came in sight of
-Fond du Lac. A single house at the head of a snug little bay is all that
-is left standing, but the ruins of others, and a number of rough graves,
-show that at one time it was a more populous place. It was formerly an
-outpost of Fort Resolution, used as a depot for collecting meat, and
-presided over in a haphazard manner by King Beaulieu, who is still
-rather sore about the abandonment of the post and his own discharge from
-the Company's service. The weather now became worse than ever, snow and
-hail taking the place of rain and throwing the first white mantle on the
-hill-tops. It was evident that such a large party, crippled as we were
-with women and children, would never be able to reach the caribou, in
-the event of these animals being far back from the Great Slave Lake. We
-had met no Indians, and so had no means of hearing the news of the
-caribou, which forms the one topic of interest among the Dog-Rib and
-Yellow Knife tribes who hunt in this part of the country. Luckily trout
-and whitefish were fairly abundant, some of the former reaching such an
-enormous size that I am afraid to hazard a guess at their weight, though
-I afterwards saw one at the fort that turned the scale at fifty-eight
-pounds.
-
-[Illustration: King Beaulieu]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III
-
-
-We held a big council as to ways and means, and, after much discussion,
-finally came to the decision that our best chance was to leave the main
-body of women and children with sufficient men to attend to the nets for
-them, while the rest of us pushed on to the north with our two biggest
-canoes, in the hope of falling in with the caribou, and afterwards the
-musk-ox. We were to leave all the dogs at Fond du Lac, as we expected to
-send back before the setting in of winter; only two women, King's wife
-and daughter, were to come with us to dry meat, dress deerskins, and
-make moccasins. Besides them our crew consisted of King Beaulieu, his
-sons Francois, Jose, Paul, and Baptiste (a boy of twelve), Michel
-(King's son-in-law), and a small Indian boy who had thrown in his lot
-with us as the best visible means of getting anything to keep him alive
-during the autumn. All the provisions that I had brought with me were
-exhausted, and we had nothing but a dozen small dried whitefish when we
-left Fond du Lac on September 7th to paddle another thirty miles along
-the north shore before leaving the lake. Our loads were cut down to the
-smallest weight possible in order to save time on the portages. I left
-my Paradox behind as the ammunition was heavy, and trusted entirely to a
-Winchester rifle; a pair of glasses and a blanket about completed my
-share of the cargo. I had no instruments for taking observations, no
-compass, and no watch; and, take it all round, it was a very
-poorly-equipped expedition. We made a bad start, as, after an hour's
-travel across a deep bay, we found ourselves storm-bound on a small
-island, the canoes hauled up on the beach, and such a heavy sea on all
-sides that we could not get out a net. We spent an uncomfortable night
-on the island, but the wind moderated a little in the morning and we put
-out again. After being once driven back to our refuge we managed to
-reach the mainland, with the canoes half full of water and our blankets
-and clothes soaked. However, a good fire soon mended matters, and, as we
-caught enough whitefish to stave off present hunger, contentment reigned
-in the camp.
-
-The next evening, after another long struggle against the wind, we
-camped in the small bay at which we intended to make our first portage,
-and our long journey on the Great Slave Lake was finished. Three ducks,
-our whole bag for the day, and a kettle of black tea gave us a scanty
-supper, and, as there was still a little daylight, we each carried a
-small load to the top of the hill, a distance of two miles, but were
-disappointed in not seeing any caribou tracks. We thought we had a
-chance of finding them close to the lake, but as a matter of fact we
-had several days' journey yet before we fell in with them. It now seemed
-pretty certain that we were in for a spell of what my companions alluded
-to as _les miseres_ till we reached the meat-country, the joys of which
-formed the chief subject of talk round the camp-fires.
-
-With the first streak of light we began the portage in a driving
-snowstorm, and long before midday the rest of the cargo and the biggest
-canoe were landed at the top of the steep climb; the other canoe we
-abandoned, thinking one was ample for our work in the Barren Ground. We
-sat down for a smoke at the top of the hill, and took our last view of
-the Great Slave Lake. Looking southward we could see the far shore and
-the unknown land beyond rising in terraces to a considerable height, and
-very similar in appearance to the range we were on. Ahead of us, to the
-north, lay a broken rocky country sparsely timbered and dotted with
-lakes, the nearest of which, a couple of miles away, was the end of our
-portage; a bleak and desolate country, already white with snow and with
-a film of ice over the smaller ponds. Three hundred miles in the heart
-of this wilderness, far beyond the line where timber ceases, lies the
-land of the musk-ox, to which we were about to force our way, depending
-entirely on our guns for food and for clothing to withstand the intense
-cold that would soon be upon us. A pair of hawks hovering overhead
-furnished the only signs of life, and the outlook was by no means
-cheerful. As I was sitting on a rock meditating upon these things old
-King came up and said: "Let us finish the portage quickly; it is
-dinner-time." I quite agreed with him, but put his remark down as a
-rather unseasonable joke, as I did not think there was a bite to eat
-among us; but on reaching the lake I was pleasantly surprised to see
-King fish out a lump of bacon, which he had stowed away some time ago
-after one of my lectures on improvidence. It was really the last piece,
-and, although there was no bread (and for the matter of that there was
-none for the next three months) we all made a good enough meal. The lake
-was of course named Lac du Lard to commemorate this event.
-
-I think no white man had ever passed through this chain of lakes before,
-as Sir John Franklin went up by a more westerly route, following the
-course of the Yellow Knife River, while Hearne and Back both left from
-the east end of the Great Slave Lake; Stewart and Anderson, when they
-were searching for survivors of Franklin's last ill-fated expedition,
-reached the head waters of the Great Fish River by a chain of lakes
-about eighty miles to the eastward of my present route. If the lakes
-were known among the Indians by any particular names I enquired their
-meaning and preserved them; the others I named from incidents in the
-voyage or from the Company's officers of Athabasca and Mackenzie River
-districts.
-
-During the afternoon we made four more short portages, passing through
-the same number of lakes, some of them of a considerable size. We kept a
-good look-out for the caribou but saw no signs of them, and at dark,
-after a hard day's work, camped on the east shore of the Lac de Mort. It
-acquired this name from a disaster that overwhelmed a large encampment
-of Yellow Knives who were hunting here during one of those epidemics of
-scarlet fever that have from time to time ravaged the North. Most of the
-hunters were too ill to walk, and, as game was scarce, the horrors of
-starvation, combined with disease, almost exterminated the band.
-
-The next two days were occupied in the same manner of travelling towards
-the north with numerous portages. We could not catch any fish, though we
-set a net every night, but killed enough ducks to keep us alive without
-satisfying our ravenous hunger. The weather was still cold, with strong
-head-winds and frequent snowstorms.
-
-On the third day we caught a big trout and killed a loon and a
-wolverine, the latter after a most exciting chase on a long point. In
-the next portage accordingly we made a big feast, although wolverines
-are only eaten in starving times, as they are looked upon in the light
-of scavengers and grave-robbers, and "_carcajou_-eater" is a favourite
-term of contempt. On the present occasion nobody made any objection, and
-in the circumstances the despised meat tasted remarkably well. Our joy
-was soon cut short by finding the next lake, which was more sheltered
-from the wind than the others we had passed through, covered with a
-sheet of ice sufficiently thick to prevent the passage of a birch-bark
-canoe, while a heavy snowstorm came on at the same time, making matters
-look more gloomy than ever. King's sons at once expressed their
-intention of returning to Fond du Lac while the lakes behind them were
-still open. King, however, here showed great determination, and
-declared, with an unnecessary amount of strong language, that he had the
-heart of Beaulieu (the worst sort of heart, by the way), and, when once
-he had started, would not turn back without seeing the musk-ox.
-Eventually we persuaded them to come on, and, carrying the canoe,
-reduced our load to the very smallest amount of necessaries. We then
-started on foot for an expedition that would have most certainly ended
-in disaster if we had gone on with it. I noticed that the two women had
-the heaviest loads to carry, but having myself as much as I cared about
-for a long distance I made no remarks on the subject. Luckily, after
-spending a night without eating under the shelter of a bunch of dwarf
-pines, we discovered the next lake to be almost clear of ice; and
-carrying our canoe over the four-mile portage we continued our journey
-as before, pushing on as quickly as possible to reach the Lac du Rocher,
-where the half-breeds were confident of meeting the caribou, or, at the
-worst, to camp at a spot well known to them where we might catch fish
-enough for a temporary support. We had now been in a half-starving
-condition for several days, and were beginning to lose the strength that
-we required for portaging and paddling against the continual north wind.
-
-On September 13th we reached the Lac du Rocher, a large irregular sheet
-of water, so broken up with bays and promontories that it is hard to
-estimate its size. Camp was made on the south side of the lake, and we
-set our nets and lines, baited with carefully preserved pieces of
-whitefish, while others explored the surrounding hills for caribou
-tracks, but without success. The half-breeds were all much put out by
-this failure, as they have always found the Lac du Rocher a certainty
-for caribou at this time of year, and were unable to account for it,
-except by the theory that the animals had altered the usual course of
-their autumn migration and were passing to the east of us. There was not
-a fish in the net when we turned in; but a good trout was caught in the
-middle of the night, and we all got up and finished the last mouthful.
-Again we had no breakfast, and the early morning found us discussing
-various plans in rather a serious manner. The final decision was that
-Paul and Francois should push ahead to try and find the caribou, while
-the rest of us moved the camp to the north end of the lake and worked
-the fishing till their return; six days were allowed them for their
-trip, after which each party was to act independently, and we were all
-to get out of the awkward situation in the best way we could.
-
-Accordingly we took the canoes across the lake as soon as our hunters
-had started, and put up our deerskin lodge in the shelter of a clump of
-well-grown pine trees; we tried the hand-lines for hours without any
-better result than completely numbing our fingers, and towards evening
-set the net, also without any luck. I took my rifle and walked two or
-three miles back from the lake, but beyond an Arctic fox, which I missed
-at long range, saw nothing edible.
-
-There is no better camp than a well-set-up lodge with a good fire
-crackling in the middle, and in this respect we were comfortable enough,
-but the shortness of food was telling rapidly. We had made no pretence
-at eating all day, and since leaving Fond du Lac had subsisted almost
-entirely on tea and tobacco, while even on the Great Slave Lake
-provisions had been none too plentiful. We passed the evening smoking,
-and, as I have found usual in these cases, talking of all the good
-things we had ever eaten, while eyes shone in the firelight with the
-brilliancy peculiar to the early stages of starvation. Outside the lodge
-the wind was moderated; the northern lights, though it was still early
-in the year, were flashing brightly across the sky, and far away in the
-distance we could hear the ominous howling of wolves. Late in the night
-I awoke, and, on lighting my pipe, was greeted by King with the remark:
-"Ah! Monsieur, une fois j'ai goute le pain avec le beurre; le bon Dieu a
-fait ces deux choses la expres pour manger ensemble."
-
-Long before daylight we put off in the canoe to visit the net, and to
-our great joy found five fair-sized trout, quite enough to relieve all
-anxiety for the day; the weather also had improved, turning much warmer,
-with the snow rapidly thawing. The half-breeds, who are all Catholics,
-held a short service, as it was Sunday morning and they are very
-particular in this respect. Afterwards we all went out hunting, but only
-two or three ptarmigan, the first we had seen, were killed, and there
-were still no signs of the caribou. The country here is much less rugged
-than on first leaving the Great Slave Lake, and the rolling hills are
-covered with a small plant, halfway between heather and moss, bearing a
-small black berry, and growing in thick bunches wherever the soil is
-capable of producing it. This plant, and a wiry black moss which grows
-in patches on the flat rocks, are much used as fuel in dry weather, if
-no wood is available; in wet weather they are of course useless. The
-hollows between the ridges are generally muskegs, thawed out to the
-depth of a foot, producing a long coarse grass, and in many places a
-plentiful growth of a dwarf variety of the Labrador tea, an excellent
-substitute for the product of China. Huge glacial boulders lie scattered
-in every direction, many of them balanced in an extraordinary manner on
-the points of smaller stones, which seem to have been of softer
-substance and gradually worn away. In other spots are patches of broken
-rocks, covering a large extent of ground and very difficult to travel
-on, especially when a light coating of snow makes them slippery, and
-conceals the deep holes in which a leg might easily be snapped; even the
-caribou, sure-footed as they are, will often make a long detour in
-preference to taking the risk of a fall among these rocks. Lakes of all
-sizes and shapes abound on every side, connected by small streams that
-find their way into the Slave Lake one hundred miles to the southward.
-Pine timber is now very scarce and mostly small, growing in sheltered
-spots with long stretches where not a tree is visible. A fairly thick
-stem starts from the ground and immediately spreads out into a bush with
-the branches growing downwards, and the top of the tree seldom reaching
-a height of ten feet. Sometimes, however, even as far out as this, a
-bunch of really well-grown trees is to be found, probably having the
-advantages of better soil to spring from. A very few birch sticks,
-invaluable to the Indian for making snow-shoes, still manage to exist,
-and patches of scrub willow are frequent. The general appearance of the
-country and the vegetation, with the exception of the timber, reminded
-me strongly of the desert of Arnavatn in the interior of Iceland.
-
-A great variety of mosses and lichens flourish here and in the true
-Barren Ground outside the tree limit, the _tripe des roches_ which has
-played such a conspicuous part in the story of Arctic exploration being
-particularly abundant at this spot. The formation of the rocks is still
-red granite, with a good deal of mica showing in the boulders.
-
-Late in the evening we heard a gun, and, on our replying, four or five
-shots were fired in rapid succession, the signal of good news; soon
-afterwards Paul and Francois came in, each carrying a small load of
-meat, which we finished promptly. They had fallen in with the caribou
-about thirty miles on, and reported them to be moving south in great
-numbers; we had now no hesitation in pushing on to meet them, and were
-all jubilant at the thought of good times coming. The next day was warm
-again with south-west wind, and, after passing through the Lac du
-Corbeau (named from our little Indian, who had acquired the title of
-_Chasseur du Corbeau_ from an unsuccessful hunt he had made after a
-raven at one of our hungry camps), we portaged into Lake Camsell, a fine
-sheet of water over twenty miles in length, running more to the east
-than the other lakes we had passed, full of small islands, and with
-rather more timber than usual on its shores.
-
-For the first time we could put down our paddles, and, hoisting a large
-red blanket for a sail, ran in front of the steady fair wind; the water
-was blue, the sun pleasantly warm, and the snow had almost disappeared.
-In the afternoon there was a cry of _Et-then, Et-then!_ (the caribou),
-and we saw a solitary bull standing against the sky-line on the top of
-an island close to the east shore of the lake. As soon as we were out of
-sight we landed and quickly surrounded him; he made a break for the
-water, but one of the half-breeds, in hiding behind a rock, dropped him
-before he put to sea. It was a full-grown bull in prime condition, the
-velvet not yet shed, but the horns quite hard underneath.
-
-A scene of great activity now commenced. There was no more thought of
-travelling that night, and, while two men were skinning and cutting up
-the caribou, the others unloaded and carried ashore the canoe, lit a
-fire, and got ready the kettles for a feast that was to make up for all
-the hard times just gone through. There was plenty of meat for everybody
-to gorge themselves, and we certainly made a night of it, boiling and
-roasting till we had very nearly finished the whole animal. I could not
-quite keep up with the others at this first trial of eating powers, but
-after a couple of weeks among the caribou I was fully able to hold my
-own. We seemed at length to have found the land of plenty, as ptarmigan
-were very numerous, just losing the last of their pretty brown plumage
-and putting on their white dresses to match the snow, which would soon
-drive them for food and shelter into the thick pine woods round the
-shores of the Great Slave Lake.
-
-We had to sleep off the effects of over-eating, and it was late in the
-day before we started down the lake. After two or three hours' sailing
-at a slow pace we spied a band of caribou, again on an island. With
-unnecessary haste we made for the land, and, through watching the deer
-instead of the water, ran the canoe on a sharp submerged rock, tearing
-an ugly hole in the birch-bark. We all stepped overboard up to the
-waist, carried the cargo ashore, and, leaving the women to stitch up the
-canoe with the bark and fibre that is always kept handy when away from
-the birch woods, started in pursuit of the caribou. The result was that
-after a great deal of bad shooting we killed sixteen on the island,
-while the canoe, hastily patched up, with a kettle going steadily to
-bale out and the women paddling and shouting lustily, succeeded in
-picking up two more that tried to escape by swimming.
-
-The evening was passed in skinning and cutting up the meat, which was
-stowed away in rough _caches_ of rocks to keep it safe from the wolves
-and wolverines. These animals are always very plentiful in attendance on
-the big herds of caribou, and are often the cause of much annoyance to
-the hunter through stealing meat that he is relying upon for
-subsistence; in many places where the rocks are small it is impossible
-to build a _cache_ strong enough to keep out the wolverines, which are
-possessed of wonderful strength for their size.
-
-The following day while Michel, Paul, and myself were walking overland
-to join the canoe at the end of the lake, we fell in with another band
-of caribou, and, as the rest of the party landed at an opportune moment,
-we caught the animals on a long point and made another big slaughter of
-seventeen, among them some old bulls with very fine heads. A young bull,
-nearly pure-white in colour, came my way, and I secured him, but
-unfortunately the skin was afterwards stolen by wolverines. We had now
-plenty of meat to establish a permanent camp, and set up our lodge at
-the end of Lake Camsell with the intention of leaving the women and boys
-to collect and dry the meat and dress the skins, while the men were away
-on a short hunt after musk-ox before the lakes set fast with ice.
-
-We were now within a short distance of the last woods, if a few bunches
-of dwarf pines, at intervals of several miles, can be called woods, and
-were about to push out into the Barren Ground, where, with the exception
-of an occasional patch of small scrub willow, all timber ceases.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV
-
-
-In the various records of Arctic exploration, and especially in those
-dealing with the Barren Ground, there is frequent mention of deer,
-reindeer, and caribou, leaving the casual reader in doubt as to how many
-species of deer inhabit the rocky wilderness between the woods and the
-Arctic Sea. As a matter of fact, the Barren Ground caribou (which name I
-prefer, as distinguishing it from the woodland caribou, the only other
-member of the reindeer tribe existing on the American continent) is the
-sole representative of the Cervidae found in this locality.
-
-The chief distinction between this animal and its cousin the woodland
-caribou, or _caribou des bois fort_ in the half-breed parlance, lies in
-the different size, the latter having by far the advantage in height and
-weight. I have had no opportunity of weighing specimens of either kind,
-but should imagine that the woodland must be fully a third the heavier
-of the two. I cannot agree with some of the natural history books which
-state that the smaller animals carry the larger horns, as of all the
-Barren Ground caribou that we killed I never saw any with horns to
-compare with the giant antlers of the woodland caribou of Newfoundland
-or British Columbia; more irregular, if possible, they may be, and
-perhaps have a greater number of points, but they are far behind in
-weight, spread, and size of beam. The perfect double plough is more
-often seen in the smaller specimen, the larger animal being usually
-provided with only one, or with one plough and a spike. In colour they
-closely resemble each other, but there is rather more white noticeable
-in the representative of the Barren Ground, especially in the females,
-while the texture of the coat, as is to be expected, is finer in the
-smaller variety. The hoofs have the same curious "snow-shoe" formation
-in both cases.
-
-The range of the Barren Ground caribou appears to be from the islands in
-the Arctic Sea to the southern part of Hudson's Bay, while the Mackenzie
-River is the limit of their western wandering, although not many years
-ago they are known to have crossed the Slave River in the neighbourhood
-of Fort Smith. In the summer time they keep to the true Barren Ground,
-but in the autumn, when their feeding-grounds are covered with snow,
-they seek the hanging moss in the woods. From what I could gather from
-the Yellow Knife Indians at the east end of the Great Slave Lake, and
-from my own personal experience, it was late in October, immediately
-after the rutting season, that the great bands of caribou, commonly
-known as _La Foule_, mass up on the edge of the woods, and start for
-food and shelter afforded by the stronger growth of pines farther
-southward. A month afterwards the males and females separate, the latter
-beginning to work their way north again as early as the end of February;
-they reach the edge of the woods in April, and drop their young far out
-towards the sea-coast in June, by which time the snow is melting rapidly
-and the ground showing in patches. The males stay in the woods till May
-and never reach the coast, but meet the females on their way inland at
-the end of July; from this time they stay together till the rutting
-season is over and it is time to seek the woods once more.
-
-The horns are mostly clear of velvet towards the end of September, but
-some of the females carry it later even than this; the old bulls shed
-their antlers early in December, and the young ones do the same towards
-the end of that month, the females being some weeks later. In June both
-sexes present a very shabby appearance, as the old coats have grown long
-and white and are falling off in patches; by the end of July the new
-hair has grown, and the skins are then in their best condition.
-
-The caribou are extremely uncertain in their movements, seldom taking
-the same course in two consecutive years, and thus affording ground for
-the universal cry in the North that the caribou are being killed off. I
-think there is really much truth in the statement that they keep a more
-easterly route than formerly, as they seldom come in large quantities
-to the Mackenzie River, where they used to be particularly numerous in
-winter. This is in a great measure accounted for by the fact that great
-stretches of the country have been burnt, and so rendered incapable of
-growing the lichen so dearly beloved by these animals. The same thing
-applies at Fort Resolution, where, within the last decade, the southern
-shore of the Great Slave Lake has been burnt and one of the best ranges
-totally destroyed.
-
-One point that seems to bear out the theory of a more easterly movement
-is that within the last three years the caribou have appeared in their
-thousands at York Factory on the west side of Hudson's Bay, where they
-have not been seen for over thirty years; but I cannot believe, judging
-from the vast herds that I myself saw, that there is any danger of the
-caribou being exterminated.
-
-It is absurd to say that the white man is killing them off, as no white
-man ever fires a shot at them unless they pass very close to a Company's
-establishment, and the Indians are themselves surely dying out year by
-year. Nor is it any argument to say that the Indians sometimes starve to
-death from want of success in hunting, as a glance at Hearne's _Journey
-to the Northern Ocean in 1771_ will show that the same state of affairs
-prevailed before the Company had penetrated to the Great Slave Lake or
-Mackenzie River. Starvation will always be one of the features of a
-Northern Indian's life, owing to his own improvidence; his instinct is
-to camp close on the tracks of the caribou and move as they move; a
-permanent house and a winter's supply of meat are an abomination to him.
-
-Since the introduction of firearms the Indian has lost much of his old
-hunting lore! a snare is almost a thing of the past, but is still
-occasionally used when ammunition is scarce. It is no hard matter to
-kill caribou in the open country, for the rolling hills usually give
-ample cover for a stalk, and even on flat ground they are easily
-approached at a run, as they will almost invariably circle head to wind
-and give the hunter a chance to cut them off. But it is with the spear
-that the vast slaughter in the summer is annually made. The best
-swimming-places are known and carefully watched, and woe betide a herd
-of caribou if once surrounded in a lake by the small hunting-canoes. One
-thrust of the spear, high up in the loins and ranging forward, does the
-work. There is no idea of sparing life, no matter what the age or sex of
-the victim may be; the lake is red with blood and covered with sometimes
-several hundred carcasses, of which fully one-half are thrown away as
-not fat enough to be eaten by men who may be starving in a month. Surely
-this should exterminate the game; but, if one remonstrates with the
-Indians at the waste, the ready answer comes: "Our fathers did this and
-have taught us to do the same; they did not kill off the caribou, and
-after we are gone there will be plenty for our children." These animals
-are easily induced to swim at any particular spot by putting up a line
-of rocks at right angles to the water, and a line of pine bush planted
-in the snow across a frozen lake has the same effect; the caribou will
-not pass it, but following it along fall an easy prey to the hunter
-lying in ambush at the end of the line. In the winter they are killed in
-great numbers on the small lakes in the timber, as they seem disinclined
-to leave the open lake and will often run close up to the gun rather
-than take to the woods. I have heard this accounted for by the
-suggestion that they take the report of the gun for a falling tree and
-are afraid of being struck if they venture off the lake; but I fancy
-their natural curiosity has a great deal to do with this extraordinary
-behaviour. It frequently happens that they will run backwards and
-forwards within range till the last of the band is killed.
-
-The caribou supplies the Indian with nearly all the necessaries of life;
-it gives him food, clothing, house, and the equivalent of money to spend
-at the fort. He leaves the trading-post, after one of his yearly visits,
-with a supply of ammunition, tea, and tobacco, a blanket or two, and, if
-he has made a good season's hunt, is perhaps lucky enough to have taken
-one of the Company's duffel _capotes_ (about the best form of greatcoat
-that I have ever seen). He has a wife and family waiting for him
-somewhere on the shore of the big lake where fish are plentiful,
-expecting a gaudy dress, a shawl, or a string of beads from the fort,
-but relying entirely on the caribou for maintenance during the awful
-cold of the coming winter. The journey up till they fall in with the
-caribou is usually full of hardships, but once they have reached the
-hunting-ground and found game a great improvement in affairs takes
-place; the hunter is busy killing, while the women dry meat and make
-grease, dress the skins for moccasins, mittens, and gun-covers, and cut
-_babiche_, which takes the place of string for lacing snow-shoes and
-many other purposes. For the hair-coats, which everybody, men, women,
-and children, wear during the cold season, the best skins are those of
-the young animals killed in July or August, as the hair is short and
-does not fall off so readily as in coats made from the skin of a
-full-grown caribou; while the strong sinews lying along the backbone of
-an old bull make the very best thread for sewing. Anything that is left
-over after supplying the whole family finds a ready sale at the fort,
-where there is always a demand for dried meat, tongue-grease, dressed
-skins, and _babiche_, so that the Dog-Ribs and Yellow Knives, whose
-country produces little fur, with the exception of musk-ox robes, are
-thus enabled to afford some few of the white man's luxuries, tea and
-tobacco being especially dear to the Indian's heart.
-
-A good hunter kills the caribou with discretion according to their
-condition at various seasons of the year. After the females leave the
-woods in the early spring he has of course only the males to fall back
-on, and these are usually poor till August, when the bones are full of
-marrow and the back-fat commences to grow. By the middle of September
-this back-fat, or _depouille_ as it is called in Northern patois, has
-reached a length of a foot or more forward from the tail, and, as it is
-sometimes a couple of inches thick and extends right across the back, it
-is a great prize for the lucky hunter. It is a point of etiquette that
-when two or more Indians are hunting in company, the _depouille_ and
-tongue belong to the man who did the killing, while the rest of the meat
-is shared in common.
-
-Towards the end of October, when the rutting season is over, the males
-are in very poor condition. The females then come into demand, but it is
-not till the end of the year that they show any back-fat at all, and
-this is always small in comparison with that of a bull killed in the
-Fall. The summer months are generally spent by the Indians far out in
-the Barren Ground, and then, as I have said, they slaughter everything
-that comes within reach of their spear in the most indiscriminate
-manner.
-
-Excepting in times of plenty, when the utmost recklessness with
-provisions is displayed, there are very few parts of the caribou thrown
-away, and often the actual stomach is the only thing left; the blood is
-carefully preserved, and some of the intestines are prized as great
-luxuries. If one does not see the actual preparations for cooking they
-are good enough, but the favourite dish of all, the young unborn caribou
-cut from its dead mother, I could never take kindly to, although it is
-considered a delicacy among the Indians throughout the northern part of
-Canada. Another morsel held in high esteem is the udder of a milk-giving
-doe, which is usually roasted on the spot where the animal is killed. Of
-the external parts the ribs and brisket rank highest, the haunches being
-generally reserved for dog's food; a roast head is not to be despised,
-and a well-smoked tongue is beyond all praise. It was the caribou of the
-Barren Ground that provided the reindeers' tongues formerly exported in
-such quantities by the Hudson's Bay Company. The general method of
-cooking everything in the lodge is by boiling, which takes most of the
-flavour out of the meat, but has the advantage of being easy and
-economical of firewood.
-
-The marrow is usually eaten raw, and, as there is no blood visible in
-the bones of a fat animal, it is not such a disgusting habit as it seems
-to be at first sight, and one readily accustoms oneself to the fashion.
-Everybody who has travelled in the North has experienced the same
-craving for grease as the cold becomes more intense. In the case of a
-white man the enforced absence of flour and all vegetable food may be an
-additional cause for this feeling; but it is a fact that you can
-cheerfully gnaw a solid block of grease or raw fat that it would make
-you almost sick to look at in a land of temperate climate and civilized
-methods of living.
-
-The Indian is by no means the only enemy of the caribou. Along the shore
-of the Arctic Sea live straggling bands of Esquimaux who kill great
-quantities of these persecuted animals, although employing more
-primitive methods than their southern neighbours; it is done, moreover,
-at the most fatal season of the year, just as the females have arrived
-at the coast and are dropping their young. Then there are the
-ever-hungry wolves and wolverines that hang with such pertinacity on the
-travelling herds and rely upon them entirely for subsistence. It is
-rarely that a caribou once singled out can escape. The wolves hunt in
-bands and seldom leave the track they have selected; the chase lasts for
-many hours, till the victim, wearied by the incessant running, leaves
-the band and his fate is sealed; he has a little the best of the pace at
-first but not the staying power, and is soon pulled to the ground. Many
-a time I witnessed these courses, and once disturbed half a dozen wolves
-just as they commenced their feast on a caribou in which life was hardly
-extinct, and I took the tongue and _depouille_ for my share of the hunt.
-
-[Illustration: A Dead White Wolf]
-
-I only saw wolves of two colours, white and black, during my stay in the
-North, although I heard much talk of grey wolves. There was some sort
-of disease, resembling mange, among them in the winter of 1889-90, which
-had the effect of taking off all their hair, and, judging from the
-number of dead that were lying about, must have considerably thinned
-their numbers. They do not seem to be dangerous to human beings except
-when starving; but the Indians have stories of crazy wolves that run
-into the lodges, kill the children, and play general havoc. I know that
-they do at times get bold under stress of hunger, as my own hauling dogs
-were set upon and eaten by them while harnessed to the sleigh close to
-the house at Fond du Lac; nothing remained but the sleigh, and a string
-of bells that must have proved less tempting than the rest of the
-harness.
-
-I scarcely credit the statement I have often heard made, that the
-wolverines will kill a full-grown caribou, although it is possible that
-they may attack the young ones. They follow the herds more for the
-pickings they can get from the feasts of the wolves, and are content
-with showing their fighting powers on hares and ptarmigan; if meat is
-not to be had they will eat berries freely, and their flesh is then not
-so bad as after they have had a long course of meat. The _carcajou_
-possesses great strength and cunning in removing rocks and breaking into
-a _cache_; it climbs with great agility, and has a mean trick of
-throwing down a marten-trap from behind and taking out the bait, and is
-generally credited by the Indian with more wiles than the devil
-himself. It is an animal common enough in many parts of Canada, but is
-rarely seen in the woods on account of its retiring habits. In the
-Barren Ground, however, I had many opportunities of watching them
-through the glasses as they worked at the carcass of a caribou or
-musk-ox, and was much struck by the enormous power exercised by so small
-an animal; in travelling it seems to use only one pace, the _lope_ of
-the Western prairies, which it is said to be able to keep up for an
-indefinite time.
-
-Another great source of annoyance to the caribou are the two sorts of
-gadfly which use these animals as a hatching-ground for their eggs. The
-biggest kind, which seem the most numerous, deposit their eggs on the
-back, and, as they hatch out, the grubs bore through the skin and prey
-on the surrounding flesh. They begin to show in October, and grow bigger
-through the winter till the following spring, the number of holes in
-many cases rendering the skin absolutely useless for dressing. The other
-kind of fly lays its eggs in the nostril, with the result that in the
-months of May and June a nest of writhing grubs, slimmer and more lively
-than the grubs under the skin, appears at the root of the tongue; at
-this time of year the caribou may be often seen to stop and shake their
-heads violently, with their horns close to the ground, evidently greatly
-troubled by these grubs. Of the latter kind the Indians who travelled
-with me in the summer have a great horror, warning me to be very careful
-not to eat them, as they have an idea they would surely grow in a man's
-throat; and whenever we killed an animal, the first operation was to cut
-off its head and remove these unpleasant objects. By the beginning of
-August all the grubs have dropped off and the holes healed up, while the
-new coat has grown and the skins are then in their best condition.
-
-I could not hear of any attempt ever having been made to domesticate the
-caribou, though there is no good reason why they should not be trained
-to do the same work as the reindeer of Northern Europe. If this were
-brought about it would do away with the greatest difficulty of winter
-travel, the trouble about dog's food, which cripples any attempt to make
-a long journey except where game is very plentiful; wherever there was
-green timber and hanging moss the caribou might find its own supper, and
-would always come in better for food than a thin dog in times of
-starvation.
-
-The caribou afford a wide scope for the superstitions so ingrained in
-the Indian nature, and the wildest tales without the least foundation
-are firmly believed in. One widely-spread fancy is that they will
-entirely forsake a country if anyone throws a stick or stone at them,
-and their disappearance from the neighbourhood of Fort Resolution is
-accounted for by the fact of a boy, who had no gun, joining in the
-chase when the caribou were passing in big numbers, and clubbing one to
-death with a stick; this belief holds good also down the Mackenzie
-River, as does the idea that these animals on some occasions vanish
-either into the air or under the ground. The Indians say that sometimes
-when following close on a herd they arrive at a spot where the tracks
-suddenly cease and the hunter is left to wonder and starve. It is very
-unlucky to let the dogs eat any part of the head, and the remaining
-bones are always burnt or put up in a tree out of reach, the dogs going
-hungry, unless there happens to be some other kind of meat handy.
-Another rather more sensible superstition, presumably invented by the
-men, is that no woman must eat the gristle of the nose (a much-esteemed
-delicacy), or she will infallibly grow a beard.
-
-Such are examples of the endless traditions told of the caribou, which
-will always form the chief topic of conversation in the scattered lodges
-of the Dog-Ribs and Yellow Knives.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V
-
-
-On the 17th of September we left our camp at the north end of Lake
-Camsell for a short expedition in search of musk-ox, which we expected
-to find within fifty miles of the edge of the woods. By this time we had
-all fattened up, and entirely recovered from the effects of the short
-rations we had had to put up with before we fell in with the caribou.
-
-My crew consisted at starting of King, Paul, Francois, Michel, and Jose;
-but as the two latter speedily showed signs of discontent I made no
-objection to their turning back, and despatched them to Fond du Lac to
-get ready the dog-sleighs, snow-shoes, and everything necessary for
-winter travel. As a matter of fact they did absolutely nothing except
-squander a relay of provisions and ammunition that had been sent on by
-the trading-boat from the fort to meet me at Fond du Lac. I was not
-sorry to see the last of them, as four of us were quite enough to work
-the canoe, and a small party naturally stands in less danger of
-starvation than a big one; moreover, they were certainly the most
-quarrelsome men in the camp, which is saying a good deal, as we had all
-done our fair share in that way since leaving the fort.
-
-We started without any meat, expecting to find caribou everywhere, and
-in this respect we had great luck all the time we were out; but we were
-not so well off for shelter. We had brought only one lodge from Fond du
-Lac, which was of course left for the women, while we took the chance of
-what weather might come, hunting the lee-side of a big rock towards
-evening, and often finding ourselves covered with an extra blanket of
-snow (_le couvert du bon Dieu_, as King called it) in the morning.
-
-The plan of campaign was to reach the musk-ox by canoe and bring back as
-many robes as we could carry before the winter set in; or, failing this,
-to kill and _cache_ caribou along our line of travel, so that we should
-have meat to help us reach the musk-ox with dog-sleighs after the heavy
-snow had fallen and all the caribou had passed into the woods.
-
-I named the first lake that we portaged into King Lake, a narrow sheet
-of water some five miles in length, and here we were storm-bound all day
-by a northerly gale, the force of the wind being so great that we could
-not move the canoe to windward, although the water was smooth enough.
-The weather improving in the morning, we paddled down the lake and
-passed into a small stream running out of its north end. A couple of
-miles down stream, with a portage over a small cascade (the
-thirty-fourth and last portage that we made with the big canoe), brought
-us to a huge lake running in a south-east and north-west direction,
-said to be the longest of all the lakes in this part of the country, and
-by the Indians' account four good days' travel, or over one hundred
-miles in length; the part that I saw is certainly over fifty miles, and
-is said to be not half the total distance. The lake is narrow in most
-places, and cut up by long points into numerous bays; there are a great
-many islands, particularly at the north-east end, similar in appearance
-to the main shore, which is just like the country I have described at
-the Lac du Rocher, except that at the end of the big lake the hills
-reach a greater elevation, and present more the aspect of a regular
-range, than in any other part of the Barren Ground that I saw.
-
-The position of Mackay Lake, as I named it after Dr. Mackay of the
-Athabasca district, is worthy of remark, as it is the best
-starting-point from which to work the most important streams of both
-watersheds. It lies very nearly on the height of land between the Great
-Slave Lake and the Arctic Ocean; its west end must be but a short
-portage from the Yellow Knife River, while from its eastern extremity
-runs out the large stream, named by Anderson the Outram, but more
-generally known as Lockhart's River, from the fact of its falling into
-the Great Slave Lake at Lockhart's house, which was established for the
-relief of Stewart and Anderson when they went in search of the missing
-Franklin Expedition. The Great Fish, or Back's River, which they
-descended on that occasion, heads within half a mile of the north bay of
-Aylmer Lake, lying next below Mackay Lake, on Lockhart's River. Fifteen
-miles to the north is another large sheet of water known to my
-companions as the Lac de Gras, through which the Coppermine River runs
-on its course direct to the Arctic Sea.
-
-The point at which we fell on Lake Mackay is about the edge of the
-woods, and here we camped for the last time with pine timber, finding a
-small hunting-canoe which some of the Beaulieus had left during the
-previous autumn. This we decided to take with us, and it proved
-extremely useful later on in crossing the Coppermine.
-
-On Sunday, September 22nd, with a fresh fair wind and our blanket
-pulling strong, we ran for several hours in a north-east direction; the
-little canoe which we carried athwartship made the steering difficult,
-as her bow and stern kept striking the tops of the big waves that were
-running after us, but we met with no accident except the carrying away
-of our mast.
-
-We were continually in sight of large bands of caribou, but they seemed
-to take little notice of the extraordinary apparition. Towards evening
-we saw a herd on a long point projecting far out from the south shore of
-the lake, and, thinking it would be a good place to make a _cache_,
-landed inside them and walked down the point in line. We had the animals
-completely hemmed in, and, when they charged through us, nine dropped
-to quick shooting at short range. There was little fuel of any kind on
-the spot, and we had to eat our meat almost raw, as is the fashion of
-the Barren Ground on these occasions. In the morning we ferried all the
-carcasses to a convenient island close to the point, put them in _cache_
-among the rocks, and proceeded down the lake, camping at sundown at the
-head of a small bay near its north-east end.
-
-The weather now changed, and once more the north wind came howling
-across the open country straight from the Arctic Sea, and a steady
-continuous frost set in. We hauled up the big canoe and set out on foot,
-taking with us only our rifles and ammunition, a blanket apiece, and a
-couple of small kettles, besides the little canoe, which proved an
-awkward load to carry against the strong head-wind. We must have walked
-about twenty miles, occasionally making use of a lake for the canoe,
-when we reached the south shore of the Lac de Gras, much disappointed in
-seeing no musk-ox or caribou all day.
-
-The Lac de Gras is much broader than Lake Mackay, and rounder in shape,
-although at one spot it is nearly cut in half by points stretching out
-from each side. The Coppermine River runs in at the east and out at the
-west end, and the distance is not great to the site of Fort Enterprise,
-Sir John Franklin's wintering place in 1820, and the scene of the awful
-disasters which befell his first overland expedition.
-
-We were now hard up for provisions again, and the first daylight found
-us hunting for something to eat. Two of us walked along the shore, while
-the others paddled the canoe, but we could find neither musk-ox nor
-caribou; at midday we met and changed places, King and myself making
-rather a bold crossing in the shaky little canoe, while Paul and
-Francois walked round. On approaching the north shore of the lake we
-noticed a raven rise and throw himself on his back in the air, uttering
-the curious gurgling note which always seems to imply satisfaction. King
-exclaimed, "See the raven putting down his load! there is something to
-eat there"; and true enough there was, for we found the carcasses of
-eight musk-ox, killed, as we afterwards heard, a month before by a party
-of Yellow Knives, who had driven the animals into the water and
-massacred the whole band. Half a dozen gulls flapped away heavily, and
-we caught sight of a wolverine sneaking off as we came near. Neither of
-us much fancied the appearance of the feast that lay before us, but we
-had eaten nothing for some time, and one is not particular in such
-cases, especially as it is never certain when the next meal will turn
-up. We robbed from the wolverines and ravens, and, signalling to Paul
-and Francois, made a meal of the half-putrid flesh in a little patch of
-willow scrub that happened to be close at hand. It is never pleasant to
-find the game you are hunting killed by somebody else, but in this
-instance it was a relief to know that we had a supply of meat, such as
-it was, to fall back upon in case we came to grief later on.
-
-After supper we crossed the Coppermine, a big deep stream even here,
-with a current of a mile and a half an hour, running out of another lake
-which stretched northward and eastward as far as we could see. Here we
-left the small canoe to cross with on our return, and walked on late
-into the night, hoping to find some more willows, but eventually made a
-wretchedly cold camp without fire on a long promontory, to which we
-always after alluded as Le Point de Misere. A light snowstorm made us
-still more uncomfortable, and it was well on in the next afternoon
-before we found willows enough to make a fire, sighting almost
-immediately afterwards a big band of caribou. We killed eight, and, as
-all the small lakes were firmly frozen over by this time, were able to
-make the safest form of _cache_ by breaking the ice and throwing the
-meat into shoal water, which would at once begin to freeze and defy all
-the efforts of the wolverines. Two months afterwards we chopped out this
-meat, and found it fresh and palatable, although the outside was
-discoloured by its long soaking. When we had finished our _cache_ we lit
-a comparatively big fire in a bunch of well-grown willows and spent the
-rest of the day in eating and mending our moccasins, which were all
-badly worn out by the rough walking of the last few days. We had left
-our main camp badly provided in this respect, as the women had not had
-sufficient time to dress any skins before we started, and in consequence
-we were all troubled with sore feet during our wanderings in search of
-the musk-ox.
-
-Curiously enough, now we did not want them, the ptarmigan appeared again
-in great quantities, although we had not seen any since leaving our big
-canoe. The only other birds remaining were a few hawks, owls, gulls, and
-ravens; the wild-fowl had all left, and as a matter of fact we had come
-across very few since leaving the Great Slave Lake. About this time,
-too, we killed the first Arctic hare, an animal by no means to be
-despised, as it is fully as big as an English hare and will at a pinch
-provide a meal for a small party; at this time of year they are
-completely white, with the exception of the tips of the ears which are
-black; they are usually tame, and, being very conspicuous before the
-snow covers the ground, afford an excellent mark for the rifle.
-
-On this day we crossed a peculiar ridge composed of fine gravel and
-sand, resembling at a distance a high railway embankment. It is a
-well-known landmark for the Indians, and is said by them to stretch,
-with few interruptions from the east end of the Athabasca Lake to the
-east end of Great Bear Lake.
-
-September 27th was a red-letter day, marking the death of the first
-musk-ox. Soon after leaving camp we came to a rough piece of country,
-full of patches of the broken rocks that I have already described, and,
-mounting a small hill, saw a single old bull walking directly towards us
-at a distance of three hundred yards. We lay down in the snow, and I had
-a capital chance of watching him through the glasses as he picked his
-way quietly over the slippery rocks, a sight which went far to repay all
-the trouble we had taken in penetrating this land of desolation. In
-crossing an occasional piece of level ground he walked with a curious
-rolling motion, probably accounted for by the waving of the long hair on
-the flanks; this hair reaches almost to the ground, and gives the legs
-such an exaggerated appearance of shortness that, at first sight, one
-would declare the animal to be incapable of any rapid motion. The shaggy
-head was carried high, and when he finally pulled up at sight of us,
-within forty yards, with his neck slightly arched and a gleam of
-sunshine lighting up the huge white boss formed by the junction of the
-horns, he presented a most formidable appearance. His fate was not long
-in doubt, as my first shot settled him, and the main object of my trip
-was accomplished; whatever might happen after this, I could always
-congratulate myself on having killed a musk-ox, and this made up for a
-great deal of the misery that we afterwards had to undergo.
-
-Although not absolutely prime, this animal was a fine specimen of an
-old bull, with the yellow marking on the back clearly defined, and as
-good a head as any I saw during my stay in the musk-ox country. We took
-the whole skin, with head, horns, and hoofs, and _cached_ it among the
-rocks, where I am sorry to say it lies to this day; I intended to pick
-it up in the course of our winter hunt, but unfortunately we were caught
-in a snowstorm on the Lac de Gras, and were unable to find the _cache_.
-In the evening we scattered over the country, hoping to find a band of
-musk-ox, but another bull, killed by Paul, was the only one seen.
-
-On the following day the frost was much keener; the smaller lakes and
-the sheltered bays in the big one were set fast, and we began to realise
-that the sooner we started back the better chance we had of getting
-across Mackay Lake with the canoe, and avoiding the long detour to cross
-Lockhart's River, which was sure to remain open much longer than the
-lakes. The winter was coming on quickly, and we were badly provided with
-clothes to withstand its severity; our moccasins were in rags, and
-everybody showed signs of being footsore. By rough reckoning we were
-about on the 65th degree of latitude, and it seemed too reckless to push
-on any further towards the North, as already we were separated from the
-nearest timber by a hundred miles of treeless waste; even if we found a
-band of musk-ox, we should be forced to come out again with dogs to
-haul in the robes, as our big canoe was now too far back for us to think
-of carrying any great weight with us. Although we had not made a
-successful hunt, our trouble was not all thrown away, as enough meat
-_caches_ had been made to insure us a fair chance of getting out into
-the same country on the first deep snow.
-
-Nobody liked to be the first to talk about turning back, but on reaching
-the top of a low range of hills and seeing a flat desolate stretch of
-country lying to the north of us, with the lakes frozen up and no sign
-of animals or firewood, King turned to me and said: "It is not far from
-here that the white men died from cold and starvation at this time of
-year; let us go back before the snow gets deep and we are not able to
-travel." The old man looked particularly tough at this moment; none of
-our faces were very clean, but his was the more remarkable, as the blood
-of the last caribou that we killed had splashed in it, and, running down
-his beard, had mixed with his frozen breath and appeared in the form of
-long red icicles hanging from his chin. I think he knew what was in my
-mind and had an idea that I was laughing at him, for suddenly his quick
-temper got the better of him and he broke into one of those wild volleys
-of blasphemy that I had heard him give way to so often, and, turning on
-his heel, said that I could do as I liked, but he was going to make the
-best of his way back to the lodge. The walk back in front of the wind
-was not nearly so bad as it had been coming out head to it; and in many
-places we could travel straight over the ice, and, by cutting across the
-bays instead of walking round, save a considerable distance. Whenever we
-got this chance we put our loads on a handful of willow-brush and
-dragged them after us, finding it far easier than carrying them on our
-shoulders.
-
-Another night we spent without fire on the Point de Misere, and on
-October 3rd crossed the Coppermine amidst running ice, and there
-abandoned the little canoe. On the south side of the river we fell in
-with the biggest band of caribou we had yet seen, numbering fully three
-hundred; but as we had no need of any more meat _caches_ on the Lac de
-Gras, we only killed enough for present use.
-
-This crossing of the Coppermine, by the way, is an important spot in the
-history of the Dog-Ribs and Yellow Knives. It has always been a
-favourite swimming-place for the caribou, and many a struggle took place
-for the possession of this hunting-ground in the old days when there was
-continual warfare between the two tribes. At the present day it is a
-breach of etiquette for any Indians to camp here, as it is supposed that
-if the caribou are once headed back at this point they will not come
-south of Mackay Lake. This rule had evidently been broken lately, as we
-found signs of a recent encampment, and King considered that this amply
-accounted for our not finding the caribou before we reached the Lac du
-Rocher.
