A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean Part 20

It is but a few years since, that Captain Keels.h.i.+es, who is frequently mentioned in this Journal, took twelve of these people under his charge, all heavy laden with the most valuable furrs; and long before they arrived at the Fort, he and the rest of his crew had got all the furrs from them, in payment for provisions for their support, and obliged them to carry the furrs on their account.

On their arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort, Keels.h.i.+es laid claim to great merit for having brought those strangers, {181} so richly laden, to the Factory, and a.s.sured the Governor that he might, in future, expect a great increase in trade from that quarter, through his interest and a.s.siduity. One of the strangers was dubbed with the name of Captain, and treated accordingly, while at the Fort; that is, he was dressed out in the best manner; and at his departure, both himself and all his countrymen were loaded with presents, in hopes that they would not only repeat the visit themselves, but by displaying so much generosity, many of their countrymen would be induced to accompany them.

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

There seems to be great propriety in the conduct of the Governor[AU] on this occasion; but however well-intended, it had quite the contrary effect, for Keels.h.i.+es and the rest of his execrable gang, not content with sharing all the furrs those poor people had carried to the Fort, determined to get also all the European goods that had been given to them by the Governor. As neither Keels.h.i.+es nor any of his gang had the courage to kill the Copper Indians, they concerted a deep-laid scheme for their destruction; which was to leave them on an island. With this view, when they got to the proposed spot, the Northern Indians took care to have all the baggage belonging to the Copper Indians ferried across to the main, and having stripped them of such parts of their clothing as they {182} thought worthy their notice, went off with all the canoes, leaving them all behind on the island, where they perished for want.

When I was on my journey to the Fort in June one thousand seven hundred and seventy two, I saw the bones of those poor people, and had the foregoing account from my guide Matonabbee; but it was not made known to the Governor for some years afterward, for fear of prejudicing him against Keels.h.i.+es.

A similar circ.u.mstance had nearly happened to a Copper Indian who accompanied me to the Fort in one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two: after we were all ferried across Seal River, and the poor man's bundle of furrs on the South-side, he was left alone on the opposite sh.o.r.e; and no one except Matonabbee would go over for him. The wind at that time blew so hard, that Matonabbee stripped himself quite naked, to be ready for swimming in case the canoe should overset; but he soon brought the Copper Indian safe over, to the no small mortification of the wretch who had the charge of him, and who would gladly have possessed the bundle of furrs at the expence of the poor man's life.

When the Northern Indians returned from the Factory that year, the above Copper Indian put himself under the protection of Matonabbee, who accompanied him as far North, as the lat.i.tude 64, where they saw some Copper Indians, among whom was the young man's father, into {183} whose hands Matonabbee delivered him in good health, with all his goods safe, and in good order.

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

Soon after we had left the Coppermine, there came on a thick fog with rain, and at intervals heavy showers of snow. This kind of weather continued for some days; and at times it was so thick, that we were obliged to stop for several hours together, as we were unable to see our way, and the road was remarkably rocky and intricate.

[Sidenote: 22d.]

At three o'clock in the morning of the twenty-second, Matonabbee's brother and one of the Copper Indians, who had been first dispatched a-head from Congecathawhachaga, overtook us. During their absence they had not discovered any Indians who could have been serviceable to my expedition. They had, however, been at the Copper River, and seeing some marks set up there to direct them to return, they had made the best of their way, and had not slept from the time they left the river till they joined us, though the distance was not less than a hundred miles. When they arrived we were asleep, but we soon awakened, and began to proceed on our journey. That day we walked forty-two miles; and in our way pa.s.sed Buffalo Lake: at night, we put up about the middle of the Stony Mountains. The weather was excessively hot and sultry.

[Sidenote: 23d.]

{184} On the twenty-third, the weather continued much the same as on the preceding day. Early in the morning we set out, and walked forty-five miles the first day, during which the Indians killed several fine fat buck deer.

[Sidenote: 24th.]

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

About one o'clock in the morning of the twenty-fourth, we stopped and took a little refreshment, as we had also done about noon the preceding day; but the Indians had been so long from their wives and families, that they promised not to sleep till they saw them, especially as we were then in sight of the hills of Congecathawhachaga,[83] where we had left the last of them. After resting about an hour, we proceeded on our way, and at six in the morning arrived at Congecathawhachaga; when, to our great disappointment, we found that all our women had got set across the river before the Copper Indians left that part; so that when we arrived, not an Indian was to be found, except an old man and his family, who had arrived in our absence, and was waiting at the crossing-place with some furrs for Matonabbee, who was so nearly related to the old man as to be his son-in-law, having one of his daughters for a wife. The old man had another with him, who was also offered to the great man, but not accepted.