-
-After two more days' hard travelling we arrived at our big canoe, and
-had the satisfaction of finding some meat, that we had left there,
-untouched by the wolverines; but the bay was frozen solid, and there was
-no open water within two miles. Beyond the points of the bay we could
-see the white-capped waves running, but we knew that at the first spell
-of calm weather the whole lake would set fast.
-
-I now saw an example of the readiness of idea which King possessed in
-devising shifts and expedients to get out of difficulties. Of course he
-had had fifty years' experience in northern travel, but he was
-certainly, in my opinion, far above the average of the many other
-half-breeds and Indians who had been my companions in more or less
-difficult journeys in various parts of Canada. Before I thoroughly
-understood his scheme we commenced operations, by lashing together all
-the poles and paddles into a rough sort of ice-raft; on the top of this
-we placed the loads that we had carried so many miles, forming a smooth
-bed, two feet above the level of the ice, on which to rest the canoe.
-The bay had evidently frozen and broken up once, and the second freezing
-had left a rough surface; many of the floes were piled on top of each
-other, while the rest had been turned on edge, and it was necessary to
-keep the canoe clear of these sharp edges, which would have ripped the
-tender birch-bark like a knife. One man ran ahead, trying the strength
-of the ice with an axe, while the others hauled on the raft, and our
-method of progression was so satisfactory that just before dark, after
-much ominous cracking of the ice but no disaster, we camped on the east
-point of the bay close to the edge of open water. The half-breeds showed
-great knowledge of ice, and, with an occasional tap of the axe, picked
-out the safest route without making a mistake.
-
-The canoe propped on her side gave us the best shelter we had had for
-many a night, and, finding willows enough for a fire, we all felt
-jubilant at the idea of reaching the first clump of pines on the
-following day, besides getting an opportunity to rest our feet, which by
-this time were in a very bad condition. In this, however, we were doomed
-to disappointment.
-
-At the first sign of daylight we launched the canoe, and, breaking our
-way out through the young ice, were soon paddling in a heavy beam sea,
-with every splash of water freezing on us, and many stops to knock the
-ice from our paddles. After two or three hours of this work the wind
-died out, and, as we approached a group of small islands that cut the
-lake up into numerous channels, we saw a thin sheet of ice across the
-whole width. All hope of passing with the canoe was given up, and we
-headed for the south shore while a heavy snowstorm made it difficult to
-keep the course; the surface water was rapidly thickening into ice, and
-the sharp needles began to scrape unpleasantly along the sides of our
-frail vessel. We were none too soon in reaching the land, and had to
-carry the canoe over the thick ice near the shore. Here we turned her
-over carefully, and putting the poles, paddles, and all necessaries
-underneath, abandoned her to be buried under the snow till I might want
-her again the next summer. Late in the following June we found her, none
-the worse for her long exposure to the rigour of a winter in the Barren
-Ground, but even then there was no sign of open water in Mackay Lake.
-
-We had now to continue our journey on foot; but by keeping to the shore
-of the lake, and sometimes making use of the ice in crossing a bay, we
-only camped twice before reaching the pine timber. Late on the third day
-we came to the bank of an ugly, quick-flowing stream, and saw a large
-bunch of pines on the far side. Waist-deep we made a ford among the
-running ice, and were soon drying ourselves by a blazing fire of
-pine-wood.
-
-The whole of life is said to go by comparison, and although a few
-pine-trees in a wilderness of snow might seem the height of desolation
-to a man lately used to the luxuries of the civilized world, it appeared
-to us like a glimpse of heaven after the exposure of the last few weeks.
-It really was a pleasant spot, and one which has impressed itself on my
-memory more than any other camp that we made during this trip. A band of
-caribou, passing close by, provided us with supper, while a big pack of
-ptarmigan held possession of the little pine-trees, and kept up a
-constant expostulation at the intrusion of the scarcely known human
-beings. Hunger and danger were behind us just at present, and we felt in
-the best of tempers as we lay down for a long sleep on sweet-smelling
-pine-brush.
-
-Shortly after leaving camp in the morning another band of caribou
-appeared, and, as the lodge was now not far ahead, we killed about a
-dozen, and put them in _cache_ for later use. We then walked steadily on
-all day, and in the evening came in sight of Lake Camsell, over which
-the sun was setting in full northern splendour, throwing a wonderful
-purple light across the thin film of ice that coated the water. It was
-late in the night, and it was not till we had fired several gun-shots at
-intervals, that we heard an answering signal, and found that the women
-had set up the lodge in the next bunch of pines, as they had exhausted
-all the firewood close to the old camp.
-
-Meat was abundant, for the caribou had been passing, and many had been
-killed by the women and boys. Bales of dried meat formed a solid wall
-round the lodge, varied here and there by a bladder of grease or a
-skin-bag full of pounded meat, while bunches of tongues and back-fats
-were hanging from the cross-poles to smoke. The scene reminded me of the
-old fairy stories in which the hero used to discover houses, with walls
-of sugar and roofs of gingerbread, full of all the good things
-imaginable, while any member of the Beaulieu family would make a
-respectable ogre to guard such treasures. Of course the lodge was dirty
-and infested with the vermin from which these people are never free; but
-there was an air of warmth and plenty about it very agreeable after the
-hand-to-mouth existence we had been leading.
-
-On looking back at this expedition I cannot help thinking that we were
-lucky in getting through it without more trouble; it was just the wrong
-time of year to be travelling, too late for open water and too early for
-dogs to have been of any service, even if we had had them with us. One
-of the heavy snowstorms that, judging from Sir John Franklin's
-experience, are common in the end of September and beginning of October,
-would have made the walking much more laborious, as even the little snow
-that was on the ground delayed us considerably. Another source of danger
-was the numerous falls among the broken rocks; but though we all came
-down heavily at times, and, once or twice, with big loads of meat on our
-backs, no damage was done. The caribou kept turning up most opportunely,
-and we had no real hardships from want of food. Fuel was nearly always
-insufficient, but we only had two fireless camps, both on the Point de
-Misere. In many places we used black moss in addition to whatever willow
-scrub we could collect, and so long as the weather was dry found it
-quite good enough for boiling a kettle, but when the snow fell it was
-perfectly useless. This absence of a fire to sit by at night is the most
-unpleasant feature in travelling the Barren Ground.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI
-
-
-The day after our arrival was Sunday, a fine, calm day with bright
-sunshine, of which we took advantage to wash our scanty stock of
-clothing and generally pull ourselves together. Cleanliness of the body
-is not looked upon with much favour by the half-breeds, but Sunday
-morning was always celebrated in the lodge by the washing of faces and a
-plentiful application of grease to the hair. After this operation was
-over we held a consultation as to the best way of carrying on our hunt
-of the musk-ox, which had so far not proved successful. The same old
-wrangling and abuse of each other ensued, and finally the following
-decision was arrived at. Paul and Francois were to go back to Fond du
-Lac, so soon as their feet were in a fit condition to travel; they were
-to occupy themselves in getting ready the dog-sleighs, and to return on
-the first deep snow to the spot where we had killed the caribou on the
-day that we reached the lodge. If any of the Indians, of whom I had seen
-absolutely nothing so far, were going to the musk-ox, arrangements
-should be made with them to come all together, so that we might have the
-benefit of as many sleighs as possible to haul wood. All our dried meat
-was to be put in _cache_ at Lake Camsell, and the camp moved to a clump
-of pines that we had noticed the day before. King and myself were to
-remain with the women, to kill meat enough to enable us to start well
-supplied for the musk-ox country.
-
-We built a rough scaffold with the longest poles obtainable, and stowed
-all the meat as high above the ground as possible. Then we pulled down
-the lodge, and, after a couple of days' walk with heavy loads, camped on
-the south side of a ridge, from the summit of which we had a commanding
-view of Lake Mackay and the surrounding country. There was little chance
-of many caribou passing without being observed, as there were usually
-several pairs of sharp eyes on the look-out.
-
-As this was to be our home for a month or so, we took care to pick out a
-good spot and set up the lodge in the most approved fashion, taking
-advantage of the little shelter that the stunted pines could afford.
-
-A mile or two to the east lay the northern end of a large sheet of
-water, running about forty miles in a southerly direction, known to the
-Indians as "The Lake of the Enemy," and formerly the home of that
-terrible Evil Spirit supposed to haunt the Barren Ground. It is hard to
-get a full description of the Enemy, as, although many people have seen
-it, they are at once afflicted with insanity, and are incapable of
-giving an accurate account of their experience; but one must not dare to
-express unbelief in the existence of the Enemy any more than in that of
-the Giant Musk-Ox, fully ten times the size of the biggest bull ever
-seen, whose track many Indians say they have come across far out in the
-Barren Ground.
-
-King and myself spent most of our time prowling about in search of
-caribou, but for the first fortnight few came and we were only just able
-to keep ourselves in fresh meat, although there was soon plenty of dried
-meat from the animals we had _cached_ at this spot a week before. I now
-saw what an advantage it is to take women on a hunting-trip of this
-kind, and certainly King's wife and daughter were both well up in the
-household duties of the country. If we killed anything, we only had to
-cut up and _cache_ the meat, and the women and small boys would carry it
-in. On returning to camp we could throw ourselves down on a pile of
-caribou skins and smoke our pipes in comfort, but the women's work was
-never finished. The rib bones have all to be picked out, and the _plat
-cote_ hung up in the smoke to dry; the meat of haunches and shoulders
-must be cut up in thin strips for the same purpose, and the bones have
-to be collected, pounded down, and boiled for the grease which is in
-such demand during the cold weather about to commence. But the greatest
-labour of all lies in dressing the skins, cutting off the hair, scraping
-away every particle of flesh and fat, and afterwards tanning them into
-soft leather for moccasins, which are themselves no easy task to make.
-Many skins, too, have to be made into parchment or carefully cut into
-_babiche_ for the lacing of snow-shoes, and again, there are hair-coats
-to be made for each member of the party. In an ordinary Indian lodge the
-women have to put up with ill-usage as well as hard work; but most of
-the half-breeds know enough to treat them fairly; and King, except in
-his moments of passion, when he did not stop at any cruelty, treated his
-womenkind very well.
-
-One of our first expeditions was to hunt birch for making the frames of
-snow-shoes, which might be needed at any time, and King soon had a pair
-ready for lacing; he was very clever with the crooked knife, the
-universal tool of the North, but the stunted birch is hard to bend to
-the proper shape, and requires constant watching during the process of
-warping.
-
-The evenings were generally spent in long discussions over our pipes,
-for tobacco was still holding out, and the old man was keen to hear
-about the doings of the white man in the Grand Pays, as the half-breeds
-indefinitely term the whole of the outside world. The ignorance existing
-among these people is extraordinary, considering how much time they
-spend at the forts, and how many officers of the Hudson's Bay Company
-they have a chance to talk to, besides the missionaries of both faiths.
-It is a different matter with the Indians, as they seldom come to the
-fort, and cannot hold much conversation with the Whites without an
-interpreter. It was difficult, for instance, to persuade King that the
-Hudson's Bay Company does not rule the whole world, or that there are
-countries that have no fur-bearing animals, which in the North furnish
-the only means of making a living for the poor man. He was much
-interested in stories of the Queen, although he could never believe that
-Her Majesty held such a high rank as the Governor of the Company, and
-quite refused to acknowledge her as his sovereign. "No," he said; "she
-may be your Queen, as she gives you everything you want, good rifles and
-plenty of ammunition, and you say that you eat flour at every meal in
-your own country. If she were my Queen, surely she would send me
-sometimes half a sack of flour, a little tea, or perhaps a little sugar,
-and then I should say she was indeed my Queen. As it is I would rather
-believe Mr. Reid of Fort Province, who told me once that the earth went
-round and the sun stood still; but I myself have seen the sun rise in
-the morning and set at night for many years. It is wrong of you White
-Men, who know how to read and write, to tell lies to poor men who live
-by the muzzle of their guns."
-
-Another matter over which his mind was greatly exercised was the last
-North-West Rebellion under Louis Riel. He was convinced that during
-this rising the half-breeds and Indians had declared war upon the
-Hudson's Bay Company, and gained a decisive victory besides much
-glorious plunder; and he asked why such an outbreak should not succeed
-on the Great Slave Lake, where there was only one man in charge of a
-fort. He had many questions too to ask about the various good things
-that we eat and drink in England, and criticised severely the habit of
-eating three regular meals a day, which he described as eating by the
-clock instead of by the stomach, a much more greedy habit than that of
-gorging when meat is plentiful and starving at other times. On several
-occasions during our travels together I had reason to expostulate with
-him on the carelessness he displayed with provisions, but without making
-the least impression. "What is this improvidence?" he would say. "I do
-not like that word. When we have meat why should we not eat _plein
-ventre_ to make up for the time when we are sure to starve again?" He
-could never realise that starvation might be partially avoided by a
-little care.
-
-Often King would spin me a long story as we lay round the fire in the
-lodge; usually some tradition handed down from the time when all the
-animals and birds could converse together; what the wolf said to the
-wolverine when they went on a hunting-trip in company, and how the
-ptarmigan invited the loon to dine with him in a clump of willows in the
-Barren Ground, while there was a big stock of giant stories, with
-heroes much resembling those of the favourite nursery tales of one's
-childhood. Again he would come down to more recent times and describe
-the battles of the Dog-Ribs and Yellow Knives, which seem to have been
-carried on in the same sneaking fashion that has always distinguished
-the warfare among the tribes of Canadian Indians; there was no open
-fighting, and all the victories were won by a successful approach on an
-unsuspecting and usually sleeping encampment of the enemy, the first
-grey of dawn being the favourite time of attack.
-
-The following story of the Deluge, as believed by the Yellow Knives, I
-copied down from King's recital; it appears to be a curious mixture of
-old tradition with some details from the Biblical version as taught to
-the Northern Indians on the arrival of the first priests in the country.
-
-Many years ago, so long ago in fact that as yet no man had appeared in
-the country of the Slave Lake, the animals, birds, and fishes lived in
-peace and friendship, supporting themselves by the abundant produce of
-the soil. But one winter the snow fell far more heavily than usual;
-perpetual darkness set in, and when the spring should have come the
-snow, instead of melting away, grew deeper and deeper. This state of
-affairs lasted many months, and it became hard for the animals to make a
-living; many died of want, and at last it was decided in grand council
-to send a deputation to Heaven to enquire into the cause of the strange
-events, and in this deputation every kind of animal, bird, and fish was
-represented. They seem to have had no difficulty in reaching the sky,
-and passing through a trap-door into a land of sunshine and plenty.
-Guarding the door stood a deerskin lodge resembling the lodges now in
-use among the Yellow Knives; it was the home of the black bear, an
-animal then unknown on the earth. The old bear had gone to a lake close
-at hand to spear caribou from a canoe, but three cubs were left in the
-lodge to take care of some mysterious bundles that were hung up on the
-cross-poles; the cubs refused to say what these bundles contained and
-appeared very anxious for the return of the old bear.
-
-Now the idea of spearing caribou did not find favour with the deputation
-from below, and as the canoe was seen lying on the shore of the lake,
-the mouse was despatched to gnaw through the paddle, and as he had
-nearly accomplished this feat the bear came running down in pursuit of a
-band of caribou that had put off from the far shore. When he was close
-up to his intended victims and was working his best, the paddle suddenly
-broke, the canoe capsized, and the bear disappeared beneath the water.
-Then the animals, birds, and fishes grew bold, and pulling down the
-bundles, found that they contained the sun, moon, and stars belonging to
-the earth; these they threw down through the trap-door to lighten the
-world and melt the snow, which by this time covered the tops of the
-tallest pine-trees.
-
-The descent from Heaven was not made without some small accidents. The
-beaver split his tail and the blood splashed over the lynx, so that ever
-afterwards till the present day the beaver's tail is flat and the lynx
-is spotted; the moose flattened his nose, and many other casualties
-occurred which account for the peculiarities of various animals, and the
-little bears came tumbling down with the rest.
-
-And now the snow began to melt so quickly that the earth was covered
-with water, but the fish found for the first time that they could swim,
-and carried their friends that could not on their backs, while the ducks
-set to work to pull up the land from beneath the water.
-
-But it was still hard to make a living, so the raven, then the most
-beautiful of birds, was sent to see if he could find any place where dry
-land was showing; but coming across the carcass of a caribou he feasted
-upon it, although the raven had never before eaten anything but berries
-and the leaves of the willow. For this offence he was transformed into
-the hideous bird that we know, and to this day is despised of every
-living thing; even omnivorous man will not eat of the raven's flesh
-unless under pressure of starvation. The ptarmigan was then sent out and
-returned bearing in his beak a branch of willow as a message of hope; in
-remembrance of this good action the ptarmigan turns white when the snow
-begins to fall in the Barren Ground, and thus warns the animals that
-winter is at hand.
-
-But the old life had passed away and the peace that had reigned among
-all living things was disturbed. The fish, as the water subsided, found
-that they could no longer live on the land, and the birds took to flying
-long distances. Every animal chose the country that suited it best, and
-gradually the art of conversation was lost. About this time too, in a
-vague and indefinite manner about which tradition says little, the first
-human being appeared on the shore of the Great Slave Lake.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The weather continued fine without severe frost till the middle of
-October, the snow was still light on the ground, but the lakes all set
-fast. On the night of the fourteenth a storm arose equal in violence to
-a Dakota blizzard and continued till the following evening, by which
-time there were a couple of feet of snow on the ground. It was
-impossible to keep the drift from coming into the lodge, and as soon as
-the storm was over we had to throw down our shelter and clear away the
-banks that had accumulated inside. This was distinctly the coming of
-winter and there was no more sign of a thaw; the cold kept growing
-severer, especially on clear days, but I had no thermometer to mark its
-intensity. The daylight was shortening rapidly and the sun shone with
-little warmth.
-
-[Illustration: The Indians Driving Caribou]
-
-With the increasing depth of snow there was a noticeable migration of
-life from the Barren Ground. Ptarmigan came literally in thousands,
-while the tracks of wolves, wolverines, and Arctic foxes made a
-continuous network in the snow. Scattered bands of caribou were almost
-always in sight from the top of the ridge behind the camp, and increased
-in numbers till the morning of October 20th, when little Baptiste, who
-had gone for firewood, woke us up before daylight with the cry of _La
-foule! La foule!_ and even in the lodge we could hear the curious
-clatter made by a band of travelling caribou. _La foule_ had really
-come, and during its passage of six days I was able to realise what an
-extraordinary number of these animals still roam in the Barren Ground.
-From the ridge we had a splendid view of the migration; all the south
-side of Mackay Lake was alive with moving beasts, while the ice seemed
-to be dotted all over with black islands, and still away on the north
-shore, with the aid of the glasses, we could see them coming like
-regiments on the march. In every direction we could hear the grunting
-noise that the caribou always make when travelling; the snow was broken
-into broad roads, and I found it useless to try to estimate the number
-that passed within a few miles of our encampment. We were just on the
-western edge of their passage, and afterwards heard that a band of
-Dog-Ribs, hunting some forty miles to the west, were at this very time
-in the last straits of starvation, only saving their lives by a hasty
-retreat into the woods, where they were lucky enough to kill sufficient
-meat to stave off disaster. This is a common danger in the autumn, as
-the caribou coming in from the Barren Ground join together in one vast
-herd and do not scatter much till they reach the thick timber. It turned
-out very well for us, however, and there is really no limit to the
-number we might have killed if we had been in need of them; but it was
-too far out to make a permanent winter's camp, and hauling such a long
-distance with dogs is unsatisfactory, as most of the meat would be
-consumed on the way. We killed therefore only so many as we could use,
-and had some luxurious living during the rest of our stay in this camp.
-The caribou, as is usually the case when they are in large numbers, were
-very tame, and on several occasions I found myself right in the middle
-of a band with a splendid chance to pick out any that seemed in good
-condition. The rutting season was just over, and as the bulls had lost
-all their fat and their meat was too strong to eat, only does were
-killed. A good deal of experience is necessary to tell the fat ones, but
-the half-breeds can tell age and sex pretty well by the growth of the
-horns; often King told me which to shoot at, and it was seldom that he
-made a mistake in his choice.
-
-This passage of the caribou is the most remarkable thing that I have
-ever seen in the course of many expeditions among the big game of
-America. The buffalo were for the most part killed out before my time,
-but, notwithstanding all the tall stories that are told of their
-numbers, I cannot believe that the herds on the prairie ever surpassed
-in size _La foule_ of the caribou.
-
-Soon after the migration had passed, Jose Beaulieu arrived from Fond du
-Lac in company with an Indian, having made the journey on foot in eight
-days. Things had apparently gone all wrong there; they had been
-starving, and had of course taken everything of mine that they could lay
-hands on, both provisions and ammunition. They had then quarrelled over
-the division of the spoil, but as the caribou turned up within two days
-of the house contentment was now reigning. Jose had brought a little tea
-and tobacco, of which we were now badly in need, and a long string of
-grievances against his brothers at Fond du Lac. He had done nothing to
-help me in any way, although he had promised to have everything ready
-for the first snow, and seemed rather surprised that I did not take much
-interest in his wrongs. He got even with me, however, on his way back,
-by breaking into a _cache_, that I had made before reaching the Lac du
-Rocher, and stealing the tobacco that I was relying on for our next trip
-in the Barren Ground.
-
-Jose reported the woods to the south of us to be full of caribou, and a
-big band of Yellow Knives camped at the Lac de Mort, some of whom were
-talking of coming for a musk-ox hunt, if I could give them ammunition. I
-sent word to the chief that I could supply three or four of them, and
-ordered Paul and Michel to come on with the dogs as soon as possible.
-The snow was by this time quite deep enough for travelling, and any
-delay meant an increased severity in the weather, while in any case it
-would be late in the year before we got back to Fond du Lac.
-
-After Jose left we relapsed into our lazy existence of eating and
-sleeping, having no more excuse for hunting; occasionally we made a
-short trip on snow-shoes to examine some of our _caches_ and bring in a
-little meat, and once went for a three days' expedition to our meat on
-the island in Mackay Lake, and made a more secure _cache_ by putting the
-carcasses of the caribou under the ice. At other times we amused
-ourselves by setting snares for ptarmigan, which were in great numbers,
-or by hauling a load of wood across a small lake in front of the lodge,
-as we had used up all the fuel within easy reach. On the shore of this
-lake was a fine specimen of the balanced rocks so common all over the
-open country; an enormous boulder many tons in weight, so neatly set on
-the three sharp points of an underlying rock that it could be easily
-shaken but not dislodged; the lake is known among the Indians as the
-"Lake of the Hanging Rock." We might have done some successful trapping
-for wolves, wolverines, and foxes, but had unfortunately left all our
-steel traps at Fond du Lac in order to travel as lightly as possible in
-the portages.
-
-Quickly and without incident the short days slipped away until on the
-tenth of November, as I was returning to camp, I heard a gunshot to the
-southward of us. Instantly all was excitement, and we had barely time to
-answer the signal before a large party of men and eight dog-sleighs came
-in sight over the ridge. At first I could recognise no one, as the day
-had been very cold and their faces were covered with hoar frost, which
-makes it hard to distinguish one man from another; but they turned out
-to be Paul, Francois, and Michel, besides several Indians, among whom
-was Zinto, the chief of the Yellow Knives, who had come some hundred
-miles from his hunting-camp on purpose to pay me a visit.
-
-A small supply of tea and tobacco had come up, but not nearly enough for
-our wants, and I could see that we should have to do without these
-luxuries just at the time when we most required them; there was also a
-little flour, and we had a big feast of flour and grease the same
-evening; all the new arrivals came into the lodge, and sixteen people
-and fully as many dogs slept inside that night. After supper I handed
-round a small plug of black tobacco to each man, as is the invariable
-custom of the officer in charge of a fort on the arrival of a band of
-Indians; and when the pipes were lit Zinto gave me to understand that he
-had a few remarks to make to me. He would have been a fine-looking
-specimen of a Yellow Knife but for a habit of blinking his eyes, which
-gave him a rather owlish expression; he was possessed with a great idea
-of a chief's importance, but I found him a pretty good fellow during the
-many dealings that I afterwards had with him. King acted as interpreter,
-and I fancy rather cut down the speech in length, but this was the gist
-of it. "Zinto was very pleased to see a white man on his hunting-ground.
-He had known several at the forts, but had never before seen one among
-the caribou. Many years ago his father had told him stories of some
-white men who had wandered across the Barren Ground and reached the
-sea-coast; they had all endured much hardship, and many had died from
-cold and starvation; he did not know why they came to such a country,
-when by all accounts they were so much better off at home, but supposed
-there was some good reason which an Indian could not understand. For his
-own part he liked the Whites; all that he valued came from their
-country, and he had always been well treated by the Company. He was
-willing to help me as much as he could now that I had ventured so far
-into his hunting-ground, but the musk-ox hunt in snow-time was hard;
-only the bravest of his young men went, and last year was the first time
-they had made the attempt. The Dog-Ribs who traded at Fort Rae often
-went, but they had an easier country, as the musk-ox were nearer the
-woods. There would be much walking to do, and the cold would be great;
-however, if I meant to go he would order his young men to look after me,
-and on no account to leave me if from starvation or any other cause I
-could not keep up. I was to have the first choice of the meat in the
-kettle and the best place in the lodge to lie down. He hoped we should
-have a successful hunt, and, although he knew that we were short of such
-things, he could not help asking for a little tea and tobacco to give
-him courage for his journey back to the camp. If he received this he
-should have a still higher opinion of the white man and his heart would
-be glad."
-
-I replied that I was much gratified at seeing the chief of the Yellow
-Knives in my camp, and was sorry that I could not give him a more
-imposing reception on the present occasion; I had heard much to his
-credit from King Beaulieu and from the Company's officer in charge of
-Athabasca district; he was spoken of as a good chief and friendly
-towards the Whites. I had come from far across the big water on purpose
-to see the country of the Yellow Knives, and was anxious to know how
-they lived, and how they hunted the various kinds of animals upon which
-they depended for subsistence. For this purpose I now proposed going for
-a musk-ox hunt, and was glad to see that some of his tribe were
-prepared to accompany me. I could let them have enough ammunition for
-the trip, and would share with them the meat _caches_ that we had made
-along our line of travel, and also the tea and tobacco while it lasted.
-Much interest was felt in my country with regard to the Yellow Knives,
-and I hoped to be able to give a good account of their treatment to a
-stranger when I returned home. If his young men behaved well while they
-were out with me they should all receive presents when they reached the
-fort.
-
-Here the effect of my oration was rather spoilt by the Beaulieus
-breaking in to ask what presents they were to receive. Had they not been
-faithful so long, and gone so much out of their way to help me? and then
-the misery they had gone through in the Barren Ground on the last
-musk-ox hunt! Now followed a tremendous quarrel among themselves,
-mostly, I believe, about the stealing they had been doing at Fond du
-Lac, and whether the value of the articles they had taken should be
-deducted from the wages I had agreed to pay them before starting. After
-the discordant clamour had subsided a little, Zinto replied that he was
-satisfied, and thanked me for the small present of tea and tobacco which
-I could not well refuse; we then discussed all the various plans for the
-forthcoming hunt, and sat up feasting till late in the night.
-
-Something in the proceedings of the evening must have displeased King,
-as he suddenly astonished us all by saying that he would not go with us.
-What the grievance was I never found out, but he was obstinate on the
-point. I had been relying on him for interpreter, and was rather annoyed
-at his refusal to go, especially as Francois, the best French speaker in
-the outfit, declared his intention of returning straight to Fond du Lac.
-Michel too was wavering, but finally decided to go, as Paul, who behaved
-very well on this occasion, steadily declared that he was quite willing
-to accompany me, and would carry out the promise that he had made at
-Fort Resolution to go the whole trip. These two then and myself,
-together with the five Indians, Noel, William, Peter, Saltatha, and
-Marlo (brother of Zinto), and twenty-four dogs hauling six sleighs made
-up the party that eventually started for the Barren Ground about midday
-on Sunday, November 11th.
-
-King maintained his ill-temper till the hour of departure, saying that
-he did not want so many men and dogs in his lodge eating up the
-provisions that he had worked so hard to earn, and that the sooner we
-started the better he would be pleased. He used some particularly
-offensive language to me, but relented at the last moment and gave me
-his own hair-coat and a new pair of snow-shoes, of which I was badly in
-want. He also promised to do his best in the way of leaving meat
-_caches_ along the course that we should follow on our return from the
-musk-ox country. I was rather sorry to leave the old fellow after all,
-as on the whole we had been pretty good friends while we lived together,
-and he certainly had great influence over the Indians which might have
-been useful during our difficult journey.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII
-
-
-That night we made an open camp in a bunch of pines on the south side of
-Lake Mackay, at which point we intended to load wood for use in the
-Barren Ground. We were much better found in all respects than on the
-last occasion, and having dogs with us should not be obliged to carry
-anything ourselves. We used the ordinary travelling sleighs of the
-North; two smooth pieces of birch, some seven feet in length, with the
-front ends curled completely over and joined together with cross slats
-secured with _babiche_ into a total width of sixteen inches. A
-ground-lashing is passed along through holes in the outside edge of the
-sleigh, and to this is fastened a rough deerskin wrapper in which the
-load is stowed as neatly as possible and the wrapper laced on the top,
-so that in case of a capsize, which frequently happens, nothing can fall
-out. The traces are hitched on to loops in the front end of the sleigh,
-and four dogs put in the caribou-skin harness one in front of the other.
-The company officers have imported leather dog-harness with buckles for
-their own use between the forts; but I think for handling in really cold
-weather the caribou-skin, or better still moose-skin, with thongs
-instead of buckles, is preferable.
-
-Our twenty-four dogs rejoiced in endless varieties of names, English,
-French, and Indian, some popular names introduced by the Whites being
-freely given without reference to sex or colour. For instance, in my own
-sleigh the fore-goer, a big yellow bitch, answered to the name of
-Napoleon, whilst just behind her came a black bushy-tailed dog La Reine;
-we had three Drap Fins, from their resemblance to the fine black cloth
-so dearly beloved by the half-breeds and Indians, two Chocolates of
-different colours, besides Cavour, Chandelle, Diable, Lion, Blucher,
-Royal, Bismarck, and a host of unpronounceable Indian names.
-
-We were all dressed alike in coats of caribou-skin with the hair outside
-and hoods fastened up closely under the chin, and these we hardly took
-off day or night for the five weeks that we were out. Our hands were
-thrust into moose-skin mittens lined with duffel and hung round the neck
-by highly ornamented plaited woollen strings, or in the case of a man of
-little wealth with a more humble piece of _babiche_, but most of my
-companions managed to show a little colour in this respect. We rolled
-our feet in duffel and cased them in huge moccasins, of which we all had
-two or three pair; and as we were very careful in drying them every
-night before sleeping to get rid of all dampness caused by perspiration
-there was not a single case of frozen feet during the whole journey,
-although the big cold of an Arctic winter had now fairly set in. We
-used small snow-shoes about three feet in length, as most of the
-travelling would be on the frozen lakes where the snow is always
-drifting, and, consequently, pretty hard. One man, or in case of softer
-snow two, went ahead to break the road and the dogs followed in their
-tracks, or, if they showed any disinclination to start, were most
-unmercifully clubbed and cursed by name till they did so.
-
-A big deer-skin lodge and a sufficient number of carefully trimmed poles
-had been brought up from Fond du Lac, as it would have been impossible
-to endure the cold and almost perpetual wind without shelter of any
-kind, but they had the disadvantage of greatly increasing the weight of
-our load. King had given us a little dried meat, but only enough for a
-couple of days for such a large outfit; the dogs alone required at least
-fifty pounds a day to keep them in good condition. We had the meat
-_caches_ ahead, and hoped to fall in with the musk-ox before we ran out
-of provisions entirely. The danger of course lay in not finding these
-animals when we got far out, as the caribou had almost all passed into
-the woods and we could not hope to see any after the first few days. Our
-ammunition was rather limited, but with care we had enough to keep the
-muzzle-loading weapons supplied, and Paul and myself had a fair amount
-of cartridges for our Winchester rifles. We were obliged to wrap
-deer-skins round the levers and the parts of the barrel that our hands
-touched to avoid contact with the iron, which sticks to the bare skin in
-cold weather and causes a painful burn.
-
-The next day was spent in cutting wood into short lengths and loading it
-on to the sleighs. In the morning Marlo was very ill from the surfeit of
-flour he had had in King's camp, but was well enough to travel a short
-distance in the afternoon, and we pitched our lodge in the snow, clear
-of all timber. Here I had my first experience of a winter camp in the
-Barren Ground.
-
-A spot being chosen where the snow is light and the ground clear of
-rocks, a ring of the requisite size is marked out. Snow-shoes are taken
-off and used as shovels for throwing away the snow from the inside of
-this ring, making a wall varying in height according to the depth of
-snowfall. Outside this circle the sleighs are turned on edge, the poles
-planted behind them, and the deer-skin lodge spread round, forming as
-comfortable a camp as can be expected in such a country. The wood
-allowed for supper is carefully split and a fire lighted, the kettle
-hanging over it from three small sticks carried for the purpose; the
-lumps of meat for dog's food are spread round the fire till sufficiently
-thawed, when a lively scene commences outside the lodge, every man
-feeding his own dogs and watching them to see there is no foul play. By
-the time this is over the melted snow in the kettle is boiling, and
-every man gets his piece of meat in much the same manner as the dogs.
-I always had the privilege of first choice, but in the dense clouds of
-smoke that usually filled the lodge it was by no means easy to take the
-full advantage of it. We drank tea while it held out, and then fell back
-on the greasy snow-water that the meat was boiled in. There was always a
-good proportion of caribou hair in everything we ate or drank, varying
-afterwards to the coarse black hair of the musk-ox, which was far more
-objectionable.
-
-[Illustration: Making Camp]
-
-As soon as supper was over and our moccasins dry the fire was allowed to
-go out, to economize wood, and each man rolled himself up in his
-blanket, lay down on the frozen ground, and slept as well as he might
-till it was time to travel again. Directly all was quiet the dogs forced
-their way in and commenced a free fight over us for any scraps or bones
-they could find lying about; finally they curled themselves up for the
-night without paying much attention to our comfort. A warm dog is not a
-bad thing to lie against or to put at your feet, but these hauling dogs
-seem to prefer to lie right on top of your body, and as most of them are
-a considerable weight a good night's rest is an impossibility. Any
-attempt to kick or shove them off produced a general row, and a moving
-foot was often mistaken in the darkness for a hostile dog and treated as
-such; Paul received one rather bad bite on his toes, but the rest of us
-all got off with slight nips. We had to be careful to put everything
-edible, in the way of moccasins, mittens, and even snow-shoes, under us,
-as these are things that few dogs can resist, and there is nothing more
-annoying than to find all the _babiche_ eaten out of your snow-shoes in
-the morning. When the hungry time came later on the dogs began to eat
-the lodge, and would soon have left us houseless but for one man always
-keeping watch at night.
-
-One is accustomed to hear of men sleeping in fluffy woollen bags in the
-Arctic regions, but I found that a deer-skin coat and one blanket were
-sufficient to keep me warm except on the very coldest nights. I had told
-Michel particularly to bring another blanket that I had left behind at
-Fond du Lac, and abused him roundly when I found he had come without it.
-It seems that an Indian had arrived at the house with a load of dried
-meat and grease, and was in want of a blanket; Michel, to use his own
-expression, took pity on him and gave him my blanket in exchange for the
-grease. He doubtless considered this a pious act of charity, but had
-rather spoilt it by consuming the grease himself; and on my asking him
-why, if he felt so sorry for the Indian, he had not given him one of his
-own blankets, or at least kept the grease for me, he replied: "I have
-only two blankets and I have a wife; you have no wife, so one blanket is
-enough for you; besides, I love grease, and it is hard for me to see it
-and not eat it."
-
-In the middle of the night Saltatha, always the earliest, got up and
-drove out the dogs, lit the fire, and prepared another meal, exactly
-similar to our supper of the evening. Usually we harnessed up many hours
-before daylight and travelled, with only an occasional ten-minutes'
-rest, till the sun had been long down and there was just enough daylight
-left to make camp; dinner was completely cut out of our day as being too
-heavy a strain on our firewood. There was no attempt at washing made by
-any of the party during the whole time that we were out, and indeed it
-would have been an impossibility, as our small fires were only just
-sufficient to melt the snow for cooking purposes.
-
-In clear weather the nights were of wonderful brilliancy, and after we
-had been out a couple of weeks the moon was big enough to add a little
-light, and of course kept steadily improving in this respect; but the
-starlight alone illumined the waste of snow sufficiently to see
-landmarks far ahead. Generally the Aurora was flashing in its full
-glory, and if there was no wind the travelling was pleasant enough. At
-the first sign of dawn, and thence till the sun rose, the cold always
-became more severe, and if a light head-wind happened to get up at the
-same time there were sure to be some frozen noses and chins in the
-outfit. The hair on our faces, even to the eyebrows and eyelashes, was
-always coated with rime, giving everybody a peculiarly stupid
-expression; my beard was usually a mass of ice, and I had great
-difficulty in thawing it out by our small fires, although it proved a
-grand protection from frost-bite. I think I was the only one that
-escaped being bitten in the chin, but my nose, cheeks, and forehead were
-touched several times.
-
-The sunrise was often very beautiful, and the effects of long duration,
-as the sun is close to the horizon a considerable time before he shows
-above it, while the dense blue blackness in the north and west gives the
-impression that the night is still lingering there. Often a sun-dog is
-the first thing to appear, and more or less of these attendants
-accompany the sun during his short stay above the horizon. The driving
-snow, which obliterates everything in blowing weather, often spoils the
-evening effects; but once or twice I saw the sun set over a frozen lake,
-tinting the snow with various shades of red, and throwing a beauty over
-the wilderness that it is useless for me to attempt to describe.
-
-A thick fog hung over everything during the whole of the second day out
-from the woods, and of course made it extremely difficult to find the
-meat _cache_ in Lake Mackay; at dark we camped on the first land that we
-came to, but had no very accurate idea of our position. Luckily the
-weather cleared towards morning, and we made out the island on which we
-had stored the carcasses of the caribou killed on September 22nd. We
-had some trouble in punching a hole with our only ice-chisel and hauling
-out a solid lump of meat and ice some five feet thick and many feet in
-circumference; but the Indians were much cheered at the sight of so much
-provision, and declared themselves ready to go out to the sea-coast if
-necessary. The short day was nearly over by the time we had got the
-meat, so we camped for the night on the island; but before daylight we
-were off again, and when the sun set had nearly reached the end of the
-lake and made a wood _cache_ on a conspicuous point for our return
-journey. The next day was thick again, and we were lucky in finding the
-bay in which we had left the big canoe during our last expedition. A
-very curious thing, illustrating the difficulty of recognising objects
-in these fogs, happened just as we were leaving the ice. We saw an
-animal, apparently at some distance, bounding along the horizon at a
-most remarkable pace; all down the line there were cries of _Erjerer_
-(musk-ox), _Et-then, Le loup!_ guns were snatched from the sleighs, and
-even the dogs charged at a gallop in pursuit of the strange animal.
-After a rush of ten yards the quarry disappeared; the first man had put
-his foot on it, and it turned out to be one of the small mice so common
-in the Barren Ground. What it was doing out on the lake at this time of
-year, instead of being comfortably curled up under ground, I cannot say;
-but it certainly gave me the impression that if these fogs continued we
-should run a good chance of coming to grief through losing our way.
-
-At sunrise the weather cleared, and we found a small band of caribou at
-the beginning of the twenty-mile portage to the Lac de Gras. After we
-had killed three and fed the dogs, we began our overland work. The snow
-was much softer here, with many large rocks showing through, and some
-steep hills made travelling hard for the dogs. Night caught us about
-half-way between the two lakes, and the north wind freshened up into a
-tempest such as I have never seen surpassed by the blizzards of the
-western prairies. Fortunately we found a fairly sheltered place for the
-lodge or it must have been swept away; as it was the deer-skin flapped
-with a noise like that of a sail blown to pieces at sea; two of our
-lodge-poles were carried away, and we were in momentary expectation of
-being left without shelter to the mercy of the storm; the driving snow
-forced itself in, and men and dogs were only recognisable by the white
-mounds which marked their position. For thirty hours we lay like this
-till the wind abated at midnight, when we started again towards the
-north, and continued walking till we had crossed the big bay of the Lac
-de Gras into which the Coppermine River runs. We camped a little short
-of our second meat _cache_ on the Point de Misere, and on the following
-day, although the fog had settled down again, Paul, by a very good
-piece of piloting, discovered the small lake in which we had _cached_
-the meat. We were getting pretty hard up again by this time, and the
-Indians, with the exception of Saltatha whose good spirits never failed,
-were showing signs of sulkiness. This new supply, however, gave them
-fresh courage, and we were all confident of finding the musk-ox before
-we got to the end of the six caribou that we picked up here. We
-experienced the same difficulty in breaking the ice, and as we spent
-much valuable time in getting out the meat, made but a poor day's
-journey. On the following day we passed the most northerly point that we
-had reached in the autumn, and were now pushing on into a country that
-none of us had ever seen before.
-
-At the spot where we had left the Lac de Gras we had noticed a few small
-willow sticks showing above the snow, which afterwards proved very
-useful. Following a small stream we reached another large lake,
-stretching in a north-easterly direction, and camped at the far end of
-it in a heavy snowstorm that had been going on all day. During this time
-we were keeping a sharp look-out for musk-ox; but we could find no
-tracks, and as the weather continued thick had no opportunity of seeing
-animals at a distance. Two more days we travelled on in this manner,
-making long journeys with our meat nearly finished and our wood-supply
-growing rapidly less; for there had been more delay, from various
-reasons, than we had anticipated, and we had been careful to avoid
-_caching_ wood for our return journey as we might be unable to follow
-the same course. The shape of the hills here changes in a most distinct
-manner. The usual undulations give way to sharp scattered buttes,
-composed of sand and taking very remarkable forms, a solitary conical
-mound being a common feature in the scenery. Small lakes were still
-numerous, and for a considerable distance we followed a large stream,
-evidently one of the head waters of the Coppermine, here running in a
-south-east direction.
-
-On November 20th we dropped on to a lake some twelve miles in breadth,
-and crossed to the north shore in falling snow. We had been on short
-rations, men and dogs, for some time, and our last mouthful was eaten
-for supper this night. When we made camp a few miles beyond the lake the
-outlook therefore was by no means cheerful. The continual thick weather
-spoilt our chance of finding the musk-ox, and we were now too far away
-from the woods to have much chance of reaching them without meat. Of
-course we could always have eaten the dogs, but then we should have been
-unable to haul our wood, which in the Barren Ground is almost as
-necessary as food. As we felt certain that we were well in the musk-ox
-country we decided to spend the next day in hunting at all risks, and by
-good luck the morning broke clear and calm. Michel and myself remained
-in camp to look after the dogs, which had now become so ravenous that
-they required constant watching to keep them from eating the lodge,
-harness, and everything else that they could get at. The others went in
-couples in different directions with the agreement that if anyone
-discovered a band of musk-ox they should return at once to wait for the
-rest of the party to come in, when we were all to start with the dogs in
-pursuit. There was no breakfast, and all the hunters were off before
-daylight, evidently fully aware that the success of our expedition, if
-not our chance of supporting life, was centred in the result of the
-day's proceedings; and it was certainly a great relief when Paul and
-Noel appeared towards mid-day and reported a large band of musk-ox
-undisturbed a short distance to the north. Peter and Marlo returned soon
-afterwards, having found another band in a more westerly direction. I
-distributed a pipeful of the now very precious tobacco, while we waited
-for William and Saltatha, and discussed the plan of attack. I was rather
-surprised at Noel's asking Paul to tell me that I might have some of the
-musk-ox, as he was pleased at receiving the tobacco. I was about to
-reply that I had come far, and been to a great deal of trouble, on
-purpose to kill some of these animals, and I should think it rather
-extraordinary if I were not allowed to do so, when Paul explained that
-it was a custom among the Yellow Knives to consider a band of musk-ox as
-the property of the discoverer, and only his personal friends were
-granted the privilege of killing them without payment of some kind.
-Sometimes an Indian would go through all the hardships of a hunt, and
-then have to give up nearly all his robes because he had not been lucky
-enough to discover a band and was out of favour with his more fortunate
-companions; so I told Noel I was very grateful for his kindness, and
-made him believe himself a remarkably good Indian. By this time it was
-getting late, and as the wind had risen the snow was beginning to drift.
-There was much grumbling at the delay, and in spite of my remonstrances
-at breaking up our agreement to wait for William and Saltatha, the dogs
-were harnessed, the lodge pulled down, and the sleighs loaded. I pointed
-out that the snow was drifting badly and that the other two would not be
-able to follow our tracks; but was told that it was only white men who
-were stupid in the snow, so I made no further objection. After
-travelling about three miles through some rough hills, we caught an
-indistinct view of the musk-ox, fully a hundred in number, standing on a
-side-hill from which most of the snow had drifted away; and then
-followed a wonderful scene such as I believe no white man has ever
-looked on before. I noticed the Indians throwing off their
-mitten-strings, and on enquiring the reason I was told that the musk-ox
-would often charge at a bright colour, particularly red; this story
-must, I think, have originated from the Whites in connection with the
-old red-rag theory, and been applied by the Indians to the musk-ox. I
-refused to part with my strings, as they are useful in keeping the
-mittens from falling in the snow when the hand is taken out to shoot,
-but I was given a wide berth while the hunt was going on. Everybody
-started at a run, but the dogs, which had been let out of harness, were
-ahead of us, and the first thing that I made out clearly through the
-driving snow was a dense black mass galloping right at us; the band had
-proved too big for the dogs to hold, and most of the musk-ox had broken
-away. I do not think they knew anything about men or had the least
-intention of charging us, but they passed within ten yards, and so
-frightened my companions that I was the only man to fire at them,
-rolling over a couple. The dogs, however, were still holding a small lot
-at bay, and these we slaughtered without any more trouble than killing
-cattle in a yard. There is an idea prevalent in the North that on these
-occasions the old musk-ox form into a regular square, with the young in
-the centre for better protection against the dogs, which they imagine to
-be wolves; but on the two occasions when I saw a band held in this
-manner, the animals were standing in a confused mass, shifting their
-position to make a short run at a too impetuous dog, and with the young
-ones as often as not in the front of the line. There was some rather
-reckless shooting going on, and I was glad to leave the scene of
-slaughter with Marlo in pursuit of stragglers. Marlo, in common with the
-other Indians, had a great horror of musk-ox at close quarters, and I
-was much amused at seeing him stand off at seventy yards and miss an
-animal which a broken back had rendered incapable of rising. He said
-afterwards that the musk-ox were not like other animals; they were very
-cunning, could understand what a man was saying and play many tricks to
-deceive him; it was not safe to go too near, and he would never allow me
-to walk up within a few yards to put in a finishing shot. After killing
-off the cripples, we started back to the place where we had left the
-sleighs, and, night having added its darkness to the drifting snow, we
-had the greatest difficulty in finding camp. Marlo confessed he was
-lost, and we were thinking what it was best to do for the night when we
-heard the ring of an axe with which somebody was splitting wood in the
-lodge; the others, with the exception of William and Saltatha, were all
-in, but there seemed little chance of these two reaching camp that
-night. We had eaten nothing for a long time, so we celebrated our
-success with a big feast of meat, while the dogs helped themselves from
-the twenty carcasses that were lying about. They gave us very little
-trouble in the lodge, as we saw nothing of them till we skinned the
-musk-ox next day, when two or three round white heaps of snow would
-uncurl themselves on the lee-side of a half-eaten body. I questioned the
-Indians about the two missing men, and they were unanimous that unless
-the night got colder they were in no danger of freezing to death; they
-were sorry that they had not waited, and would go at the first sign of
-daylight to see if they were in the old camp. Peter and Noel accordingly
-started very early in the morning, and found the men lying close
-together under the snow at the old camp; they had returned at dark, and
-as our tracks had drifted up there was not the least chance of finding
-us. They were slightly frost-bitten in the face and hands, but as soon
-as they had got over their first numbness were able to walk to camp,
-where they soon forgot their natural indignation at the mean trick we
-had played them in the joys of warmth and food. We were obliged to be a
-little extravagant in our wood to make up for the hard times of the
-night before, and Saltatha soon recovered his liveliness; he was far
-away the best Indian that I met in the North, always cheerful and ready
-for work, and afterwards, in the summer, the only one of the Yellow
-Knives brave enough to volunteer for an expedition down the Great Fish
-River. A hard life he leads, always in poverty, a butt and a servant to
-all the other Indians, who are immeasurably his inferiors for any useful
-purpose. Although a capital hunter, they swindle him out of everything
-he makes, and take the utmost advantage of the little fellow's
-good-nature; he seems to have no sense in this respect, and will jump
-readily at any bargain that is offered him. He is just the man for an
-expedition in the Barren Ground, as when once he has given his word to
-go he can be relied upon to carry out his promise, which is more than I
-can say for the rest of his tribe, who only wait to rebel and desert
-till a time when they think you can least do without them.
-
-We spent most of the day in skinning the musk-ox, which, by the way, is
-not a pleasant undertaking in cold weather; the skin is naturally hard
-to get off, and on this occasion the carcasses had grown cold during the
-night, and the difficulty was greater than usual. The robes were in
-splendid condition; the undergrowth, which resembles a sheep's fleece
-and is shed in summer, was now thick and firm, while the long permanent
-hair had obtained the black glossiness distinctive of a prime fur. We
-cut up all the meat that the dogs had left us, and loading it on the
-sleighs with the robes, moved camp about five miles to the west to be
-ready to go in search of the other band which Peter and Marlo had
-discovered. We calculated that we should be able to haul forty-five
-robes, besides meat enough for our journey, back to the woods, and at
-present we had only half a load.
-
-While the men were planting the lodge I climbed to the top of a high
-butte to have a look at the surrounding country; the hill was so steep
-that I had to take off my snow-shoes to struggle to the summit, and was
-rewarded for my trouble by a good view of probably the most complete
-desolation that exists upon the face of the earth. There is nothing
-striking or grand in the scenery, no big mountains or waterfalls, but a
-monotonous snow-covered waste, without tree or scrub, rarely trodden by
-the foot of the wandering Indian. A deathly stillness hangs over all,
-and the oppressive loneliness weighs upon the spectator till he is glad
-to shout aloud to break the awful spell of solitude. Such is the land of
-the musk-ox in snowtime; here this strange animal finds abundance of its
-favourite lichens, and defies the cold that has driven every other
-living thing to the woods for shelter.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII
-
-
-Early on the following morning we left camp with the light sleighs, and
-at sunrise were close to the place where the second band had been
-discovered. We were a long time in finding them, as the fog had settled
-down again, but at last made out a band of sixty on a high ridge between
-two small lakes in a very easy place to approach. Directly after we
-sighted them Paul's sleigh, which was ahead, capsized over a rock, and
-his rifle, which was lashed on the top of it, exploded with a loud
-report. The bullet must have passed close to some of us, as on
-examination the rifle appeared to be bearing right down the line, and it
-was lucky that nobody was killed or crippled; a wounded man would have
-had little chance of getting back to the woods alive. The musk-ox took
-not the slightest notice of the report, although we were within a couple
-of hundred yards of them, and we soon had eighteen rounded up, the main
-body breaking away as they had done before. A sickening slaughter,
-without the least pretence of sport to recommend it, now took place till
-the last one was killed, and we were busy skinning till dark.
-
-I took some of the best heads, but most of them were afterwards thrown
-away by the Indians to lighten the load on the sleighs. The animals that
-we killed in this band were of various ages, and it was interesting to
-note the growth of the horns in different specimens. They begin in both
-sexes with a plain straight shoot, exactly like the horns of a domestic
-calf, and it is then impossible to tell the male from the female by the
-head alone. In the second year they begin to broaden out, and the bull's
-horns become much whiter and project straighter from the head than the
-cow's, which are beginning already to show the downward bend. At the end
-of the third year the cow's horns are fully developed, and I do not
-think they grow much after that age; with the bulls, however, the horns
-are only just beginning to spread out at the base, and it is not till
-the sixth year that the solid boss extends right across the forehead,
-the point of junction being marked by a slight crack into which the skin
-has been squeezed during the growth of the horns. A curious fact is
-noticeable in the horns of the young bulls before the boss has begun to
-form; they are quite soft and porous at the base, and can easily be cut
-with a knife; when once the boss has grown, the horn is as hard as a
-rock. I made careful inquiries of the Indians on these points, and they
-told me that, except in the case of very young or very old animals, they
-could always tell the age of the musk-ox by a glance at their horns.
-
-We had the greatest difficulty in finding our way back to the lodge, and
-it was late before we turned in, everybody agreeing that we had done
-enough, and ought to make our best way back to the timber before our
-firewood was exhausted. The loads would be quite as heavy as they had
-been coming out, for we now had the weight of robes and meat to make up
-for the wood we had used. We had, roughly, three hundred and fifty miles
-to travel to reach Fond du Lac, but intended to take the last part of
-the journey easily after we fell in with the caribou. I should like to
-have known our exact position on the map, and the distance from the
-sea-coast at Bathurst Inlet, but of course had no chance of making even
-an approximate calculation; the Indians had no local knowledge, as they
-were entirely beyond any country they knew. Our only luxuries, tea and
-tobacco, were now finished, and I found that the want of tobacco was the
-most trying hardship on the whole trip: one pipeful as you roll up in
-your blanket for the night imparts a certain amount of comfort, and
-makes you take a more cheerful view of life; but when even this cannot
-be obtained there is a perpetual craving for a smoke, and the best of
-tempers is liable to suffer from the deprivation. After we had boiled
-our last handful of tea-leaves three times over, Saltatha ate them with
-great gusto, and in future we drank the water in which the meat was
-boiled. I did not miss the tea nearly so much as the tobacco, and soon
-began to like the hot greasy _bouillon_ well enough to struggle for my
-full share.
-
-We were late off next morning, and could not make a good day's journey,
-as the snow was soft till we got on the large lake, and we were further
-delayed in the evening by finding another band of musk-ox. The Indians
-said they could carry half a dozen robes more, and insisted, against my
-wishes, on killing this number; the consequence was that we had to camp
-for the night, and the dogs were more overloaded than ever; they were
-able, however, to eat to their hearts' content, and there was very
-little left of the six musk-ox in the morning. Two long days' travel
-took us back to the point on the Lac de Gras where we had seen the
-willows above the snow, and as the dogs were showing signs of fatigue
-and their feet were much cut about by the sharp snow-needles sticking
-between their toes, we decided on taking a day's rest. We managed to
-pull up enough small willows to keep a bit of a fire going most of the
-day, and if we had had tobacco should all have enjoyed ourselves
-immensely. It was a bright clear day, without wind and terribly cold. I
-climbed to the top of a hill in the afternoon to see if I could make out
-the west end of the lake, but an intervening hill made it impossible to
-get a clear view, and I could form no idea of its length. On this day I
-felt the top of my tongue cold in breathing, and my companions, who
-were well accustomed to low temperatures, all remarked the extreme
-severity of the cold.
-
-It must have been about midnight when I heard Saltatha splitting wood,
-and the well-known cry of _Ho leve, leve, il faut partir!_ Looking out
-of my blanket I felt the snow falling in my face through a big hole that
-the dogs had eaten in the lodge, and said that it was no use moving, as
-we should never be able to find our way across the broad traverse that
-lay ahead. I was laughed at as usual, and after a breakfast of boiled
-meat we started out into the darkness. I soon saw there was little
-chance of picking up the skin of the musk-ox that we had _cached_ in
-September, as, although the intention was to follow the shore of the
-lake till we came to the _cache_, we lost sight of land immediately with
-absolutely nothing to guide us on our course. There was no wind, and
-such a thick downfall of snow that matters did not improve much when the
-blackness turned into grey with daylight.
-
-I have often heard it stated that the gift of finding their way is given
-to Indians under all conditions by a sort of instinct that the white man
-does not possess, but I never saw children more hopelessly lost than
-these men accustomed all their lives to Barren Ground travel. I have
-seen it happen to half-breeds and Indians many times, and have come to
-the conclusion that no man without a compass can keep his course in
-falling snow, unless there is wind to guide him. It is always advisable
-to put ashore at once, or, better still, not to leave your camp in the
-morning, as then you know your point of departure on the first signs of
-a break in the weather. On this occasion the usual thing happened; we
-walked all day, changing our roadbreaker every hour or so, while the men
-behind shouted contrary directions when they thought he was off his
-course. Luckily we found land just at dark, and camped immediately. A
-great discussion ensued as to our position, and opinions varied greatly
-about the direction of the north star; but we could do nothing till the
-weather improved, and even then, unless it grew very clear, or the sun
-came out, we might not know which course to take, as landmarks are few
-and far between. Fuel could not last more than three nights with the
-strictest economy.
-
-The wind rose in the evening, and the snow ceased falling, but began to
-drift heavily. In the night there was a tremendous uproar. I was
-awakened by hearing the universal Indian chant (_Hi hi he, Ho hi he_),
-and much clapping of hands, while the dogs were howling dismally far out
-on the ice, evidently thinking they were meant to hunt something, but
-disappointed at not being able to find anything to tear to pieces. I
-looked out to see what was going on, and found everybody sitting in the
-snow shouting; Saltatha had discovered a single star, and the noise I
-had heard was the applause supposed to bring out one of the principal
-constellations, so that we might get an idea of our direction. The
-heavens certainly did clear, and when daylight broke and the wind
-moderated we made out our position easily enough. In fourteen hours'
-walk we had come perhaps five miles straight, having made a huge circle
-to the right and fallen on an island close to the shore that we had left
-in the morning. There was still the whole width of the lake to cross,
-but when we camped late in the portage between the two big lakes I
-thought we had got out of the scrape very well. There was no apparent
-reason why the snowstorm should have stopped, and a continuation of it
-must have brought us serious trouble.
-
-The next day was worse than ever. A gale from the south in our teeth and
-drifting snow made it cruel work to face the storm; but we had to go, as
-fuel was rapidly vanishing, and we had already burnt some of our
-lodge-poles, and we hoped to reach a small wood-_cache_ that night. We
-could find the way, as we had the wind to guide us; but the snow was
-soft, and the dogs were hardly able now to drag the sleighs over the
-rough hills; one of the poorest froze in harness and had to be
-abandoned. Our blankets, which we usually wrapped round our head and
-shoulders when facing the wind, now came in for dog-cloths, and
-certainly saved some more of the dogs from being disabled by frost-bite;
-but as the snow melted between their backs and the blankets, the latter
-got wet and afterwards froze till they would stand like a board, and
-were then a most uncomfortable form of bedding. The slow pace at which
-we were forced to travel made it much worse, and we all found our faces
-slightly frozen. At dark we camped nearly at the end of the portage,
-although we did not know it till morning, and reluctantly cut up another
-couple of lodge-poles for firewood, besides a small box in which I had
-been carrying my journal and ammunition.
-
-The wind lightened during the night, and backing into the east came fair
-on Lake Mackay. We found our wood-_cache_ all right, and set out on the
-sixty-mile walk that still lay between us and the first pine-timber. The
-travelling on the lake was better than in the portage, and well on in
-the night we put ashore on the island where we had stored our first meat
-during the autumn musk-ox hunt. The dogs were too tired to go any
-further without rest, or we should have pushed on all night. Our last
-lodge-pole was burnt to cook a kettleful of meat for breakfast on
-December 1st, and before daylight we were off, with no thought of
-camping till we could make fire. The sun at this time only stayed above
-the horizon for a couple of hours, and had sunk beneath the snow before
-we made out far ahead the high ridge under which the first clump of
-pines lay. We were badly scattered along the track, and some of the
-dogs, and the men too for that matter, had great difficulty in keeping
-up pace enough to make the blood circulate; it was six hours later, and
-we were all pretty well used up, when we saw the little pines standing
-out against the sky line.
-
-What a glorious camp we had that night! The bright glare of two big
-fires lit up the snow-laden branches of the dwarf pines till they
-glittered like so many Christmas-trees; overhead the full moon shone
-down on us, and every star glowed like a lamp hung in the sky; at times
-the Northern Lights would flash out, but the brilliancy of the moon
-seemed too strong for even this wondrous fire to rival. It was pleasant
-to lie once again on the yielding pine-brush instead of the hard snow,
-and to stretch our legs at full length as we could never stretch them in
-the lodge; pleasant, too, to look back at the long struggle we had gone
-through, and to contrast our present condition with that of the last
-month. Our experiences had been hard and not without their share of
-danger, and we could now congratulate ourselves on having brought our
-hunt to a most satisfactory conclusion. I had fully succeeded in
-carrying out the object of my expedition, and could look forward to a
-period of ever-increasing comfort, culminating in the luxury of life at
-a Hudson's Bay Fort within a few weeks. I had intended to winter at the
-edge of the Barren Ground, but was forced to give up the idea, as I had
-seen too much of the Beaulieus to care about living any longer with
-them. The fact that meat was scarce again did not trouble me, as I was
-by this time accustomed to empty larders and had fallen into the happy
-Indian method of trusting that something would turn up; besides, we were
-pretty sure to run across the caribou within the next few days. The want
-of tobacco was the worst grievance that I had, but the prospect of
-obtaining this was getting brighter after each day's travel.
-
-Very late at night Saltatha turned up with a badly frozen nose and chin.
-One of his dogs had given out and been abandoned, and he had been
-pushing the sleigh for many hours; he had almost given up trying to
-bring in his load when he saw the blaze of the fires far off and his
-courage came back. The sun was up before anyone turned out, but the dogs
-were better for the rest, and a short day took us into a big bunch of
-pines on King Lake, within an easy day of a small meat _cache_ that I
-had made while we were camped at the Lake of the Enemy. I had my doubts
-about finding the place, as none of the others knew where it was, but
-was lucky enough to hit it off; and we took out the meat of two caribou,
-after breaking an axe to pieces in our endeavours to chop away the ice
-which had formed between the rocks from the melting of the snow during a
-warm spell in the beginning of October.
-
-The same night we camped at the scaffold on which we had stored all the
-dried meat that the women had made while we were away on the first
-musk-ox hunt. King was to have taken most of it, leaving us sufficient
-for a couple of days' supply, and a note in the syllabic characters
-introduced into the North by the priests informed us that he had kept
-his promise. There were plenty of signs that he had done so; but the
-wolverines had been before us, and a few shreds of meat lying at the
-foot of the stage told the story plainly enough. This was rather a
-disappointment, and matters looked worse when we had travelled the whole
-length of Lake Camsell at our best speed. Here again we expected to find
-a _cache_, as some meat had been left when we killed the first caribou
-in the autumn, but the wolverines had taken it. This is a common
-incident in Northern travel, but never fails to draw forth hearty
-execrations on the head of the hated _carcajou_.
-
-There was much talk of abandoning loads and making a rush to reach the
-caribou or a Yellow Knife encampment which was supposed to lie some
-distance ahead of us; but I opposed this scheme strongly, and for once
-managed to get my own way. The weather was fine, and we cared little for
-the cold, as we could always make a fire in case of freezing. Without
-eating much we pushed on rapidly for two days, crossing the Lac du
-Rocher, the scene of our starvation in September, and finally on the
-third morning found a band of caribou, of which we killed enough to
-relieve all immediate anxiety. By this time we were among thick timber
-and following closely our canoe-route of three months ago.
-
-In the early hours of December 7th we came to a line of pine-brush
-planted across a small lake, and soon afterwards fell on the tracks of
-fresh snow-shoes; before daylight, at the end of a long portage over a
-thickly wooded hill, we dropped into an encampment of a dozen lodges. It
-turned to be Zinto's camp, and all my Indians found their wives and
-families awaiting them here. There were great rejoicings over our
-arrival, as we had been so long on the hunt that a good deal of anxiety
-was felt for the safety of husbands and brothers. Zinto invited me into
-his lodge, gave me a feast of pounded meat and grease, a cup of tea,
-and, better still, a small plug of black tobacco; this seemed too good
-to leave, and as we had travelled many hours in the night I decided to
-spend the rest of the day here.
-
-The camp was very prettily situated on a small flat a few feet above the
-edge of a frozen lake; and when the sun rose over the hill, lighting up
-the brown deer-skin lodges with their columns of blue smoke rising
-straight up in the frosty air, the snow-laden pine-trees, and the
-silver-barked birches, the whole scene seemed a realization of one of
-Fenimore Cooper's descriptions of an Indian camp in winter.
-
-Much talking had to be got through, and the story of our musk-ox hunt
-was told many times over. I was the object of great interest, and was
-closely questioned as to my experiences in the Barren Ground and the
-contrast between life there and in my own country. After Zinto had
-satisfied himself on these points he broached more abstruse subjects,
-insisting on knowing my opinion with regard to the differences of the
-Protestant and Roman Catholic faiths, and seeming pleased to hear that
-he was by no means the first man who had found this point hard to fully
-understand. Many other things there were about which he desired
-information; but I am afraid some of my answers conveyed little meaning
-to him, as I was myself rather hazy about many of the topics of
-conversation, and had only Michel, who was the worst Frenchman of all,
-for interpreter, Paul having gone off to see his wife who was camped a
-few miles to the east. But when Zinto got on to trading he was quite at
-home, and before leaving I had to give him an order for many
-beaver-skins (the medium of trade in the North), to be paid at Fort
-Resolution. He was very good in providing me with everything I wanted
-for my journey, and gave me a new pair of snow-shoes and a sleigh,
-besides lending a dog to replace one that had fallen lame; meat he was
-short of, but he had heard that the Beaulieus had been killing caribou,
-so that I was likely to find _caches_ by the way; a track was broken to
-Fond du Lac, and we ought to get there easily in three days. Zinto
-thought the Great Slave Lake would be entirely frozen over and fit to
-travel on by this time, as lately the sky had been clear in the south;
-when there is any open water a perpetual mist rises from it and lies
-like a huge fog-bank over the lake.
-
-A happy indolent life the Yellow Knives lead when the caribou are thick
-on their pleasant hunting-ground round the shores of the Great Slave
-Lake, and most of the hard times that they have to put up with are due
-to their own improvidence. This is their great failing; they will not
-look ahead or make preparation for the time when the caribou are scarce,
-preferring to live from hand to mouth, and too lazy to bother their
-heads about the future. They are rather a fine race of men, above the
-average of the Canadian Indian, and, as they have had little chance of
-mixing with the Whites, have maintained their characteristic manners
-till this day; they are probably little changed since the time when the
-Hudson's Bay Company first established a trading-post on the Big Lake a
-hundred years ago. When the priests came into the country the Yellow
-Knives readily embraced the Roman Catholic religion, and are very
-particular in observing all the outward signs of that faith, but I doubt
-if their profession of Christianity has done much to improve their
-character. They are a curious mixture of good and bad, simplicity and
-cunning; with no very great knowledge of common honesty, thoroughly
-untrustworthy, and possessed with an insatiable greed for anything that
-takes their fancy, but with no word in their language to express thanks
-or gratitude. To a white man they are humility itself, looking upon him,
-by their own account, as their father, and so considering him bound to
-provide them with everything they want, even to his last pair of
-trowsers or pipeful of tobacco; refuse them anything when you are
-dependent upon their services on a journey, and they will leave you in
-the woods; for their own part, if they have ammunition they are always
-at home. In another way they are generous enough, and take great pride
-in showing hospitality. Go into one of their lodges, and a blanket is
-spread for you in the seat of honour farthest away from the flap that
-does duty for a door; a meal is instantly provided, no matter if it
-takes the last piece of meat in the camp, and the precious tea and
-tobacco are offered you in lavish quantities. The Yellow Knives are a
-timid, peaceable race, shrinking from bloodshed and deeds of violence,
-and it is seldom that quarrels between the men got beyond wrestling and
-hair-pulling. The women are, as a rule, not quite so hideous as the
-squaws of the Blackfeet and Crees; they are lax in morals, and
-accustomed to being treated more as slaves than wives in the civilized
-interpretation of the word. They do all the hard work of the camp,
-besides carrying the heaviest loads on the march; and in too many cases
-are rewarded with the worst of the meat and the blows of an
-over-exacting husband. Early marriages are fashionable, as a man is
-useless without a wife to dry his meat and make moccasins for him. The
-great object of a Yellow Knife beauty is to secure a good hunter for a
-husband; the man who can shoot straight, and is known to be skilful in
-approaching the caribou, is always a prize in the matrimonial market and
-need have little fear of a refusal, especially as the husband is
-supposed to hunt for his father-in-law after marriage, and the old man
-will use all his influence to arrange the match. Superstition still
-reigns supreme among these people; any mischance is put down to "bad
-medicine," and reasons are always forthcoming to account for its
-presence. There are several miracle-workers and foreseers of the future
-in the tribe, who are said to perform very wonderful things, but I found
-them extremely shy of showing off their accomplishments when I asked for
-an exhibition. Like all other Indians who live the wild life that they
-were intended to live, the Yellow Knives are dirty to the last degree.
-They are careful about combing and greasing their hair, and are lavish
-in the use of soap, if they can get it, for face and hands, but their
-bodies are a sanctuary for the disgusting vermin that always infest
-them; they seem to have no idea of getting rid of these objectionable
-insects, but talk about its being a good or bad season for them in the
-same way that they speak of mosquitos.
-
-From every point of view, then, the Indian of the Great Slave Lake is
-not a pleasant companion, nor a man to be relied upon in case of
-emergency. Nobody has yet discovered the right way to manage him. His
-mind runs on different principles from that of a white man, and till the
-science of thought-reading is much more fully developed, the working of
-his brain will always be a mystery to the fur-trader and traveller.
-
-At sunrise the following morning I left Zinto's camp, with Michel and
-Marlo, bound for Fond du Lac, all the other musk-ox hunters going back
-to domestic happiness. The weather was still bright and cold, and the
-days perceptibly longer as we travelled south. We were again short of
-meat, as all the Indians were in the same plight, and although we saw a
-band of caribou shortly after starting, we were unable to get a shot at
-them. Towards evening we found a small _cache_ of meat hung in a tree,
-and knowing that it must belong to some of the Beaulieus I had no
-compunction in taking it. Here we left our canoe-route, and passing to
-the westward of the Lac de Mort headed straight for the house at Fond du
-Lac. The woods were well grown and signs of life abundant; the tracks of
-wolves, wolverines, foxes, and an occasional marten, frequently crossed
-the road, and ptarmigan were continually flying up under the leader's
-feet. Here, too, I saw again my old friend the Whisky Jack, as he is
-called throughout the North, a grey and white bird the size of a
-thrush, with a most confiding disposition and an inordinate love of fat
-meat; he sits on the nearest tree while the camp is being made, comes in
-boldly, inspects the larder, and helps himself with very little fear of
-man. If it is a starving camp he chortles in contempt and flies away,
-having a very low opinion of people who travel without provisions; but
-if meat be plentiful he spends the night there, and comes in for rich
-pickings in the morning when the camp is struck. This bird is common
-throughout the wilder parts of Canada, and has acquired many names in
-different places; in the mountains of British Columbia he is the
-Hudson's Bay bird or grease bird, and far away to the East the moose
-bird, caribou bird, Rupert's bird, and camp-robber.
-
-On the afternoon of the second day we met the Indian Etitchula, who had
-left the fort with us in August and had been hanging on more or less to
-our party ever since. He was on his way back to King Beaulieu's Camp,
-two days' travel to the north-east, having made a trip to Fond du Lac to
-make a raid on my tea and tobacco, and see if there was any news of us,
-as King was greatly alarmed at our prolonged absence. We relieved him of
-a little tea, but he had not been able to get any tobacco out of
-Francois, who had roundly asserted that it all belonged to him; he also
-gave us a couple of whitefish, which proved a very acceptable change
-from our long course of straight meat. Late the same evening we made
-our last camp on the high land close to the edge of the mountains within
-five miles of the house; we could easily have got in that night, but I
-much preferred a quiet camp under the stars to the company of the gang
-of Beaulieus who were sure to be at Fond du Lac.
-
-One word of caution against using the compressed tea imported by the
-Hudson's Bay Company into the North as a substitute for tobacco; it is
-very good to drink, but if you smoke it you pay the penalty by a most
-painful irritation in the throat, which is made worse by breathing the
-intensely cold air. We all tried it that night, and all swore never to
-do so again, although I have often smoked the ordinary uncompressed tea
-without disastrous results and with a certain amount of satisfaction.
-
-We were off in good time on the morning of December 10th, and were soon
-sitting on the sleighs, rushing down the steep incline, with frequent
-spills from bumping against trees; this was the only piece of riding I
-had during the whole five weeks' travel. The first signs of the _petit
-jour_ were just showing as we pulled up at the house, and Francois
-quickly produced the tobacco he had refused Etitchula. I think for a few
-minutes they were really glad to see us back safe, but soon the old
-complaints began. Times had been hard, although the women and children
-all looked fat enough to belie this statement; Jose had been catching
-whitefish, but had refused to give any to Francois; while the latter,
-according to Jose, had been very mean in distribution of my effects,
-eating flour every day himself but giving none away. They had gone
-through nearly everything between them, and moreover did not seem the
-least bit ashamed of their conduct. As my dogs were all used up, I
-decided to leave them here, and made arrangements with Francois to bring
-his own train on to the fort with me. It seemed that notwithstanding the
-hard times he had sufficient meat and fish stored away for our trip, and
-there were still a few pounds of flour left, so that we should live in
-luxury all the way in.
-
-I spent the day shooting a few ptarmigan, indulging in much tobacco, and
-listening to the petitions of the various ill-used members of the
-family. Jose was particularly amusing; he had been the most useless man
-of the lot, never even venturing into the Barren Ground, but spending
-most of his time at Fond du Lac, shooting away my ammunition and playing
-havoc with tea and tobacco, besides robbing the _cache_ at the Lac du
-Rocher. Now he was full of love for me, and gave me a list of things
-that he wanted in addition to his wages, as a reward for all that he had
-done and was ready to do for me. Among other items, he wanted my rifle
-and hunting-glasses, and remarked that my Paradox gun, which had been
-lying here all the time, would be very useful for him at the goose-hunt
-in the following spring. Fortunately none of the Beaulieus know how to
-put together a breech-loading gun, so the Paradox and its ammunition had
-been left in peace to do me good service in the summer. I think the
-Paradox is the most useful gun yet invented for purposes of exploration,
-as it does away with the necessity of carrying a separate weapon for
-shot and ball, and shoots very true with either; but there seems no
-reason why the patent should not be applied to a 20-bore. For procuring
-food in a really rough country, where a man has to carry his own
-ammunition, the ball-cartridges for a 12-bore are needlessly heavy, and
-the charge of shot is too great for the close range shooting which is
-usually done on these occasions.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX
-
-
-At Fond du Lac I slept for the first time since we left the fort under a
-roof, but on account of the awful squalor of the house I should have
-much preferred the usual open camp in the snow. Daylight found us under
-way again, Francois and myself, with a small boy to run ahead of the
-dogs; as we were travelling light I expected to be able to ride the last
-half of the journey, but for the first two days the fish for dogs' food
-made our load too heavy to travel at a fast pace. I left all the musk-ox
-and caribou heads and skins that I had managed to save, to come in with
-Michel and Marlo when they made the usual journey to the fort for New
-Year's day, on which occasion the Indians from all quarters bring in
-their furs to trade, and receive a small feast of flour and sugar, an
-event not to be missed on any account, even though wives and families
-may be left to starve in the woods and the famished dogs drop with
-fatigue along the track.
-
-There was no news as to the state of the ice, as we were the first
-people to attempt the crossing of the lake this winter. It is usually
-not safe for travel till the middle of December, so we coasted along the
-north shore, increasing the distance, but getting greater safety by
-doing so. We took things easily, making early starts and putting ashore
-frequently for a cup of tea; it was a great improvement on the
-canoe-travelling which had delayed us so much in the autumn. At sundown
-every night we picked out a sheltered spot among the tall pine-trees
-where firewood was plentiful, threw away the snow with our snow-shoes,
-and put down a thick mat of pine-brush; then a huge fire was lit and
-enough wood cut for the night, the fish thawed for the dogs, and supper
-cooked for the men. We had bread at every meal, which is in itself a
-luxury after four months of straight meat; the day ended with tobacco,
-and we rolled ourselves in our blankets to sleep, till the position of
-the Great Bear told us it was time to be on the march once more. People
-who live in civilization find it hard to believe that men in these
-northern latitudes habitually sleep out under the stars, with the
-thermometer standing at 30 deg., 40 deg., and even 60 deg. below zero;
-yet it is those same people of civilization who suffer from colds in
-the head, lung-diseases, and a variety of ailments unknown to the
-_voyageur_, whose only dangers are starvation and the risk of accidents
-incidental to travelling in rough countries.
-
-On the second day we passed a couple of houses occupied by an Indian,
-Capot Blanc, with whom I afterwards became great friends; he had left
-for the fort a couple of days before, but the ice was reported to be
-dangerous in the Grand Traverse. Another Indian, Thomas, a brother of
-Marlo and Zinto, was ready to start, and joined in with us for the rest
-of the journey; he had only two dogs, but with a light load managed to
-keep up easily enough. The ice among the islands was pretty good, but
-the snow was soft and deep, and it was not till our fourth night out
-from Fond du Lac that we camped on the last outlying island, ready to
-take the Traverse. About eighteen miles away to the south, without any
-chance to put ashore till we reached it, lay the Ile de Pierre, and we
-were to make for a half-breed's house that lay within a mile of it on
-the main shore of the lake. It had been arranged that I was to ride in
-pomp across this piece, so, after a good breakfast about three o'clock,
-I turned into the sleigh and soon dropped off to sleep to the music of
-sleigh-bells and a volley of French oaths with which Francois encouraged
-his dogs every few minutes. At this time the stars were shining
-brightly, and there was not a breath of wind. I must have slept for a
-couple of hours when Francois awoke me with the information that we were
-lost. Turning out of my warm berth I found a gale of wind blowing, with
-snow falling and drifting heavily; I could hardly make out the men in
-the darkness, though they were all standing within a few yards of me. Of
-course I had not the slightest idea where we were, or the direction in
-which we had been travelling. Francois seemed undecided, but Thomas was
-quite sure that by keeping the wind abeam we should hit off the Ile de
-Pierre. We put him ahead, and he proved perfectly right in his
-direction; for after four hours' steady walk we made out the land, the
-weather clearing a little at day-break. We had headed a little too far
-to the west, but were soon inside the half-breed's cabin, where we found
-plenty of fish for the dogs, and so decided to spend the day there, as
-the wind had freshened up again and the drifting snow made travelling
-unpleasant. We did not know what a narrow escape we had had till the
-owner of the house came in, after making an attempt to visit his nets.
-He reported the ice broken up to the west by the violence of the gale,
-and had we kept a little more in that direction we might easily have
-walked into open water in the darkness and made a disastrous ending to
-our expedition.
-
-[Illustration: Skins in the Post Storeroom]
-
-[Illustration: Taking the Post Dogs for Exercise]
-
-Our course the next day lay over shoal water, mostly inside sandbanks
-and through narrow channels of the delta of the Slave River. We crossed
-the main stream on good ice, and following the shore of the lake for ten
-miles, rattled into the fort about two o'clock, within ten minutes of
-the arrival of the outward-bound packet from Mackenzie River. Luckily
-enough it had been delayed one day by the storm that had overtaken us in
-the Grand Traverse, and I had an opportunity of sending out letters by
-the dog-sleigh that was to leave the same night. For true hospitality
-there is nothing in the world to beat the welcome back to a Hudson's Bay
-post in the North after one has made a long journey in the wilds; no
-need to trouble your head with the idea that you may not be wanted, or
-that you will eat too much of the ever insufficient supplies sent in
-from the outside world to the officer in charge. Why is it that the less
-a man has, and the harder things are to obtain, the more ready he is to
-divide? It does not seem to work in civilization, but it is certainly so
-in rough countries, and especially with the Hudson's Bay Company's
-officers in the Far North. Perhaps it is because they have all seen
-hardships and privations in the Company's service and know the value of
-a helping hand given in the time of need; men who have suffered
-themselves have always more feeling for the sufferings of others than
-people who have lived only on the soft side of life.
-
-I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal so much as that first dinner at Fort
-Resolution, after a most necessary wash. A year later I dragged myself
-into a small trading-post at the foot of the Rocky Mountains after many
-days' total starvation, but had then got beyond the capacity of enjoying
-anything. On the present occasion I was able to thoroughly appreciate
-the change from my four months' experience in the Barren Ground. How
-strange it seemed once more to sit at a table, on a chair, like a white
-man, and eat white man's food with a knife and fork, after the long
-course of squatting in the filth of a smoky lodge, rending a piece of
-half-raw meat snatched from the dirty kettle. Then, too, I could speak
-again in my own language, and there was a warm room to sit in, books to
-read, and all the ordinary comforts of life, with the knowledge that so
-long as I stayed in the house I had my own place, while the wind and the
-snow had theirs outside.
-
-There was no scarcity at the fort this year, although the autumn fishing
-had not been successful. The Fond du Lac boat had brought in a good
-supply of dried meat, and there was a better stock of flour than is
-usually to be found at a northern fort. Mr. Mackinlay, too, had got in a
-fair supply of luxuries from Winnipeg, and, as Mrs. Mackinlay was an
-excellent manager, we always lived as well as one should wish to live
-anywhere.
-
-Fort Resolution is a fair sample of a trading-post in the North. It is
-situated on the south side of a bay, the entrance to which is sheltered
-by a group of islands, the largest known as Mission Island, from the
-Roman Catholic mission established there in charge of Father Dupire. The
-original site was on an outlying island known as Moose Island, but the
-present position on the mainland has been found more practicable. The
-buildings consist of the master's house, a comfortable log-building
-flanked on each side by a large store, one used for provisions and the
-other as a fur and trading store; these were originally within a
-stockade and formed the fort proper, but the peaceful nature of the
-Indians has removed all need for defensive works. Outside is a small row
-of log-houses, occupied by the engaged servants, freemen, and a couple
-of pensioners too old to make their living in the woods. Close at hand
-are the buildings belonging to the Protestant Mission, while the willows
-and bush-growth of a densely-wooded level country hem in the small patch
-of cleared ground on which the settlement stands; here potatoes and a
-few other vegetables are raised, and in a favourable season produce very
-fair crops. There are a yoke of work-cattle for hauling wood and a
-couple of milch cows are kept, as hay is easily procured in the numerous
-swamps which are scattered through the woods in every direction. The
-only high land to be seen is a conspicuous bluff marking the entrance to
-the Little Buffalo River some ten miles along the lake shore, this
-stream heads in to the south, and as it breaks up earlier in the spring
-than the Little Slave River it is used at that time of year as a route
-to Fort Smith, one overland portage being made, to drop on to the main
-stream a short distance below the fort.
-
-Looking out over the vast expanse of frozen lake on still, bright days
-some very beautiful and curious mirage effects can often be seen.
-Everything takes an unnatural and frequently inverted form; islands so
-far away as to be below the horizon are seen suspended in the air, and
-it is impossible to recognise a point or bunch of trees with which you
-are perfectly familiar in ordinary circumstances.
-
-There are four engaged servants at the fort; a white man, Murdo Mackay,
-native of the Hebrides, who was serving a five years' contract with the
-Company, and three half-breeds, by far the best of whom was Michel
-Mandeville, who has held the position of interpreter at Fort Resolution
-for several years. Except at the time of the Fall fishery, an engaged
-servant's work is light--cutting and hauling enough firewood to keep the
-fort supplied, visiting the nets and lines, and an occasional trip with
-the packet, or to get trading-goods from another fort.
-
-Christmas passed away quietly, but there was stir enough when the
-Indians came in for New Year and the trading began. The old system of
-barter is still carried on, with the beaver-skin for a standard. An
-Indian's pile of fur is counted, and he is told how many skins' worth of
-goods he has to receive; then he is taken into the store and the door
-solemnly locked, as it is found impossible to trade at all with more
-than one at a time. It seems very simple; the Indian knows exactly how
-many skins he has to take, and the value in skins of every common
-article. But, to begin with, he wants everything he sees, and the whole
-stock would hardly satisfy him, and it is a long time, with many changes
-of opinion, before he has spent the proceeds of his hunt. Then arises
-the question of his debt, and he tries to take the largest amount
-possible on credit for his spring hunt; the trader cannot refuse
-absolutely to make any advances, as there are some things essentially
-necessary to the Indian's life in the woods, but the debts are kept in
-proportion to the man's character. After he has finished his trade, he
-shows his purchases to his friends, and, acting on their advice, usually
-comes back to effect some change, and the game begins all over again;
-sometimes a whole day is passed in laying out a hundred skins, roughly
-fifty dollars according to our method of calculation. Before the Indian
-leaves the fort he always comes in and does a little begging while
-saying good-bye to his master.
-
-I had a very bad time of it settling up with the Beaulieus. Promises
-that I had made under stress of circumstances had to be redeemed, but it
-was hopeless to try and satisfy them; although they had each received
-far more than had been originally agreed upon, they continued grumbling
-till they left the fort. On New Year's day a big ball was given to the
-half-breeds, while the Indians were provided with the materials for a
-feast, and held a dance of their own in one of the empty houses. It was
-the poorest display imaginable; many of the Canadian tribes have really
-effective dancing, but the Yellow Knives appear to have a very
-elementary idea of graceful movement. Their only figure is to waddle
-round in a circle, holding each other's hands, keeping up a monotonous
-chant, and spitting freely into the middle of the ring. In the big house
-Red River jigs and reels were kept up with unflagging energy till
-daylight.
-
-As soon as everything had quieted down and the Indians had gone back to
-their hunting-ground, Mackinlay and myself started on an expedition
-after the caribou to try and kill some fresh meat for the fort. We took
-Michel, the interpreter, with us, and Pierre Beaulieu, a brother of
-King's; and a resident of Mission Island joined us with his two sons, as
-there was news of the caribou being at no great distance on the far side
-of the lake. It was now the dead of winter, the season of the _gra'
-frete_, and we had two remarkably cold days' travel to reach the north
-shore of the Great Slave Lake. We struck into the woods, not far to the
-eastward of the Gros Cap, the point forming the eastern extremity of the
-long narrow arm leading to Fort Rae. We each had a sleigh of dogs, and
-were able to ride most of the time on a good road broken by a band of
-Indians hunting in the neighbourhood. Two long days over small lakes and
-through the thick pine woods, in a country much resembling that of Fond
-du Lac but of lower elevation, brought us among the caribou, but they
-were not in very large numbers.
-
-We had everything we could want to make life pleasant in the woods,
-abundance of tea and tobacco, meat if we killed it, and no hardships;
-the cold was severe of course, but there was plenty of firewood, and it
-was our own fault if we could not keep ourselves warm. Three days we
-spent in hunting, and, although we did not kill very much, there was a
-little meat to take back; we never really found the caribou in any
-quantity, or we should have made a big killing and _cached_ the meat, to
-be hauled later on when the days grew longer. A rattling three days'
-journey took us back to the fort, as old Pierre, who is one of the most
-rushing travellers I ever met, hustled us along to save using his meat
-on the way home; he had no intention of feeding his dogs from his load
-for more than two nights when he had fish to give them at home. This
-trouble about dogs' food is the great drawback to winter travelling in
-the North; a dog, to keep him in good order, requires two whitefish,
-weighing each perhaps three pounds, every night. This adds so much to
-the load that a ten days' journey is about the longest one can undertake
-with full rations all round, unless it be in a part of the country where
-game is plentiful or fish can be caught _en route_.
-
-After the caribou hunt, we amused ourselves about the fort; sometimes
-going in search of ptarmigan, which are usually to be found among the
-willows close to the edge of the lake; and sometimes paying Father
-Dupire a visit on his island, a couple of miles away, to hear some of
-his interesting experiences during a residence of many years among the
-Indians. Close at hand lay the Protestant Mission, where there was
-always a welcome, and, with these attractions and a fair supply of
-books, time did not hang at all heavily till early in February the
-winter packet from the outside world arrived. I received a big bundle of
-letters, the first that reached me since June, but it happened that none
-of the newspapers for the fort turned up, and we were left in ignorance
-of what had happened in the Grand Pays.
-
-So many travellers have written about this great Northern Packet and the
-wonderful journey that it makes that it is unnecessary for me to say
-much about it. On its arrival at Fort Resolution it presents the
-appearance of an ordinary dog-sleigh, with a man ahead of the dogs,
-which are driven by a half-breed, with plenty of ribbons and beads on
-leggings and moccasins, capable of running his forty miles a day with
-ease, and possessed of a full command of the more expressive part of the
-French language.
-
-Dr. Mackay, who was on his yearly round of visits to inspect the
-outlying posts in his district, came down from Fort Chipeweyan with the
-packet, and we had a long talk respecting a summer trip to the Barren
-Ground which I proposed making.
-
-My intention was to leave the fort on the last ice in the spring and
-travel with the dogs to the spot where we had left our big canoe in the
-autumn, there to await the breaking up of the lakes and to descend the
-Great Fish River with the first open water. I had no special object in
-reaching the sea-coast, as a birch-bark canoe is not the right sort of
-craft for work among salt-water ice; and it was more to see what the
-Barren Ground was like in summer, and to notice the habits of the birds
-and animals, than for the sake of geographical discovery, that I wished
-to make the expedition.
-
-The Great Fish River has been twice descended before, but of course both
-Back's and Anderson's parties were compelled by the shortness of the
-summers to confine their exploration to the immediate neighbourhood of
-the river; and I thought that, by spending more time at the head-waters
-than they had been able to do, I should get a good idea of the nature of
-the country and an insight into the Indian summer life among the
-caribou. The difficulty was to obtain a crew; but Dr. Mackay very kindly
-consented to Mackinlay's accompanying me, and also lent me the two
-engaged servants, Murdo Mackay and Moise Mandeville, brother of Michel
-Mandeville the interpreter, but not half such a good fellow. We hoped to
-be able to engage the services of some of the Indians to guide us to the
-head of the river, but they have such a dread of the Esquimaux, who hunt
-farther down the stream, that we hardly expected any of the Yellow
-Knives to accompany us beyond that point. Long ago there was always war
-between the Indians and the Esquimaux, and Hearne's description of the
-massacre at the Bloody Falls on the Coppermine gives a good idea of the
-hatred that existed between these tribes. For many years they have not
-met, and although the Esquimaux seen by Anderson on the Great Fish River
-appear peaceful enough, the Yellow Knives hunting at the head of the
-river are in constant fear of meeting them.
-
-Zinto, the chief, and another Indian, Syene, arrived at the fort soon
-after Dr. Mackay left, and we consulted them as to the best route to
-follow, and whether we could depend upon their tribe for any help. They
-told us that there was no difficulty in reaching the head-waters of the
-river, as the Indians were in the habit of coming there every summer,
-but beyond was an unknown country; they both remembered Anderson's
-expedition, and were full of stories about the difficulties of
-navigation, the numerous portages and the likelihood of starvation, but
-knew nothing from personal experience. We failed lamentably in the
-attempt to discover when the ice in the river usually broke up. Syene
-told us that it was in the moon when the dogs lie on their backs in the
-sun, and Zinto volunteered the information that it was soon after the
-leaves begin to shoot on the little willows in the Barren Ground; but we
-could not work it out into any particular month. Both promised to make
-dried meat and pemmican for us if they fell in with the caribou, and to
-leave _caches_ in the last bunch of pine-trees. Next day they left for
-their camp, two hundred miles away in the woods, to await the first
-signs of warmer weather to start for the spring musk-ox hunt. Zinto was
-to come to the fort about the 1st of May, and personally conduct us to
-the places where he had piled up the meat of many caribou for our use.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X
-
-
-About the middle of February, 1890, little Francois, an Indian living at
-the mouth of Buffalo River, arrived with the news that during a
-hunting-trip he had made to the southward he had seen the tracks of a
-band of wood buffalo and intended to go in pursuit of them after this
-visit to the fort.
-
-Mackinlay and myself both wanted an excuse to be in the woods again, and
-the next day saw us plodding across the bay on snow-shoes to the
-comfortable little shanty, under the high bluff, which forms the most
-conspicuous landmark within sight of Fort Resolution. The establishment
-was presided over by an old lady, formerly cook at one of the forts, and
-kept with a cleanliness not always to be found in a white man's
-dwelling. The following morning we started with two sleigh-loads of fish
-for the dogs and provisions and blankets for ourselves. Francois brought
-his wife and little girl, besides a rather crazy boy, given to epileptic
-fits, but a good worker in the intervals between his attacks. We
-followed the river for a mile or two, then turned into the woods on the
-west bank, and, crossing a lake of some size, headed in a south-west
-direction through the thick pine-forest, occasionally picking up a
-marten from a line of traps set by little Francois, for we were
-following the track that he had made on his last trip, or finding a
-rabbit hung by the neck in one of his wife's snares; very cunning these
-old women are in all things concerning the stomach, and if there are
-many rabbit-tracks to be seen in the snow there is little danger of
-going without supper.
-
-On the second day we crossed a large prairie dotted with lakes, formerly
-the home of many beavers, and still bearing evidence of their labours in
-the long banks which served as dams and the huge mounds which were once
-their houses. The beavers have all gone long ago, and the ladies who
-wore the pretty fur-trimmed jackets in far-away England, and the
-husbands who grumbled at their price, are gone too; but the beavers have
-left the most impression on the face of the earth. Wonderful moulders of
-geography they are; a stream dammed up in a level country forms a huge
-lake where the forest stood, the trees fall as their roots rot in
-standing water, and, if the dam be not attended to by the workers, a
-fertile grass-covered prairie takes the place of the lake. From the
-Liard River and Great Slave Lake, to the Peace River on the east side of
-the Rocky Mountains, extends the greatest beaver country in the world.
-It is known by Indian report alone, as no white man ever penetrates far
-into the wilderness of pine-forest and morass; many streams head away
-into the interior of this unknown land, but the white man has only seen
-their mouths, as he passes up or down the main waterways of the North.
-It is true that the Company's men have ascended Hay River, a large
-stream falling into the Great Slave Lake, and by making an overland
-portage, have dropped on the Peace River at Fort Vermillion; but they
-have always made hurried voyages and have had no opportunity of
-exploring much new ground.
-
-Scattered over this huge extent of country are still a few bands of
-buffalo. Sometimes they are heard of at Forts Smith and Vermillion,
-sometimes at Fort St. John close up to the big mountains on Peace River,
-and occasionally at Fort Nelson on the south branch of the Liard. It is
-impossible to say anything about their numbers, as the country they
-inhabit is so large, and the Indians, who are few in number, usually
-keep to the same hunting-ground. These animals go by the name of wood
-buffalo, and most people are of opinion that they are a distinct race
-from the old prairie buffalo so numerous in bygone days; but I am
-inclined to think that the very slight difference in appearance is
-easily accounted for by climatic influences, variety of food, and the
-better shelter of the woods. Here too the giant moose and the woodland
-caribou have their home, and even in the short journey that I made into
-this district the tracks in the snow told a tale of plenty. Many black
-bears' skins are brought out every year, and towards the mountains the
-formidable grizzly is often encountered by the fearful hunter. Nor are
-the small fur-bearing animals wanting; foxes--red, cross, and a few
-silver--seek their living on the prairie, while wolverines, fisher,
-mink, marten, and lynx may be trapped in the woods, and a few otters
-frequent the streams and lakes. In the summer ducks, geese, and many
-other water-birds have their nests in the muskegs, and two or three
-varieties of the tree grouse are always to be found. "The hunter's
-Paradise!" says the sporting reader; "let us go and have a hunt there."
-But now for the other side of the picture. In the summer it is
-practically impossible to travel, as it is a swampy country not to be
-crossed with horses, and the lakes are too far apart to be available as
-a canoe-route, while the mosquitos are intolerable. Only when the snow
-has fallen, and all water is held fast in the grip of winter, has one a
-chance of exploring this Land of Promise with dogs, sleighs, and
-snow-shoes; but, by this time, the summer life has all flown far away
-southward, and, though I think one would be fairly safe in pushing on,
-there is always a chance of coming across a large tract of gameless
-country, and finding a difficulty in obtaining provisions.
-
-After three days' good travel we reached the end of Francois' road, and
-long before daylight on the following morning were away to try and find
-the buffalo tracks. We had a long day's walk over a perfect
-hunting-ground, crossing several open ridges with sufficient elevation
-to give us a view of the surrounding country. Prairie and timber were
-about in equal proportion, and the eye could follow the windings of a
-large stream that falls into the Little Buffalo River close to the Fort
-Smith portage; its water are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and do
-not readily freeze; in fact this stream, although it has little current,
-remains open during a considerable part of its course even in the
-coldest weather. About noon we found the track that we had been looking
-for, easily distinguishable from the many tracks of moose and woodland
-caribou that we had crossed; little Francois made a capital approach,
-and after a couple of hours' walk we sighted a band of eight buffalo
-feeding in a small wood-surrounded swamp. There are few spots on the
-American continent to-day where one can see buffalo in their wild state,
-but the Indian gave us no time to watch them, and completely spoilt the
-chance of clean shooting by letting off his gun too soon; we only wanted
-to kill one, as we could not haul any more meat, and it is really a pity
-to kill animals so nearly extinct as these. As it turned out there were
-several snap-shots fired as they ran into the woods, and two tracks of
-blood in the snow showed that we had done too much shooting, although it
-was not till late in the second day that we secured a cow that had
-travelled many miles before lying down.
-
-By the way, it is as well when going for a hunting expedition in the
-North to leave at home all the old-fashioned notions of
-shooting-etiquette. If you see a man in a good position for a shot, run
-up, jostle his elbow, and let your gun off; if an animal falls, swear
-you killed it, and claim the back-fat and tongue no matter whether you
-fired or not; never admit that you are not quite sure which animal you
-shot at. It is only by strict attention to these rules that a white man
-can get a fair division of plunder when shooting with half-breed
-Indians.
-
-The other buffalo, on whose track there was little blood, had not
-separated from the band, although we followed it for a whole day, and,
-as this was a sure sign of its having been only slightly wounded,
-perhaps not much damage was done; a badly struck animal will always
-leave its companions and lie down.
-
-There was much rejoicing when late on the third night the result of our
-hunt was hauled into our pleasant camp in a clump of thick pine-timber.
-The little girl patted and played with the meat as an English child
-would with a doll, and eventually dropped off to sleep with the raw
-brisket for a pillow; while Pierre, the boy, after a huge feast was
-seized with such a violent fit that for a long time I was afraid it
-would prove his last. The others took no notice of him beyond putting
-down a log to keep him from rolling in the fire, and in the morning he
-seemed perfectly well and hungry as ever for buffalo-meat. With
-heavily-laden sleighs we started back for the fort, but a wind-storm had
-drifted up our track over the prairie, and the dogs had hard work to
-drag their loads. In one of our steel traps were the remains of a cross
-fox that a wolverine had eaten, and beyond a few more martens our
-fur-hunting was unsuccessful. It took us four days to reach little
-Francois' house at the mouth of the river, and another half-day to get
-to the fort, where we found everything quiet, as usual in the monotony
-of the long winter. February was nearly over, and the "moon of the big
-wind" was doing its best to keep up its reputation. Day after day the
-north wind howled over the lake, drifting the snow into a vast ridge on
-the lee shore and making it no easy matter to find the trout-lines,
-which had now to be set four or five miles out at sea, the fish moving
-into deep water as the cold gets more intense and the ice thicker. The
-thermometer hanging against the wall of the house ranged between _minus_
-30 and _minus_ 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and this state of affairs
-continued until I left the fort for another hunt with little Francois.
-We spent three weeks happily enough in the woods, doing a little
-trapping, and getting enough moose and caribou-meat to keep the dogs and
-ourselves in good condition. Our course lay the same way as on the last
-hunt, to take advantage of the road and visit the line of traps; but we
-pushed further on till we came across the tracks of a party of Indians
-hunting from Fort Smith. We saw no sign of buffalo, and as Francois'
-wife damaged her leg rather badly we were obliged to haul her back on
-the sleigh, and this accident put an end to our trip. Away far in the
-forest beyond the influence of the great frozen lake we found the first
-indications of the coming spring. By the end of the first week in April
-the snow was falling under our snow-shoes in the middle of the day, and
-the sun, which now had a long course to run, shone with considerable
-power; the pine-trees threw out the delicious scent so suggestive of
-Nature's awakening after her long snow-wrapped sleep, and a puff of warm
-south wind, sighing through the poplars, whispered a message of hope
-from a more favoured land. But winter made a final struggle, and it was
-not till the 25th of April that the collapse came. Then the snow in the
-woods around the fort melted away rapidly, and the bare ground showed in
-patches. On May 1st water was standing in pools over the ice in the bay,
-the snow had disappeared except in the drifts, a light rain was falling,
-and the first goose was killed from the door of the master's house;
-small bands of wildfowl were passing frequently, and cranes were calling
-in the swamps to the southward; daylight lingered in the sky all night,
-but there was always a sharp frost while the sun was down.
-
-It was time to shake off our luxurious habits and push out again for the
-North to take full advantage of the short summer of the Barren Ground.
-The fort seemed to wake up with the spring, and there was bustle and
-activity everywhere. The furs had to be spread out to dry before they
-could be baled up; fish had to be thrown out of the provision-store as
-they thawed, and the dogs were happy for once. There was talk of
-ploughing and planting the potato-crop; Indians kept dropping in with
-small bundles of fur, to trade for ammunition for the goose-hunt, which
-would soon be in full swing; canoes were patched up and made tight in
-readiness for the first open water. But there was a rumour that the
-expedition to the Great Fish River would fall through, as no crew could
-be found, and some discontented spirits had been trying to persuade the
-Indians against going with us; the half-breeds were all full of excuses,
-and for a time it looked bad for us. Mackinlay was of course keen enough
-for the trip, and so was Murdo Mackay, the Scotch engaged servant; and
-luckily David, an Esquimau boy from Peel's River, who had been left at
-Fort Resolution for the winter to learn English from the Protestant
-missionary there, was willing to come with us, and, although not a
-first-rate traveller, might be very useful as interpreter if we fell in
-with any of his countrymen. Moise Mandeville was more obstinate and had
-the greatest horror of the expedition, but he finally agreed to come in
-the capacity of steersman and as Montaignais' interpreter. We were still
-without a guide. Zinto, despite his promises, had not put in an
-appearance, and there was as yet no news of him. Meanwhile preparations
-went on; dogs were got together, new snow-shoes provided for each member
-of the party, and all available pounded meat and grease converted into
-pemmican as the most portable form of provisions; four sacks of flour
-were forwarded to Fond du Lac to await our arrival, and the women round
-the fort were busy making moccasins for men and dogs, as the latter have
-to be shod in spring-travelling, to prevent their feet being cut to
-pieces on the rough needle-ice that appears after the snow has melted
-off the lakes. We also took a light canvas lodge in place of the heavier
-deer-skins, and found it a great saving in weight, especially after
-rain; dressed deer-skins hold water like a sponge, and where firewood is
-scarce are extremely hard to dry.
-
-On May 4th Mr. Clark arrived from Fort Smith to take charge of
-Resolution during Mackinlay's absence. The slushy state of the snow made
-travelling hard, but the Fort Smith people had managed to bring us a
-welcome supply of tea, tobacco, ammunition, and a few matches; none of
-these necessary articles were to be had at Resolution, as the unusually
-heavy fur-trade had left the store empty. We collected all the
-touch-wood we could get hold of, and each took a flint and steel, while
-Dr. Mackay sent us a burning-glass, a compass, and a watch from
-Chipeweyan, besides half a dozen pair of spectacles to keep off
-snow-blindness, from which an unprotected eye is sure to suffer. There
-was also a small stock of axes, knives, and beads, presents for the
-Esquimaux in case we fell in with them. Arrangements were made for the
-fort boat to meet us at the old site of Lockhart's house, at the
-north-east end of the Great Slave Lake, on August 1st, to bring us
-across the lake, as I wished to start for the South in time to get back
-to civilization before the rivers and lakes were set fast by the coming
-winter.
-
-The day after Mr. Clark's arrival a couple of Indians came in from Fond
-du Lac. Zinto had not yet arrived there, but was expected any day; he
-had no meat for us, and caribou were reported scarce on the road we
-proposed taking; most of the Yellow Knives would be at Fond du Lac to
-meet us if they found food enough for present use. Pierre Lockhart, an
-Indian who had come to the fort, immediately engaged with us as guide to
-the Great Fish River, saying that whatever the other men might do he
-would be faithful to the end of the journey, even if we wanted him to go
-to the sea-coast: needless to say he was the very first to desert on the
-appearance of hard times.
-
-It was a goodly procession that left Fort Resolution on the afternoon of
-May 7th, for every sleigh was pressed into service to help us over the
-bad ice that lay between the fort and the big river, and all the
-goose-hunters had been waiting till we started to move their families to
-the favourite feeding-grounds. Across the first bay there was fully a
-foot of water, with a crust of ice caused by the last night's frost;
-this top crust had to be broken, and the dogs waded up to their bellies,
-with the sleighs floating behind them: bitterly cold for the feet and
-hard to avoid a fall, which meant a thorough drenching in the icy water.
-On reaching the delta and passing into the narrow channels at the mouth
-of the big river the ice was much better, as the water had run off
-through the cracks; the crossing of the main stream looked dangerous,
-but, by carefully picking our way and sounding the ice with an axe, we
-got across without accident and camped in a bunch of willows on the far
-side. The fires were kept up late that night and much talking was done,
-as to-morrow we had to say good-bye to our companions, and many
-instructions were given to wives, mothers, and children with reference
-to their good behaviour during our absence. The red glow of sunset
-stayed in the sky till it mingled with the brightness of the coming day;
-often a whirr of wings told of a flock of wildfowl passing overhead, and
-a few geese that had arrived from the south kept up a continual
-_honking_ as they searched for a patch of open water to alight on. But
-the frost was sharp in the night, and on breaking camp at four o'clock
-we found the crust of surface-ice in the next bay strong enough in most
-places to bear our sleighs, which were now reduced to two in number and
-much more heavily loaded than on the previous day. Sometimes a man would
-break through, and, floundering on the bottom ice, would bruise his
-shins and feet in a desperate manner, and we were all badly knocked
-about when we put ashore at Tete Noire's House, five miles beyond the
-Ile de Pierre, ready to take the big traverse on the following day. A
-couple of hours out from the land brought us again to dry snow, as the
-change of climate is very sudden after leaving the south shore of the
-lake. Crossing the big traverse was ordinary winter travelling, although
-the snow was soft in the strong sunshine; we made use of the frost at
-night and generally rested during the heat of the day. Between the
-islands snow-shoes were necessary, and, although spectacles were
-constantly worn, some of the men began to show signs of snow-blindness;
-occasionally we found a bare rock to camp on, but more generally made
-the old winter form of encampment on the snow. It was not till the sixth
-day after leaving the fort that we pulled into Fond du Lac, and found
-nearly the whole tribe of Yellow Knives awaiting us with King Beaulieu
-and his family at their head; there were five and twenty lodges, and in
-every one we heard the old story of _Berula_ (no meat); they had tried
-fishing without success, and hoped the white masters would give them a
-little flour and pemmican. Why had they not pushed on to some of the
-sure fisheries in the big lake when they found the caribou fail? They
-wished to talk with us, they said, and so had stayed and starved at Fond
-du Lac till we came. What did they want to speak to us about? Only this,
-that an Indian's life is hard, and he has at all times need of a little
-tea and tobacco to give him courage; they had heard we were taking much
-tea and tobacco, besides other presents, to the Esquimaux. In vain did
-we tell them that we had not enough for own use; there was no peace till
-pipes were going in every lodge.
-
-[Illustration: Dog-rib Powwow at Fort Resolution]
-
-[Illustration: Group of Dog-rib Indians]
-
-Zinto had not put up any meat for us. At one time he had killed a good
-many caribou, but he had met with a band of Dog-Ribs from Fort Rae and
-the two tribes had camped together; the chief of the Yellow Knives was
-bound in honour to give a feast to his guests, and after the meat that
-was meant for us had been used for this purpose they fell to gambling.
-The unfortunate Zinto lost all his ammunition, so that he had no chance
-to kill any more caribou, much as he would have liked to help the white
-men in their undertaking.
-
-The snow was lying deep in the woods and as yet no breath of spring had
-visited Fond du Lac, although at Fort Resolution, not more than one
-hundred miles to the south, the buds were by this time shooting on the
-birch and willow trees, and the ground had been bare for two weeks; no
-wildfowl had arrived, and the Indians were of opinion that such a late
-spring had never been known, advising us strongly not to attempt to
-force our way into the Barren Ground till there was some indication of
-better weather. It seemed to us, though, that we should never be in a
-better position to start than now, as any delay meant waste of
-provisions, and we hoped to find caribou before we began to starve.
-Several days we spent in talking to the Indians before we came to any
-satisfactory conclusion, and we had the greatest trouble in persuading
-any of them to come with us. Finally it was settled that Capot Blanc,
-Saltatha, Syene, and Marlo, with their wives and families, should start
-with us, and on reaching the head of the Great Fish River should wait
-there and hunt while we made the descent of the stream. Capot Blanc
-behaved very well at all the consultations, speaking up for the white
-men whenever an opportunity offered, but the interpretation was
-unsatisfactory; Moise refused this duty in the presence of the
-Beaulieus, and the latter, so far as we could make out, used all their
-influence with the Indians to damage our chances of making a successful
-expedition. David, the Esquimau, rather complicated matters by falling
-in love with King's daughter, but he made no objection to starting, and
-soon forgot all about her in the excitement of the journey. On the last
-evening that we spent at Fond du Lac a Dog-Rib arrived with his family
-from the Barren Ground in a wretched state of starvation. He had come in
-by the route that we proposed to take, and gave a very unsatisfactory
-report of the country: the cold was still severe, and he had met with no
-game since leaving the musk-ox a couple of weeks before; one of his
-children had died of starvation and he was forced to bury her under the
-snow at the Lac de Mort; the rest had barely escaped with life. Of
-course we gave them enough flour and pemmican to take them to a
-well-known fishery twenty miles on, but our provisions were going very
-fast. Most of the Yellow Knives had already moved away to the fishery,
-and the encampment was entirely deserted when we pulled down our lodges
-on the morning of May 21st. Paul Beaulieu was to have caught us up to
-show us some meat-_caches_ that he had made in the winter, and we had
-engaged an Indian, Carquoss, to fish for his wife while he was away; but
-we saw neither Paul nor his _caches_. Carquoss, however, joined us later
-on, and explained that he had given up fishing because we had not left
-him any tea and the other Indians had laughed at him.
-
-A miserable-looking outfit we were as we plodded for two days along the
-north shore of the lake, against a strong head-wind and driving
-snowstorms. Seven trains of starving dogs hauled their loads in a
-melancholy procession, and over twenty people walked in the narrow road
-made by the passage of the sleighs; by far too large a party for any
-rapid travelling, and badly handicapped by women and children. On the
-third day we turned up the mountain, and followed the course of a stream
-coming in on the north shore; we mounted by a series of frozen cascades,
-many of them so steep that we were obliged to use ropes to help the
-dogs, and towards evening camped at the far end of the first lake on the
-plateau. This day's work was not got through without a good deal of
-growling, as everybody was kept on short rations to make the most of our
-provisions; three days' full allowance for human beings alone, to say
-nothing of the thirty dogs, would have put an end to our supplies.
-
-From this lake the country was level, and the women were quite able to
-manage the dog-sleighs, while the men scoured the country on either side
-of the track in search of caribou or ptarmigan. The birds were fairly
-plentiful, but of course at this season were all paired, and there was
-no chance of making a slaughter at a single shot, as one can do in the
-fall of the year when the birds are in big packs; this shooting at
-separate birds was a serious strain on our ammunition, but the ptarmigan
-helped us out till we fell in with the caribou. It was almost a
-certainty to find these birds in every bunch of pines, and they kept up
-such a constant crowing round the camp at night that they had a poor
-chance of escaping the hungry man's gun. After the snow has melted the
-male bird gets pugnacious and runs up to meet the hunter, with his
-feathers puffed out, offering a fair mark for a stone; but before this
-happened we disdained ptarmigan, and would only kill the
-fattest-looking caribou. We eked out a precarious existence in this
-manner for a week, making short days' journeys, as the dogs could not
-travel fast or far. Pierre Lockhart deserted one morning when breakfast
-was particularly scanty, and taking his gun and blanket started back for
-Fond du Lac; we were depending on him for guide, but it was rather a
-relief when he went, as he was inclined to steal food, and had several
-disgusting habits that made his absence from the lodge rather acceptable
-than otherwise. Marlo's brother-in-law disappeared about the same time,
-but we thought they had gone off together and did not trouble ourselves
-further about them.
-
-On the last day of May, acting on Capot Blanc's advice, we forked from
-our canoe-route, and took a more easterly course, to fall on the chain
-of lakes by which Anderson and Stewart had reached the Great Fish River.
-We hoped to find caribou in this direction, and on the same day that we
-made this change in our course the indefatigable Saltatha, having made a
-much longer round than the rest of us, came into camp late at night with
-a load of caribou-meat on his back; he had seen snow-shoe tracks to the
-east, but falling in with the caribou had turned back to the camp
-without following the tracks.
-
-Sunday, June 1st, brought a distinct change in the weather; a mild
-south-west wind was melting the snow rapidly, and several flocks of
-geese and ducks passed to the north. A few geese were called up to the
-camp and killed from the doors of the lodges; the Indians imitate to
-perfection the cry of any bird, and at this time of year the geese are
-easy to call, as they are always in search of open water, and seem not a
-bit surprised to hear their friends calling to them from a group of
-deer-skin lodges. In the morning we sent two men to bring in the rest of
-Saltatha's meat, with orders to investigate the tracks, and see if there
-was another encampment of Indians to the east, as none of the caribou
-hunters had intended to leave the Great Slave Lake till the thaw came.
-Our peaceful Sunday was greatly disturbed by a royal row in one of the
-lodges, and we sent for Capot Blanc to ask him what the trouble was. The
-old fellow was glad enough to get into our lodge away from the clamour,
-and explained the cause of the disturbance in his even low-pitched
-voice, so pleasantly contrasted with the Yellow Knife Billingsgate that
-was being freely used outside. "It is the women," he said; "the wife of
-Syene has called the wife of Saltatha by a bad name, because she would
-not give her some meat; the wife of Saltatha has taken the wife of Syene
-by the hair and beaten her in the face with a snow-shoe till her nose
-bleeds very much; the men have tried to separate them, but that only
-makes things worse. It is always like this in our camps when we starve.
-If the men are alone they are quiet; but when there are women there is
-no peace. Is it so also in your country?"
-
-Late in the night the men who had gone to fetch the meat came back,
-hauling on the sleigh Marlo's brother-in-law Jose, whom they had found
-lying in the snow, without fire, in a bunch of dwarf pines; the
-snow-shoe tracks were his, and but for the lucky chance of Saltatha's
-killing the caribou in that direction he must have perished in a day or
-two, as he was too weak to travel. He had left us to hunt ptarmigan, and
-lost himself eight days ago, and, as we supposed he had deserted with
-Pierre, we had taken no trouble to look for him. He was one of the
-unlucky ones, believed to have seen "the Enemy" in his youth, and it
-certainly says little for his wits that he was unable to follow the
-tracks of such a large party. Jose had used up what little ammunition he
-started with on the first day, and since then had eaten nothing; he was
-without matches or touchwood to make fire, and as the weather had been
-cold he must have suffered greatly. We fed him up to the best of our
-ability, and he recovered rapidly when meat was abundant in the camp.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI
-
-
-On the following day we made an easy day's travel to the east, and most
-of us succeeded in killing caribou while the women drove the dogs. From
-this time, all through the summer till we again reached the Great Slave
-Lake late in August, we had no difficulty about provisions; although
-there was many a time when we could not say where we might find our next
-meal, something always turned up, and we were never a single day without
-eating during the whole journey. I really believe it is a mistake to try
-to carry enough food for a summer's work in the Barren Ground, as the
-difficulty of transport is so great, and after the caribou are once
-found there is no danger of starvation.
-
-We were now travelling with the bull caribou, which had just left the
-thick woods, and made easy marches from lake to lake in an north-east
-direction; the weather became cold again for the last time, and June 7th
-was like a bad winter's day with a strong north wind and snowstorms.
-Then the summer came suddenly, and on the 11th we were obliged to camp
-on a high gravel ridge to await _le grand degel_, which rendered
-travelling impossible, till the deep water had run off the ice.
-Although we had been so far taking it very easily, a rest was of great
-service, as many of the party were suffering from acute snow-blindness
-caused by the everlasting glare of the sun on the treeless waste; there
-was no dark object to rest the eyes upon for a moment, and besides the
-actual pain the constant inflammation injured the sight and made
-rifle-shooting very uncertain. The Indians smeared their faces with
-blood and wood-ashes, and the white men were further protected with
-spectacles; but these efforts were only partially successful in keeping
-off the glare. I was lucky in getting off quite free myself, but should
-imagine that it must be a most painful affliction.
-
-Along the foot of the sandy ridge, which closely resembled the one I had
-seen the autumn before at Lac de Gras, were many small lakes partially
-thawed, and here the snow geese, or white "wavies," were resting in
-thousands, waiting till the warm weather should have melted the snow
-from their feeding-ground along the sea-coast. We could have made
-enormous bags of them, as they were tame and disinclined to leave the
-open water; but we were sparing with our ammunition, as we might want it
-badly later on. Great numbers were killed, however, and their prime
-condition told of the good feeding-ground they had left far southward.
-There were also plenty of large Canada geese, but the grey wavy, or
-laughing goose, the best of all for eating, is much scarcer. Of the more
-edible ducks the pintail seems to be the only one that comes so far
-beyond the Great Slave Lake, but long-tailed ducks and golden eyes were
-in great numbers along this sandy ridge. Of the loons, the red-throated
-variety was by far the most numerous, and the Pacific or Adam's diver
-was fairly common, but the great northern diver, although plentiful on
-the Great Slave Lake, does not appear to visit the Barren Ground.
-
-While we were waiting here, another band of Indians from Fond du Lac
-caught us up, and our camp assumed still larger proportions; but as we
-were fairly among the game it did not much matter. With the new arrivals
-were two blind men, Pierre and Antoine Fat, who preferred a wandering
-life to the support they would doubtless have been given at the fort.
-Both were good fishermen, and would spend hours sitting on the ice at
-the edge of an open hole with the greatest patience, and later on made
-heavy catches of trout. Pierre would often walk with the hunters to get
-his share of the meat; Capot Blanc was usually his guide, but seldom did
-more than trail a stick after him and the blind man followed the sound;
-when a caribou was killed, Pierre was led up to it, and in spite of his
-blindness would do the butcher's work cleanly and well.
-
-The snow melted away rapidly; the hillsides were running with small
-streams, the ground showed up in ever increasing patches, and a thick
-mist, which the Indians say always appears at the time of the big thaw,
-hung over everything. On June 16th we found that most of the water had
-run off through the cracks in the ice, and resumed our journey, after
-solemnly burning some thirty pairs of used-up snow-shoes. At first
-walking without them seemed hard to me, as I had used them continually
-since the previous October, and we all found that our feet were made
-sore by walking on the rough ice; unfortunately the skins of the caribou
-that we killed were so riddled by grubs that they were unfit to dress
-for leather, and we were always short of moccasins. We still travelled
-along easily, as the river would not break up for a fortnight at the
-earliest, and our best plan was to move with the caribou, which seemed
-to be keeping up with the edge of the snow much in the same manner as
-ourselves. The portages between the lakes were often three or four miles
-in length, and, as the snow had gone, we were obliged to carry the heavy
-loads on our backs; firewood was getting scarce, and I came to the
-conclusion that our old canoe-route was by far the best way to reach the
-Barren Ground in summer or in winter. A few warm days made a great
-difference in the appearance of the country. Leaves began to sprout on
-the little willows, and the grass showed green on the hillsides;
-sober-hued flowers, growing close to the ground, came out in bloom, and
-a few butterflies flapped in the hot sunshine, while we were still
-walking on eight feet of solid ice. Mosquitos appeared in myriads: in
-the daytime there was usually a breeze to blow them away, and the nights
-were too cold for them; but in the calm mornings and evenings they made
-the most of their chance to annoy us.
-
-On June 25th we planted our lodges on a high ridge overlooking Lake
-Mackay. It has always been the fashion of the Yellow Knives to camp in
-an elevated position, in order to have command of the surrounding
-country in looking out for the caribou, or, in the olden times, for a
-band of hostile Indians. Right across the lake we could see the bay in
-which we had left our big canoe during our first attempt to find the
-musk-ox, and the hills forming the height of land between the Great
-Slave Lake and the Arctic Sea; on our right lay Lockhart's River and the
-huge Aylmer Lake, which we were about to cross. Blind Pierre knew the
-whole picture as well as any of us; on my way back to camp at sundown I
-found him sitting on a boulder smoking, for we always rather favoured
-him in the matter of tobacco; his face was turned to the north-east, and
-he was evidently taking in all the details of the landscape, without the
-sense of sight. "_Tetchenula_, _Tetchen Yarsula_, _Tetchen Taote_ (no
-wood, not a little wood, no wood at all)," he said, as he waved his
-hands towards Aylmer Lake; then, with a sweep of his arm, he traced
-correctly the course of Lockhart's River, with a rapid downward motion,
-to denote its abrupt termination in a series of rapids and waterfalls as
-it joins the Great Slave Lake. Poor old fellow, it must be hard for him
-not to see the country he loves so well; but he is happy, after his
-fashion, in the summer-time when the caribou are thick.
-
-From this point we sent Moise with three Indians and our own dogs to
-bring up the big canoe from the south shore of Lake Mackay, where I had
-left her in the beginning of last October. Many little hunting-canoes
-had been picked up along the track from Fond du Lac, and now every
-sleigh carried a canoe athwartships; these proved useful enough in
-crossing the small lake in the course of Lockhart's River, as on
-arriving at the far side we found open water between us and the land,
-and had to use the canoes to ferry our cargo to the shore, the dogs
-swimming with the empty sleighs in tow, while some enterprising spirits,
-who conceived the idea of floating ashore on blocks of ice, came in for
-a ducking. The ice on Aylmer Lake was still solid, but extremely rough,
-causing great damage to our moccasins. We kept near the north shore,
-with sometimes a long traverse across a deep bay; at the head of every
-bay a stream ran into the lake, and the open water at its mouth was
-always a sure find for trout; forty or fifty large fish were often
-caught in a day with hook and line at these places, and, as we could
-always kill caribou, even the dogs were getting fat in this land of
-plenty. Soon we began to see scraps of musk-ox hair on the large
-boulders where these animals had been rubbing, and on the second day's
-travel along Aylmer Lake David had an adventure with an old bull. David
-was by far the keenest hunter in the outfit, but up till now had not
-succeeded in killing anything bigger than a goose, and it was an
-exciting moment for him when he got within range of a musk-ox. He had
-heard strange stories about these animals when a small boy among his own
-countrymen at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and it was not without a
-little trembling that he fired one of his scanty stock of bullets. The
-beast was wounded but would not die, and David, standing off at a safe
-distance, soon exhausted all his bullets; he then proceeded to load his
-gun with round stones, and finally with handfuls of gravel; his last
-charge of powder was used to fire the ramrod, but another half hour
-elapsed before the musk-ox expired. As this was the first one that had
-been killed on this trip, the proud hunter was made a good deal of when
-he came into camp with the best of the highly-flavoured meat.
-
-On the evening of July 1st we made the encampment at the head of the
-most northerly bay of Aylmer Lake, named Sandy Bay by Back, from the
-conspicuous sand-ridges that here form the divide between the lake and
-the Great Fish River, a distance of three quarters of a mile. The ice
-was still firm in Aylmer Lake, but there was a little difficulty in
-getting ashore through a narrow belt of open water, and the head-reaches
-of the river were clear. We were inspecting the stream, to see what
-chance there was of being able to run the canoe through the numerous
-rapids, when Noel, one of the Indians who had been with me on the winter
-hunt, came up with the news that he had spied a large band of musk-ox
-feeding a couple of miles down the river. The women were badly in need
-of their hides for making moccasins, as the caribou-skins were still in
-poor condition, so a hunt was arranged in a fashion that I had not seen
-before. Most of the guns crossed the river, and a spot was selected for
-the slaughter just where the stream broadened out into a small lake; at
-right angles to the river mounds of stone and moss were put up at a few
-yards' distance from each other, ornamented with coats, belts, and
-gun-covers, and behind the outside mound Capot Blanc took up his
-position. A steep hill ran parallel with the stream about two hundred
-yards away, and along this guns were posted at intervals, with the
-intention of heading the musk-ox towards the water. Noel and Marlo,
-supposed to be the two best runners, were to make a long round and start
-the band in our direction; I was stationed with three other guns among
-some broken rocks on the south side of the river, just opposite the
-barrier; and orders were given that no shot should be fired till the
-musk-ox took to the water.
-
-It was a most interesting scene, and I would not willingly have changed
-places with any of the loyal Canadians who were at this time
-celebrating the anniversary of Dominion Day, with much rye whisky, a
-thousand miles to the southward. I had plenty of time to admire the
-surrounding landscape, and the sunset that lit up the snow-drifts on
-each side of the river; when suddenly over the opposite ridge appeared
-the horns of a band of caribou, and for a moment the leader was outlined
-against the sky as he paused to look at the strange preparations going
-on in the valley below. Behind me a ptarmigan, perched on a rock, crowed
-defiance; but there was no other sound, except the rush of water and the
-occasional grinding of an ice-pan dislodged from some small lake in the
-course of the stream. Fully an hour we sat among the rocks, and were
-beginning to think that the hunt had miscarried, when we heard a distant
-shouting far down the valley, and the next moment caught sight of a
-scurrying black mass crossing a spur of the hill close to the river's
-bank. The men posted along the ridge took up the cry as the musk-ox
-passed them, and joined in the chase; soon the animals came to the
-barrier, and pulled up short at the apparition, while, to increase their
-alarm, the hoary head of Capot Blanc arose from behind a mound of rocks
-right in front of them. This was the critical moment, and they would
-certainly have taken to the water and been at the mercy of their
-pursuers but for an untimely shot that caused them to break, and I was
-not sorry to see that several of the band escaped. I had had a splendid
-view till now, as the musk-ox halted within twenty yards of me, but we
-were forced to lie low when the shooting began, as bullets were rattling
-freely among the rocks in which we were hiding. We did no shooting on
-our side of the river, except to finish off a couple that took to the
-water; seven were killed in all, six cows, and a calf about a month old;
-there were no bulls in the band, and from what I afterwards saw they
-seemed to keep separate from the cows during the summer. A solitary old
-bull is often met with at this time of year.
-
-When the hunt was over, I inquired the meaning of the shouting that had
-been kept up so continually throughout the drive, and was informed that
-this was necessary to let the musk-ox know which way to run. At starting
-they had shouted, "Oh, musk-ox, there is a barrier planted for you down
-there, where the river joins the little lake; when you reach it take to
-the water, there are men with guns on both sides, and so we shall kill
-you all"; when the men are out of breath, they shout to the musk-ox to
-stop, and, after they have rested, to go on again. These animals are
-said to understand every word of the Yellow Knife language, though it
-seems strange that they do not make use of the information they receive
-to avoid danger instead of obeying orders. The partial failure of the
-hunt was attributed to the fact that Moise had called across the river
-to me in French, and the musk-ox had not been able to understand this
-strange language.
-
-The sun had risen again when we got back to camp, and there we found the
-big canoe, not a bit damaged by her long rest under the snow or her
-adventurous journey on the dog-sleigh. The day was spent in getting in
-the meat and skins, and early the next morning we carried the canoe
-across the portage and launched her on the waters of the Great Fish
-River. The cargo was all sent overland to a lake some six miles down the
-stream; sleighs were abandoned, as there was now no snow to haul on, but
-the dogs' work was by no means over, the only difference being that they
-had to carry loads on their backs instead of dragging a sleigh; rough
-deer-skin pack-harness was made, and the loads secured in a manner
-worthy of a Mexican mule-packer. We came to grief with the canoe at the
-third rapid, and should have done much better to have made the portage
-to the lake, instead of trying to navigate the difficult stream. A long
-delay was necessary to effect repairs, and there were so many portages
-over ice-blocks along the edge of the lake, when we reached it, that the
-sun was high on the following morning before we camped. The same work
-continued for several days, the Indians toiling overland heavily loaded,
-and our own party struggling with the ice in a chain of lakes through
-which the river runs. On the edge of one of these lakes we stopped for
-dinner on the spot where Stewart and Anderson separated from their
-Indian guides before descending the river in 1856. The rough stone
-fireplaces, by which they had economised fuel, were still standing, and
-Capot Blanc, seated on one of them, gave us a long lecture on the events
-that had taken place during their expedition, as he had heard the story
-from his father. More than thirty years had elapsed since the last party
-of Whites camped by the side of the Great Fish River, and thirty years
-again before them Back the discoverer had pushed out into the unknown
-land. Why has all exploration in the Barren Ground ceased? No more is
-known of the country than was discovered by Franklin and Back sixty
-years ago in their short summer journeys, and the expeditions sent out
-in search of the former in the 'Fifties. There are many thousands of
-square miles on which the foot of white man has never stepped. The
-Canadian Government has an efficient body of surveyors and geologists at
-its command, and it is curious that no attention is paid to one of the
-most interesting fields for exploration.
-
-On July 6th, after slow and tiresome travelling, we reached the north
-end of a large sheet of water named by Back Musk-ox Lake, and finding
-enough willow-scrub for firewood, determined here to await the breaking
-up of the ice in the lake. Judging by the Indian's account the season
-was fully three weeks later than usual, and, as I wished to be back at
-Fort Resolution in time to save the open water up Peace River before
-winter set in, there was a poor chance of our being able to penetrate
-far into the country of the Esquimaux. Musk-ox Lake runs pretty nearly
-due north and south, and is fifteen miles in length, averaging about two
-miles in width. Our camp was just at the point where the river runs out,
-and a short distance above is the best swimming-place for the caribou
-known to the Indians. In some years immense slaughters are made here,
-but on the present occasion the caribou did not cross in their usual
-numbers, so that our companions had no chance to put up the dried meat
-that we expected to get for our cruise down stream, and we could only
-kill enough for the present support of such a large encampment. Across
-the lake is a hill of insignificant height, known as the Musk-ox
-Mountain, a good landmark, and a favourite haunt for the animals from
-which it takes its name.
-
-This is the northerly limit of the Yellow Knives' hunting-ground.
-Northwards is the land of the dreaded Esquimaux, and many rumours were
-brought into the camp of a strange track seen on soft ground, of men
-standing far off on the sky-line, and a blue cloud of smoke arising far
-down the valley of the river. The Indians were convinced that their old
-enemies were continually close to them, despite the fact that it would
-be an impossibility for canoes to have yet ascended the stream on
-account of the ice. We afterwards discovered that there was a debatable
-ground, fully sixty miles in width, between Musk-ox Lake and the highest
-point that the Esquimaux reach.
-
-There is here a very striking change in the appearance of the country.
-The old red granite formation gives way almost entirely to ironstone,
-split up into slabs and piled into such peculiar shapes that one might
-imagine giants had been building castles over the rolling hills. Some of
-the slabs were turned on edge and formed perfect turrets towering many
-feet into the air, and in many places were heaps of shiny black sand,
-resembling coal-dust, piled up into conical mounds almost too steep to
-climb. Wherever vegetation had a chance to grow it was much more
-luxuriant than one could suppose possible in such a climate. The stunted
-willows, not two feet in height, were thickly clothed with bright green
-leaves; there was abundance of grass, and in many spots the pretty
-little Arctic flowers formed a bright carpet along the foot of a slowly
-melting snowdrift.
-
-Capot Blanc and myself made an expedition into the roughest part of this
-country, to the north-east of Musk-ox Lake, but we found travelling very
-hard, as we had to climb continually over broken masses of ironstone.
-This is another well-known haunt of "the Enemy," and Capot Blanc
-attributed to his malign influence the disaster that prevented our
-further exploration in this direction. We reached a stream of no great
-size, one of the tributaries of the Great Fish River, and attempted to
-wade across to the opposite bank, selecting the head of a small rapid
-for the purpose, as the water appeared to be shallower there. On
-reaching the centre of the current our legs were swept from under us,
-and we were immediately running the rapid at the imminent risk of
-breaking our heads against a rock. We both reached the still water at
-the foot of the rapid with nothing worse than a few bruises, and
-moreover held on to our guns, but of course our ammunition was spoilt,
-and we were obliged to make the best of our way back to camp. Capot
-Blanc afterwards told me that he thought the Enemy had made the water
-strong, to keep us from coming into his country, and it would be flying
-in the face of Providence to make another attempt. It would be
-interesting to know how far this ironstone formation extends; and, as
-the journey to Musk-ox Lake and back to the fort might easily be made by
-canoe during the summer, the trip would amply repay the geologist and
-botanist for their trouble.
-
-Many other little expeditions we made in various directions, sometimes
-watching the birds, and sometimes in pursuit of caribou or musk-ox. One
-hunt in particular I remember, which took place appropriately enough on
-the top of Musk-ox Mountain. We had made out the moving black spots
-through the glasses from the lodge, and, as there was still a demand for
-hides from the women and meat was being used in great quantities, we
-paddled across the lake through a narrow channel in the ice. The sun
-went down while we were climbing the ascent, and a long wait was
-necessary, as the animals were feeding towards us on the flat top of the
-mountain and there was no cover to enable us to make a nearer approach.
-The mosquitos buzzed merrily round us while we lay behind the rock and
-watched the grotesque motions of the calves as they played with each
-other, little suspecting that danger was so close. Presently the band
-moved within easy range and we opened fire with four guns. Seven were
-killed, and Mackinlay caught a calf that stayed by the body of its dead
-mother, a fluffy, long-haired little beast; I was sorry that we could
-not keep it alive, but it would have been impossible to carry it in a
-birch-bark canoe. Cruel work, this shooting in the summer-time, but it
-was necessary to keep the camp in meat even though mother and young had
-to be sacrificed. I had a long run after a cripple, and eventually
-killed it on the shore of a large lake in a valley eastward of the
-mountain. The sun was high when I found the rest of the hunters eating
-marrow-bones in front of a big fire, in a clump of well-grown willows
-close to the canoe, and we took a load of wood back to the camp, sending
-over the women for the meat and skins later in the day.
-
-The weather during this time was variable in the extreme; two or three
-hot days would be followed by a snowstorm, and once we were visited by a
-hurricane that did much damage to lodge-poles, and caused us to shift
-camp hurriedly to the lee-side of a steep cliff hanging over the river.
-July 10th was exceptionally hot in the morning, with the mosquitos at
-their worst; in the middle of the day there was a thunderstorm, and at
-five o'clock the ground was covered with snow. The ice now began to show
-signs of rotting, and the channel of open water round the weather edge
-of the lake grew rapidly broader.
-
-We had many talks with the Indians about the chances of our being able
-to get together a crew; but they had no enthusiasm about the voyage, and
-wanted nothing better than to keep us hanging about the head of the
-river, providing them with ammunition. Saltatha was the only one of the
-band who volunteered to go, and he insisted on having another Indian
-with him, as he was not used to the ways of white men, and would feel
-safer if he had one of his own tribe with him in case of accidents; but
-he hoped we should not go farther than the big lake (Beechey Lake) which
-he had heard us talking about, for it was getting late in the year, and
-when the ice is long in melting winter comes again soon. At last it was
-arranged that Saltatha and Noel were to come in our canoe, while Marlo
-and Carquoss accompanied us with a small hunting-canoe, to carry a
-little ammunition in case we lost our cargo by capsizing in a rapid; we
-should then have a chance of making a living, and be able to cross the
-tributary stream if we had to return on foot. On our part we agreed to
-turn back from Beechey Lake, reserving the privilege of taking the
-little canoe overland from there to Bathurst Inlet. As caribou were
-scarce, the rest of the Indians were to work their way back towards the
-Great Slave Lake, except Capot Blanc, who was to stay on the divide at
-Aylmer Lake, if he could kill enough meat to keep his family, and there
-await our return.
-
-The evening before we started, Syene, who was a Medicine Man, sent a
-message to our lodge that he was going to foretell the result of our
-expedition down the river, so we went over to hear what was in store for
-us. His lodge was full of Indians, but they made room for us, and we sat
-down on a blanket on the side of the fire farthest from the door. Syene
-held a drum made of tightly-stretched deer-skin parchment, which he
-punched continually with a caribou's thigh-bone, keeping up a melancholy
-chant, and singing a sentence or two every few minutes. "It is not that
-I can see anything myself," he said, "but it is an unborn child that is
-speaking to me." Mrs. Syene, who was sitting close to the Medicine Man,
-clasped her hands and groaned, as if in great pain, by way of giving
-assent to this statement. "The child sees the canoe of the big masters
-running down the strong water of a rapid; below the rapid is a long
-point, and seven lodges of the Esquimaux are planted on the point. There
-is blood on the snow-drift; it is the blood of a white man. One man is
-walking on the bank of a river; he walks like a starving man, and the
-child knows not if he is white or Indian. Now all is dark, and the child
-has ceased speaking."
-
-Not a very cheerful prophecy, and it was hard to make out how far the
-Indians believed in the Medicine Man; but our crew were rather
-downhearted about it, although, as is usual all the world over, the
-people who were not going the journey themselves took a philosophical
-view of the whole affair.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII
-
-
-On Thursday, July 17th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, we struck camp
-and started on a four-mile portage to the next lake down stream, as the
-river-bed was too full of large boulders to navigate the strong current
-with safety. It was hard work carrying the cargo and canoe through the
-mosquito-stricken ironstone country, and we did not camp till midnight.
-Here another bad omen was observed. Mackinlay and I had gone ahead,
-after carrying over a load, to try and kill something for supper; we
-found a musk-ox, but made rather a clumsy mess of killing it, and the
-animal was badly heated before we finished it off. The meat was
-consequently discoloured, and Saltatha declared this to be an unfailing
-sign of some great misfortune at hand. The women had made us a few pair
-of moccasins each, but not nearly enough for the tracking-work that we
-should have to do when we turned up stream; and our stock of provisions,
-instead of the bales of dried meat that we had expected to enable us to
-travel without waste of time in hunting, consisted of ten dried
-deers'-ribs, so full of maggots, from having been imperfectly cured,
-that we threw them away on the second day out. Our flour and pemmican
-had of course been finished long ago, and we drank the last kettleful of
-tea before leaving Musk-ox Lake, but as the Labrador tea grows all over
-this country in profusion, this did not much matter; tobacco too was
-nearly at an end.
-
-The lake was still full of floating ice, but we had no trouble in
-passing the canoe into the river at the north end, and found the stream
-considerably increased in volume by a couple of large tributaries that
-come in from the opposite sides of the lake. After dropping down two or
-three miles with a sluggish current, we heard the roar of a rapid, and
-put ashore on an island in mid-stream as soon as we sighted broken
-water. It was lucky we did so, as there was a heavy overfall impossible
-to run, and we were obliged to portage the whole length of the island
-and then shoot the tail of the rapid. Here we put ashore to patch the
-canoe, which was leaking badly, and pulled out big trout as quickly as
-we could throw in the spoon-bait; we found this could be done at the
-foot of all the rapids, so one need not take much thought about
-provisions in this part of the stream. After another small rapid, which
-was run with a full load, the river, heading straight to the north,
-passes through a small lake and emerges as a broad canal-like waterway
-with very slight current, flowing through the roughest part of the
-ironstone country that we had yet seen; the banks were steep too, and we
-could put the canoe alongside a natural wharf in any spot for a
-distance of five or six miles. In passing down these reaches we saw and
-killed musk-ox, but the caribou seemed to shirk the labour of crossing
-the confused masses of rocks, and none of these animals were seen till
-we reached a less rugged district. Again the channel widened out into a
-lake, two miles in length, with an ugly rapid at the north end; this we
-negotiated with the precaution of leaving guns and ammunition ashore,
-and directly afterwards Saltatha caused some excitement by saying he had
-caught a glimpse of a man walking on a neighbouring ridge; we put
-ashore, but could find no tracks, and came to the conclusion that it was
-Saltatha's imagination. A long day's travel was made successfully, and
-by ten o'clock we were clear of the ironstone and slipping quietly along
-through a pleasant sandy country. We camped at the foot of a high
-sand-butte covered with flowers and moss, and found a bunch of willows
-on the bank of the river. There were indications that some one had
-camped on the same spot many years ago; small sticks had been chopped
-with an axe, and bones of caribou were lying in heaps on the ground. The
-Yellow Knives at once said it was an old Esquimaux camp, and it was
-evident that they had little inclination to go any farther down stream;
-more probably the chopping was done by a band of Dog-Ribs, whose
-hunting-grounds lie to the west, or possibly by the members of
-Stewart's and Anderson's expeditions. On mounting the butte we saw that
-the country northward presented a much more fertile appearance than
-anything we had seen on the south side of the watershed. There was a
-luxurious growth of grass over the sandy ridges, and during the two
-months of summer one could imagine oneself back on the prairies of
-Alberta; the willows here too grew to a better size, and, as far as we
-descended the river, we had little trouble about fuel; in the winter, of
-course, the willows would be all drifted over with snow, and it would
-then be no easy matter to make a fire. This stream heads in the woodless
-country; consequently there is no drift-timber, and not a single
-pine-tree is to be seen along its course.
-
-We had a pleasant camp enough that night, but rebellion was rife and
-burst into flame on the following morning when we ordered the men to
-take their places in the canoes. This is the hopeless part of having to
-rely on natives for travelling in the Barren Ground; they have no
-courage outside their own country. If we had had a good crew of
-half-breeds from Red River or the upper country of British Columbia we
-might even now, notwithstanding the lateness of the season, have pushed
-far out towards the northern sea-coast, and possibly have made the
-acquaintance of some of the scattered bands of Esquimaux who live there
-in happy ignorance of any more comfortable form of life. But we were
-practically in the hands of the Yellow Knives, for although I would
-myself have taken the risk of steering, none of the men who were willing
-to go knew how to stitch up a broken canoe, and it would have been
-madness to push on without this knowledge. Moise, our half-breed
-interpreter and steersman, who was an engaged servant of the Hudson's
-Bay Company and bound by his contract to obey Mackinlay's orders in
-everything, showed the Indian side of his nature by joining the
-mutineers and refusing to take his position in the stern of the canoe.
-For two hours we argued the matter on the bank of the river, and at one
-time I thought we should certainly have come to blows. Marlo and
-Carquoss were the ringleaders, but Saltatha was inclined to stand by us,
-although afraid of giving offence to the other Indians. The result of
-the dispute was that the worst two deserted, taking with them the little
-canoe, while Noel and Saltatha, tempted by many promises of great reward
-when we reached the fort, agreed to come with us, and Moise sulkily went
-back to his duty. After we had thus got rid of the element of discord
-things went on better; but the loss of the little canoe, besides doing
-away with our chance of crossing overland to Bathurst Inlet, increased
-the risk of losing all our possessions by one disaster. A pretty
-poetical thing is a birch-bark canoe, as it leaps down a sparkling river
-among its native birch woods, but too frail a craft for a long journey
-in the rockbound country beyond the line where timber grows. No chance
-here to strip the bark from a birch-tree and put a new side in a canoe
-that has struck a rock in the foaming rapid, or if needs be to build a
-new canoe altogether; three square feet of birch-bark, a little gum, and
-a bundle of fibre were our only resources for effecting repairs.
-
-The day's journey began with a rapid, below which was a reach of quiet
-water gradually broadening out into a lake some eight miles in length;
-its surface was covered with ice at the north end, but we found an open
-channel close ashore on the west side and effected a passage through by
-skirting the bays. Several bands of musk-ox were seen, and there was
-always too much anxiety among the men to put ashore and shoot, or to do
-anything except push steadily on; just as we were leaving the lake a
-magnificent bull appeared on the top of a high ridge, and, standing on a
-flat rock within one hundred yards of us, leisurely surveyed the first
-human beings who had encroached upon his sanctuary for so many years.
-
-Below the lake the river makes a sharp bend eastward, and for three
-miles is nothing but a succession of rapids. Moise when once at work was
-a splendid steersman, and he certainly handled the canoe with great
-skill through this difficult piece of navigation; we passed the mouths
-of two big streams coming in from the west, and at camping-time shot
-into a quiet sandy lake and put ashore for the night. A musk-ox that I
-killed from the door of the lodge, and the unlimited number of trout
-that we could catch in the river, enabled us to spend a peaceful Sunday
-without hunting. We explored towards the east, and came once more upon
-the iron country, which seems to run with a sharply defined edge in a
-north-easterly direction. There were few lakes out of the course of the
-river, but long stretches of flat grassy muskegs extended as far as the
-eye could see to the west. Four-footed game was plentiful, especially
-musk-ox; the caribou that we saw were generally solitary bucks, but it
-was now nearly time for the does to be coming back from the sea-coast;
-of the smaller animals we often came across a skulking wolf, a
-wolverine, an Arctic fox, or a hare, while the holes in the sand-hills
-were the abode of numerous _siffleurs_ and ermines. A ferocious little
-mouse, brown in summer, but turning white as the winter comes on, is
-very common all over the Barren Ground; if disturbed from a tuft of
-grass it will turn on a man and dance with impotent rage at his feet;
-these mice naturally fall an easy prey to the hawks and owls, which make
-a good living here during the summer months. Beyond these predatory
-birds little feathered life was visible in this part of the country; a
-few gulls, terns, and skuas flitted along the reaches of the river, and
-occasionally a loon or a long-tailed duck could be seen in the lakes.
-The Canada goose and grey wavy were breeding in the marshes, but not in
-great quantities; the main body of geese go right out to the coast to
-lay their eggs, and do not start for the South till the end of August.
-
-In the early morning we made a short portage over a small cascade
-immediately below the camp, and found that the river still held its
-northerly course through a chain of small lakes connected by short
-stretches of bad water. We made one more portage at mid-day and ran
-several rather nasty rapids. After dinner we were obliged to portage
-fully a mile to avoid an impassable reach, and then took more risk than
-we were justified in doing with our only canoe by running a couple of
-miles of broken water, full of boulders and with such a heavy sea that
-we shipped a good deal of water; luckily we did not touch anything, and
-dropped safely into a long narrow lake, on the east side of which camp
-was made for the night. This was the most dangerous day that we made; as
-although we always put ashore to inspect the rapids in case we might
-discover a waterfall below, we became emboldened by success and ran in
-safety through some places that we should not have attempted. Back's map
-of the river would have been a great help to us, but neither this nor an
-account of the previous journeys that had been made down the stream was
-procurable at the fort.
-
-The next day a curious blue haze hung over everything, closely
-resembling the smoke of a forest fire at a distance from the scene of
-conflagration. The lake that we had camped on proved to be about six
-miles in length, with the usual rapid at its north end connecting it
-with another lake, the size of which we could not at first determine
-owing to the murky state of the air; nor could we at once find its
-outlet, but by keeping in a north-easterly direction soon felt the
-influence of a current, and found the volume of water much increased by
-the junction of a tributary, which we afterwards discovered came in from
-the north-west. On the east side of the stream, just as it left the
-lake, we noticed a circle of flat stones standing on end, evidently put
-up by human hands, and on landing discovered unmistakable signs of a
-band of Esquimaux having been encamped there not very long before. Seven
-small oval-shaped enclosures, surrounded by rough turf-heaps six inches
-in height, had been the dwelling-places, but we could not determine
-whether these low walls were the foundations of snow-houses or deer-skin
-lodges; there were several blackened fireplaces outside, but the fires
-must have been very small judging from the charred stumps of tiny green
-willow twigs, and we saw no wood within several miles of the encampment.
-The stones propped on end had been used probably for drying meat, and
-for tying up the dogs to keep them from stealing. Bones and horns of
-musk-ox and caribou were lying about in every direction, and their
-numbers showed that this must be a favourite camping-place of the
-Esquimaux; some of the musk-ox horns had been cut into rough spoons, and
-several were found in a half-finished condition. A flat stone kettle was
-picked up with the grease still sticking to it, and a small piece of
-copper let into the back, possibly an arrangement for a handle, showed
-that these people are able to work this metal; there were also a few
-bone arrow-heads scattered about in the camp. If any further proof were
-necessary to determine what tribe of people had camped here, it was
-forthcoming in the form of several pieces of undressed sealskin with the
-hair on, and these seemed to be of greater interest to our crew than any
-of the other discoveries; arrow-heads, spoons, and kettle were dropped
-in the contemplation of the skin of an animal they had never seen, and
-they instantly demanded a description of the seal. After we had told
-them all we knew upon the subject, we asked their opinion as to the
-length of time that the Esquimaux had remained here, and when they had
-left. Saltatha, reading the signs that a white man might miss, came to
-the conclusion that they had come here in the autumn, as was proved by
-the hard horns of male caribou lying about, that they had stayed here
-through the winter, and left late in the spring with dogs on the last
-snow, about six weeks before our arrival. He thought too that they made
-a practice of coming here regularly, in the same manner that the Yellow
-Knives come to the head-waters of the river, as the bones appeared to
-him to have belonged to animals killed at widely differing dates. We
-found hiding-places among the rocks close to the edge of the river,
-which had evidently been used for concealing men engaged in spearing the
-swimming caribou. The only weak point in Saltatha's theory seemed to be
-the absence of any carcasses of freshly killed caribou; but it is
-possible that the Esquimaux may have left before the females came out so
-far, and the animals would have been later than usual in arriving here
-owing to the backward nature of the spring.
-
-When we had thoroughly inspected everything we left again down stream,
-with a swift current and good water without rapids for eight miles,
-where we found another lake running more to the eastward than the
-general course of the river; on the west side of this lake we were
-obliged to camp, as a strong head-wind raised too much sea to travel
-against, and rain was falling in torrents. We explored the shore of the
-lake in hopes of finding further traces of the Esquimaux, but made no
-discoveries of any kind. No musk-ox were seen this day, but there were
-enough caribou to provide food for the party.
-
-With better weather we made an early start in the morning, the river on
-leaving the lake bending a little more to the eastward, with a swift
-current for several miles, and two rapids which we ran in safety. A
-short distance below the second rapid the current slackens and the
-stream gets rapidly broader, till, with a sudden sweep to the
-south-east, the whole length of Beechey Lake comes open; a long narrow
-sheet of water, twenty-five miles in length, and nowhere more than two
-in breadth, lying east and west, and forming a well-defined elbow in the
-course of the Great Fish River. With a light fair wind, and a blanket
-set for a sail, we ran down the lake and pitched our lodge on the north
-shore. Two days were spent in exploration, but again we failed entirely
-to find any signs of the Esquimaux. Towards the east end of the lake the
-iron formation shows up once more, and the country is rough to travel
-through. There was a slight difficulty about provisions at this time as
-game was scarce, and, though we fully expected to catch fish in the lake
-and put out our net both nights, not a single fish was taken; just at
-the critical time, however, a few female caribou with their young turned
-up on their way back to the South, and we were relieved of all anxiety.
-
-As we had promised our crew that we would not descend the river beyond
-Beechey Lake, and it was already the end of July, orders were
-reluctantly given on the third day to start up stream with the intention
-of doing a little exploration to the northward of the old Esquimaux
-camp, to see if there was any feasible route from there to Bathurst
-Inlet, as there were no signs of these people having camped in any other
-place along the river. It seemed a pity to abandon the voyage just at
-the interesting time, after we had got over all the difficulties of the
-upper part of the river and had now only a broad stream to follow, with
-a great deal of easy lake-travel, to reach the Arctic Ocean, and the
-scene of the final sufferings of the members of Sir John Franklin's last
-expedition. On the other hand, we had no object in going down to the
-sea, and there is little pleasure to be got out of a journey of this
-kind with an unwilling and untrustworthy crew; our canoe, too, which was
-already leaking badly, would have been of very little service for sea
-work.
-
-As far as Beechey Lake the south side of the Great Fish River is free
-from any large tributary streams, so that, if our canoe had been smashed
-up in a rapid, and we had been able to save guns and ammunition, it
-would have been easy enough to follow the river on foot; but on the
-north side there are several large streams to be forded, and a long
-detour might be necessary to find a spot shallow enough for this
-purpose.
-
-There was much more enthusiasm displayed by the Indian portion of the
-crew on the up-stream journey, and no encouragement was needful to get a
-good day's work done. In the river stretches the tracking line was used,
-and three men at the shore end of it kept the canoe travelling at a
-lively pace except in the very strong water; in mounting the second
-rapid a mistake on the part of Noel, our bowsman, caused a heavy
-collision with a rock, and several hours were spent in putting in a
-patch of birch-bark. On the second night we pitched our lodge on the
-sandy lake within sight of the Esquimaux camp, and found a considerable
-stream coming in from a north-westerly direction. I cannot find any
-mention of this stream in the accounts of the two former journeys down
-the river, nor is it marked on the maps; it was probably unnoticed on
-both occasions, as it comes in at the west end of the lake, out of the
-course of a canoe passing up or down the main river.
-
-Mackinlay, Murdo, and myself started on foot the following morning, to
-explore this stream for a couple of days, taking David with us in case
-we came across any of his countrymen. The malcontents were left in
-charge of the camp, with orders to kill caribou if any passed, and
-partially dry the meat to save the waste of time caused by having to
-hunt for our living as we travelled; they were also to thoroughly gum
-the canoe, to stop as much as possible the leaking which was getting
-serious.
-
-We struck out along the bank of the stream, carrying nothing but a gun
-and a blanket apiece, and at dinner-time were lucky enough to find a
-flock of moulting Canada geese, unable to fly; four were shot, and two
-eaten at once, while the other two were stowed away among the rocks for
-use later on. We had a long day's walk through a pleasant grassy
-country, and towards evening crossed an unusually high range of hills
-through which the river canyons. Finding a few willows here, we left our
-blankets, and walked on along the bank for an hour or two, finally
-climbing a solitary sand-butte at sundown for a last survey of the
-country before turning our faces to the south.
-
-Far away towards the north-west we could trace the windings of the
-stream to a ridge of blue hills, which formed the horizon under the
-setting sun. How these blue ridges in the distance tempt one to push on
-and see what lies on the far side! And the experience that nine times
-out of ten you would have done better to stay where you were is never
-sufficient to overcome this feeling; to this day I can seldom resist it,
-although game may be plentiful at the door of my lodge and everything
-that one desires in a wild country is close at hand. Below us lay a
-broad valley, so green and fertile in appearance that we could hardly
-realise that for nine months in the year it lay frost-bound and
-snow-covered under the rigour of an Arctic climate. In the middle of
-this valley, close to the bank of the stream, was a black object that we
-had long ago learnt to recognise at a glance, an old bull musk-ox
-feeding in a patch of willow-scrub; he was sacrificed for our night's
-rations, and, loaded with meat and marrow-bones, we returned to the
-canyon where we had left our blankets. There was a distinct twilight, and
-late in the night David awoke me to draw my attention to the first star
-that we had seen for many weeks. "See," he said, "a star already; it is
-past middle summer, and we have not yet seen the sun all night." It was
-the first summer he had ever spent without seeing the midnight sun, as,
-since he had been left at the Peel River Fort by a band of Esquimaux who
-come there annually to trade, he had passed his life within the Arctic
-circle.
-
-The only signs that we saw of people having travelled along this valley
-were occasional cache-marks made by piling up a heap of small stones in
-a conspicuous position, to denote the carcass of an animal hidden in the
-rocks close by; but it seems such an easy route and leads so nearly in
-the direction of Bathurst Inlet, the nearest point on the sea-coast,
-that it is probably used regularly by wandering bands of Esquimaux on
-their way to and from their inland hunting-ground.
-
-This was the end of our voyage of discovery, though I should have liked
-to have pushed on another day or two; but we wanted a small canoe to be
-certain of reaching the coast, which must have been within sixty miles
-of us, as there are sure to be many lakes to cross _en route_, and
-making long detours on foot would be an endless task. The fine weather
-also had broken, and heavy showers of rain came driving in front of the
-north wind, while the rest of our crew that had remained with the canoe
-were not too trustworthy, and, with the exception of Saltatha, in whom
-both Mackinlay and myself had great confidence, were quite capable of
-leaving us to find our way out of the country on foot. We had to content
-ourselves with the hope that in a future summer, with an earlier season
-and a better crew, we might find an opportunity of exploring thoroughly
-this promising valley in the Barren Ground. But now I must turn my
-attention to my long journey of seventeen hundred miles, mostly
-up-stream, to cross the Rocky Mountains by the head-waters of the Peace
-River before the winter set in; and even if I could manage this there
-were still many hundred miles of mountain and forest to be crossed
-before I saw the shores of the Pacific and the abodes of civilization.
-
-When we reached the lodge we found that the Indians had made a stupid
-slaughter of caribou, and, not contented with taking as much meat as we
-could carry, had been recklessly killing the females and young that were
-now passing in great numbers. The love of killing seems deeply rooted in
-the nature of most men, but the Yellow Knives have it more fully
-developed than other people. This indiscriminate slaughter is especially
-culpable in a land where ammunition is scarce, and not to be replaced
-when wasted by needless firing.
-
-The next morning we picked out of our trading-stock a few presents to be
-left in the Esquimaux camp, as a sign that there were people in the
-interior willing to be on friendly terms with the people of the coast.
-Knives, axes, beads, and files, a couple of hand-mirrors, a few strips
-of red cloth, and a flannel shirt or two were stuffed into a copper
-kettle, which would be itself the biggest prize of all. On lifting the
-lid, the first object to meet the eye of the wondering Esquimaux would
-be the photograph of the Protestant missionary at Fort Resolution, which
-David had been keeping among his small stock of treasures; it was a
-photograph of a Church of England clergyman, in clerical costume, and
-should certainly give the Esquimaux a favourable idea of the style of
-man who had visited their camping-place. We also put in a note asking
-anyone who might read it to let us know in what manner it had come to
-hand, as it is uncertain whether these scattered bands of Esquimaux ever
-visit the Hudson's Bay Company's summer trading-post on Marble Island,
-which lies a great distance away at the mouth of Chesterfield Inlet, or
-whether they only know of the white men by hearsay from other tribes
-that trade annually with the Company. The kettle was carefully stowed in
-one of the pits made for watching the swimming caribou, and a
-canoe-pole, bearing a gaudy cotton handkerchief for a flag, planted
-alongside to attract attention. Everybody tried their handiwork at
-sketching our story with burnt sticks on the conspicuous flat rocks
-close to the river: there was a picture of a canoe, with seven upright
-black lines supposed to represent seven men; another of a Yellow Knife
-and an Esquimau (though the artist could not say which was which)
-shaking hands with the greatest affection; while David was certainly
-entitled to the first prize for a bloodthirsty sketch of a misshapen
-musk-ox, with a thin black line, again supposed to be a man, transfixed
-on the point of his horn. When we thought we had represented everything
-to perfection, we turned our backs on the land of the Esquimaux and
-plodded away up stream, tracking and portaging in the river-stretches,
-and paddling through the lakes which are always a great help in mounting
-a stream.
-
-We now came in for a spell of really bad weather, which made the uphill
-work very laborious. A heavy unceasing downpour of rain, and sometimes
-sleet, continued day after day, accompanied by strong winds. The men all
-worked well and without much grumbling, although we were never dry and
-in many places the tracking had to be done waist-deep in water; at night
-we slept in our wet clothes, on the wet ground, rolled up in our sopping
-blankets. This is the killing weather, and one needs perfect health to
-resist its effects; the dry cold of a northern winter is child's play in
-comparison. Saltatha, who had hurt himself by a nasty fall while
-carrying a heavy load over a portage, broke down completely at this
-time, and was unable to work during the rest of the trip. We could do
-nothing for him, as there was no medicine of any kind in the outfit,
-and he had to take his chance with the rest. I think he came very near
-dying while we were running down Lockhart's River; he lost all strength
-and was spitting blood freely for a fortnight, but ultimately recovered
-in a miraculous manner. We worked long days tracking up-stream, but were
-continually delayed by having to patch up the canoe every time she
-touched a rock; it was just as well we did not go down to the mouth of
-the river, for she would certainly not have stood another three weeks'
-work of this kind. Another trouble was the scarcity of moccasins, which
-were completely worn out by a single day's walk on the sharp rocks along
-the river's bank.
-
-In eight days we reached Musk-ox Lake, and, finding the wind too strong
-to paddle against, we put ashore on the east side and took advantage of
-a little sunshine to thoroughly dry all our belongings. From this camp
-we saw the last musk-ox, and, crossing the bay with a canoe, went in
-pursuit as our meat supply was short. Some of the guns were posted, and
-others tried to drive the animals, but we made a mess of the hunt and
-the whole band escaped; my last remembrance of the animals that I had
-started out a year before on purpose to kill, being a stern view of a
-grand old bull disappearing at a gallop over a ridge, and a puff of dust
-just behind him, marking the spot where a badly aimed rifle-bullet had
-struck the ground. A caribou, however, supplied us with meat, but we
-had some trouble in picking him up, as he was killed in the water and it
-was no easy matter to tow his carcass ashore against the gale of wind
-that was raging. Mackinlay and myself for once got ahead of the
-wolverines on this occasion. We saw three coming our way before they saw
-us, and, lying behind a rock, bowled them all over; a right and left at
-wolverines is seldom brought about in a lifetime, but it is very
-satisfactory when one thinks of the stolen _caches_ and consequent hard
-times that these wily brutes are responsible for.
-
-From the south end of the lake I walked ahead with Mackinlay, starting
-early in the morning, and at mid-day sighted three lodges on the Aylmer
-Lake divide. We fired a signal-shot which brought everybody out, and we
-were soon surrounded by Capot Blanc's brigade, and deluged with
-questions as to what had happened and why we had come back alone; for
-surely something evil had taken place in the country that always slopes
-downhill. With our small command of the Yellow Knife language, and
-plenty of signs, we made them understand that the canoe was by this time
-at the first lake, and the water was so low in the river that it would
-be necessary to portage the whole distance. All the available men and
-women went to help our crew to carry the loads, and by sundown our lodge
-was once more planted by the water that finds its way to the Great
-Slave Lake and runs a course of a thousand miles before falling into
-the Arctic Sea.
-
-It took half a day to settle accounts with the Indians who had been
-working for us on our way up to Musk-ox Lake, while the women were busy
-gumming the canoe and getting her in order for the run down Lockhart's
-River. A good proportion of the wages due were paid out of the remainder
-of our trading-stock that had been intended for the Esquimaux if we had
-met them. The box that contained this small supply of goods had been an
-object of strife the whole time. The Indians had the strongest objection
-to any of the products of the Grand Pays passing through their country
-being given to strangers, and we had been careful not to let them see
-the gaudy contents of the box, or we should have been troubled with the
-constant begging that the Yellow Knives think will eventually gain them
-the object they desire. Imagination had run high as to the contents of
-the fairy casket, and there was a great rush when it was announced that
-any of the men to whom wages were due might take what they fancied. They
-had seen pressed bales of blankets landed at the fort on the arrival of
-the yearly outfit from Winnipeg, and had been surprised at the number of
-blankets that could be squeezed into a small space; there was an idea
-prevalent that our box had been packed on the same principle, and might
-contain an abundant supply of all the good things that only the white
-men know how to make. Some disappointment was shown when it turned out
-that we had only been speaking the truth in answering their petitions by
-telling them we had such a small stock that nothing could be spared. The
-trade went off to the satisfaction of both sides; the Indians obtained
-the trinkets so dear to their vanity, and we lightened our load for the
-numerous portages that lay between us and the Great Slave Lake. There
-was some question as to what it was best to do with Saltatha; whether to
-leave him here with his friends, or to let him take his chance of the
-canoe journey to the fort, where medicine could possibly be obtained; at
-his own request we decided on the latter course, and during the first
-few days his health seemed to improve.
-
-The route that we were now to take was the same that Back and Anderson
-had both chosen, following the Lockhart's River down-stream through the
-immense lakes that lie in its course, gradually bending to the
-south-west, and avoiding the impassable obstructions in the lower part
-of the river by portaging through a chain of lakes, the last of which is
-only three miles distant from the north-east end of the Great Slave
-Lake. The boat was to meet us on August 1st, and as it was already
-several days past that date we determined to travel our best, although
-there was a chance of getting windbound in any of the big lakes.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII
-
-
-Late in the afternoon, with a great improvement in the weather, our
-canoe was afloat on Aylmer Lake (known to the Indians as the Lake of the
-Big Cliffs), over which she had been dragged on a dog-sleigh five weeks
-before. The following evening we passed into the short stretch of river
-that leaves its east end, and camped late on the south shore of Clinton
-Golden Lake, or, as the Yellow Knives call it, the Lake where the
-Caribou swim among the Ice. The vast body of water opened out before us
-into apparently a perfect circle, and now for the first time we were in
-doubt as to our course, for there was nothing to indicate the point at
-which the river leaves the far end of the lake; the east shore was
-invisible from the slight hill behind our camp, although it was a clear
-bright morning. We had two maps with us, one, the latest issued under
-the Dominion Government's directions, and the other, an old 1834 map of
-Arrowsmith's which we had discovered at the fort; they offered very
-divergent opinions as to the general lay of Lockhart's River, and it
-says little for later geographical research that the older map should
-have been by far the more accurate of the two.
-
-We put out at three o'clock in the morning to take advantage of calm
-weather to make the crossing of the lake, and after paddling about eight
-miles went ashore on an island to cook breakfast and reconnoitre. From
-here we could see the faint outline of land to the east, and made out
-that what had appeared a circle consisted in reality of three enormous
-bays, one heading east, one south-east, and the third south-west. Which
-was the right one to take? An appeal to Saltatha and Noel, who were
-supposed to have local knowledge, produced no results; Noel said he
-thought the east bay was the right one, while Saltatha, pointing
-south-west, said perhaps that was the correct course to follow. It ended
-in our taking the middle bay, and, for the benefit of the next party
-that crosses this lake, I may state that there is a peculiar conical
-butte lying roughly twenty miles south-east from this island; it is just
-visible above the horizon, and is a capital leading mark to bring a
-canoe into a long narrow arm of the lake, which afterwards broadens
-again into a huge round sheet of water, and here, by keeping close to
-the east shore for five miles, the entrance to the river will be found.
-It was in great uncertainty that we headed our frail vessel across the
-broad traverse with a blanket set in front of a light fair wind; at noon
-we again put ashore on an island, and, killing a caribou, made a long
-halt for dinner. We climbed to the highest point of land but could make
-nothing out of our survey, and continued coasting along the island till
-we reached its south end, and then found ourselves in the channel I have
-mentioned. No current was noticeable, and we pushed on through the
-winding waterway, in fear that it might be a _cul de sac_ and we should
-have to turn back and try our luck in some other direction. On landing,
-however, we saw a sheet of water ahead of us, so broad that the far
-shore was below the horizon, and, on passing out of the channel we had
-been following, pitched camp on the east side of the lake, still
-uncertain as to where the river lay. Very early in the morning we were
-under way again, and followed the land to make sure that we did not pass
-the opening of the river, if indeed we were anywhere near it. About six
-o'clock there came a shout from the bowsman, that he saw a pole planted
-among the rocks ashore, and the canoe at once began to feel the
-influence of a slight current. Rounding a low point, a reach of strong
-running water lay before us, and we landed to see what was the meaning
-of the pole. A broken piece of _babiche_ hanging from it told the old
-story of a rifled _cache_, another evidence of the wolverine's
-handiwork.
-
-Among the Indians who had come to the fort during the winter to trade
-fur was a hunter generally known by the name of Pierre the Fool, though
-it seems hard to understand how one of the most intelligent Indians in
-the country of the Great Slave Lake had earned this _soubriquet_.
-Pierre had been much interested in our expedition. Every summer he
-pitched his lodge where the river leaves the lake in which the caribou
-swim among the ice, to make dried meat to sell at the fort; his hunt
-this year had been successful, and, when he broke up his camp, he had
-faithfully kept his promise to leave us a _cache_ of pounded meat and
-grease, but the wolverines had reaped the benefit. Just below the camp
-we saw plain evidence of the slaughter he had made among the swimming
-caribou; what we took at first for a bunch of remarkably big willow
-sticks proved to be the horns of fifty or sixty bucks, lying in shallow
-water at the edge of the stream; and enough meat to keep an Indian
-family for a year, if properly cured, was rotting in the sun.
-
-After a mile of strong running stream the river falls into another lake,
-and immediately makes a sharp bend to the south-west, and, during the
-rest of the descent, we travelled in that direction with little
-variation till we reached the Great Slave Lake. Saltatha now began to
-recognise the country, and there was no more doubt about the way; but
-had we been left to our own judgment, we should have certainly gone
-wrong in this first lake, as there is a promising bay heading in to the
-south. None of the maps show this bend in the stream at all correctly,
-nor do they take any notice of the next lake, the Indians' Ptarmigan
-Lake, a large sheet of water fully twenty miles in length, which Pierre
-the Fool afterwards told us lies within a short portage of the west bay
-of Clinton Golden Lake.
-
-We now fell in again with the big herds of caribou. For the last few
-weeks we had only seen enough to provide us with meat, but here they
-were in their thousands, and I am sorry to say that our crew did far too
-much killing, during the short spell of bad weather which forced us to
-camp on Ptarmigan Lake. The excuse was that the hides were now at their
-best for coats and robes; but even so, far more were killed than could
-be used for this purpose.
-
-We made rather a risky passage down the lake in front of a strong wind
-and heavy sea, and at the west end found an ugly rapid six hundred yards
-in length: the cargo was portaged and the canoe run light in safety;
-and, after crossing a short lake, another rapid was negotiated in the
-same manner. In this second portage stood a solitary pine-tree, round
-which we all crowded as in welcome of an old friend after our long
-journey in a woodless country. Just below there was an impassable rapid,
-the only real impediment to navigation from the head of Mackay Lake to
-the foot of Artillery Lake, a distance of four hundred miles. Below the
-portage we ran five or six miles down a steady swift current,
-occasionally widening out into a small lake, with caribou continually
-swimming across the river ahead of the canoe, and late at night camped
-on the edge of a huge lake with a clear horizon to the west. This
-proved to be Artillery Lake, and at four o'clock next morning we were
-running down the south shore, in front of a gale of wind with our
-smallest blanket set for a sail. The day was much colder, with a few
-flakes of snow flying, and everybody was pleased to put ashore in a
-clump of pine-trees at dinner-time; the wind moderated towards evening,
-and, crossing to the north shore, we camped once again in the strong
-woods. The timber line is much more clearly defined here than on the
-other routes by which I approached the Barren Ground; the outlying
-clumps of pines extend to a very short distance, and their growth ceases
-entirely within seventy miles of the Great Slave Lake. If it should ever
-again prove necessary to reach the Arctic Sea by way of the Great Fish
-River, Artillery Lake would, in my opinion, be by far the best place at
-which to build light boats for the voyage; the timber is quite large
-enough, and only one portage has to be made to reach the Aylmer Lake
-divide.
-
-The next morning we reached the end of Artillery Lake, which we reckoned
-roughly at forty-five miles in length, and passed into a narrow channel
-with hardly any current. Towards midday a couple of small canoes
-appeared ahead of us, and the usual formalities of saluting ensued. When
-they came alongside the occupants were asked for the news, and they
-informed us that the burnt Indian was drowned, that the caribou had
-been passing more thickly than ever known before, and that the fort boat
-had not yet arrived at the appointed meeting-place. The burnt Indian
-seems to have been badly out of luck. He had rolled into his camp-fire
-during a fit, and was found with his feet burnt off; after being
-doctored by the missionary for many months, and cured as far as it was
-possible to cure such a case, the cripple had left the fort with some of
-his relations to get back among the caribou, but on the second day out
-was drowned by capsizing his canoe. We could not account for the
-non-arrival of the boat, as we ourselves were already a fortnight later
-than the day agreed upon for meeting.
-
-Round the next bend of the stream were six lodges, and the first
-greeting we received was from old Syene, the Medicine Man. There was no
-doubt that the caribou had been passing, as the children and dogs were
-rolling fat, and an unmistakable air of plethora from much feasting hung
-over the camp. Only four days before there had been one of those big
-slaughters, which one would think could not fail in a short time to
-exterminate the caribou. A large band had been seen to start from the
-opposite bank, and was soon surrounded by seven hunting-canoes; the
-spears were kept going as long as there was life to take, with the
-result that three hundred and twenty-six carcasses were hauled ashore,
-and fully two hundred of these left to rot in the shallow water. Every
-lodge was full of meat and grease in various forms, and there would be a
-cargo for the boat to take back to the fort. Pierre the Fool, who was
-camped here, was in great form, and at once presented us with a bunch of
-smoked tongues and a bladder of marrow grease. He gave us a great deal
-of information about the country eastward of Clinton Golden Lake, and in
-a much more intelligent manner than the usual Indian method of constant
-repetition; he told us there were fewer lakes in that direction than in
-any other part of the Barren Ground that he had visited, but he was
-always obliged to take a small canoe with him, to cross a big stream
-running in a southerly direction, three days' easy travel from Clinton
-Golden Lake. Once, when he had pushed out farther than usual, he had
-seen smoke in the distance, and came upon a camp that the Esquimaux from
-Hudson's Bay had just left; they had been cutting wood for their sleighs
-in a clump of well-grown pines, and Pierre, who shares the dread which
-every Yellow Knife has of the Coast tribes, had been afraid to follow
-them. From the fact of his having seen the pine-trees, which are said
-not to extend far from the salt water of Hudson's Bay, he must have been
-within a short distance of the coast.
-
-On the day after our arrival in the encampment a general movement was
-made; the lodges were thrown down, and the women and dogs received heavy
-loads to carry to the Great Slave Lake. Lockhart's River on leaving
-Artillery Lake becomes a wild torrent, falling several hundred feet in
-twenty miles, and is quite useless for navigation, so we had to make use
-of a chain of lakes, eight in number, lying to the south of the stream.
-This is by far the prettiest part of the country that I saw in the
-North, and it was looking its best under the bright sunshine that
-continued till we reached the fort. Scattering timber, spruce and birch,
-clothed the sloping banks down to the sandy shores of the lakes; berries
-of many kinds grew in profusion; the portages were short and down hill;
-and caribou were walking the ridges and swimming the lakes in every
-direction. A perfect northern fairyland it was, and it seemed hard to
-believe that winter and want could ever penetrate here; but on the shore
-of a lovely blue lake Pierre the Fool pointed out a spot where the last
-horrors of death and cannibalism had been enacted within his memory.
-Sometimes a column of smoke would be seen ahead, and we paddled by a
-lodge where the fat sleepy children were revelling in the abundance of
-grease. Late on the second day a white object on the shore attracted
-general attention: "It is a wolf, a white caribou; no, a man, a man in a
-white shirt,--it must be one of the boat's crew"; and so it proved to
-be. The white shirt was a libel, but the clean canvas jumper quite
-deserved the admiration it had received, especially in contrast with our
-own rags. The boat had arrived from Fort Resolution in charge of
-Francois Mandeville, another brother of Michel the fort interpreter.
-Francois had been alarmed at not finding us at the meeting-place, and
-had immediately dispatched four of the crew in a large canoe, with a
-supply of tea, tobacco, and flour, to ascend the river in hopes of
-finding us. But the relief party had come across the fresh tracks of
-caribou in the first portage; it was long since they had tasted meat, so
-the canoe was put down in the woods, and the "big masters," who were
-supposed to be lost in the Barren Ground, were forgotten. The man we met
-had come on to see some relations who were camped among the lakes, and,
-as he was discovered to be possessed of tobacco, we made him share up,
-and sat on the beach enjoying the first smoke for many days, and hearing
-the accounts of what little events had happened during a short summer on
-the Great Slave Lake. But it was getting late, and we still had the
-longest portage to make. At the end of the last lake we abandoned the
-canoe that had done me such good service on two long journeys, and with
-loads on our backs followed the well-worn trail that the Indians have
-used from time immemorial as a route to their hunting-grounds. A natural
-pass with a steep descent led between the rough broken hills on each
-side, and a three-mile walk brought us within sight of the waters of the
-big lake. Below us, close by the edge of the bay, there were already
-several lodges planted, and over a white tent floated the old red
-ensign bearing in the corner the letters H. B. C. so well known
-throughout the whole dominion of Canada. A shot from the last ridge
-aroused the encampment, and soon a general fusillade took place; a fleet
-of canoes, running with blankets set to a fair wind far across the bay,
-took up the firing and headed for the shore, while every Indian within
-sound of gun-shot hurried to hear the news and join in the trading which
-was sure to take place on our arrival.
-
-Here we found everything that a man in the wilds longs for, flour,
-bacon, tea, tobacco, sugar, a packet of letters from England written
-many months before, and a bottle of brandy, the first "fire-water" that
-had come our way for a year. Women and dogs heavily loaded with bales of
-meat and bladders of grease kept dropping in from across the portage; a
-dance was set on foot and kept up all night round the huge camp fires,
-while the tall pine-trees looked down on a scene of feasting and revelry
-such as had probably never been known on the shores of this pleasant
-bay.
-
-Poor Saltatha, who had been very bad for the last week, crawled into our
-lodge late at night, and threw himself down on a blanket in a state of
-utter exhaustion. In spite of the best law in Canada, which forbids a
-white man to give an Indian any intoxicating drink, under penalty of a
-$200 fine, I determined to try if brandy could do him any good.
-Saltatha had never tasted the strong water, but had heard much of its
-wonderful qualities, and made no objection to trying the cure. I gave
-him a small dose, but it had a wonderful effect; his eyes became round
-and big, and once again he started the dismal chant that he had been so
-fond of during our musk-ox hunt last winter. He was hopelessly drunk,
-and, when he was seized with a violent fit of coughing and his head fell
-on the blanket like a dead man's, I thought I had made a sad mess of my
-doctoring. Early in the morning I got up to see if he was dead, and was
-relieved to find him much better and keen for some more brandy, which I
-refused; he had had very pleasant dreams he said, and the pain had gone
-from his chest to his head. From that time he improved in health, his
-strength came back rapidly, and when I left the fort a week later, he
-looked as well as ever.
-
-Two days were spent in trading for the meat which kept coming in, and
-during this time we sent out a hunting-party to kill fresh meat, which
-we hoped would keep till we reached the fort if we made a good passage.
-At Resolution times were very hard; few fish were being caught, and the
-return of the boat was anxiously expected. Many caribou were killed, and
-our ship was well loaded with fresh meat, besides over three thousand
-pounds of dried meat, two hundred pounds of grease, bunches of tongues,
-coils of _babiche_ and sinew, and a little fur that had been killed
-during the spring.
-
-The Indians all left on the evening of the second day, and early the
-following morning we put to sea in a flat calm. Before leaving we went
-through the ceremony of cutting a lop-stick, as is the fashion of the
-North, to commemorate our expedition. A conspicuous pine was chosen, a
-man sent aloft to lop off the lower branches, while Mackinlay and myself
-cut our names on the trunk; then everybody discharged their guns at the
-tree, and the performance was ended. Often in the lonely waterways of
-the Northern country one sees a lop-stick showing far ahead on the bank,
-and reads a name celebrated in the annals of the Hudson's Bay Company or
-in the history of Arctic exploration. These lop-sticks are easily
-distinguished landmarks, well known to the _voyageurs_, and many an
-appointment has been kept at Campbell's, Macdougal's, or Macfarlane's
-tree. In giving directions to a stranger it is hopeless to describe the
-points and bends of a monotonous river highway, but a lop-stick does the
-duty of a signpost and at once settles the question of locality.
-
-Two hundred miles of the Great Slave Lake lay between us and the fort,
-but a steady wind came from the north, and the shallow-draught York boat
-ran in front of it so well that on the fourth night we camped on the
-Mission Island within a couple of miles of Fort Resolution. A worse
-boat for the navigation of the lake could hardly be imagined. A huge
-square sail, set on a mast shipped right amidships, does good work so
-long as the wind is abaft the beam; but when a head-wind springs up, too
-strong to row against, it is a case of hauling ashore on the beach, as
-no anchor is carried. Steep cliffs on a lee shore have to be carefully
-avoided, for it is impossible to propel such a vessel to windward in a
-heavy sea. On the present occasion, however, we were in great luck, and
-I never remember a more pleasant voyage in a sailing-boat. A run up the
-English Channel in a well-found yacht, with fair wind and sunshine, is
-enjoyable enough; but there are seldom any blankets to lie about in on
-deck, and there is always some stray peak or jib-halliard that wants
-pulling on, besides continual threats of setting or stowing a topsail,
-which prevents your settling down into a comfortable position. Here we
-had nothing to worry us; the wind blew fair, and we lay in our blankets,
-smoking and looking at the land, as the boat glided along the narrow
-blue lanes, among islands that the foot of white man had never pressed.
-Four times a day we put ashore to boil the kettle, and at night slept by
-the side of a huge fire in the thick pine-woods; darkness lasted many
-hours now, and prevented navigation among the countless islands and
-outlying rocks. On the fourth day we crossed the Grand Traverse, and,
-leaving the Ile de Pierre after nightfall, ran for Mission Island with
-a strong wind blowing in from the open lake. Crossing the mouth of the
-big river was rather risky work in the dark, as the sandy battures ran
-far off to sea and the waves were breaking heavily in the shallow water;
-the sounding-pole gave only four feet in one place, but we ran across
-without touching, and at midnight camped at the back of Mission Island.
-
-The sun was just rising on Sunday, August the 24th, when we ran the boat
-on the beach in front of Fort Resolution, and a glance at the faces that
-gathered round told us that living had been none too good, and that a
-man is sometimes better off among the caribou than depending upon an
-uncertain fishery for a livelihood. With all thanks to priest and
-parson, Indian and half-breed, for the kind welcome they gave us, I
-noticed many an eye glancing furtively at our rich cargo from the land
-of plenty; and the rejoicings that day may be attributed equally to joy
-at our safe arrival and to the influence of a feast of fresh meat after
-many weeks of short allowance.
-
-I could afford to make only a short stay at Resolution, as the season
-was far advanced, and I had to start at once to avoid the chance of
-being caught by the winter during my long journey. Of the three routes
-that might enable me to do this I should have preferred the ascent of
-the Liard River, which falls into the Mackenzie at Fort Simpson. From
-its head-waters at Dease Lake, in the once celebrated mining district
-of Cassiar, the Pacific Coast is reached at Fort Wrangel in Southern
-Alaska without difficulty; but the Liard itself is full of terrors, even
-for the hardy _voyageurs_ of the North, and although Mr. Camsell offered
-every inducement to men to accompany me he was unable to get together a
-crew. Formerly the Company had an establishment at Fort Halket on the
-west branch of the Liard, but the difficulties of conveying supplies,
-and the frequent occurrence of starvation, made it a hard post to
-maintain; finally a boat's crew were drowned by a capsize in one of the
-worst rapids, and the fort was abandoned. The Athabasca I had seen, and
-not caring to go over old ground I decided on ascending the Peace River
-to its head-waters in the neighbourhood of Macleod's Lake on the west
-side of the Rocky Mountains, and, crossing the small divide, to run down
-the Fraser River to Quesnelle a small town on the southern edge of the
-Caribou Gold Fields of Northern British Columbia.
-
-The _Wrigley_ had made her last up-stream voyage for the year, and was
-daily expected from Fort Smith. I was thus obliged to depend on canoe
-travelling to reach Chipeweyan on the Athabasca Lake, some three hundred
-miles distant; if we had arrived at the fort ten days earlier I could
-have saved much valuable time by making this part of my journey by
-steamer.
-
-Taking advantage of frequent experience that it is better to leave a
-fort overnight, even if camp be made within a couple of miles, than to
-trust to an early start in the morning, it was after sundown on the 26th
-when I said good-bye to Resolution, not without a feeling of regret, and
-the hope of seeing at some future time the place where I had been so
-well treated. There are few spots in the world in which one can live for
-a year without making some friends, and when I left this lonely
-trading-post there were many faces on the beach that I should like to
-see again. Saltatha was the last man to shake hands with me as I stepped
-into the canoe; he tried to extract a promise from me to come back the
-next summer for another expedition in the Barren Ground, and was much
-disappointed when I told him that I certainly could not return for two
-years, and perhaps not even then. No need to feel pity for the people
-left behind, although I was going to civilization and all the good
-things that this word comprises. A man who has spent much time under the
-influence of the charm which the North exercises over everybody wants
-nothing better than to be allowed to finish his life in the peace and
-quietness which reign by the shores of the Great Slave Lake. Ask the
-priest, when you meet him struggling against a head-wind and driving
-snow on his way to some Indian encampment, whether he ever sighs for his
-sunny France. "No," he will tell you; "here I have everything I want and
-nothing to distract my thoughts; I enjoy perfect health, and I feel no
-desire to go back to the worries of the great world." So it is with the
-fur-trader; the mysterious charm has a firm hold on him, and if he is in
-charge of a post where provisions are fairly plentiful and the Indians
-not troublesome he has a happy life indeed. I was sorry to have missed
-seeing the Mackenzie River, La Grande Riviere en Bas, as they call it at
-Fort Resolution, but to do this meant spending another winter and
-another summer in the country, and I could not afford the time.
-
-[Illustration: Starting Up the Peace River]
-
-The first evening out from the fort we camped near the mouth of the
-Slave River, on the same spot where I had spent a night with King
-Beaulieu and his family more than a year before. My crew now consisted
-of Murdo Mackay and three half-breeds, while Mackinlay, who had proved
-such a trusty companion during our summer journey, was to accompany me
-till we met the steamer. This happened the next morning, and after an
-hour of hurried questions and answers, and farewells to men who seemed
-more like old friends than comparative strangers whom I had met once the
-year before, the _Wrigley_ put her head down-stream, and we continued
-our voyage through the wilderness of pines, cotton-wood, and willow.
-
-Pierre Beaulieu was captain and guide of the canoe, and a right good
-traveller he proved to be; no lying snug in your blankets in the early
-morning, but breakfast in black darkness, and the paddles or
-tracking-line in full swing at the first sign of the coming day.
-Sometimes he would put ashore and start us off through the woods, with
-canoe and cargo on our backs, to drop on the river again at the end of
-the portage, and find that we had saved many miles of laborious
-up-stream work by cutting across a bend of the river. The tracking till
-we reached Fort Smith was bad, as the banks were usually soft muddy
-sand, while the land-slips had sent so many trees into the river that it
-was often easier to paddle against the stream than to pass the line
-round the obstruction. Ducks and geese were plentiful enough, but
-Mackinlay had been liberal in the matter of provisions for our voyage,
-so we only took the most tempting shots, but if it had been necessary we
-could have made our own living without difficulty. Early on the sixth
-day we came in sight of Fort Smith, and found Mr. Flett in charge, with
-the house much improved and made fairly comfortable in readiness for the
-winter; but there was no time to be spared, and the next day saw us
-driving across the portage in a waggon to take a fresh crew to
-Chipeweyan. No canoe was available, but Jose Beaulieu, another of King's
-numerous brothers, lent us a skiff, which answered the purpose well
-enough. Mr. Flett took the opportunity of going up to headquarters, and
-enlivened the journey with many stories of over forty years' experience
-in the North. Among the new crew was a deaf and dumb half-breed, a
-capital worker and always good-tempered, in spite of the cold drenching
-rain that continued till we reached Chipeweyan; some of his
-conversations by signs were very amusing, and one could almost wish that
-all these boatmen were deaf and dumb to avoid the constant chatter which
-they keep up round the camp-fire when they know that you understand
-them. One day we made a splendid run in front of a gale of north wind,
-but nearly came to grief through our steersman's recklessness in trying
-to force the boat over a rapid under canvas; she took a sheer in the
-swirl of an eddy, and the sail jibbed with such violence that we were
-within an inch of a capsize. Provisions ran short on the last day, but
-just as we were talking of camping early and going after duck for supper
-a little black bear turned up on the bank; I was lucky enough to kill
-it, and we enjoyed a royal feast of fat bear's meat instead of a night's
-starvation. On the fourth day we entered the Athabasca Lake, and forced
-our way to the fort against a strong head-wind; it was another Sunday
-arrival, and we did not show to advantage in comparison with the bright
-dresses and gaudy belts and moccasins of the dwellers at the chief post
-of the Athabasca district. A little snow was whitening the ground, the
-goose-hunt was at its height, and the array of nets showed plainly
-enough that it was time to make preparation for the Fall fishing. Dr.
-Mackay was away inspecting Fort Vermillion on the Lower Peace River,
-and would not be back for several days. An unexpected difficulty now
-turned up; there was no crew forthcoming for the next part of my
-journey, and everybody advised me to take the ordinary route by the
-Athabasca River. However, two of my Fort Smith crew, Jose and Dummy,
-finally agreed to go to Vermillion, although neither of them had been
-there before, and Murdo, who was very anxious to accompany me across the
-mountains, obtained leave to come with me till we should meet Dr. Mackay
-on Peace River; if he could get extended leave from the head officer of
-the District he was to come right through.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV
-
-
-By this time it was well on in September, and eight hundred miles had to
-be travelled to reach the Rocky Mountains and when these were sighted
-there were still two hundred miles to MacLeod's Lake, the farthest point
-I could reasonably hope to reach by open water. The first night we
-camped in the Quatre Fourches, the channel connecting the lake with the
-main stream of Peace River. The banks were thickly peopled with Indians
-and half-breeds, drying whitefish which were being taken in marvellous
-numbers; white and grey wavies and ducks of many kinds were flying
-overhead in large flocks, and rising in front of the canoe at every bend
-of the stream; plovers and other wading birds were screaming over the
-marshes, and I noticed a good many snipe; but who would fire a charge of
-ammunition at such a wretched little mouthful when geese were plentiful?
-Without going out of our way to hunt, we could have loaded the canoe
-with wild-fowl, but of course only killed as many as we required for
-food.
-
-At the end of the Quatre Fourches we passed into the main stream of
-Peace River, and, with a sharp westward turn, commenced our ascent of
-the easiest of all the Northern waterways. From its junction with the
-Slave River to the first range of the Rocky Mountains, with only the
-obstruction of the shute some forty miles below Fort Vermillion, its
-course is navigable throughout for a light-draught steamer, and, but for
-this shute, would be an invaluable route for supplying the Hudson's Bay
-Company's upper river-posts.
-
-The lower reaches of the river present exactly the same appearance as
-the country we had passed through in ascending the Slave River; a broad
-stream with low sandy banks, densely timbered, with often a huge
-sand-bar, the resting-place of many geese, stretching far out into the
-stream. We were rather handicapped by not knowing the river and missing
-the best tracking; an old hand would have known all the correct
-crossings to take advantage of an easy bank to track from, or an eddy to
-paddle in. Nor could we well risk the short cuts, as a promising channel
-would often end in dry sand instead of running through into the
-river, or turn out to be the mouth of a tributary stream. After our
-usual halt for dinner on the third day we saw a canoe coming down
-stream, and, crossing over, found that it was Dr. Mackay on his way from
-Vermillion; both canoes put ashore and we had the usual cup of tea and
-an hour's yarn together. The Doctor was anxious to get back to
-Chipeweyan, to begin his Fall fishing and make every possible
-preparation for keeping up the food-supply for the winter; I had no time
-to spare either, and darkness must have found us camping many miles
-apart. These stray meetings in the wilderness are always a pleasant
-recollection, and on first returning to civilization one is surprised at
-the manner in which people pass each other with a nod, till one realises
-the fact that there are too many people about for a more lengthy salute.
-Murdo obtained leave to come with me across the mountains, subject to
-the condition that he was to return in the spring if he received orders
-to that effect from headquarters at Winnipeg.
-
-The same evening we hauled up an insignificant rapid, caused by a
-contraction in the channel; a limestone formation, with many fossils,
-shows up here for a few miles of the river's course, and is noticeable
-again at the shutes and in several spots along the river. We broke the
-canoe rather badly in mounting this rapid, and during the rest of our
-journey to Vermillion had to bale out frequently. Day after day we
-followed the winding course of the river, which bends and doubles on
-itself through the flat country, and at last made out a landmark in the
-Caribou Mountains, lying to the north and stretching in that direction
-as far as we could see: an inviting range of hills, clear of timber on
-the slope, and their round summits sparsely dotted with pines; a
-favourite hunting-ground for the Indians of Vermillion, but none of the
-white men of whom I made inquiry seemed to have any knowledge of the
-extent or nature of this solitary range, rising so conspicuously from
-the dead level of muskeg and pine forest.
-
-Just as we were starting on the tenth morning a light puff of west wind
-brought us the first sound of a distant roar that we knew must be caused
-by the shute, and a couple of hours' tracking brought us to a small
-Company's trading-post, known as Little Red River, from a stream bearing
-that name which here joins the Peace River from the south. The
-establishment was deserted, although it was to be kept open during the
-winter; so we passed on and soon came in sight of a low white wall of
-water extending across the whole width of the river. Dr. Mackay had told
-me to make the portage close under the fall on the south side, or we
-should have been at a loss to find the only place where it is possible
-to take the canoe out of the water. In a strong running current, with
-the spray falling over her bow, we put alongside a ledge of rock six
-feet above us, and two men, standing on a submerged ledge, not without
-difficulty passed everything up to the others above; the distance to
-carry was very short, and we were soon afloat again above the fall. The
-shute is not more than eight feet in height, but is of course a complete
-barrier to navigation. I think the scene from the south bank is one of
-the most beautiful in the whole course of the loveliest of rivers. It
-was a bright afternoon when we made the portage, and the white broken
-water of the cascade showed in strong contrast to the broad blue
-stretches above and below; several rocky, pine-covered islands stand on
-the brink of the overfall, as if to give a chance to any unlucky
-traveller who may approach too near the danger; fully three-quarters of
-a mile away on the far side stands the gloomy forest of black pines,
-relieved by a glimpse of the open side-hills of the Caribou Mountains.
-Another small portage was necessary a mile or two above; but from the
-spot where we camped that night we never had to lift canoe or skiff out
-of the water till we reached the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains.
-
-The next day we passed a couple of Cree lodges, and finding moose-meat
-plentiful made the most of our opportunity, as a gale of wind sprang up
-right ahead and prevented travel.
-
-It was not till sundown on the eleventh day from Chipeweyan that we
-completed our journey of two hundred and eighty miles, and put ashore at
-the Company's trading-post at Fort Vermillion. Here the appearance of
-the country suddenly changes; stretches of open prairie dotted with
-small poplars take the place of the pine-woods, and the sand-bars in the
-river begin to give way to gravel, and the banks rise higher and higher
-as one journeys up-stream. We reached Vermillion late in September, in
-the full glory of the autumn; the sharp morning frosts had coloured the
-poplar leaves with the brightest golden tints, and the blue haze of an
-Indian summer hung over prairie and wood. Away on the Great Slave Lake a
-half-breed had told me of the beauties of Vermillion as a farming
-country, and had explained that all the good things of the world grew
-there freely, so that I was prepared for the sight of wheat and barley
-fields, which had this year produced a more abundant harvest than usual;
-potatoes and other vegetables were growing luxuriously, cattle and
-horses were fattening on the rich prairie grass, and it seemed that
-there was little to be gained by leaving such a fertile spot in the face
-of the winter that would soon be upon us.
-
-Vermillion is also an important fur-post, and probably to-day the best
-in the North for beaver and marten; but there are several free-traders
-on the Peace River, and the Company have to carry on their business with
-the extra difficulty of competition, which always raises the price of
-fur. It is all very well to say that no Company should have the monopoly
-of trading over so vast a territory, but after all the Indians are
-little benefited by the appearance of the free-traders. The Hudson's Bay
-Company have always treated the Indians fairly and leniently, taking the
-greatest care only to import articles absolutely necessary to the
-welfare of the natives. Guns, ammunition, blankets, capotes,
-dress-stuff for the women, and tea and tobacco, have always been the
-principal contents of the store; and these are sold at absurdly low
-prices, when the cost of the long and risky transport is considered. The
-Indians' love of gaudy colours was always indulged, but the goods were
-of the best material. Then came the free-trader with a stock of bright
-cheap clothing, a variety of dazzling tinsel, or perhaps a keg of
-molasses, which attracted the eye and palate of the wily hunter, so that
-he would give up his rich furs for the worthless trash, only to find
-himself short of all the necessaries for maintaining life in the woods
-when the snow began to fall again. No amount of experience enables him
-to resist the temptation; but the long enduring Hudson's Bay Company
-always listens to his tale of woe and helps him out of his difficulties,
-accepting his promise, ever readily given and as readily broken, to hand
-in his fur in the following spring to the officer in charge of the post.
-Whenever the often-told story of a band of Indians caught by the horrors
-of starvation reaches the fort, the Company sends to the rescue, and
-every winter saves many a man from death, while the free-trader, having
-taken as much fur as he can out of the country during a short summer's
-trip, is living at ease on the confines of civilization. The days are
-long gone by when a prime silver fox could be bought for a cotton
-pocket-handkerchief, but still the rumours brought from this little
-known Northern country attract the venturesome trader, usually to his
-own loss, and always to the upsetting of the Company's wise system of
-dealing with the Indians.
-
-Vermillion has a comparatively large population, outside the numerous
-_employes_ of the country. Both the Protestant and Roman Catholic
-churches have missions here, and several half-breeds have taken up an
-irregular method of stock-raising and small farming to help out the
-uncertain living afforded by fur-trapping. Mr. Lawrence, a practical
-hard-working farmer from Eastern Canada, has been successful with a farm
-three miles above the fort; but for many years to come there is not the
-slightest reason for that emigration of farmers to Peace River which
-wild enthusiasts clamour for. So much talk about this scheme has lately
-appeared in the Canadian newspapers, mostly, no doubt, as one of the
-political cries which find such favour with the statesmen of Ottawa,
-that I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without a word of warning
-to any intending settler. I made careful inquiries and observations
-along the whole length of Peace River, and I do not for a moment deny
-that in some parts of its course crops of wheat and barley may be raised
-in favourable seasons, as the well-managed farms of Mr. Lawrence, at
-Vermillion, and Mr. Brick, higher up at Smoky River, fully attest; but
-these farms, and all the spots in which grain ripens, are in close
-proximity to the bed of the river, and here the amount of arable land
-is limited. Climb the steep banks and take a glance over the millions of
-fertile acres which the philanthropic politician wishes to see
-cultivated; notice the frost on a summer's morning, and make the
-attempt, as has often been made already, to raise a crop on this
-elevated plateau. In ten years' time this may be a cattle-country,
-although the hay-swamps are insufficient to ensure enough feed for the
-long winter; but let us have an end of this talk of sending poor
-settlers to starve in a land unable to supply food to the Indian, who is
-accustomed to a life of continual struggle with a relentless nature.
-
-Mr. Wilson entertained me royally at the fort, but here again was the
-same trouble that I had found at Chipeweyan; no crew was procurable, and
-there was a journey of three hundred and fifty miles to Dunvegan before
-I had any chance of getting men. Jose and Dummy, who had both worked
-right well up to now, considered they were far enough away from their
-beloved Fort Smith; and Jose had an extra attraction in Dummy's sister,
-who was waiting his return to make him happy for ever, but was not very
-reliable in case of a more prepossessing admirer coming to the fore.
-Jose made a touching speech at parting: "God made the mountains, the
-lakes, and the big rivers," he said. "What is better than drifting down
-Peace River singing hymns? You are going up-stream to cross the big
-mountains back to your own country; I am going down-stream to marry
-Dummy's sister; I shall think of you many times." Dummy smiled and
-nodded affectionately, and the pair shot out into the river with my
-canoe, leaving me on the bank with only Murdo for my crew and no means
-of conveyance.
-
-Now if I could have got a small dug-out wooden canoe, and pottered away
-up-stream with Murdo, tracking in turns, we should have got on very
-well; but unfortunately there was nothing but a large and somewhat
-clumsy skiff available, and this we finally had to take. The evening
-before we were to start I received a visit from a man whom I shall
-allude to as John. Long before in merry England he had seen better
-times, and was evidently intended by nature for a sedentary life, or any
-other kind of life than the physical activity necessary to accomplish
-quickly and successfully a boating-trip up a swift-running river; in
-reality he was powerful enough, and but for his extraordinary laziness
-might have earned a good living anywhere. John told me he wished to
-leave Peace River and cross the mountains to Quesnelle, and would be
-glad to render me every assistance in his power if I would let him take
-advantage of this chance to get out of the country. In spite of the
-warnings of Mr. Wilson and everybody else who knew John's character, I
-went on the theory that when one is shorthanded any kind of a man is
-better than no man, but was speedily disabused of this idea after
-leaving the fort. He turned sulky when he found that I would stand no
-shirking, and was painfully slow on the tracking-line, awkward in
-letting go or tying a knot, and, although he had been five years at
-boating, absolutely without knowledge of the duties of bowsman or
-steersman. In addition to this he was just as useless in camp, and
-conceived a violent hatred to Murdo, who fully reciprocated the feeling.
-Once, on being heartily cursed while he was tracking, John threatened to
-desert and go back to Vermillion, but when we ran the skiff ashore and
-offered to help him build a raft and to give him a week's rations, he
-hastily withdrew his proposition. I hoped to be able to leave him at
-some fort _en route_, but I found John was too well known, and no one
-would accept the horrible responsibility of keeping him for a winter on
-any terms. A man like this takes all the pleasure out of a journey when
-good temper is the almost invariable rule, and everybody takes his share
-of the tracking and wading, the paddling and poling, as part of the
-ordinary day's work.
-
-At this time of year, when the water is at its lowest, tracking is a
-comparatively easy matter, and taking half-hour spells at a sharp walk
-we made good day's journeys, although we should have done much better
-with a canoe. It was a hard time for moccasins, but we could get them at
-every fort we passed; sometimes we found an Indian encampment on the
-bank, and a small present of tea and tobacco to the women ensured neat
-patches over the gaping holes in the moose-skin soles.
-
-The fourth day out from Vermillion we reached the mouth of Battle River
-coming in from the north, and found a small trading-post with a French
-half-breed in charge. He told us that the Indians had been killing a
-great many moose, and that he had already bought the dried meat of
-sixteen as a start towards his winter stock of provisions; black bear
-too were numerous on Battle River, and there were reports of grizzly
-having been seen. This would probably be one of the best points from
-which to enter the unknown country between Peace River and the Great
-Slave Lake.
-
-I never remember to have seen in any part of Canada such a fine autumn
-as we enjoyed between Vermillion and the Rockies; there was hardly a
-day's rain the whole time, and, although a sharp white frost usually
-made a cold camp, the days were bright and at times almost too hot for
-tracking. Often we saw the fresh tracks of moose and bear, but never
-happened to see an animal of any kind, and as we could afford no time
-for hunting did not fire a single shot at big game; geese and ducks we
-could have killed every day if there had been any necessity for doing
-so.
-
-[Illustration: Junction of the Peace and Smoky Rivers]
-
-Fifteen days of continuous travel from Vermillion took us to the
-junction of Smoky River, the principal tributary of the Peace, flowing
-towards the south-west not far from some of the head-waters of the
-Athabasca. This junction is rather an important point, as it is close to
-the end of the waggon-road to the Lesser Slave Lake, lying seventy-five
-miles to the south. Here the trading-goods brought overland are loaded
-on to scows and boats, to be sent down-stream to Vermillion and
-up-stream to Dunvegan, St. John's, and Hudson's Hope. A little above are
-Mr. Brick's mission and the farm that I have already spoken of, besides
-a settlement of half-breeds, more hunters than farmers, well known as
-the laziest and most worthless gang on the whole length of Peace River.
-Many efforts have been made to get these people to pay more attention to
-their potato-patches as the game is getting killed out, but all in vain;
-sometimes they will fence in a piece of ground and plant seed, but will
-take no further trouble with the crop, and generally use their
-fence-rails for firewood during the next winter. Luckily whitefish are
-very plentiful in the Lesser Slave Lake within two days' journey, or
-starvation would certainly play havoc at Smoky River.
-
-I enjoyed a long talk with Mr. Brick in his pleasant home in the wilds,
-where we spent a night; he kindly furnished me with supplies that I was
-short of, and three days afterwards we arrived at Dunvegan, another
-celebrated fur-post, situated on the north bank of the river at the
-foot of a high bluff known as the Cap. Here again was abundant evidence
-of the fertility of the soil in the crops harvested by the Company and
-the missionaries. Across the river, twenty miles away, is the Company's
-cattle-_ranche_, where the oxen used on the waggon-road are raised and a
-fair amount of beef is annually killed. Some thoroughbred stock has been
-imported and should prove successful, but of course there is no paying
-market for a large amount of cattle, although there are plenty of hungry
-people who would be glad of a chance to eat beef.
-
-At Dunvegan, besides Mr. Round who was in charge of the fort, I met Mr.
-Ewen Macdonald, the chief of Peace River District, with headquarters at
-Lesser Slave Lake. He had just finished his inspection of the upper
-river-posts, and had left Hudson's Hope, the last establishment east of
-the mountains, a few days previously; he reported that the snow was
-already low down on the foot-hills, and advised me strongly to give up
-my attempt to cross the Rockies so late in the autumn. He told me,
-however, that a free-trader was expected in from the west side of the
-mountains, and if I was lucky enough to meet him I should probably be
-able to secure the service of some of his crew who would be returning to
-Quesnelle.
-
-Above Dunvegan the valley of the river contracts, the banks rise for
-several hundred feet in height, and the strength of the current
-increases. The hundred and twenty miles to St. John's took us seven days
-and a half to travel, and in many places we had to keep two men on the
-line to stem the strong water; the tracking too was bad, as the banks
-had fallen in several spots, and John, who had been up and down the
-river three times before, proved a very poor pilot. The weather was
-colder, and a sheet of ice formed over the back waters and close to the
-bank out of the current.
-
-At St. John's we found Mr. Gunn busy with a band of Indians who were
-taking their winter supplies, and I had a chance of hearing their
-accounts of the wilderness to the north in the direction of the Liard
-River; they described it as a muskeg country abounding in game and fur,
-but a hard district to reach, as the streams are too rapid for canoes
-and the swamps too soft for horses to cross. They occasionally fall in
-with a small band of buffalo, but have never seen them in large numbers.
-Sometimes by ascending Half-way River, a stream adjoining Peace River
-twenty-five miles above St. John's, they meet the Indians from Fort
-Nelson on the south branch of the Liard.
-
-We had now passed out of the Cree-speaking belt and the language became
-that of the Beaver Indians, a far inferior language to Cree, resembling
-in sound and in many of the words some of the dialects of the Chipeweyan
-tongue. Mr. Gunn had learned to speak Beaver fluently, and was now
-going up to Hudson's Hope to interpret; he was a great help to us both
-as pilot and on the line, and with two men always tracking we took
-little notice of the strong stream which we found throughout the fifty
-miles to the next fort.
-
-Snow was falling heavily when we left St. John's, and it looked as if
-the winter had set in, but next day the ground was bare again, and a
-west wind from across the mountains blew warm as a summer's breeze. We
-camped for a night at the mouth of Half-way River, heading towards the
-north through a wide open bay which seems to invite exploration. A
-considerable quantity of gold dust has been taken out of some of the
-gravel-bars along this part of Peace River, and Half-way River is
-supposed to be a paradise for the miner and hunter, but I could not hear
-of any white man having ever penetrated far up this valley. On the
-afternoon of Sunday, October 26th, on rounding a bend in the river, we
-caught our first glimpse of the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains that
-I had travelled so far to reach; but the sublime is often mixed with the
-ludicrous, and when John in his admiration of the scenery slipped off a
-narrow ledge of shale along which he was tracking and fell with an oath
-into the river, the snowy peaks were forgotten in the joy that always
-greets other people's misfortunes in this sort of travelling.
-
-A short distance below Hudson's Hope we passed a remarkable group of
-high basaltic islands, differing entirely from anything in the
-neighbourhood, and affording a strong contrast to the low gravelly
-islands so numerous in the course of this river. In the afternoon of the
-27th we unloaded the skiff and hauled her up on the beach in front of
-the fort, to lie there till anybody might want to run her down-stream
-the following spring.
-
-Hudson's Hope is a small unpretentious establishment, standing on the
-south side of Peace River, a mile below the wild canyon by which this
-great stream forces its way through the most easterly range of the Rocky
-Mountains. The Indians were all encamped in their moose-skin lodges on
-the flat close to the fort waiting for the trade to begin, and I was
-surprised to hear how few representatives of the once numerous tribe of
-Beavers are left. It is the same at St. John's and Dunvegan, and the
-total Indian population of the upper Peace River cannot exceed three
-hundred, an immense falling off since Sir Alexander Mackenzie first
-crossed the mountains by this route. The biggest lodge was occupied by
-Baptiste Testerwich, a half-breed Iroquois, descended from the Iroquois
-crew left here many years ago by Sir George Simpson, formerly Governor
-of the Hudson's Bay Company. Baptiste had a house at Moberley's Lake
-twelve miles to the south, and is well known as the most successful and
-most enduring of moose-hunters. A remarkable point about the man is his
-hardiness and indifference to cold; in the dead of winter he wears no
-socks in his moccasins, which to any other man would mean a certainty of
-frozen feet, and the Indians say that his feet are so hot that the snow
-melts in his tracks in the coldest weather.
-
-Once again arose the trouble about guides to take us to Macleod's Lake.
-John had been there before, but I had already seen too much of his
-piloting to trust myself in his hands, and was quite sure that he would
-lose his way if there was the least possibility of doing so. The
-free-trader from across the mountains had not yet arrived, and as it was
-getting late in the year there was a chance of his being frozen in
-before he reached Hudson's Hope. Besides the Peace River route there is
-the Pine River Pass, farther to the southward, heading almost directly
-to Macleod's Lake. A party of surveyors once came through this pass
-several years ago, and the Indians use it habitually in the summer; but
-none of the Beavers would volunteer to guide us through at this time of
-the year, as a heavy snowfall might be expected immediately.
-
-I decided to wait a few days for the trader, and we had a very festive
-time at Hudson's Hope; a ball was given every night, and the
-moose-dance, rabbit-dance, and duck-dance were kept up till the small
-hours. A ball is not an expensive entertainment at an out-of-the-way
-trading-post; no invitations are necessary, but a scrape of the fiddle
-at the door of the master's house fills the ball-room in a few minutes.
-If the master is in a liberal state of mind, a cup of tea is provided
-for his guests, but in any case the river is close, and if anyone is
-thirsty there is plenty of water. On the third night the ceremonies were
-interrupted by the sound of a gunshot on the opposite bank, and an
-Indian came across with the news that the trader had arrived at the west
-end of the canyon with two small scows, and that some of his crew were
-going back to Quesnelle.
-
-Baptiste lent me a horse on the following day, and I rode over to
-interview the new arrivals. A fair trail, twelve miles in length on the
-north side of the river, leads to the navigable water above the canyon,
-while the stream runs a circuitous course of probably thirty miles. I
-could get little information as to the nature of this canyon; even the
-Indians seem to avoid it, and, though accounts of it have been written,
-nobody appears to have thoroughly explored this exceptionally rough
-piece of country. I went down a few miles from the west end, but found
-the bluffs so steep that I could seldom get a view of the water, and
-could form no idea of the character of the rapids and waterfalls. There
-is some quiet place in the middle of the canyon where the Indians cross
-on the ice, but beyond this they could tell me little about it.
-
-Right in the centre of the gap by which the trail crosses stands the
-Bull's Head, a solitary mountain well known to travellers coming from
-the west, as it can be seen many miles away, and in full view to the
-south is a huge flat-topped mountain, covered with perpetual snow and
-fit to rank with any of the giants of the main range. The trail reaches
-a considerable elevation above the river level, and from the summit the
-upper waters of the Peace are seen winding away to the west, through a
-broad valley flanked by hills of ever increasing height, as far as the
-eye can reach. Close to the river the slopes are open or thinly timbered
-with pine and poplar, but the big mountains are clothed nearly to their
-summits with the dense, almost impassable, forest growth which is such a
-common feature in the scenery as the Pacific Coast is approached.
-
-At the far end of the portage, on the bank of the river, stand a rough
-shanty and trading-store. Here I made the acquaintance of Twelvefoot
-Davis, who acquired this name, not from any peculiarity of stature, but
-from a small though valuable mining claim of which he had been the lucky
-possessor in the early days of British Columbia. A typical man of his
-class is Davis, and his story is that of many a man who has spent his
-life just in advance of civilization. Born in the Eastern States of
-America, a 'Forty-niner in California, and a pioneer of the Caribou
-Diggings discovered far up the Fraser River in 'Sixty-one, he had
-eventually taken to fur-trading, which has ever such an attraction for
-the wandering spirit of the miner. Here among the mountains and rivers
-where formerly he sought the yellow dust he carries on his roaming life.
-There is a strong kinship between the two enterprises; the same
-uncertainty exists, and in each case the mythical stake is always just
-ahead. No failure ever damps the ardour of miner or fur-trader, or puts
-a stop to his pleasant dreams of monster nuggets and silver foxes.
-
-Davis was making all possible haste in packing his cargo across the
-portage with horses; an Indian and a half-breed were going back to
-Quesnelle, and would gladly enter my service as guides. A small stock of
-goods was to be left at the west end of the portage, and Thomas Barrow,
-the only white man who had come down with Davis, was to remain in charge
-of the trading-post during the winter.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV
-
-
-On November 5th I camped at the head of the canyon with my crew, Murdo,
-John, Charlie, a half-breed from Quesnelle, and Pat, a full-blooded
-Siccanee from Fraser Lake ready to make a start up-stream the following
-morning with a long narrow canoe dug out of a cotton-wood log. But in
-the night the weather changed; snow fell heavily, a severe frost set in,
-and ice was forming rapidly along the banks. Baptiste, the Iroquois, who
-had come across the portage to see us off, had brought me a dozen pair
-of the best moose-skin moccasins from his daughters, who were beyond
-compare the _belles_ of Hudson's Hope. Baptiste had spent many years of
-his life in this part of the country, and I was quite ready to listen to
-his opinion on the chances of getting through to Macleod's Lake. He
-would not hear of our starting with a canoe under the changed conditions
-of weather: it was the winter; the ice would catch us in less than three
-days, and we should be lucky if we could get back on foot through the
-deep snow. His advice was to wait a fortnight till the river set fast,
-and occupy ourselves in making hand-sleighs, while he would make us five
-pairs of snow-shoes, and then we might walk the two hundred miles to
-Macleod's Lake in comfort. Accordingly I gave orders for the lodge,
-which we still had with us, to be pitched in a clump of poplars a short
-distance above Barrow's house, and we busied ourselves with cutting
-birch and bending sleighs in readiness for our trip.
-
-The cold snap continued for several days, but very little ice was
-running, although the eddies and backwaters were frozen up; then the
-weather grew milder again, and I could see that we had missed our
-chance. It was past the middle of November, and the river, by all
-accounts, is usually frozen solid at this time of year; it seemed too
-risky to start out so late to try and make a passage with open water.
-Meantime we were taking things easily when, as it turned out, we should
-have been travelling; there was not much to shoot beyond wood-grouse and
-rabbits, but with these we could keep the pot going, and time went
-pleasantly enough in short expeditions into the surrounding hills.
-
-And now a warm Chinook wind came sweeping across from the Pacific, and
-licked up the snow from the ground, while the ice broke away from the
-banks and drifted down in little floes to be ground to pieces in the
-canyon. I could bear the inactivity no longer, and, with a recklessness
-that I had plenty of opportunity to repent later on, gave orders on
-November 25th for the canoe to be got ready on the morrow to start
-up-stream and take the chances of being caught by the ice in the main
-range of the Rocky Mountains. I consulted Charlie and Pat about the
-route, and they both said they could make no mistake in finding the way
-to the Hudson's Bay Fort on Macleod's Lake, as they had just come down
-the river, and Charlie had made the journey the year before; if we could
-succeed in getting to the junction of the Findlay and Parsnip, just
-beyond the big mountains, before the ice caught us, there could be no
-difficulty in reaching the fort on foot in about four days' travel.
-
-At the risk of being verbose and boring any reader who has struggled
-thus far through the record of my wanderings in the North, I must now
-enter somewhat fully into the details of travel, and describe minutely
-the events that happened during the next month, in order to answer once
-for all the numerous questions that I have been asked as to what took
-place on that terrible winter journey in the Rocky Mountains. When I
-reached civilization again, and found that part of the story had leaked
-out, I received plenty of gratuitous advice as to what I should have
-done and where I should have gone, from people who had never themselves
-been in a like predicament, and had no further knowledge of hardship
-than perhaps having had to pay a long price for a second-rate dinner. I
-discovered that the easiest method of satisfying them was to let them
-tell the tale of my adventures in their own way, and assent readily to
-their convincing proofs that if they had been there all would have gone
-well. I admit freely that it was a stupid act to leave a supply-post so
-late in the year, unprovided as we were with the necessary outfit for
-winter travelling; but think I was justified in trusting to the local
-knowledge of my native guides to bring our party in safety to Macleod's
-Lake after we were forced to abandon the canoe.
-
-Walter Macdonald, a son of Mr. Ewen Macdonald of Lesser Slave Lake, and
-Tom Barrow both gave me every assistance in their power to provision my
-crew for what is usually an eight or nine days' journey. Meat was not to
-be had, and there was little chance of finding big game along the course
-of the river, but a hundred pounds of flour, a few pounds of beans and
-rice, and a small sack of potatoes, besides plenty of tea and tobacco,
-would surely last us this short journey, and, even if we found it
-impossible to travel quickly, a few days of short rations could easily
-be endured.
-
-It was late in the afternoon of Wednesday, November 26th, when I started
-the canoe off, and the sun was down before I had settled up accounts and
-said good-bye to the friends whom I did not expect to meet again for
-many a long day. The moon was full, and I had no difficulty in finding
-my way six miles through the woods to an old miner's cabin at which we
-had arranged to camp for the night. At the first streak of dawn we were
-off again, travelling our best with two and sometimes three men on the
-line; the current was strong, but the tracking on the gravel-bars
-perfect. That night there was a heavy snowstorm, while the ground froze
-hard and caused many a nasty fall on the slippery stones during the next
-two days. On Saturday morning cakes of soft ice began to run, but we
-found that most of them were brought down by a large tributary coming
-from the north, and above its mouth the river was comparatively clear of
-ice. The same afternoon we reached the entrance to the main range of
-mountains, and under the first peak of the chain tracked up a strong
-rush of water with a heavy sea at its foot, commonly known as the Polpar
-Rapid, a curious corruption of _la Rapide qui ne parle pas_, so named by
-the old _voyageurs_ from the absence of the roar of waters which usually
-gives ample warning of the proximity of a rapid. Part of the cargo we
-portaged to keep it dry, and above the strong water lay a quiet stretch
-of river, winding away in the gloomy black chasm between the huge
-mountains, which in many places takes the form of a sheer bluff hanging
-over the stream.
-
-We camped just above the Polpar, and another night's snow made the
-tracking worse than ever; often it was necessary to put the line aboard
-and take to the paddles, to struggle round some steep point upon which a
-coating of frozen snow made it impossible to stand. Ice was running in
-large pans and steering was difficult, but we got on fairly well, and
-were far in the heart of the mountains when we camped on Sunday night
-under one of the steepest and most forbidding peaks that I ever remember
-to have seen in any part of the Rockies.
-
-Monday was really cold, and our difficulties increased; the tow-line was
-sheeted with ice and three times its ordinary weight, while the channel
-was in many places almost blocked; poles and paddles had to be handled
-with numbed fingers, and our moccasins from constant wading turned into
-heavy lumps of ice; but we pushed on, and at nightfall had passed the
-mountains and emerged into a more inviting country. It was evident,
-however, that canoe-work was nearly over for the year, but we determined
-to make one more attempt, as the junction of the Findlay and Parsnip was
-not far ahead, and there was just a chance that the ice was coming from
-the Findlay and we might find the Parsnip, up which our course lay,
-clear enough for navigation. On Tuesday we made the most dangerous day's
-travel that I ever experienced in a canoe; the river was far too full of
-ice to handle even a "dug-out" with safety, and we had to make many
-crossings in the swift current among the running floes. I made it a
-point that everybody should keep on the same side of the river to assure
-our all being together in case of accident, and we had several narrow
-escapes from being nipped. At dinner-time we came in sight of the
-broken water of the Findlay Rapid, and found the big eddy on the south
-side of the river completely blocked with ice. We went through the risky
-manoeuvre of skirting the edge of the eddy with the floes whirling round
-us in the strong running water, and, finding a solid spot, hauled the
-canoe over the ice to the shore, making a half-mile portage to the foot
-of the rapid. A very close shave of capsizing filled the canoe with
-water; but the second attempt at tracking through the swift current and
-blocks of ice was more successful, and, as the short day was drawing to
-its close, we were paddling under a high bluff which prevented our using
-the tracking-line. Here darkness caught us, and our position was
-perilous in the extreme; the current was so strong that our best pace
-was required to stem it at all, and many times we had to drift back to
-avoid collision with the ice that was grinding past us. A couple of
-hours' hard work brought us to the first spot at which we could effect a
-landing, but it was no easy matter to carry the cargo up the frozen
-bank; we secured the canoe as well as we could, and found ourselves on a
-small flat covered with willows and abundance of firewood. Towards
-midnight the grinding of the ice became less noticeable and before
-daylight ceased entirely; the river above us had set fast and further
-water-travel was impossible. When morning broke we saw the Findlay
-branch completely jambed with ice stretching away to the north-west,
-and the Parsnip bending sharply to the south presented a similar
-appearance.
-
-A glance at our position is not out of place, and a good map might have
-saved us from the serious trouble we afterwards experienced.
-
-Far away in the mountains of British Columbia, in a country little known
-to the white man and at no great distance from the Pacific Ocean, the
-Findlay River has its source, while the Parsnip rises close under the
-Rocky Mountains on their west side, and, skirting the foot-hills, joins
-the Findlay at the spot where we now encamped. Below the junction the
-stream, already of considerable size and known as the Peace River, pours
-through the black rent in the backbone of the North American continent
-many thousands of feet below the summits of the mountains, and takes its
-course towards the Arctic Ocean at the mouth of the great Mackenzie. The
-most extraordinary feature in this reversion of the laws of Nature is
-the extreme tranquillity of the stream in passing through the main
-range, for with the exception of the Findlay and Polpar Rapid, one at
-either end of the pass, there is no difficulty in navigating a canoe. In
-passing the eastern range above Hudson's Hope the canyon is rough to the
-last degree, and one would expect to find the same thing among the
-higher mountains. A third branch, the Omineca, once a celebrated
-mining-camp, joins the Findlay, but is a much smaller stream. To reach
-Fort Macleod we had to follow the Parsnip and turn up a tributary branch
-known as Macleod's River, draining Macleod's Lake into the Parsnip.
-
-I had another long conversation with Charlie and Pat as to the best plan
-of action, and pointed out to them that if there was the least doubt
-about finding the lake we might still get back to Hudson's Hope, as by
-the aid of a few portages over ice-jambs one can travel down-stream in
-company with the floes long after it has become impossible to force a
-passage against them, and when we reached the east end of the pass it
-would be easy to walk through the level country. But both the guides
-laughed at the idea of their getting lost, and again reminded me of the
-fact that only a few weeks before they had come from Macleod. If we
-could cross the Parsnip, they said, we had only to follow the west bank
-till we came to the Little River, and then half a day would take us to
-the fort; in four days from now, or five at the latest, we should reach
-the end of our journey. The morning of December 4th was spent in making
-a scaffold on which to store my rather bulky cargo, which of course had
-to be left with the intention of returning from Fort Macleod with a
-dog-sleigh. After dinner we started on foot, every man carrying his
-blanket and a small load of provisions, kettles, and necessaries of
-various kinds. I decided to take no gun, as I only had a dozen
-shot-cartridges left, and a gun is always an impediment in walking
-through the woods, although there is a good old saying in the North that
-men should not part with their guns till the women throw away their
-babies.
-
-One thing that I thought might cause some trouble was the fact of our
-having no snow-shoes, and the snow would soon be deep enough to require
-them. We took all our beans and rice, but left about thirty pounds of
-flour in a sack on the scaffold, thinking it needlessly heavy to carry,
-and that it was better to run short for a day or two than overload
-ourselves and prevent rapid travelling.
-
-The ice was piled up high on the banks, and we began badly by climbing
-over a steep hill covered with such heavy timber that the pace was slow,
-and it was night when we came out on the bank of the Parsnip not more
-than four miles from our last camp. The next day we did rather better,
-but, getting among burnt timber and deep snow, had many heavy falls. In
-the evening we found a jamb in the river, and, making rather a risky
-crossing with the chance of our ice-bridge breaking up at any moment,
-camped on the Macleod side, thinking that we were now surely safe
-enough, and the worst thing that could happen might be a little
-starvation before we reached the fort. Then came two days of fair
-travelling, sometimes on the ice and sometimes in the woods, but the
-latter were so thick that it was hard to get through them at all.
-
-I have never seen a river freeze in the remarkable manner that the
-Parsnip set fast this summer. The first jamb had probably taken place at
-the junction of the Findlay; the water had backed up till it stood at a
-higher level than the summer floods, and the gravel beach was deeply
-submerged. There was no appearance of shore-ice, as the constant rise
-and fall in the water prevented a gradual freezing; jambs would form and
-break up again, and huge blocks of ice were forced on each other in
-every conceivable position. Often too the ice was flooded, and it was
-already cold enough to freeze wet feet; the backwaters were full, and
-the ice on them usually under water or hanging from the banks without
-support; the shores were fringed with a tangled mass of willows, heavily
-laden with snow and their roots often standing in water, while behind,
-rising to the summit of rough broken hills, was the dense pine-growth of
-the great sub-Arctic forest.
-
-John caused a good deal of delay by not keeping up, and I did not like
-to leave him far behind, as he was clumsy on the ice, and there were
-many treacherous spots where black running water showed in strong
-contrast to the snow, and the gurgle of a swift current suggested an
-unpleasant ending to the unlucky man who should break through. Everybody
-carried an axe or a stick to sound the ice, and, excepting near the
-banks where the water had fallen away from the ice, there were no
-mishaps. Further delay was caused by our frequently having to light a
-fire to dry moccasins and keep our feet from freezing.
-
-On the fourth night after abandoning the canoe we camped close to a
-coffin hung between two trees, as is the fashion of the Siccanees in
-dealing with their dead; the guide recognised this coffin, and told me
-we should certainly be at the fort in two days. Beans and rice were
-finished, but we had flour enough left for another day, and this we
-baked into bread to save trouble in cooking later on, and on the
-following day made a fair journey considering the bad state of the ice.
-
-The next morning, after eating our last bite of bread, we were going to
-try for the fort, and to lighten our load left behind the kettles, for
-which we had no more use, while some of us were rash enough to leave our
-blankets; we expected to be back with the dog-sleigh in a few days, and
-could then pick up everything.
-
-The water had risen again in the night and the ice was useless for
-travelling on, so on the guide's advice we left the river on the west
-bank, and climbing the rough hills walked along the ridge in a
-south-westerly direction, expecting every hour to fall upon the little
-river running out of Macleod's Lake. When night caught us we were still
-in the woods, and, although there was no supper and snow was falling
-softly, a bright fire and the prospect of reaching the fort in the
-morning kept us in good spirits enough. I was one of the unfortunates
-without a blanket, and was glad to see daylight come again and with it a
-cessation of the snowstorm. During the last few days rabbit-tracks had
-been frequently seen in the snow and grouse were plentiful, but we had
-no means of securing game of any kind.
-
-To make as sure as possible of getting food the next day, I sent Murdo
-and Charlie ahead without loads to make the best of their way to the
-fort, while Pat and myself would stay by John, who was already in
-difficulties, and carry the packs.
-
-Starting without breakfast is the worst part of these starving times.
-The walking for the first two hours was very hard, through a thick
-growth of young pines rising among the blackened stumps and fallen logs
-of a burnt forest, up and down steep gullies, with the snow from the
-branches pouring down our necks, and our loads often bringing us up with
-a sudden jerk as they stuck between two little trees. John soon gave up
-his pack, and left it hanging on a bough, where it remains probably till
-the present day. About mid-day we came to the end of the ridge and
-looked up the wide valley of the Parsnip. Far below us we could trace
-its windings, and branching away to the mountains in the west was a
-stream that Pat instantly declared to be Macleod's River. Towards
-sundown we lit a fire on a high bank above the stream, and John in a
-fatuous manner remarked that he recognised the place where he had camped
-with a boat's crew some years before. We followed the fresh tracks of
-our advanced party, and turning our backs on the Parsnip walked on good
-shore-ice till darkness compelled us to camp. I was rather surprised to
-find that the river was not frozen up and had much more current than I
-had expected, but, as both John and Pat were quite certain that all was
-right, I had not the least doubt that we had at last reached Macleod's
-River and should arrive at the fort in good time the next day.
-
-Another sleepless night gave me plenty of time for reflection while John
-was comfortably rolled up in a blanket that I had been carrying all day.
-Four months had passed, and many a hundred miles of lake and river
-travelled, since David had seen the first star on that summer's night
-far away in the Barren Ground; now I thought my journey was nearly over,
-for two hundred miles on snow-shoes from Fort Macleod to Quesnelle, and
-three hundred miles of waggon-road from Quesnelle to the Canadian
-Pacific Railway, counted as nothing. It was true that we had not tasted
-food for two days, and rations had been short for some time past; but it
-was by no means my first experience of starvation, and to-morrow
-evening at the latest we should be in the midst of luxury once more. It
-was satisfactory to think that we had succeeded in forcing our way
-through the Rocky Mountains in the face of the winter, and were every
-day approaching a country made temperate by the breezes of the Pacific;
-already the cedars, to be found only on the west side of the main range,
-were showing among the pines.
-
-With the first grey light in the east I roused my companions, and we
-started on shore-ice at a good pace with the prospect of breakfast
-ahead. Pat broke through shortly after leaving camp, and, as he was
-afraid of freezing his feet, we lit a fire to dry his moccasins, and the
-sun was up when we set out again. A couple of hours later we saw a thin
-blue column of smoke rising straight up into the sky, and a nearer
-approach showed that it came from the chimney of a cabin hidden in the
-woods; a cheering sight at first, but directly we reached the trail
-leading up from the river I knew that something was wrong, and something
-wrong at such a time meant something very wrong indeed.
-
-I had spent too much of my life among the woods and mountains to be
-unable to read the easy writing in the snow; two tracks leading up the
-river late overnight, and the same two tracks quite fresh coming
-down-stream and turning up the trail. Murdo and Charlie must be in the
-cabin, and could not have reached the fort; if they had been coming
-back with supplies they would never have put ashore with starving men so
-close up. Pushing open the rough door we found them sitting one on each
-side of a small fire of cedar-chips that were just crackling into a
-blaze. "Have you been to the fort, Murdo?" I asked, needlessly enough.
-"No." "Why not? What is the matter?" "Charlie says it is the wrong
-river; we are lost, like d----d fools."
-
-Murdo had described the situation concisely enough, and I fully realised
-the awful position we were in; lost and starving in the mountains with
-no guns to procure food, no snow-shoes with which to travel over the
-increasing depth of snow, and no clothes to withstand the cold of
-mid-winter which was already upon us.
-
-There was still a hope, for Charlie was not quite ready to admit that he
-was mistaken. Our advance party had turned back on seeing a rapid, and
-even now could not give me any accurate description of this obstacle to
-navigation; if it was so bad that a scow could not run down, it was
-obvious that this could not be Macleod's River, for I knew that no
-portage was necessary to reach the lake. Pat was still sure that he had
-recognised many places this morning, but could not say anything about
-the log-cabin; it stood back from the river, and there was a chance that
-people, passing quickly down-stream, might have missed seeing it when
-the foliage was thick on the willows. The best plan seemed to first
-make sure about the rapid, so we started up-stream to inspect it. I was
-very doubtful of any good result coming from this move, when I saw that
-the strength of the current increased, and the mountains on each side of
-the stream grew higher and steeper. Soon we passed a newly-built
-beaver-house, which certainly was a strange object on the side of a
-travelled river, and in a couple of hours reached the rapid. Surely this
-was enough to make anyone turn back; a heavy shute of broken water down
-which no scow could ever run without being smashed to pieces; even Pat
-now acknowledged that he was hopelessly lost. A valuable day had been
-wasted, and the sun was down before we came again to the cabin, where we
-decided on spending the night. Three days we had been starving, and it
-was fully time to take the first steps by which men in our desperate
-position seek to maintain life as long as possible. A thorough search in
-the shanty produced nothing of value but an old lard-tin which would
-serve as a kettle; there were many empty boxes, labelled with enticing
-names and pictures of canned fruit and of fat cattle that had been
-converted into "Armour's Preserved Beef" at Kansas City, Missouri; a
-large number of rotten sacks, marked "Oregon Flour Patent Roller
-Process," showed that someone had spent a winter here, and an iron
-bottle containing a little quicksilver proved that he had been a miner
-by occupation. A board, with a notice in pencil that two men, whose
-names I forget, had arrived here from Sandy Bar in a day and a half,
-conveyed no meaning to us.
-
-Among the necessary articles that we had been carrying was a large piece
-of dressed moose-skin for mending moccasins, and this seemed the most
-edible thing we could find; five small strips, three inches in length
-and an inch broad, were cut off and put into the lard-tin to boil for
-supper. We discovered Labrador tea growing in the woods, and made a brew
-with the leaves as soon as we thought the moose-skin was soft enough to
-eat. Rabbit-snares were made by unravelling a piece of string and set in
-the runs, but after trying this plan on several nights not a rabbit was
-caught, though we sometimes had the mortification of finding a broken
-snare. After supper of moose-skin and Labrador tea we felt in better
-spirits, and with a good fire and a pipe of tobacco discussed our
-position seriously enough.
-
-Euclid, when he found himself incapable of proving that any particular
-angle or line was the exact size that he desired, had a habit of
-supposing it to be of some other magnitude, and by enlarging upon the
-absurdity of this supposition so completely puzzled the aspiring student
-that he was glad to admit any statement that the inventor of the
-proposition suggested. This does well enough on paper, but starving men
-have no time to put this plan to the test of practice, and when they
-find that a river is not the one they supposed it to be are at a loss
-to tell what stream it really is.
-
-Charlie, Pat, and John, who had all been to Macleod's Lake before, told
-me frequently that they had never heard of any river coming into the
-Parsnip on the west side between the Findlay and Macleod's River. Now,
-in a boating journey the talk is always of points and rivers, and the
-mouth of any tributary is always commented upon, so it seemed unlikely
-that they should have passed by this large stream without noticing it;
-nor had they heard of any miner's cabin, which must certainly have been
-spoken of in a country where houses are scarce. There was a possibility
-that we had come too far and missed the mouth of Macleod's River, for we
-had sometimes travelled on the east side of the Parsnip to take
-advantage of better ice or a thinner growth of timber, and I had heard
-David say that the Little River was not easy for a stranger to find. In
-any case it was better to retrace our steps to the mouth of the stream
-that we had been following, to see if our guides could recognise any
-landmark, for the hills were conspicuous and sometimes of remarkable
-shape.
-
-At daylight on December 10th we left the cabin and made tracks
-down-stream, taking with us the lard-tin in which we had boiled more
-moose-skin for breakfast. So far we had lost no strength and, with the
-exception of John, who was always behind, were going strong and well.
-It was late in the afternoon when we reached the river and once again
-stood on the bank of the Parsnip. Across on the east side rose a
-high-cut bank of yellow clay, a mark that any one should recognise who
-had ever seen it before; but Charlie and Pat both put on a hopeless
-blank expression when I asked them if they knew the place. No, they
-said, they had never seen it before in their lives. Six weeks before
-they had passed right under that cut bank in a scow, and less than forty
-miles up-stream would have taken us to the fort if we had only known it.
-These men were a half-breed and an Indian, supposed to be gifted with
-that extraordinary instinct of finding their way in all circumstances
-which is denied to the white man. John was just as much to blame,
-although it was some years ago that he travelled down the Parsnip; long
-afterwards, when all the trouble was over, he confided to me, as an
-excuse for his ignorance, that he had been very drunk when he left
-Macleod and was unable to make any accurate observations as to courses
-and distances.
-
-There was nothing to be done but turn down the Parsnip again and keep a
-bright look-out for the mouth of the little river, in case we had passed
-it. The ice was too much flooded to walk on, and we camped high up on
-the mountain-side in heavy falling snow. Another misfortune befell us
-here; the bottom of the lard-tin was burnt out during the process of
-melting snow, and we had to give up the small comfort of moose-skin and
-wild tea. Murdo and myself spent a wretched night cowering over the fire
-with the snow falling down our backs, for we were still without
-blankets; daylight saw us struggling through the thick growth of young
-pines and an increased depth of snow, till at noon, when everybody was
-thoroughly exhausted and John had nearly given up all hope, we found
-ourselves stopped on the side-hill by a series of bluffs which no one
-felt equal to scaling. Fifteen hundred feet below us lay the river, and
-as a desperate alternative we descended the mountain, with many bruises
-from stumbling over logs hidden by the snow, to find that the water had
-fallen in the night, and the ice, though rough in the extreme, was dry
-enough to travel on. After the night had closed down over the forest we
-reached the place where the kettles and blankets had been left, and
-things looked a little brighter with the prospect of tea and a night's
-sleep; but we knew now that Fort Macleod must lie behind us, although
-there was little inducement to make another attempt to reach it with
-such untrustworthy guides. Our only chance of life was to reach the
-entrance of the Peace River Pass, where thirty pounds of flour lay on a
-rough scaffold exposed to the mercy of the wolverines!
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI
-
-
-Snow fell again in the night and increased our difficulties. For a day
-and a half we forced our way, sometimes on rough ice and sometimes
-through the thick willow bushes, with frequent rests as exhaustion
-overtook us, till we again saw the Siccanee coffin hung in the trees.
-Here we found the flour-sack that had been thrown away on our up-stream
-journey, and scraped off perhaps half a pound of flour which had stuck
-to the sack when wet. At the same time a mouse was caught in the snow,
-and, with no further preparation than singeing off the hair, was cut
-into strips and boiled with the flour into a thin soup. Every man
-carried a tin cup in his belt, so a careful distribution of the precious
-soup was made, and the last pipe of tobacco smoked; we certainly derived
-a little strength from this unexpected supply, and our spirits improved
-greatly for a short time.
-
-The weather now turned colder and its increased severity told on us
-heavily, for our clothes were torn to rags by pushing through the woods,
-and a starving man through loss of flesh always feels the cold more
-severely than a man in good condition. We often had to light a fire to
-prevent our feet from freezing when wet from walking on flooded ice or
-breaking through near the shore. The river was still open in places and
-continually altering its level. John was always far behind, and I
-expected to see him drop at any time; but he had the advantage of
-starting fatter than the rest of us, and took good care of himself,
-always hanging in the rear and coming into camp when the labour of
-throwing out the snow and getting wood was accomplished. Never once
-during the whole of this march did he go ahead to break a trail through
-the snow, which is of course the most fatiguing work of all.
-
-A little before sundown on December 17th, the tenth day without eating
-anything but small scraps of moose-skin and the soup at the coffin-camp,
-we staggered among huge blocks of ice, passed the junction of the
-Findlay, and soon afterwards arrived at the _cache_. It was an anxious
-moment as I crawled up the frozen bank and waded through the snow to the
-scaffold; no wolverine tracks were to be seen, and the flour was lying
-untouched. Camp was made, a kettle of thick paste boiled, and a cupful
-eaten every half-hour to prevent any ill effects from straining the
-weakened organs of the digestion.
-
-But we were by no means out of our difficulties yet. Thirty pounds of
-flour, without meat, is the ordinary amount that would be given to five
-men for two days, without taking into account the fact that we had been
-starving for a long time and were now reduced to skeletons. Before us
-was the main range of the Rocky Mountains; the snow would be drifted
-deep in the narrow pass, and travel would be slow, if indeed we got
-through at all. Another serious trouble was the state of our moccasins;
-as they wore out we had eaten them, and were now wearing rough apologies
-for shoes which we had made out of the moose-skin that was quickly
-getting very small under the constant demands made upon it for various
-purposes.
-
-In the morning I measured the flour very carefully with a cup into
-different loads, so that I might be able to keep account of the quantity
-that was used, and, taking a gun and what few cartridges were left, we
-started for Tom Barrow's cabin, which we hoped to be able to reach in
-three or four days if the ice should prove good. In this we were
-terribly disappointed, for at the end of the second day, after wading
-through deep snow, and frequently putting ashore to light a fire on
-account of the intense cold, we camped but a short distance below the
-Findlay Rapid. John's feet were frozen already, and all of us were
-touched in the face; there was always great difficulty in lighting a
-match with numbed fingers, but birch-bark was plentiful, and being
-readily inflammable was nearly sure to blaze up at once. Our only
-remaining axe was almost useless from having been carelessly left for a
-night in the fire. Much of the snow had drifted off the ice and was
-lying three and four feet deep on the banks, increasing the labour of
-making camp and picking up firewood, for we were too weak to do any
-effectual chopping even if our axe had been in good condition. Without
-snow-shoes it was impossible to walk through the forest in the hope of
-finding grouse; and, after one or two efforts, the exertion of wading
-waist-deep through snow that reached to the belt was found too great,
-and the attempt was abandoned.
-
-On the third day a blizzard swept through the pass, completely obscuring
-the opposite bank of the river, which was here quite narrow. We
-attempted to travel against it, but found our faces were frozen before
-going a quarter of a mile. Murdo and myself had always to light the
-matches, as the other men suffered more from the cold than we did; I
-knew that my hands were already useless, and that if we continued to
-force our way against the storm there would be little chance of starting
-a fire further on. I gave orders to turn back for the camp, and we spent
-the short day in keeping up the fire that was still burning. Besides the
-drift, a gust of wind would often send down the masses of snow that had
-gathered on the branches, putting out our little blaze and filling up
-the hole that we had dug in the snow, while the boughs themselves often
-fell dangerously close to the camp. The allowance of flour was cut down
-to two cupfuls among five men, and this was eaten in the form of paste,
-which we found more satisfying than bread. The Labrador tea was buried
-deep under the snow, and from this time no more was obtained.
-
-The shortening of rations produced grumbling in the camp, especially
-from John, who declared that it was better to eat well while the little
-flour lasted, to gain strength to take us to the trading-post. Murdo was
-more sensible in this respect, but was beginning to lose the full use of
-his head, and, besides the strong aversion he had always shown to John,
-now developed a passionate hatred to Charlie and Pat, whom rightly
-enough he held responsible for our position. This ill-feeling among the
-various members of our party was increased tenfold by an episode which
-took place on the following day. The morning was very cold but with less
-wind, and, although our faces froze again, we pushed on for an hour or
-two and then made a fire on the bank. Here we left the Indian and
-half-breed drying their moccasins, and continued travelling down stream
-to make a camp for the mid-day halt, knowing that the others could catch
-us up easily with the advantage of our road through the snow; this they
-did just as our fire was blazing up. I asked Charlie for his flour, as
-so far we had not used any from his load, but when he produced it there
-was not more than a cupful left in the bag. I had given him five pounds
-of flour to carry, and at once knew that our guides, who had caused all
-the trouble, had now been guilty of stealing food, when our lives
-depended on the scanty store that we had picked up at the _cache_. For
-this offence, at such a time, there is but one punishment: a man on the
-point of starving to death cares little whether you cut off the dollar a
-day that he is earning or not; a blow struck would have fired the train
-of discontent that was ready to explode;--the only course open to me, if
-the offenders were to be punished at all, was to put an end to them both
-with the shot-gun that I carried. For a long time I debated this
-question while a few spoonfuls of flour were boiled for dinner, and
-finally decided to let matters take their course; there were still seven
-or eight pounds of flour left, and by further reduction of rations we
-might keep ourselves alive for a few more days; the weather might be
-warmer, the ice less rough, and the snowfall lighter if we could reach
-the far end of the pass, but at present things looked very black indeed.
-Flesh and strength were failing rapidly; this loss of provisions would
-tell heavily, and travelling through the gloomy pass under the high
-mountains was more laborious than words can describe. It was no good
-refusing to give the thieves their share of rations, as this might
-induce them to strike a blow in the night, and deal us the death that
-they themselves deserved; but the question might still have to be
-decided, in case of a man dropping, whether his life should be
-sacrificed and the offenders allowed to go free. If affairs came to the
-point which everything seemed to indicate, there could now be no fair
-drawing of lots to see who should die that the survivors might support
-themselves by the last resource of all.
-
-The weather continued cold, and frozen feet caused many delays; there
-was no chance here to treat a frost-bite by the tender methods of
-thawing with snow and rubbing with oil that are practised in
-civilization, but feet were thrust into a blazing fire and allowed to
-blister as they would. John and Charlie suffered greatly from this
-cause, and their pain in walking was much increased. These delays were
-serious, for although the Peace River Pass lies as far to the south as
-the 56th parallel of latitude the days were at their shortest.
-
-For three more days we continued wading through the snowdrifts, and
-crawling over rough ice, continually changing our leader, till on
-December 24th we were stopped by another blizzard, and forced to lie in
-camp all day. Rations were by this time cut down to a spoonful of flour
-in the morning and a strip of moose-skin at night for each man. Not more
-than a pound of flour was left, and the storm, far too fierce for such
-wretched skeletons to face, might continue for several days. Our
-situation seemed utterly hopeless as we crouched over the fire that was
-with difficulty maintained, and apparently the end had come. There was
-none of the kindly sympathy for companions in misfortune which men who
-share a common danger should have: a mutual distrust was prevalent;
-hatred and the wolfish madness of hunger ruled the camp; and to this day
-I cannot understand how it was that the fatal spark was never struck,
-and no tragedy of murder and cannibalism enacted on the banks of that
-ice-bound river without witnesses save the great silent mountains and
-the God who made them.
-
-Christmas Day brought rather better weather, although snow was still
-falling quietly, and, finding open water in the river with shore-ice on
-which the snow was not so deep as usual, there was a great improvement
-in our case. An accident, however, occurred which nearly put an end to
-two of the party. Charlie and Pat, who were leading at the time,
-ventured too near the edge of the open water and broke through, not only
-to the knees or waist, as had so often happened, but over their heads in
-deep water with a strong current, and we had some trouble in pulling
-them out. It was very important that we should make a fire at once, as
-the temperature was many degrees below zero, and the men drenched to the
-skin began to freeze directly. The accident had taken place under a long
-steep bluff, and from where we stood no firewood was to be seen on our
-side of the river within a couple of miles. By the greatest good
-fortune, on turning a point we found a huge tree that had fallen over
-the cliff and lay on the beach smashed up into firewood, as if it had
-been prepared specially for our use. A blaze was soon started, and the
-two half-drowned men left to dry themselves. The most unfortunate part
-of the affair was the wetting of the matches which they carried. I had
-divided these precious articles among the men in case of accidents of
-this kind, for without fire we should have had no chance of saving our
-lives; as it turned out we never ran short of matches and never once
-missed making fire, although there was often trouble in procuring wood;
-we were far too weak to handle a big log, but usually found a dead
-cotton-wood tree, from which the bark is easily pulled and makes the
-best of fires.
-
-In the afternoon we passed the Polpar Rapid, which was completely frozen
-up, and emerging from the pass caught the first sight of the sun, that
-had been hidden from us for many days by the high mountains. The ice
-below the rapid continued fairly good till nightfall, when we were
-forced to camp, although the moon was full and we tried to travel by her
-light. But although it was easy enough to see close ahead, it was
-impossible to pick out the line of the best ice, and the labour of
-travelling was increased by having to force our way through drifts and
-piled-up ice that we might have avoided in daylight.
-
-Soon after leaving camp on the following morning a grouse was killed,
-and I think even this little nourishment helped us a great deal to
-accomplish our task of reaching the trading-post; this was the only
-grouse we had seen since we left the _cache_, although on the up-stream
-journey birds had been plentiful enough. The ice was still rough at
-times, but in some places the river was open and good shore-ice made the
-walking easy; the weather was much warmer, with bright sunshine, and
-there was no danger of freezing our feet. At dark camp was made within a
-day's travel of Barrow's house, if only we had strength enough to reach
-it.
-
-The long night passed away, and just before daylight we were staggering
-among the blocks of ice in a scattered line. There was always difficulty
-in starting from the camp, for there was a certain amount of comfort in
-lying in our blankets, and nobody was anxious to try whether he could
-still stand upright or not. Our inclination during the worst time was to
-lie down and make no further effort, but after walking half an hour we
-usually found ourselves in better spirits. Soon after coming out on the
-ice, I looked back to see how John was travelling, and noticed that he
-was down. Charlie, who had been behind with him, came up and said that
-John could travel no longer and intended to stay where he was. I stopped
-all the men, but Charlie tried to push by me and said that he would not
-wait for anyone. For the first time I had to use threats to ensure my
-orders being carried out, and taking the gun from my shoulder let
-Charlie plainly see that I meant to shoot him if he did not obey. This
-quickly brought him to his senses, and John came up very slowly. He
-wanted someone to stay with him and trust to the others sending back
-provisions, but I would not listen to this proposal. I told him that it
-was only want of courage that prevented him making any further effort;
-he was as strong as the rest of us, and, if he would try, could keep up
-quite easily; if he would come on till we reached the place where we had
-had dinner on the second day out with the canoe, we would make him a
-camp and leave all our blankets, so that he might have a chance of
-keeping himself alive till relief came. On rounding a point we saw open
-water ahead, and John, although far behind, went far better on the
-smooth ice, and eventually came in not more than an hour after us. At
-noon the Bull's Head was in sight, and we could see the line of hills at
-the foot of which Barrow's house lay. The pace was fast for men in our
-condition, but we kept up a steady walk, leaving our blankets when there
-seemed a certainty of reaching the house that night. The sun was down
-when we passed the old shanty in which we had camped for a night on the
-way up, and by moonlight we travelled on, following close to the edge of
-the open water and taking little precaution to test the strength of the
-ice. Soon the roar of the canyon was heard, and at seven o'clock we
-crawled up the steep bank and stood in front of the cabin. I pushed open
-the door, and shall never forget the expression of horror that came over
-the faces of the occupants when they recognised us. We had become used
-to the hungry eyes and wasted forms, as our misery had come on us
-gradually, but to a man who had seen us starting out thirty-two days
-before in full health the change in our appearance must have been
-terrible. There was no doubt that we were very near the point of death.
-For my own part I felt a dull aching in the left side of my head; I was
-blind in the left eye and deaf in the left ear; there was a sharp pain
-on each side just below the ribs; but my legs, though not well under
-control, were still strong. We had all completely lost the use of our
-voices, and suffered greatly from the cracking of the skin on hands and
-feet, which always results from starving in cold weather; to say that we
-were thin conveys no idea of our miserable condition. It is needless to
-go into the details of our recovery; but under Barrow's careful nursing,
-and restrictions as to the quantity of food allowed, we all came back to
-health, although for some days our lives were hanging in the balance.
-
-I can never sufficiently thank Tom Barrow for his kind behaviour on this
-occasion. Of course, everybody is sorry for starving people; but it is
-rather a strain on this sympathy to have to look after five men so near
-to death in a small cabin among the Rocky Mountains, with such slender
-supplies as had been left for a winter's rations for two people. Without
-a murmur he shared his blankets and his provisions, although he knew
-that there was a good chance of starving himself in the spring.
-
-Barrow told us directly where we had made our mistake. The river we had
-turned up was Nation River, and the log-cabin had been occupied some
-years before by a party of miners, but very little gold had been taken
-out. Some distance up Nation River was the old trail to the Omineca
-mining-camp; but of course we should not have known what trail it was if
-we had found it. The mouth of the Nation River and the yellow cut bank
-Barrow remembered perfectly, and said there had been much talk about
-these landmarks on the way down; it seems inexplicable that three men,
-who had been over the route before, should have made the mistake that so
-nearly cost us our lives. If we had followed up the Parsnip beyond the
-mouth of Nation River we should have reached Macleod's Lake on December
-12th at latest with only a few days' starvation, and avoided all the
-misery that continued till the 27th of that month.
-
-In a week communication was opened with Hudson's Hope, and Walter
-Macdonald did everything he could to help us; but the same thing had
-happened to him. A band of Beaver Indians had been caught by starvation
-at the mouth of the Pine River Pass, and had suffered the same
-experiences as ourselves. Many had been left by the way, but I think
-there were no deaths, as provisions were sent out so soon as the news
-reached Baptiste at Moberley's Lake.
-
-At the end of a fortnight everybody was well enough to travel; and to
-ease the strain on provisions I sent Murdo, John, and Charlie to Lesser
-Slave Lake, where they could get fish to support them, and spare the
-resources of the upper river posts. But even now these men could not
-travel together, although they had full rations and nothing to quarrel
-about. Murdo reached the Lesser Slave Lake alone, John arriving several
-days later, and I found Charlie at Dunvegan, where he had already
-distinguished himself by robbing from the priest's trading-store. A
-thorough blackguard was Charlie, and it would have been little loss to
-the world in general if he had left his bones under the snow in the
-Peace River Pass; he had begun his voyage badly by stealing fifty
-dollars from his mother at Quesnelle, and there were several other
-offences for which the police had hunted him away from the borders of
-civilization. Pat was to stay for the winter with Barrow, and as soon as
-Baptiste had made us snow-shoes we pottered about in the woods together,
-hunting grouse and rabbits, and had soon entirely recovered our
-strength.
-
-I have never heard any satisfactory explanation of the gradual increase
-and sudden dying out of the rabbits and lynx, which takes place every
-seven years throughout the North. Starting from the few survivors of the
-last epidemic, the numbers increase slowly every season, till in the
-sixth year the whole country is so over-run with them that a man can
-travel anywhere with no further provision than shot-gun and snares. Then
-the disease breaks out, dead bodies are found all through the woods, and
-scarcely a living rabbit or lynx is to be seen. The autumn of 1885 I
-spent on the head-waters of the Athabasca, at the east end of the Tete
-Jaune Pass; the rabbits were then at their height and as plentiful as I
-ever saw them in England. 1892 will be the next big rabbit-year; but
-after that famine is sure to be rife on Peace River, as it is harder
-every year to kill moose, and for the last two or three years the
-rabbit-snares have kept many an Indian from starvation. This
-rabbit-question is an important one to consider before starting on an
-exploration trip in the Peace River country, as in the good seasons
-there is no danger of running short of provisions.
-
-One day, as we were setting snares together, Pat told me the story of
-the stolen flour. They had stayed behind to dry their moccasins, and
-Charlie had explained to Pat that I was keeping the flour for the use of
-the white men, and that their only chance of getting any was to help
-themselves; Pat had objected at first, but afterwards gave way when he
-saw Charlie cooking the flour, and they had eaten about four pounds
-between them. Judging from Charlie's character I am inclined to believe
-the story, as Pat in all other respects had behaved well under the
-pressure of hardship, and had always done more than his share of work in
-making camp and breaking the trail.
-
-While staying at Hudson's Hope, Macdonald and I walked over to
-Moberley's Lake, twelve miles to the south, to pay old Baptiste a visit.
-The house stands within view of the big peaks of the Rockies close to
-the edge of the lake, but the appearance of the country is rather spoilt
-by the abundant traces of forest fires that have taken place of late
-years. The lake is a beautiful sheet of water, ten miles in length,
-drained by the Pine River, which falls into the Peace a short distance
-above Fort St. John. Baptiste has a fruitful potato-patch, and his women
-were catching plenty of rabbits; there was moose-pemmican, too, and
-dried meat, for the Fall hunt had been successful. The Iroquois gave me
-a pair of snow-shoes ornamented with tassels of coloured wool, as well
-as a pair of beaded moccasins which he made me promise not to eat, and
-came with us to the fort to see us off.
-
-[Illustration: Arrival of the Dog Train]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII
-
-
-It was towards the end of January, 1891, that I left Hudson's Hope for
-Edmonton, a distance of six hundred miles, giving up all further attempt
-to reach Macleod's Lake. A son of Mr. Brick, of Smoky River, turned up
-just before I started, and promised to go with Pat to my _cache_ at the
-junction of the Findlay and Parsnip when the days grew long in spring.
-The rough ice would then be covered with deep snow, and with snow-shoes
-and hand-sleighs it would be easy to bring away the guns, journals, and
-many other articles that I had been obliged to abandon.
-
-Two days and a half took me to St. John's, and after a week's stay there
-a dog-train, carrying the winter packet, arrived, and I took this chance
-of getting to Dunvegan. Alick Kennedy, one of the very best half-breed
-_voyageurs_ in Canada, was in charge of the packet. The distances this
-man has been known to run in a day would hardly be credited in a land
-where people travel by railways and steamboats: moreover, he is a
-pleasant companion to travel with; his conversation is interesting, and
-entirely free from the boasting which most of the half-breeds indulge
-in. Alick was captain of a boat-brigade on the Nile; and if all the
-Canadian contingent had been of his stamp instead of the Winnipeg
-loafers, who were too worthless to get employment in their own country,
-a different story might have been told of the behaviour of the
-_voyageurs_ on the march to Khartoum.
-
-Five days took us to Dunvegan, where I again met Mr. Macdonald, and
-travelled with him to the Lesser Slave Lake. From Dunvegan we made the
-portage straight to Smoky River, crossing a pretty prairie country and
-camping a night at Old Wives' Lake, where Mr. Brick winters some of his
-cattle. With a splendid track along the waggon-road, we made the ninety
-miles to the Lesser Slave Lake in two days, and, judging from the number
-of people and houses, we seemed to have reached civilization already.
-Besides the Hudson's Bay establishment, the missions and the buildings
-of the free-traders, many half-breeds have houses scattered along the
-lake, and devote part of their attention to raising horses and cattle,
-though of course whitefish are the main support of life. A favourite
-haunt for wildfowl is this lake in spring and autumn, but big game and
-fur have been nearly killed out by the large population, and most of the
-Indian trade is done at the out-posts nearer to the hunting-grounds.
-
-I spent several days at the fort, being well treated as usual, and
-February was nearly finished when I started with Mr. Frank Hardistay on
-my last journey with dogs. The Lesser Slave Lake is about seventy miles
-in length, and covering this distance easily in two days we travelled
-down the Little Slave River which leaves the east end of the lake. A
-good deal of labour has been expended in blasting rocks out of the
-channel of this river, to enable the steamer from the Athabasca landing
-to reach the lake, and so avoid the expense of building boats and
-engaging crews to transport the Peace River cargo, but so far these
-efforts have proved unsuccessful.
-
-I think we followed the course of this stream about twenty miles, then
-dived into the thick pine-forest on the east bank, and making a
-twelve-mile portage came out on the Athabasca River, seventy miles above
-the landing at the end of the waggon-road from Edmonton. The Athabasca
-has here the same monotonous look that one becomes so tired of in its
-lower reaches. When a point was rounded another point exactly similar
-showed three or four miles ahead, and this continued till we reached the
-landing, in clear cold weather, on March 3rd; three days later our dogs,
-bearing the smartest of dog-cloths and with sleigh-bells ringing
-merrily, rattled into Edmonton, and the wild free life of the last
-twenty months was over.
-
-The excitement that the arrival of a stranger never fails to create at a
-lonely Northern fort is rather apt to give that stranger an exaggerated
-idea of his own importance; but when I reached Edmonton I at once
-realised that there are many people in the world who have ideas beyond
-musk-ox and caribou, dog-sleighs and snow-shoes. An election was at its
-height to decide who should have the honour of representing the
-territory of Alberta at Ottawa. Edmonton had been drinking, although it
-is supposed to keep strictly to the rules of the Prohibition Act, and
-before I had been an hour in the town I found myself in the midst of a
-free fight. I was unfortunate in not knowing the names of the
-candidates, or what policy they represented, and as I could give no
-clear account as to what I had done with my vote, I was roughly used by
-both sides and was glad to escape to the less boisterous hospitality of
-the Hudson's Bay Fort.
-
-There were still two hundred miles of snow-covered prairie to be crossed
-to reach Calgary, but with horses to drag our sleigh, and a house to
-sleep in every night, there could be little hardship in the journey. At
-the crossing of the Red Deer we saw the iron rails that had already
-pushed far out towards Edmonton, but work had ceased for the winter and
-no trains were running. As we travelled south the snow became less every
-day, till we were forced to change our runners for wheels when still
-sixty miles from Calgary. Late in the evening of March 15th the whistle
-of a locomotive told me, more plainly than anything I had yet heard,
-that it was time to pull myself together and take up the common-place
-life of civilization; a few more miles of level country, down a steep
-pitch or two, across the frozen stream of the Elbow, and close ahead the
-lights of Calgary were blinking over the prairie.
-
-[Illustration: Edmonton]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-I am writing these concluding lines in a fashionable garret off St.
-James's Street. Close at hand are all the luxuries that only
-ultra-civilization can give, and these luxuries are to be obtained by
-the simple method of handing over an adequate number of coins of the
-realm; there is no necessity to shoulder your gun and tramp many weary
-miles on snow-shoes before you get even a sight of your dinner in its
-raw state. But surely we carry this civilization too far, and are in
-danger of warping our natural instincts by too close observance of the
-rules that some mysterious force obliges us to follow when we herd
-together in big cities. Very emblematical of this warping process are
-the shiny black boots into which we squeeze our feet when we throw away
-the moccasin of freedom; as they gall and pinch the unaccustomed foot,
-so does the dread of our friends' opinion gall and pinch our minds till
-they become narrow, out of shape, and unable to discriminate between
-reality and semblance. A dweller in cities is too wrapped up in the
-works of man to have much respect left for the works of God, and to him
-the loneliness of forest and mountain, lake and river, must ever appear
-but a weary desolation. But there are many sportsmen who love to be
-alone with Nature and the animals far from their fellow-men, and as this
-book is intended solely for the sportsman, a few words of advice to
-anyone who is anxious to hunt the musk-ox may not be out of place.
-
-I am not quite sure that Fort Resolution is the best point to start
-from. Fort Rae, on the north arm of the Great Slave Lake, lies nearer
-the Barren Ground, and the Dog-Ribs are said to be more amenable to
-reason than the Yellow Knives, while the distance to travel through a
-woodless country is shorter. Fort Good Hope, on the Lower Mackenzie,
-would be another good spot to make headquarters; but there is less
-certainty of finding the caribou in that neighbourhood, and without the
-caribou there is little chance of reaching the musk-ox. It is not the
-slightest use starting from a post with the theory that musk-ox can be
-killed in so many days, and that, by taking a load of provisions
-sufficient to last for the same length of time, a successful hunt will
-be made. The only plan is to work your way up slowly, to stay among the
-caribou in the autumn, and kill and _cache_ meat whenever an opportunity
-offers, ready for a rush on the first snow. Remember, too, when
-provisions get scarce, as they certainly will at some time or other, the
-country ahead is as big as the country behind, and the best chance lies
-in pushing on. To turn back may prove fatal, when another day's travel
-may put you in a land of plenty. It is possible to reach the
-hunting-ground and return to Fort Resolution with a canoe in the summer,
-but the robes are then worthless, and the whole sport savours too much
-of covert-shooting in July. Make quite sure before you start that you
-are determined to push on through everything, as even the Great Slave
-Lake is far to go on an unsuccessful errand. Here, in London, in front
-of a good fire at the club and under the influence of a good dinner, it
-is easy enough to kill musk-ox and make long night-marches on snow-shoes
-by the flashes of the Northern Lights; but the test of practice takes
-off some of the enjoyment.
-
-A year has slipped away since our winter journey through the Peace River
-Pass. Young Brick kept his promise of getting the _cache_ right well,
-and a couple of months ago my journals arrived in England, so that I
-have been able to put together this rough record of my Northern travels.
-On looking back one remembers only the good times, when meat was
-plentiful and a huge fire lit up the snow on the spruce trees; misery
-and starvation are forgotten as soon as they are over, and even now, in
-the midst of the luxury of civilization, at times I have a longing to
-pitch my lodge once more at the edge of the Barren Ground, to see the
-musk-ox standing on the snowdrift and the fat caribou falling to the
-crack of the rifle, to hear the ptarmigan crowing among the little pines
-as the sun goes down over a frozen lake and the glory of an Arctic night
-commences.
-
-To the man who is not a lover of Nature in all her moods the Barren
-Ground must always be a howling, desolate wilderness; but for my part, I
-can understand the feeling that prompted Saltatha's answer to the worthy
-priest, who was explaining to him the beauties of Heaven. "My father,
-you have spoken well; you have told me that Heaven is very beautiful;
-tell me now one thing more. Is it more beautiful than the country of the
-musk-ox in summer, when sometimes the mist blows over the lakes, and
-sometimes the water is blue, and the loons cry very often? That is
-beautiful; and if Heaven is still more beautiful, my heart will be glad,
-and I shall be content to rest there till I am very old."
-
-[Illustration: A SKETCH MAP OF Mr. WARBURTON PIKE'S JOURNEYS TO THE
-BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN CANADA]
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX I
-
-
-I am much indebted to Professor Dawson, of the Dominion Geological
-Survey Department, for his kind permission to publish the following
-paper on the Unexplored Regions of Canada. It shows more plainly than
-any words of mine could tell how much yet remains to be done before this
-great portion of the British Empire is known as it ought to be.
-
-
-ON SOME OF THE LARGER UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF CANADA.
-
-(By G. M. DAWSON, D.S., Assoc. R.S.M., F.G.S., F.R.S.C.)
-
-If on reading the title of the paper which I had promised to contribute
-to the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club, any one should have supposed it
-to be my intention to endeavour to describe or forecast the character of
-the unexplored areas mentioned, I must, in the first place, disclaim any
-such intention. The very existence of large regions of which little or
-nothing is known, is of course stimulating to a fertile imagination,
-ready to picture to itself undiscovered "golden cities a thousand
-leagues deep in Cathay," but such unscientific use of the imagination is
-far removed from the position of sober seriousness, in which I ask your
-attention to the facts which I have to present.
-
-Fortunately, or unfortunately, as we may happen to regard it, the
-tendency of our time is all in the direction of laying bare to
-inspection and open to exploitation all parts, however remote, of this
-comparatively small world in which we live, and though the explorer
-himself may be impelled by a certain romanticism in overcoming
-difficulties or even dangers met with in the execution of his task, his
-steps are surely and closely followed by the trader, the lumberer, or
-the agriculturalist, and not long after these comes the builder of
-railways with his iron road. It is, therefore, rather from the point of
-view of practical utility than from any other, that an appeal must be
-made to the public or to the Government for the further extension of
-explorations, and my main purpose in addressing you to-night is to make
-such an appeal, and to show cause, if possible, for the exploration of
-such considerable portions of Canada as still remain almost or
-altogether unmapped.
-
-What I have to say, in fact, on this subject resolves itself chiefly
-into remarks on the map exhibited here, upon which the unexplored areas
-to which I am about to refer are clearly depicted in such a manner, I
-believe, as almost to speak for themselves.
-
-It is very commonly supposed, even in Canada, but to a greater extent
-elsewhere, that all parts of the Dominion are now so well known that
-exploration, in the true sense of the term, may be considered as a thing
-of the past. This depends largely upon the fact that the maps of the
-country generally examined are upon a very small scale, and that upon
-such maps no vast areas yet remain upon which rivers, lakes, mountains,
-or other features are not depicted. If, however, we take the trouble to
-enquire more closely into this, and consult perhaps one of the
-geographers whose maps we have examined, asking such awkward questions
-as may occur to us on the sources of information for this region or
-that, we may probably by him be referred to another and older map, and
-so on till we find in the end that the whole topographical fabric of
-large parts of all these maps rests upon information of the vaguest
-kind.
-
-Of most of the large areas marked upon the map here shown, this is
-absolutely true, and the interests of knowledge with respect to these
-would be better subserved if such areas were left entirely blank, or, at
-least, if all the geographical features drawn upon them appeared in
-broken lines, in such a way as to show that none of them are certain. In
-other regions, the main geographical outlines, such as the courses of
-the larger rivers, are indicated approximately, with such accuracy as
-may be possible from accounts or itineraries derived from travellers or
-from officers of the Hudson's Bay Company; or from the descriptions or
-rough sketches of Indians or other persons by whom the region has been
-traversed, but who have been unprovided with instruments of any kind and
-whose knowledge of the country has been incidentally obtained.
-
-There is, in the case of such partially explored regions, more excuse
-for the delineation of the main features on our maps, as these may be
-useful in imparting general information of a more or less inexact kind.
-We can scarcely, however, admit that such regions have been explored in
-any true sense of that term, while they are certainly unsurveyed, and
-very little confidence can be placed in maps of this kind as guides in
-travel. When, ten years ago, I struck across from Fort Macleod, on the
-west side of the Rocky Mountains, with the purpose of reaching Fort
-Dunvegan on the Peace, through a country densely forested and without
-trails or tracks of any kind, I had so much confidence in the existing
-maps of that region as to assume that Dunvegan was at least
-approximately correct in position on them. As often as possible I took
-observations for latitude, and each night worked out our position by
-latitude and departure, till at a certain point I was about to turn off
-to the north of the line previously followed with the confident
-anticipation of finding Dunvegan. Just here, very fortunately, we fell
-in with some Indians, and though our means of communicating with them
-were very imperfect, we gathered enough to lead us to accept the
-guidance of one of them, who promised to lead us to the fort, but took
-an entirely different direction from that I had proposed taking. He was
-right, but Dunvegan proved to be, as shown on the maps, nearly forty
-miles west of its real position. Fortunately no very great importance
-attached to our reaching Dunvegan on a given day, but none the less,
-this practical experience proved to me very conclusively the
-desirability of showing features in broken lines, or otherwise
-indicating their uncertainty when they have not been properly fixed.
-
-It must be confessed, however, that most of the travellers ordinarily to
-be found in these unexplored regions, being Indians or hunters, traders
-and others travelling under the guidance of Indians, do not depend on
-the latitudes and longitudes of places, or on the respective bearings of
-one place from another. The Indians follow routes with which they have
-been familiar since childhood, or, when beyond the boundaries of their
-own particular region of country, go by landmarks, such as mountains,
-lakes, and rivers, which have been described to them by their
-neighbours. Their memory in this respect is remarkable; but it must be
-remembered that among their principal subjects of conversation when
-sitting about the camp-fire are the distances in day's journeys from
-place to place, the routes which they have followed or have known others
-to follow, the difficulties to be encountered on these, the points at
-which food of different kinds may be obtained, and the features which
-strike them as being remarkable in the country traversed. Returning,
-however, from this digression, which began with the statement that
-accurate maps of such regions as are at present merely traversed by
-traders and Indians, are not imperative from the point of view of such
-travellers, it may with confidence be affirmed that such maps and
-explorations upon which they are based are absolutely essential to
-civilized society, to show in the first place what the natural resources
-of these regions are and how they may be utilized, in the second by what
-highways such regions may be most easily reached.
-
-A glance at the map will show, that while many of the larger unexplored
-areas may be affirmed to lie to the north of the limit of profitable
-agriculture, considerable regions situated to the south of this limit
-still await examination. Large districts, again, in which no farmer will
-ever voluntarily settle, may afford timber which the world will be glad
-to get when the white pine of our nearer forests shall become more
-nearly exhausted, while, with respect to mineral resources, it is
-probable that in the grand aggregate the value of those which exist in
-the unexplored regions will be found, area for area, to be equal to
-those of the known regions, comparing each particular geological
-formation with its nearest representative. On the grounds alone,
-therefore, of geographical knowledge, and of the discovery and
-definition of the reserves of the country in timber and minerals, the
-exploration of all these unknown or little-known regions may be amply
-justified.
-
-Taking a line drawn north and south in the longitude of the Red River
-Valley, which is, as nearly as may be, the centre of Canada from east to
-west, it may confidently be stated that by far the larger part of the
-country in which agricultural settlement is possible lies to the west,
-while the great bulk of the actual population lies to the east of this
-line. Looking to this grand fundamental fact, I believe it may safely be
-affirmed that some members of this audience will live to see the day
-when these conditions with respect to population will be boldly
-reversed, and in which the greater number of our representatives in
-Parliament gathering here will come from this great western region.
-
-This disposition of the cultivable land depends partly upon the physical
-characteristics of the country, and in part on its climatic conditions.
-Beyond Winnipeg, and stretching therefrom to the west and north-west, is
-the great area of prairie, plain, and plateau, which, wider near the
-forty-ninth parallel than elsewhere on the continent, runs on in one
-form or other, though with diminishing width, to the Arctic Ocean. This
-is, generally speaking, an alluvial region, and one of fertile soils.
-Very fortunately, and as though by a beneficent provision of nature, the
-climatic features favour the utilization of this belt. The summer
-isothermals, which carry with them the possibility of ripening crops,
-trend far to the north.
-
-Let us trace, for example, and as a rough and ready index of the
-northern limit of practicable agriculture of any kind, that isothermal
-line which represents a mean temperature of 60 deg. Fahrenheit in the
-month of July. Passing through the southern part of Newfoundland and
-touching the island of Anticosti, this line runs to the north end of
-Mistassini Lake, and thence crosses Hudson's Bay, striking the west
-shore a short distance north of York Factory. Thence it runs westward,
-skirting the north end of Reindeer Lake, and then bending to the
-north-west, crosses Great Slave Lake, and touches the southern
-extremity of Great Bear Lake. From this point it resumes a westward
-course and crosses the Yukon River a considerable distance to the
-north of the confluence of the Pelly and the Lewes, turning south
-again almost on the east line of Alaska. We need not, however,
-further follow its course, as owing to peculiar climatic conditions
-on the West Coast, it ceases there to be any criterion as to the
-conditions of agriculture.
-
-The character of much of the western interior country is such that its
-exploration and survey is comparatively easy, and it will be observed
-that here the larger unknown regions are to be found only far to the
-northward, leaving in the more rugged and inhospitable eastern region
-vast islands of unexplored country in much more southern latitudes.
-
-It may be said, in fact, that comparatively little of the region
-capable, so far as climate goes, of producing wheat is now altogether
-unknown; but it may be added, that increasing as the world now is in
-population, its people cannot much longer expect to find wheat-growing
-lands unoccupied in large blocks. The time is within measurable distance
-when lands with a fertile soil though more or less rigorous climate, in
-which only barley, oats, hemp, flax, and other hardy crops can be
-matured, will be in demand, and we are far from having acquired even a
-good general knowledge of these lands in Canada.
-
-For many of the unexplored regions marked upon this map, however, we can
-in reason appeal only to their possible or presumable mineral wealth as
-an incentive to their exploration, and if some of them should prove
-wholly or in great part barren when such exploration shall have been
-carried out, it will not be without utility to acquire even this
-negative information, and write upon them in characters as large as need
-be, "No thoroughfare."
-
-I will now ask your further attention for a few moments while I run over
-and make some remarks in detail on the various unexplored areas as
-indicated on the map. It must first, however, be explained in what
-manner the unexplored areas referred to have been outlined. All lines,
-such as those of rivers, chains of lakes, or other travelled routes,
-along which reasonably satisfactory explorations have been made and of
-which fairly accurate route-maps are in existence, are given an
-approximate average width of about fifty miles, or twenty-five miles on
-each side of the explorer's or surveyor's track. The known lines are
-thus arbitrarily assumed to be wide belts of explored country, and that
-which is referred to as unexplored comprises merely the intervening
-tracts. By this mode of definition the unexplored regions are reduced to
-minimum dimensions. Neither are any comparatively small tracts of
-country lying between explored routes included in my enumeration, in
-which the least area mentioned is one of 7500 square miles; nor are the
-Arctic islands, lying to the north of the continent, referred to.
-Because of the empirical mode in which the unexplored areas have thus
-been delineated, it has not been attempted to estimate with more than
-approximate accuracy the number of square miles contained in each, my
-purpose being merely to render apparent the great dimensions of these
-areas.
-
-In enumerating these areas, I shall not refer to the various
-explorations and lines of survey by which they are defined and separated
-one from another, as this would involve mention of nearly all the
-explorers who have traversed the northern part of the continent. I
-shall, however, note such excursions as have been made into or across
-the regions which are characterized as unexplored.
-
-Beginning, then, in the extreme north-west of the Dominion, we find
-these areas to be as follows:--
-
-    1. Area between the eastern boundary of Alaska, the Porcupine
-    River and the Arctic Coast, 9500 square miles, or somewhat
-    smaller than Belgium. This area lies entirely within the Arctic
-    Circle.
-
-    2. Area west of the Lewes and Yukon Rivers and extending to the
-    boundary of Alaska, 32,000 square miles, or somewhat larger than
-    Ireland. This country includes the head-waters of the White and
-    probably of the Tanana Rivers, and, being comparatively low and
-    sheltered from the sea by one of the highest mountain-ranges on
-    the continent, the St. Elias Alps, doubtless possesses some
-    remarkable peculiarities of climate.
-
-    3. Area between the Lewes, Pelly, and Stikine Rivers and to the
-    east of the Coast Ranges, 27,000 square miles, or nearly as
-    large as Scotland. This has been penetrated only by a few
-    "prospectors," from whom, and from Indians, the courses of
-    rivers shown on my maps published in connection with the Yukon
-    Expedition Report are derived. It lies on the direct line of the
-    metalliferous belt of the Cordillera, and its low lands are
-    capable of producing hardy crops.
-
-    4. Area between the Pelly and Mackenzie Rivers, 100,000 square
-    miles, or about twice the size of England. This belongs partly
-    to the Yukon Basin and partly to that of the Mackenzie, and
-    includes nearly 600 miles in length of the main Rocky Mountain
-    Range. Many years ago, Mr. A. K. Isbister penetrated the
-    northern part of this area for some distance on the line of the
-    Peel River,[1] but owing to the manner in which he had to
-    travel, but little accuracy can be attributed to his sketch of
-    that river. Abbe Petitot also made a short journey into its
-    northern part from the Mackenzie River side, but, with these
-    exceptions, no published information exists respecting it.
-
-    5. Area between Great Bear Lake and the Arctic Coast, 50,000
-    square miles, or about equal to England in size. Nearly all to
-    the north of the Arctic Circle.
-
-    6. Area between Great Bear Lake, the Mackenzie, and the western
-    part of Great Slave Lake, 35,000 square miles, or larger than
-    Portugal. With respect to this region and that last mentioned,
-    it must be explained that I have felt some doubt whether they
-    should be characterised as unexplored on the basis previously
-    explained as that which is generally applied. Between 1857 and
-    1865, Mr. R. Macfarlane, of the Hudson's Bay Company, carried
-    out an intelligent and valuable examination of part of the
-    region north of Great Bear Lake, some results of which have
-    lately been published,[2] and in both of these areas, between
-    1864 and 1871, the indefatigable missionary, Abbe Petitot, made
-    numerous journeys, of which he subsequently published an
-    account.[3] As Petitot's instruments consisted merely of a
-    compass, and a watch which he rated by the meridian passage of
-    the sun, it must be assumed that his mapping of the country does
-    not possess any great accuracy. His work, however, considering
-    the difficulties under which it was performed, is deserving of
-    all praise, and his several descriptions of the character of
-    the country traversed are most valuable. It does not appear from
-    his account of these regions that they are likely to prove of
-    great utility to civilized man, except as fur-preserves, or
-    possibly from the minerals which they may contain. He writes:
-    "Ce pays est compose de contrees silencieuses comme le tombeau,
-    des plaines vastes comme des departements, des steppes glaces
-    plus affreux que ceux de la Siberie, de forets chetives,
-    rabougries comme on n'en voit que dans le voisinage des glaciers
-    du Nord."
-
-    7. Area between Stikine and Liard Rivers to the north and Skeena
-    and Peace Rivers to the south, 81,000 square miles, or more than
-    twice as large as Newfoundland. This includes a portion of the
-    western Cordillera, and, between the Liard and Peace Rivers, a
-    large tract of the interior plateau region of the continent,
-    parts of which, there is reason to believe, consist of good
-    agricultural land. Its western extremity was crossed in 1866 and
-    1867 by the exploratory survey of the Western Union or Collins'
-    Telegraph Company, then engaged in an attempt to connect the
-    North American and European telegraph systems through Asia. No
-    details of this part of their exploration have, however, been
-    published, and if we may judge from other parts of their line,
-    since checked, the survey made was of too rough a character to
-    possess much geographical value.
-
-    8. Area between Peace, Athabasca, and Loon Rivers, 7500 square
-    miles, or about half as large as Switzerland.
-
-    9. Area south-east of Athabasca Lake, 35,000 square miles. This
-    may be compared in extent to Portugal.
-
-    10. Area east of the Coppermine River and west of Bathurst
-    Inlet, 7,500 square miles. This again may be compared to half
-    the area of Switzerland.
-
-    11. Area between the Arctic Coast and Back's River, 31,000
-    square miles, or about equal to Ireland.
-
-    12. Area surrounded by Back's River, Great Slave Lake, Athabasca
-    Lake, Hatchet and Reindeer Lakes, Churchill River, and the west
-    coast of Hudson's Bay, 178,000 square miles. Much larger than
-    Great Britain and Ireland, and somewhat larger than Sweden. The
-    lakes and rivers shown in this great region depend entirely on
-    the result of the three journeys made by Hearne in 1769-1772.[4]
-    Hearne really wandered through parts of this region in company
-    with Indians whom he was unable to control, his ultimate object
-    (which he at length accomplished) being to reach the Coppermine
-    River, in order to ascertain for the Hudson's Bay Company
-    whether it was possible to utilize the native copper found
-    there. Not even roughly approximate accuracy can be assigned to
-    his geographical work. Referring to the position of the mouth of
-    the Coppermine, he writes:--"The latitude may be depended upon
-    to within 20 miles at the utmost." In reality it afterwards
-    proved to be 200 miles too far north. This country includes the
-    great "barren grounds" of the continent, and is the principal
-    winter resort of the musk-ox as well as of great herds of
-    caribou. Hearne's general characterization of it is not very
-    encouraging, but certainly we shall know more about it. He
-    writes:--"The land throughout the whole tract of country is
-    scarcely anything but one solid mass of rocks and stones, and in
-    most parts very hilly, particularly to the westward, among the
-    woods." The north-eastern extremity of this region was also
-    crossed by Lieut. Schwatka in the course of his remarkable
-    journey to King-William Land, but his geographical results
-    possess little value.[5]
-
-    13. Area between Severn and Attawapishkat Rivers and the coast
-    of Hudson's Bay, 22,000 square miles, or larger than Nova
-    Scotia. Several lakes and rivers are shown upon the maps in this
-    region in practically identical form since Arrowsmith's map of
-    1850, but I have been unable to ascertain the origin of the
-    information.
-
-    14. Area between Trout Lake, Lac Seul, and the Albany River,
-    15,000 square miles, or about half the size of Scotland.
-
-    15. Area to the south and east of James Bay, 35,000 square
-    miles, which also may be compared to the area of Portugal. This
-    region is the nearest of those which still remain unexplored to
-    large centres of population. It is probable that much of it
-    consists of low land which may afford merchantable timber.
-
-    16. Area comprising almost the entire interior of the Labrador
-    peninsula or North-east Territory, 289,000 square miles. This is
-    more than equal to twice the area of Great Britain and Ireland,
-    with an added area equal to that of Newfoundland. Several lines
-    of exploration and survey have been carried for a certain
-    distance into the interior of this great peninsula, among which
-    may be mentioned those of Professor Hind, Mr. A. P. Low, and Mr.
-    R. F. Holme.[6] The limits of the unexplored area have been
-    drawn so as to exclude all these. The area regarded as still
-    unexplored has, however, it is true, been traversed in several
-    directions at different times by officers of the Hudson's Bay
-    Company, particularly on routes leading from the vicinity of
-    Mingan on the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the head of Hamilton
-    Inlet, and thence to Ungava Bay. These routes have also,
-    according to Mr. Holme, been travelled by a missionary, Pere
-    Lacasse; but the only published information which I have been
-    able to find is contained in a book written by J. McLean,[7] and
-    in a brief account of a journey by Rev. E. J. Peck.[8] Mr.
-    McLean made several journeys and established trading-posts
-    between Ungava and Hamilton Inlet in the years 1838-1841, while
-    Mr. Peck crossed from Little Whale River, on Hudson Bay, to
-    Ungava in 1884. Something may be gathered as to the general
-    nature of the country along certain lines from the accounts
-    given by these gentlemen, but there is little of a really
-    satisfactory character, while neither has made any attempt to
-    fix positions or delineate the features of the region on the
-    map. In all probability this entire region consists of a rocky
-    plateau or hilly tract of rounded archaean rocks, highest on the
-    north-east side and to the south, and sloping gradually down to
-    low land towards Ungava Bay. It is known to be more or less
-    wooded, and in some places with timber of fair growth; but if it
-    should be possessed of any real value, this may probably lie in
-    its metalliferous deposits. In this tract of country
-    particularly there is reason to hope that ores like those of
-    Tilt Cove, in Newfoundland, or those of Sudbury, in Ontario, may
-    occur.
-
-    To sum up briefly, in conclusion, what has been said as to the
-    larger unexplored areas of Canada, it may be stated that, while
-    the entire area of the Dominion as computed at 3,470,257 square
-    miles, about 954,000 square miles of the continent alone,
-    exclusive of the inhospitable detached Arctic portions, is for
-    all practical purposes entirely unknown. In this estimate the
-    area of the unexplored country is reduced to a minimum by the
-    mode of definition employed. Probably we should be much nearer
-    the mark in assuming it as about one million square miles, or
-    between one-third and one-fourth of the whole. Till this great
-    aggregate of unknown territory shall have been subjected to
-    examination, or at least till it has been broken up and
-    traversed in many directions by exploratory and survey lines, we
-    must all feel that it stands as a certain reproach to our want
-    of enterprise and of a justifiable curiosity. In order, however,
-    to properly ascertain and make known the natural resources of
-    the great tracts lying beyond the borders of civilization, such
-    explorations and surveys as are undertaken must be of a truly
-    scientific character. The explorer or surveyor must possess some
-    knowledge of geology and botany, as well as such scientific
-    training as may enable him to make intelligent and accurate
-    observations of any natural features or phenomena with which he
-    may come in contact. He must not consider that his duty consists
-    merely in the perfunctory measuring of lines and the delineation
-    of rivers, lakes, and mountains. An explorer or surveyor
-    properly equipped for his work need never return empty-handed.
-    Should he be obliged to report that some particular district
-    possesses no economic value whatever, besides that of serving as
-    a receiver of rain and a reservoir to feed certain
-    river-systems, his notes should contain scientific observations
-    on geology, botany, climatology, and similar subjects, which may
-    alone be sufficient to justify the expenditure incurred.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] _Some account of Peel River, North America_, by A. K. Isbister,
-Journ. Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xv, 1845, p. 332.
-
-[2] _Canadian Record of Science_, Jan., 1890.
-
-[3] _Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie_, Tom. x, 1875.
-
-[4] _A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the
-Northern Ocean_, 1796.
-
-[5] _Schwatka's Search_, by H. W. Gilder.
-
-[6] _Explorations in Labrador_, 1863; Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can.,
-1887-88, Part. J; Proc. Royal Geog. Soc., 1888; Ott. Nat., Vol. iv.
-
-[7] _Notes of a Twenty-five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay
-Territory_. London, 1849.
-
-[8] _Church Missionary Intelligencer_, June, 1886; Proc. Roy. Geog.
-Soc., 1887, p. 192.
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX II
-
-
-I have to thank the authorities at Kew for the following list of a small
-collection of flowering plants that I found growing in the Barren
-Ground, chiefly in the neighbourhood of the head-waters of the Great
-Fish River.
-
-    _Draba nivalis_, Liljebl.?
-    _Oxytropis campestris_, L. (yellow and purple varieties).
-    _Potentilla nivea_, L.
-    _Dryas integrifolia_, L.
-    _Saxifraga tricuspidata_, Retz.
-    _Epilobium latifolium_, L.
-    _Arnica angustifolia_, Vahl.
-    _Taraxacum palustre_, DC.
-    _Vaccinium uliginosum_, L.
-    _Cassiope tetragona_, L.
-    _Andromeda polifolia_, L.
-    _Phyllodoce taxifolia_, Salisb. (_Menziesia caerulea_, Wahl.).
-    _Ledum palustre_, L.
-    _Loiseleuria procumbens_, Desv.
-    _Rhododendron lapponicum_, L.
-    _Kalmia glauca_, L.
-    _Diapensia lapponica_, L.
-    _Pedicularis hirsuta_, L.
-    _Pedicularis lapponica_, L.
-
-
-
-
-INDEX
-
-
-    Alaska, Southern, 231.
-
-    Alberta, its prairies remembered, 196;
-      an election of its representative, 298.
-
-    America, the Eastern States of, 256.
-
-    Anderson, Mr., his route referred to, vi, 36, 63, 151, 152, 171,
-    185, 196, 215.
-
-    Arnavatn, in Iceland, 42.
-
-    Arctic exploration, its records, 47.
-
-    Arctic flowers, 187.
-
-    Arctic fox, shot at, 40.
-
-    Arctic hare, described, 68.
-
-    Arctic Ocean or Sea, v, 4, 12, 20, 63, 64, 65, 178, 205, 214, 265;
-      the best route to, 221.
-
-    Arctic regions, no extraordinary thickness of clothes required in
-      them, 104.
-
-    Arrowsmith's map, compared with that issued by the Dominion
-      Government, 216.
-
-    Artillery Lake, 220, 221, 224.
-
-    Athabasca district, 63, 235;
-      its limits, 12.
-
-    Athabasca Lake, 15, 16, 68, 231, 235;
-      reached by Mr. Pike, 13;
-      its produce, 13, 14.
-
-    Athabasca River, v, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 17, 36, 231, 293;
-      the landing, 4, 297.
-
-    Aylmer Lake, or the Lake of the Big Cliffs, 64, 178, 179, 180, 191,
-      213, 216, 221.
-
-
-    Back, Sir George, vi, 36, 151, 180, 185, 215;
-      his map, 200.
-
-    Back's, or the Great Fish, River, _see_ Great Fish River.
-
-    Baptiste, little, _see_ Beaulieu, Baptiste.
-
-    Baptiste Testerwich, a half-breed Iroquois, 253, 255, 258, 292, 294;
-      his daughters, the "belles" of Hudson's Hope, 258.
-
-    Barren Ground, The, v, vi, 14, 15, 19, 23, 35, 48, 54, 55, 58, 63,
-        65, 75, 80, 84, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 96, 97, 99, 102, 110, 116,
-        122, 126, 130, 137, 143, 168, 174, 176, 177, 196, 209, 221, 225,
-        232, 271, 300, 302;
-      Mr. Pike's various expeditions to it, 19-77, 99-128, 164-228;
-      Mr. Pike's advice to future travellers there, 24;
-      its mosses and lichens, 42;
-      it produces one species of _Cervidae_, 47;
-      its birds, 175;
-      exploration in it is ceasing, 185;
-      its animals, 198, 199;
-      Mr. Pike longs to return to it, 301;
-      a list of its flowers, 320.
-
-    Barrow, Thomas, 257, 261, 290, 291, 292;
-      his house or cabin, 259, 281, 288, 289.
-
-    Bathurst Inlet, 120, 191, 197, 204, 208.
-
-    Battle River reached, 248.
-
-    Beaulieu, Baptiste, a son of King Beaulieu, 33, 89.
-
-    Beaulieu, Francois, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 39, 43, 61, 79, 93,
-      97, 135, 136, 137, 139, 141.
-
-    Beaulieu, Jose, brother of King Beaulieu, 234.
-
-    Beaulieu, Jose, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 61, 91, 92, 136, 137,
-        236;
-      his love-affairs, 245.
-
-    Beaulieu, King, a French half-breed and guide, 19, 32, 38, 41, 61,
-        66, 71, 72, 81, 82, 83, 90, 94, 95, 97, 101, 102, 128, 135,
-        166, 233;
-      his character, 19, 23, 24;
-      his father and sons, 22, 23;
-      he calls the snow _le couvert du bon Dieu_, 62;
-      a lake is called after him, 62;
-      his cleverness, 73;
-      his opinions and anecdotes, 83-88;
-      he refuses to join the second musk-ox hunt, 97.
-
-    Beaulieu, Paul, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 39, 43, 61, 70, 79, 92,
-      93, 97, 101, 103, 108, 111, 118, 130.
-
-    Beaulieu, Pierre, a brother of King Beaulieu, 148, 149, 233.
-
-    Beaulieus, the, 33, 64, 77, 134, 136, 138;
-      their character, 23;
-      they are not agreeable to live with, 126;
-      the final settlement with them, 147;
-      they apparently try to damage Mr. Pike's chances of success, 168.
-
-    Beaulieus, the young, the sons of King Beaulieu, 22, 38.
-
-    Beaver tribe dying out, 253.
-
-    Beavers, their actions mould geography, 155;
-      an account of the other animals found in their country, 156, 157.
-
-    Beaver Indians, their language, 251.
-
-    Beechey Lake, 190, 204, 205.
-
-    Biche, Lake La, 6.
-
-    Big Lake, 131.
-
-    Big River, the usual native name for the Slave River, 26.
-
-    Blackfeet, the, 3, 132.
-
-    Blue hills in the distance tempt one to push on, 207.
-
-    Bloody Falls, the, 152.
-
-    Boiler Rapid, the, 9.
-
-    Boiling, the favourite method of cooking, 55.
-
-    British Columbia, _see_ Columbia.
-
-    Brick, Mr., a farmer of Smoky River, 244, 296;
-      his mission, 249;
-      his son, 295, 301.
-
-    Buffalo bands, 156;
-      a hunt for, 154-159.
-
-    Bull-dogs, "a cross between a bee and a blue-bottle," an annoyance
-      to the horses, 3.
-
-    Bull's Head, the, 256, 289.
-
-
-    Calgary, ix, 2, 3, 11, 298, 299;
-      left in June, 1889, 1.
-
-    California, 256.
-
-    Camp, a good, 40, 126.
-
-    Campbell, Mr., 228.
-
-    Camsell Lake, 43, 46, 61, 76, 80, 128.
-
-    Camsell, Mr., in charge of the Mackenzie River district, 20, 22, 231.
-
-    Canada, Eastern, 13.
-
-    Cannicannick Berry used for tobacco, 31.
-
-    Canoe, a birch-bark, is a "pretty poetical thing," 197.
-
-    Cap, the, 250.
-
-    Capot Blanc, an Indian, 140, 168, 171, 172, 176, 181, 182, 185, 187,
-      188, 191, 213.
-
-    Carcajou, the, is a cunning beast, 57.
-
-    Caribou, the, sometimes found near the Fond du Lac, 14;
-      Mr. Pike's prospect of finding it, 32;
-      he finds some bands, 43, 64, 72, 76, 89, 108;
-      _Et-then, Et-then!_ the cry on the sight of it, 44;
-      the methods of cooking it, 44-46;
-      it is the one specimen of _Cervidae_ found in the Barren Ground,
-        47;
-      its different species described, 47, 48;
-      killed by Esquimaux, 56;
-      some details of its appearance and habits, 48-60;
-      the methods of freezing it, 67;
-      it is killed by women and boys, 76;
-      the cry, _La Foule, La Foule!_ when a band is in sight, 89;
-      the most remarkable passage of caribou seen by Mr. Pike, 91.
-
-    Caribou diggings, 256.
-
-    Caribou-eaters, 19.
-
-    Caribou gold-fields, 231.
-
-    Caribou mountains, 239, 241.
-
-    Carquoss, an Indian, 190, 197.
-
-    Cassiar mining district, 231.
-
-    Catholics, all half-breeds are, 41.
-
-    Charlie, a half-breed from Quesnelle, 258, 260, 266, 270, 272, 273,
-        276, 277, 283, 285, 286, 288, 289, 293, 294;
-      his character, 292.
-
-    Chesterfield Inlet, 210.
-
-    Chinook wind, the, 259.
-
-    Chipeweyan Fort, the head-post of the Athabasca district, 5, 12,
-        150, 163, 231, 234, 235, 238, 241, 245;
-      its history and present life, 13-15;
-      trout-lines may be worked there, 14;
-      the appearance of the country changes on leaving it, 16.
-
-    Chipeweyan language, 26, 251.
-
-    Christie's Bay, 30.
-
-    Civilisation is degenerating, 299.
-
-    Clark, Mr., arrives as Mr. Mackinlay's substitute, 163, 164.
-
-    Clearwater River, the main route to the North, 11, 12.
-
-    Clinton Golden Lake, or the Lake where the caribou swim among
-        the ice, 216, 220, 223;
-      described, 217, 218.
-
-    Columbia, British, 231, 265.
-
-    Company, the, _see_ Hudson's Bay Company.
-
-    Cooking, the favourite method is boiling, 55.
-
-    Cooper, Fenimore, 129.
-
-    Coppermine River, 64, 65, 67, 72, 108, 110, 152;
-      the Bloody Falls of, 152.
-
-    Corbeau, Lac du, 43.
-
-    Country, the, its nature between Calgary and Edmonton, 1, 2;
-      and after leaving Chipeweyan, 16, 17.
-
-    Crees, the, 3, 132;
-      their language the medium of conversation on the Athabasca, 11;
-      their lodges passed, 241.
-
-    Cree-speaking belt, 26;
-      left by Mr. Pike, 251.
-
-    Cries: that on the sight of caribou, _Et-then, Et-then!_, 44;
-      on the sight of a band of caribou, _La Foule, La Foule!_, 89;
-      to awake a camp, _He leve, leve, il faut partir!_, 122;
-      that of _Hi hi he, Ho hi he_, to bring out the stars, 123.
-
-
-    Dakota blizzard, brought to Mr. Pike's mind by his experience of
-      wind, 88.
-
-    David, the Esquimaux, 162, 206, 210, 211, 271, 276;
-      falls in love with the daughter of King Beaulieu, 168;
-      a keen hunter, 180;
-      his first summer outside the Arctic circle, 207.
-
-    Davis, Twelvefoot, 256, 257.
-
-    Dease Lake, 230.
-
-    Deluge, King Beaulieu's story of the, 85-88.
-
-    Dog-rib tribes, the, 32, 53, 60, 85, 90, 95, 195;
-      a spot on their history, 72;
-      they gamble with the Yellow-knives, 167;
-      they are more amenable than the Yellow-knives, 300.
-
-    Dogs are a trouble in winter travelling from their need of much
-      food, 149.
-
-    Dominion Day, a Canadian anniversary, 182.
-
-    Dominion government's map, 216.
-
-    Dunvegan, 245, 249, 250, 253, 292, 295, 296.
-
-    Dupire, Father, in charge of the Catholic mission at Fort
-      Resolution, 144, 149.
-
-
-    Edmonton, 2, 295, 297, 298;
-      the starting point for the territory of Hudson's Bay Company, 1;
-      an election at, 298.
-
-    Enemy, the, 81, 187.
-
-    Enemy, the Lake of the, 80, 127.
-
-    English is little spoken in the north, 11.
-
-    English Channel, the, 229.
-
-    Enterprise Fort, 65.
-
-    Esquimaux, the, 186, 192, 195, 196, 204, 208, 211;
-      they also kill the caribou, 56;
-      they are dreaded by the Indians, 151, 152;
-      presents for them, 164, 167, 209;
-      signs of their camp, 201-205.
-
-    Etitchula, the Indian, 135, 136.
-
-    _Et-then, Et-then!_ the cry on the sight of the caribou, 44.
-
-    Euclid's methods, 275.
-
-    Expedition, the object of Mr. Pike's, v, vi, 70;
-      the ceremony of commemorating one, 228.
-
-
-    Fat, Antoine, a blind Indian, 176.
-
-    Fat, Pierre, a blind Indian, 176;
-      he appreciates scenery, 178.
-
-    Findlay River, 260, 263, 265, 268, 276, 280, 295;
-      its rapids, 264, 265, 281;
-      its source, 265.
-
-    Flett, Mr., and his family, passengers down the Athabasca, 5;
-      in charge of Fort Smith, 234.
-
-    Fond du Lac, 12, 14, 15, 28, 31, 32, 38, 40, 57, 61, 62, 79, 91,
-        92, 93, 96, 97, 101, 104, 120, 130, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139,
-        141, 144, 148, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168, 171, 176;
-      described, 32;
-      women and children left there, 33.
-
-    Fogs, effect of, 108.
-
-    Forest fires, 1.
-
-    France is not sighed for by the priest of an Indian encampment, 232.
-
-    Francois, _see_ Beaulieu, Francois.
-
-    Francois the little, conducts a buffalo hunt, 154-160;
-      his wife, 161.
-
-    Franklin, Sir John, vi, 36, 77, 185, 205; his expedition, 63;
-      his wintering-place, 65.
-
-    Fraser Lake, 258.
-
-    Fraser River, 231, 256.
-
-    French-Canadians, their _chansons_ dying out, 10.
-
-    French patois of the Red River and the North, 11, 26.
-
-
-    Gold-dust is to be found by the Peace River, 252.
-
-    Good Hope, Fort, 300.
-
-    Government, motherly, defied, 3.
-
-    _Grahame_, the steamer, 12, 16.
-
-    _Grand Pays_, the half-breeds' name for the outside world, 82, 150.
-
-    Grand Traverse, the, 141, 142.
-
-    Grand Rapids, not reached by the steamer, 5;
-      reached by Mr. Pike, 7;
-      a description of the channel and its passage, 8-11.
-
-    Gras, Lac de, 64, 70, 108, 109, 121, 175.
-
-    Grease longed for in the cold, 55.
-
-    Great Bear Lake, 68.
-
-    Great Fish or Back's River, 36, 64, 115, 151, 152, 162, 164, 168,
-      171, 180, 184, 185, 188, 204, 205, 221.
-
-    Great Slave Lake, _see_ Slave Lake.
-
-    Great Slave River, _see_ Slave River.
-
-    Gros Cap, 148.
-
-    Gunn, Mr., of St. John's, 251;
-      he knew Beaver Indian tongue, 252.
-
-
-    Half-breeds are all Catholics, 41.
-
-    Half-way River, 251.
-
-    Halket Fort, 231.
-
-    Hanging Rock, the Lake of, 93.
-
-    Hardistay, Mr. Frank, 296.
-
-    Hay River, 156.
-
-    Hearne, Mr., vi, 36, 152;
-      his _Journey to the Northern Ocean_, 50.
-
-    _Hi hi he, Ho hi he!_ the cry for the stars, 123.
-
-    _Ho leve, leve, il faut partir!_ the cry for arousing a camp, 122.
-
-    Hood, vi.
-
-    Hospitality is in inverse proportion to a man's means, 143.
-
-    Hudson's Bay, 48, 50, 223.
-
-    Hudson's Bay Company, or The Company, v, 1, 3, 14, 50, 52, 82, 83,
-        84, 99, 131, 156, 197, 210, 226, 228, 231, 238, 240, 250,
-        253, 296;
-      Mr. Pike's gratitude to the officers of, for their hospitality,
-        viii, 142, 143;
-      one of their early trading posts, 2;
-      their steamers are well-managed, 17;
-      they bring a certain amount of civilisation, 25;
-      their duffel _capotes_, 52;
-      their compressed tea not good to smoke, 136;
-      they are fair to the Indians, 242, 243.
-
-    Hudson's Bay Fort on Macleod's Lake, 260.
-
-    Hudson's Hope, 249, 250, 252, 265, 291, 294, 295;
-      visited, 253-257.
-
-
-    Iceland, 42.
-
-    Inconnu, a fish found only in the Mackenzie River, 29.
-
-    "Indian, the burnt," his bad luck, 221, 222.
-
-    Indians, the great northern territory is their hunting-ground, 1;
-      they are more easily managed than the half-breeds, 7;
-      they are sent from Locheaux to man the "inland boats," 7;
-      they cannot find their way in snow, 122;
-      they are very improvident, 131, seq.;
-      they are peaceable by nature, 145;
-      they dread the Esquimaux, 152;
-      their women quarrel, 172;
-      they imitate birds very well, 172;
-      some of them show themselves much interested in the skin of a
-        seal, an animal they had never seen, 202;
-      they have a stupid love of killing, 209;
-      intoxicating drink may not be given to them, 226.
-
-    Inland boats described, 6.
-
-
-    John, 258, 268, 270, 271, 276, 277, 278, 280, 281, 283, 285, 288,
-        292;
-      he visits Mr. Pike, 246-254;
-      his character, 246, 247.
-
-    John, Saint, _see_ Saint John.
-
-    Jose, _see_ Beaulieu, Jose.
-
-    Jose, the brother-in-law of Zinto, 171, 173.
-
-
-    Kennedy, Alick, a good _voyageur_, 295.
-
-    Khartoum, 296.
-
-    King, _see_ Beaulieu, King.
-
-    King Lake, 62, 127.
-
-
-    Labrador tea, 41, 194, 275, 283.
-
-    _La Foule, la Foule!_ the cry on the sight of a caribou band, 89.
-
-    Languages, those of the North, 11;
-      those beyond the Cree-speaking belt on the Mackenzie, 26.
-
-    Lard, Lac du, 36.
-
-    Lawrence, Mr., a farmer of Vermillion, 244.
-
-    Lesser Slave Lake, 4, 6, 249, 250, 261, 292, 296, 297.
-
-    Liard River, 155, 156, 230, 231, 251.
-
-    Little Buffalo River, 145, 158;
-      it is impregnated with sulphur, 158.
-
-    Little Red River, in Athabasca district, 12;
-      its beautiful scenery, 240.
-
-    Little River, 266, 276.
-
-    Little Slave River, 145, 297.
-
-    Locheaux language, 26.
-
-    Lockhart's house, 164.
-
-    Lockhart's or Outram River, 63, 64, 70, 178, 179, 212, 214, 215,
-        224;
-      different opinions of its route, 216.
-
-    Lockhart, Pierre, a guide, 164, 171.
-
-    Lower Peace River, 235.
-
-    Lynx and rabbits, their periodic dying out, 293.
-
-
-    Macdonald, Ewen, the chief of the Peace River district, 250.
-
-    Macdonald, Walter, son of Ewen MacDonald, 261, 291, 294, 296.
-
-    Macdougall, 228.
-
-    Macfarlane, 228.
-
-    Mackay, Dr., in charge of the Athabasca district, 12, 17, 18, 63,
-        240;
-      a visit from him, 150, 151;
-      he sends presents, 163;
-      he is absent, 235;
-      he is met by Mr. Pike, 238.
-
-    Mackay, Lake, or the Lake of the Hanging Rock, 63, 64, 70, 72, 75,
-        80, 89, 92, 99, 106, 125, 178, 179, 220;
-      described, 63.
-
-    Mackay, Mr., a Company's clerk, 7, 8.
-
-    Mackay, Murdo, a servant at Fort Resolution who accompanies
-      Mr. Pike, 146, 151, 162, 206, 233, 236, 239, 246, 247, 258, 270,
-      273, 278, 282, 283, 292.
-
-    Mackenzie, Sir Alex., 13, 253.
-
-    Mackenzie River, or _La Grande Riviere en Bas_, v, 4, 10, 18, 19,
-        20, 36, 48, 50, 60, 142, 180, 230, 233, 265, 300;
-      its origin, 16;
-      the languages spoken along its banks, 26.
-
-    Mackinlay, Mr., in charge of Fort Resolution, 22, 144, 148, 162,
-        189, 193, 197, 206, 209, 213, 228, 233, 234;
-      joins Mr. Pike in expedition to the Barren Ground, 151.
-
-    Mackinlay, Mrs., 144.
-
-    Macleod, Fort, 266, 271, 277, 278.
-
-    Macleod's Lake, 231, 237, 254, 258, 259, 261, 266, 276, 291, 295;
-      Hudson's Bay Fort on it, 260.
-
-    Macleod's River, 266, 271, 273, 276.
-
-    MacMurray, Fort, 7;
-      Mr. Pike starts for it, 9;
-      reaches it, 11;
-      it is the most southerly post of the Athabasca district, 12;
-      it is near some natural tar deposits, 13.
-
-    Mandeville, Francois, the brother of Michel Mandeville, 225.
-
-    Mandeville, Michel, the interpreter at Fort Resolution, 146, 148,
-      151.
-
-    Mandeville, Moise, the brother of Michel Mandeville, who joins
-        Mr. Pike, 151, 162, 168, 179, 183, 197;
-      is a good steersman, 198.
-
-    Maps, those of Mr. Pike are not very accurate, vii.
-
-    Marble Island, 210.
-
-    Marlo, the brother of Zinto, 97, 102, 111, 114, 116, 134, 139, 168,
-      181, 190, 197.
-
-    Michel, a son-in-law of King Beaulieu, 33, 46, 61, 92, 93, 97, 104,
-      110, 130, 134, 139.
-
-    Misere, Point de, 67, 72, 78, 108.
-
-    Mission Island, 144, 228, 229, 230.
-
-    Moberley's Lake, 292, 294.
-
-    Moise, _see_ Mandeville, Moise.
-
-    Montaignais dialect of Chipeweyan language, 26.
-
-    Moose Island, 144.
-
-    Mort, Lac de, 37, 92, 134.
-
-    Mouse chased for a caribou, 107.
-
-    Murdo, _see_ Mackay, Murdo.
-
-    Muskeg country ends at the Point of Rocks, 27.
-
-    Musk-ox, 69, 70;
-      the object of Mr. Pike's journey, v, vi;
-      to be sought on the Barren Ground, 23;
-      the first killed, 69;
-      birds seen during the hunt for them, 68;
-      an expedition in search of them, 61 seq.;
-      a band of them, 113;
-      the method of slaughtering them is unpleasant, 116;
-      their horns described, 119;
-      a description of a hunt for them, 181-183;
-      they are said to understand the Yellow-knife language, 183;
-      advice to hunters of them, 300, 301.
-
-    Musk-ox, the giant, 81.
-
-    Musk-ox Lake, 185, 186, 187, 188, 194, 212, 214.
-
-    Musk-ox Mountain, 188;
-      it is the limit of the Yellow-knives' hunting-ground, 186.
-
-
-    Nation River, 291.
-
-    Nelson Fort, 156, 251.
-
-    New Year's Day, an occasion of trade, 139, 146.
-
-    Nile, the, 296.
-
-    Noel, an Indian, who joins Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111, 112, 115,
-      181, 190, 197, 205, 217.
-
-    Northern Packet, the, 150.
-
-    North-West Company, the, 14.
-
-
-    Old Wives' Lake, 296.
-
-    Omineca, 265, 291.
-
-    Orkney Island, 5.
-
-    Ottawa, 13, 244, 298.
-
-    Outram River, _see_ Lockhart's River.
-
-
-    Pacific, Canadian Railway, 11, 271.
-
-    Pacific Coast, 209;
-      routes to, 231.
-
-    Pacific Ocean, 265.
-
-    Paradox gun, its uses, 137, 138.
-
-    Parsnip River, 260, 263, 266, 267, 270, 271, 276, 277, 291, 295;
-      its source, 265;
-      its method of freezing, 268.
-
-    Pat, a Sicannee, 258, 260, 266, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277, 283,
-      286, 292, 293, 294, 295.
-
-    Paul, _see_ Beaulieu, Paul.
-
-    Peace River, 4, 16, 155, 156, 209, 231, 237, 240, 242, 244, 245,
-        246, 248, 249, 251, 252, 253, 256, 265, 293, 294, 297;
-      one of the easiest northern waterways, 238;
-      farmers should not be tempted to it, 244-246;
-      gold-dust is found on its banks, 252.
-
-    Peace River, the Lower, 236.
-
-    Peace River Pass, 278, 285, 301.
-
-    Peel's River, a tributary of the Mackenzie, 20, 162.
-
-    Peel's River Fort, 208.
-
-    Peter, an Indian, who joined Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111, 115,
-      116.
-
-    Pike, Mr. Warburton: the object of his journey is to see the
-        musk-ox, v, vi;
-      his conveyance and outfit, 1;
-      he starts from Calgary for Edmonton, the entrance of the Hudson's
-        Bay Company's territory, 1;
-      his French half-breed driver, 2, 3;
-      he reaches Athabasca Landing and starts down the river, 4;
-      he reaches the island at the head of the Grand Rapids, 7;
-      he starts for MacMurray Fort, 9, and reaches it, 11;
-      he reaches Athabasca Lake, 13;
-      he starts for Fort Smith, on the Great Slave Lake, 16, and
-        reaches it, 18;
-      he makes preparations for the actual journey to the Barren Ground,
-        and engages the Beaulieu family as guides and servants, 19;
-      he leaves the Company's main route at Fort Resolution, 24;
-      he takes too few provisions, 25;
-      the details of his outfit, his fleet, and his companions, 25, 26;
-      he picks up a little of the Montaignais dialect, 26;
-      he encamps in the delta of the Slave River, 26, 27;
-      he reaches Fond du Lac, 31, where the women, children, and as much
-        baggage as possible are left behind, 33;
-      he leaves the Great Slave Lake, and contemplates the country
-        he has just left and that towards which he is journeying, 35;
-      he takes a new route and names new lakes, 36;
-      a good caribou hunt, 43 seq.;
-      he approaches the genuine Barren Ground, 46;
-      a chapter on the caribou, 47-60;
-      he makes an expedition from Lake Camsell in search of the musk-ox,
-        61;
-      he shoots his first musk-ox, 69, 70;
-      he concludes that it would be reckless to push further North,
-        and turns back, 71;
-      he reaches Lake Camsell again, 76;
-      plans for the next musk-ox hunt, 79;
-      King Beaulieu's theories and anecdotes, 81-88;
-      a remarkable passage of the caribou, 89-91;
-      a visit of the chief Zinto and his followers, 93;
-      arrangements for the second musk-ox hunt, 96, 97;
-      he starts, 99;
-      his first winter camp in the Barren Ground, 101-104;
-      a description of the country, 105-110;
-      he is in difficulties for food, 110;
-      the musk-ox come in sight and are killed, 112-116;
-      the land of the musk-ox, 117;
-      another band of musk-ox killed, 118;
-      their horns described, 119;
-      the return road is lost in the snow, 122, but found the next
-        morning, 123;
-      he reaches Lake Camsell again and goes on towards Fond du Lac,
-        128;
-      he visits Zinto's camp, 129 seq.;
-      he sleeps at Fond du Lac on his road to the Great Slave Lake, 139;
-      he is joined by more Indians, 140, 141;
-      he reaches Fort Resolution and comparative civilisation, 143;
-      some account of the Fort, 143-147;
-      he makes a small expedition for caribou with Mackinlay, 148;
-      he makes plans for a summer trip to the Barren Ground, 150 seq.;
-      he goes on a short buffalo hunt with Mackinlay, 154-162;
-      the difficulties in starting for the Barren Ground, 162, 163;
-      he leaves Fort Resolution,164;
-      he leaves the great Slave Lake with Mackinlay and some of the
-        Indians, 174;
-      a new method of hunting the musk-ox, 181;
-      he makes little expeditions, one with Capot Blanc, 187 seq.;
-      a division of the party before going further down the Great
-        Fish River, 190;
-      Syene, the medicine man, prophesies, 191 seq.;
-      two of the Indians desert, 197;
-      he turns up-stream, 204;
-      he explores a new tributary, 205-208;
-      he leaves presents in a deserted Esquimaux camp, 209;
-      the return journey, 216-230;
-      he cannot stay long at Fort Resolution, and makes plans for
-        his journey up-stream, to cross the Rocky Mountains,
-        and if possible reach the Pacific, 231;
-      he decides between the routes and starts, 232;
-      he enters Athabasca Lake, 235;
-      he camps at Quatre Fourches, 237;
-      he turns westward up the Peace River, 238;
-      he reaches Vermillion Fort, 241;
-      his difficulties in getting a crew, 245 seq.;
-      he reaches Dunvegan, 249, and St. John's, 251;
-      he leaves the Cree-speaking belt and enters that of the
-        Beaver Indians, 251;
-      his first glimpse of the Rockies, 252;
-      he reaches Hudson's Hope, 253;
-      he camps at the head of the Canyon, 258;
-      a change in the wind prevents his making use of sleighs, 259;
-      he begins a more detailed account of his winter in the Rockies,
-        260;
-      a dangerous journey to the Findlay Rapids, 263, 264;
-      a glance at his geographical position, 265;
-      he discovers that the road is lost, 272 seq.;
-      a search for food, 274;
-      he begins to retrace his way, 276;
-      his decision concerning the Indians who steal the rations, 284,
-        285;
-      he reaches Tom Barrow's house, 290;
-      he leaves Hudson's Hope for Edmonton, 295,
-        which he reaches during an election, 298;
-      he writes the last words in St. James's Street, giving advice
-        to musk-ox hunters and longing for the Barren Ground, 299 seq.
-
-    Pierre, _see_ Beaulieu, Pierre.
-
-    Pierre, Blind, _see_ Fat, Pierre.
-
-    Pierre the Fool, 218, 219, 223, 224;
-      his description of the country east of Clinton Golden Lake, 223.
-
-    Pierre, an Indian boy, the son of little Francois, 159.
-
-    Pierre, Ile de, 141, 142, 166, 229;
-      a good spot for fishing, 27.
-
-    Pine River, 294.
-
-    Pine River Pass, 292.
-
-    Poplar Rapid, 262, 265, 287.
-
-    Portage, the Long, 12;
-      the work of portaging described, 17, 18.
-
-    "Prairie, the bald-headed," a term of the cattlemen, 2.
-
-    Proverb of the North, a, 267.
-
-    Ptarmigan plentiful, 44.
-
-    Ptarmigan Lake, 219.
-
-
-    Quatre Fourches, 16, 237.
-
-    Quesnelle, 231, 246, 250, 258, 271, 292.
-
-
-    Rabbit and lynx, their periodic decease, 293.
-
-    Rae, Dr., vi.
-
-    Rae, Fort, 95, 148, 167,
-      a good starting-point for the Barren Ground, 299.
-
-    Raven, a superstition concerning the, 66.
-
-    Red-deer, the stream of, 2.
-
-    Reid, Mr., of Fort Province, told King Beaulieu that the earth went
-      round the sun, 83.
-
-    Resolution, Fort, on the Great Slave Lake, the northern limit of
-        the Athabasca district, 12, 22, 24, 50, 59, 97, 130, 150, 154,
-        163, 167, 185, 210, 225, 227, 228, 230, 232, 233;
-      Mr. Pike returns to it, 143;
-      its history and present life, 144, 145;
-      it is not perhaps the best starting-point for the Barren Ground,
-        300.
-
-    Richardson, vi.
-
-    Riel, Louis, his rebellion, 83.
-
-    Rocher, Lac du, 38, 39, 63, 73, 91, 128;
-      it is a haunt of the caribou, 39;
-      trout are caught in it, 39;
-      its products and geological structure, 41, 42;
-      it is like the desert of Arnavatn in Iceland, 42.
-
-    Rocks, Point of, the end of the Muskeg country, 27.
-
-    Rocky Mountains, the, v, ix, 1, 143, 155, 209, 231, 237, 238, 241,
-        248, 250, 260, 265, 272, 281, 291, 294;
-      the first glimpse of, 252, 253;
-      Mr. Pike's attempt to cross them, 232-272.
-
-    Round, Mr., in charge of Dunvegan, 250.
-
-
-    Saint James's Street, 299.
-
-    Saint John, Fort, often called St. John's, 156, 249, 251, 252, 253,
-      294, 295.
-
-    Salt River, 19, 21.
-
-    Saltatha, an Indian who joins Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 109, 111,
-        112, 114, 115, 120, 122, 123, 168, 171, 172, 193, 195, 197, 202,
-        203, 208, 217, 219, 226;
-      his energy, 105, 190;
-      his character, 115;
-      his illness and its cure by brandy, 211, 227;
-      his friendly parting with Mr. Pike, 232;
-      his answer to the priest concerning the beauties of heaven, 302.
-
-    Sandy Bay, 180, 275.
-
-    Saskatchewan River, 2, 4.
-
-    Shooting etiquette must be abandoned among the Indians, 159.
-
-    Sicannee fashion of burying, 269, 279.
-
-    Simpson, Fort, 230.
-
-    Simpson, Mr. Scott, in charge of river transport, 6.
-
-    Simpson, Sir G., 253.
-
-    Simpson's group of islands, 28.
-
-    Slave or Great Slave Lake, vii, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 25, 36, 40, 41,
-        42, 44, 48, 50, 63, 68, 84, 85, 88, 131, 148, 155, 156, 172,
-        176, 178, 191, 213, 215, 218, 219, 221, 223, 225, 228, 242, 248,
-        300, 301;
-      Mr. Pike's journey on, finished, 34;
-      his last view of, 35;
-      the vegetation on its banks, 30, 31;
-      it is a charming place to live on, 232.
-      [There is a Lesser Slave Lake, _see_ "Lesser."]
-
-    Slave or Big River, 16, 26, 48, 142, 233, 238;
-      its rapids, 12;
-      described, 21;
-      its wild-fowl, 27.
-      [There is also a Little Slave River, _see_ "Little."]
-
-    Slavi language, 26.
-
-    Sleighs of the North described, 99-101.
-
-    Smith, Fort, in Athabasca district, 12, 21, 29, 48, 145, 156, 158,
-        161, 163, 231, 234, 236, 245;
-      Mr. Pike starts for it, 16;
-      the game near it, 18;
-      described, 18.
-
-    Smoking, the Company's compressed tea not recommended, 136.
-
-    Smoky River, a tributary of the Peace, 249, 295, 296.
-
-    Snow, called _le couvert du bon Dieu_ by Beaulieu, 62;
-      prevents the Indians from finding their way, 122.
-
-    Snow-blindness, its cause and cures, 175.
-
-    Stars, supposed to be brought out by the cry _Hi hi he, Ho hi he_,
-      123.
-
-    Stewart, Mr., vi, 36, 63, 171, 184, 195.
-
-    Sunday wash, the, 79.
-
-    Superstitions, concerning the caribou, 59;
-      and miracles, 133.
-
-    Syene, an Indian medicine man, 152, 168, 222;
-      he prophesies, 191, 192.
-
-    Syene, Mrs., assists at the prophesying, 191.
-
-
-    Tete Jaune Pass, 293.
-
-    Tete Noire's House, 166.
-
-    Thomas, an Indian, the brother of Zinto, 141;
-      he is a good guide, 142.
-
-    Tobacco, is missed more than tea, 120, 121;
-      the various kinds in use among the Indians, 31;
-      it may be made from Cannicannick berry, 31.
-
-
-    Vermillion, Fort, in Athabasca district, 12, 156, 236, 238, 240,
-        241, 242, 247, 248, 249;
-      described, 241-244.
-
-
-    Walls of meat, as in a fairy tale, 76, 77.
-
-    Whisky Jack, the ways of the, 134, 135.
-
-    William, an Indian who joined Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111,
-      112, 114.
-
-    Willows pulled up for firewood, 121.
-
-    Wilson, Mr., of Vermillion Fort, 245, 246.
-
-    Winnipeg, vii, 11, 144, 214, 296.
-
-    Wolves and wolverines, 57, 89;
-      their ways of stealing, 45, 128;
-      they hunt the caribou, 56, 57.
-
-    Women, given the heaviest loads, 38;
-      their hard work and usefulness, 81;
-      they are treated better by half-breeds than by Indians, 82.
-
-    Wood, Mr., in charge of the Athabasca landing, 5.
-
-    Wrangel Fort, 231.
-
-    _Wrigley_, the, a steamer on the Mackenzie, 10, 19, 231, 233;
-      her make and work, 20.
-
-
-    Yellow-knife river, 36, 63.
-
-    Yellow-knife tribe, 32, 37, 48, 53, 60, 66, 72, 85, 86, 92, 95, 96,
-        115, 152, 195, 202, 211, 214;
-      their etiquette in hunts, 111;
-      their encampment, 131 seq.;
-      the kind of husband most desired among them, 133;
-      their dancing, 147, 148;
-      their gambling with the Dog-Ribs, 167;
-      their stupidity and cowardice outside their own country, 197;
-      their language, 213;
-      they are less amenable than the Dog-Ribs, 300.
-
-    York Boat, its peculiarities, 228, 229.
-
-    York factory, 50.
-
-
-    Zinto, a chief of the Yellow-knives, 96, 97, 129, 130;
-      his visit to Mr. Pike and his speech, 93-95;
-      his camp and people, 129-134;
-      he makes promises of help, 152, 153;
-      but does not fulfil them, 163, 164, 167.
-
-
-
-
-INDEX TO APPENDIX I
-
-
-    Alaska, 309.
-
-    Anticosti, 309.
-
-    Areas in the Dominion of Canada unexplored, 311-319.
-
-
-    Canada, 310.
-
-
-    Dunvegan, 306.
-
-
-    Exploration still possible and useful, 304.
-
-
-    Great Bear Lake, 309.
-
-    Great Slave Lake, 309.
-
-
-    Hudson's Bay, 309.
-
-    Hudson's Bay Company, 305.
-
-
-    Lewes, 309.
-
-
-    Macleod Fort, 306.
-
-    Maps proved wrong, 306.
-
-    Mistassini, 309.
-
-
-    Newfoundland, 309.
-
-
-    Pelly, 309.
-
-
-    Red River Valley, 308.
-
-    Reindeer Lake, 309.
-
-    Rocky Mountains, the, 306.
-
-
-    Winnipeg, 308.
-
-
-    York Factory, 309.
-
-    Yukon River, 309.
-
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-    THE WORKS OF
-    SAMUEL BUTLER
-
-    =The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, Author of "Erewhon."=
-    Selections arranged and edited by HENRY FESTING JONES. New
-    Edition, with an Introduction by FRANCIS HACKETT, and a portrait
-    _net_, $2.00
-
-    =Alps and Sanctuaries of Piedmont and the Canton Ticino.= New
-    edition with the author's revisions. Edited by R. A.
-    STREATFEILD. With 85 drawings chiefly by the author
-    _net_, 2.00
-
-    =Life and Habit=
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =Unconscious Memory.= A new edition with an Introduction by
-    Prof. MARCUS HARTOG
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =The Way of All Flesh.= A novel. With an Introduction by WILLIAM
-    LYON PHELPS
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =Erewhon, or Over the Range.= With an Introduction by FRANCIS
-    HACKETT
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =Erewhon Revisited, Twenty Years Later, both by the Original
-    Discoverer of the Country and His Son=
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =Evolution Old and New=
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =A First Year in Canterbury Settlement=
-    _net_, 2.00
-
-    =The Humor of Homer and Other Essays.= Edited by R. A.
-    STREATFEILD. With a Biographical Sketch of the author by HENRY
-    FESTING JONES, and a portrait
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-    =The Fair Haven= (as by the late JOHN PICKARD OWEN). Edited,
-    with an Introduction, by R. A. STREATFEILD
-    _net_, 1.50
-
-
-    E. P. DUTTON & CO.
-    NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
-WORKS OF
-W. H. HUDSON
-
-
-THE PURPLE LAND
-INTRODUCED BY
-THEODORE ROOSEVELT
-
-James M. Barrie says: "It is one of the choicest things of our latter
-day literature."
-
-Galsworthy says: "Hudson in that romantic piece of realism, 'The Purple
-Land,' has a supreme gift of disclosing not only the thing he sees, but
-the spirit of his vision. Without apparent effort he takes you with him
-into a rare, free, natural world, and always you are refreshed,
-stimulated, enlarged, by going there. A very great writer, and--to my
-thinking--the most valuable our Age possesses."
-    _Net_, _$1.50_
-
-
-A SHEPHERD'S LIFE
-
-In "A Shepherd's Life" Hudson takes us into a quaint old-fashioned
-world, that of the shepherds of the bleak South Downs of England, where
-in sheltered folds of the naked plains nestle placid little old-world
-villages, shaded by immemorial trees and surrounded by quiet, forgotten
-streams.
-    _Net_, _$2.50_
-
-
-A CRYSTAL AGE
-WITH A CRITICAL APPRECIATION BY
-CLIFFORD SMYTH, LITT.D.
-
-The N. Y. _Evening Post_ says, "It has the zeal of the open air, kinship
-with beauty of all sorts, and a relieving glint of humor."
-    _Net_, _$1.50_
-
-
-IDLE DAYS IN PATAGONIA
-
-The late Prof. William James, of Harvard, gives high praise to this
-particular book, and says of the author, "A man who _can_ write."
-    _Net_, _$1.50_
-
-
-NATURALIST IN LA PLATA
-_New Edition in Press_
-
-
-ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS
-_New Edition in Press_
-
-
-
-
-BOOKS _by_ BOYD CABLE
-
-
-    The books by this young artillery officer have probably given
-    the English speaking world a better understanding of the
-    intimate details of the Great War than anything else that has
-    been written. Cast for the most part in the form of fiction, and
-    written for the most part within sound of the German guns, they
-    have an atmosphere of reality that no mere work of the
-    imagination can possess.
-
-
-    BETWEEN THE LINES      _Net $1.50_
-
-    An attempt to convey the living humor or the glory that lies
-    _between the lines_ of the cold and formal official despatch.
-
-
-    ACTION FRONT      _Net $1.35_
-
-    These are the words that swing the muzzles of the advancing guns
-    towards the enemy. More stories that give you a respect for
-    Thomas Atkins that borders on affection.
-
-
-    DOING THEIR BIT      _Net $1.00_
-
-    A vivid description of the way the munition workers in Britain
-    are backing the boys in the trenches.
-
-
-    GRAPES OF WRATH      _Net $1.50_
-
-    Twenty-four hours of a "big push." What it feels like to be a
-    private soldier for just one day of a modern battle. As heart
-    lifting as the _Battle Hymn of the Republic_ from which the
-    title is taken.
-
-
-    E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
-    681 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY
-
-
-
-
-_A_
-Student in Arms
-
-BY
-DONALD HANKEY
-
-
-Published originally in the columns of the London _Spectator_, these
-short articles, sketches, and essays, written by a man in the trenches,
-form a "war-book" of quite unusual kind, dealing with the deeper things
-of human life.
-
-The high spiritual idealism which actuates so many thousands in the
-ranks of the Allies finds a voice in it, and the mental attitude of the
-fighting-men towards religion, the Church, their officers and their
-comrades, is exhibited not only with sanity and sympathy, but with a
-fine simplicity of language and an inspiring nobility of outlook.
-
-_Twenty-four thousand copies of this book were sold in the first month
-of its publication in England_
-
-    Net $1.50
-
-
-    E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
-    681 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY
-
-
-
-
-_The Inspiration of the German People when they awake from their present
-Nightmare._
-
-    The Coming
-    Democracy
-
-    By HERMANN FERNAU
-
-    An examination, searching and merciless, of Germany's mediaeval
-    dynastic and political system, by the author of "Because I Am a
-    German," and a demand for reforms which all civilized countries
-    of the world have enjoyed for decades.
-
-"The book is one of the most important which the war has
-produced."--_The Spectator._
-
-"We recommend the book to every serious reader as one of the foremost
-books of universal and permanent value thus far inspired by the great
-war."--_New York Tribune._
-
-"A most remarkable book, an incisive summary of the entire Teutonic
-situation, a book whose conclusions are identical with President
-Wilson's reply to the Pope."--_Newark Evening Call._
-
-    Net $2.00
-
-    E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
-    681 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY
-
-
-
-
-The
-Hill-Towns of France
-
-BY
-EUGENIE M. FRYER
-
-    _Illustrated with 50 pen-and-ink drawings by Roy L. Hilton and
-    over 25 fine photo-engravings._
-
-Not a guide-book in the technical sense, and not a history; but a
-charming series of descriptive and historical sketches of some of the
-most storied, romantic and beautiful places in Europe.
-
-This superbly illustrated volume deals with the following:
-
-    POITOU: _Poitiers_, _Chauvigny_ & _Uzerche_.
-    NORMANDY: _Falaise_, _Gaillard_, _Arcques-la-Bataille_
-    & _Mont-Saint-Michel_.
-    BRITTANY: _Saint-Jean-du-Doigt_, _La Faouet_,
-    _Dinan_ & _Josselin_.
-    QUERCY: _Cahors_ & _Rocamadour_.
-    LANGUEDOC: _Najac_, _Carcassonne_ & _Lastours_.
-    PROVENCE: _Arles_, _Montmajour_ & _Les Baux_.
-    SAVOIE: _Miolans_.
-    AUVERGNE: _Le Puy_.
-    PICARDIE: _Laon_.
-    LA BEAUCE: _Chartres_.
-    TOURAINE: _Chinon_, _Amboise_, _Blois_ & _Loches_.
-
-    Net $2.00
-
-
-    E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
-    681 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY
-
-
-
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's note:
-
-Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
-
-Hyphen added: birch[-]bark (p. 38), foot[-]hills (p. ix), mid[-]day (p.
-3), north[-]east (p. 65), sand[-]bars (p. 13), snow[-]shoes (pp. 82,
-92), south[-]east (p. 30), up[-]stream (p. 209).
-
-Hyphen removed: back[-]bone (p. 53), cattle[-]men (p. 331), land[-]marks
-(p. 307), medicine[-]man (pp. 330, 332), over[-]land (p. 7), pin[-]tail
-(p. 175).
-
-The following words appear both with and without hyphens and have not
-been changed: deer[-]skin(s), gun[-]shot, half[-]way, snow[-]drift(s),
-snow[-]time, Store[-]room, touch[-]wood, wild[-]fowl, wind[-]bound.
-
-P. 23: "prosspect" changed to "prospect" (the prospect of finding the
-musk-ox).
-
-P. 41: "buerre" changed to "beurre" (le pain avec le beurre).
-
-P. 67: "afternon" changed to "afternoon" (well on in the next
-afternoon).
-
-P. 94: "suppose" changed to "supposed" (but supposed there was
-some good reason).
-
-P. 104: "let" changed to "left" (have left us houseless).
-
-P. 124: "feul" changed to "fuel" (fuel was rapidly vanishing).
-
-P. 130: "abtruse" changed to "abstruse" (more abstruse subjects).
-
-P. 131: "scare" changed to "scarce" (when the caribou are scarce).
-
-P. 142: "sankbanks" changed to "sandbanks" (mostly inside sandbanks).
-
-P. 143: "semed" changed to "seemed" (How strange it seemed).
-
-P. 151: "winter" changed to "water" (to descend the Great Fish River
-with the first open water).
-
-P. 187: "debateable" changed to "debatable" (there was a debatable
-ground).
-
-P. 191: "tighty" changed to "tightly" (tightly-stretched deer-skin).
-
-P. 216: "was" changed to "we" (we passed into the short stretch of
-river).
-
-P. 221: "roughtly" changed to "roughly" (we reckoned roughly).
-
-P. 226: "given" changed to "give" (forbids a white man to give an
-Indian).
-
-P. 238: "and" deleted (end in dry sand [and] instead of running).
-
-P. 244: "hgher" changed to "higher" (higher up at Smoky River).
-
-P. 249: "Lukily" changed to "Luckily" (Luckily whitefish are very
-plentiful).
-
-P. 321: "Baptiste Testerwick" changed to "Baptiste Testerwich".
-
-
-
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