Our stay at this place may be said to have been of very short duration; for on seeing a large smoke to the Southward, we immediately crossed the river, and walked towards it, {185} when we found that the women had indeed been there some days before, but were gone; and at their departure had set the moss on fire, which was then burning, and occasioned the smoke we had seen. By this time the afternoon was far advanced; we pursued, however, our course in the direction which the women took, for their track we could easily discover in the moss. We had not gone far, before we saw another smoke at a great distance, for which we shaped our course; and, notwithstanding we redoubled our pace, it was eleven o'clock at night before we reached it; when, to our great mortification, we found it to be the place where the women had slept the night before; having in the morning, at their departure, set fire to the moss which was then burning.

[Sidenote: 25th.]

The Indians, finding that their wives were so near as to be within one of their ordinary day's walk, which seldom exceeded ten or twelve miles, determined not to rest till they had joined them. Accordingly we pursued our course, and about two o'clock in the morning of the twenty-fifth, came up with some of the women, who had then pitched their tents by the side of Cogead Lake.[84]

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

From our leaving the Copper-mine River to this time we had travelled so hard, and taken so little rest by the way, that my feet and legs had swelled considerably, and I had become quite stiff at the ankles. In this situation I had {186} so little power to direct my feet when walking, that I frequently knocked them against the stones with such force, as not only to jar and disorder them, but my legs also; and the nails of my toes were bruised to such a degree, that several of them festered and dropped off. To add to this mishap, the skin was entirely chafed off from the tops of both my feet, and between every toe; so that the sand and gravel, which I could by no means exclude, irritated the raw parts so much, that for a whole day before we arrived at the women's tents, I left the print of my feet in blood almost at every step I took.

Several of the Indians began to complain that their feet also were sore; but, on examination, not one of them was the twentieth part in so bad a state as mine.

This being the first time I had been in such a situation, or seen anybody foot-foundered, I was much alarmed, and under great apprehensions for the consequences. Though I was but little fatigued in body, yet the excruciating pain I suffered when walking, had such an effect on my spirits, that if the Indians had continued to travel two or three days longer at that unmerciful rate, I must unavoidably have been left behind; for my feet were in many places quite honey-combed, by the dirt and gravel eating into the raw flesh.

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

As soon as we arrived at the women's tents, the first thing I did, was to wash and clean my feet in {187} warm water; then I bathed the swelled parts with spirits of wine, and dressed those that were raw with Turner's cerate; soon after which I betook myself to rest. As we did not move on the following day, I perceived that the swelling abated, and the raw parts of my feet were not quite so much inflamed. This change for the better gave me the strongest a.s.surance that rest was the princ.i.p.al thing wanted to effect a speedy and complete cure of my painful, though in reality very simple disorder, (foot-foundering,) which I had before considered to be an affair of the greatest consequence.

[Sidenote: 27th.]

Rest, however, though essential to my speedy recovery, could not at this time be procured; for as the Indians were desirous of joining the remainder of their wives and families as soon as possible, they would not stop even a single day; so that on the twenty-seventh we again began to move; and though they moved at the rate of eight or nine miles a day, it was with the utmost difficulty that I could follow them. Indeed the weather proved remarkably fine and pleasant, and the ground was in general pretty dry, and free from stones; which contributed greatly to my ease in walking, and enabled me to keep up with the natives.

[Sidenote: 31st.]

[Sidenote: August. 1st.]

[Sidenote: 5th.]

[Sidenote: 1771. July.]

On the thirty-first of July, we arrived at the place[85] where the wives and families of my companions had been ordered to wait our return from the Copper-mine River. Here we found several tents of Indians; but those {188} belonging to Matonabbee, and some others of my crew, had not arrived. We saw, however, a large smoke to the Eastward, which we supposed had been made by them, as no other Indians were expected from that quarter. Accordingly, the next morning, Matonabbee sent some of his young men in quest of them, and on the fifth, they all joined us; when, contrary to expectation, a great number of other Indians were with them; in all, to the amount of more than forty tents. Among those Indians, was the man who Matonabbee stabbed when we were at Clowey. With the greatest submission he led his wife to Matonabbee's tent, set her down by his side, and retired, without saying a word. Matonabbee took no notice of her, though she was bathed in tears; and by degrees, after reclining herself on her elbow for some time, she lay down, and, sobbing, said, _see'd dinne_, _see'd dinne!_ which is, My husband, my husband! On which Matonabbee told her, that if she had respected him as such, she would not have run away from him; and that she was at liberty to go where she pleased. On which she got up, with seeming reluctance, though most a.s.suredly with a light heart, and returned to her former husband's tent.

FOOTNOTES:

[AM] _Tima_ in the Esquimaux language is a friendly word similar to _what cheer?_

[AN] When the fifteen Indians turned back at the Stony Mountains, they took two or three canoes with them; some of our crew that were sent a-head as messengers had not yet returned, which occasioned the number of our canoes to be so small.

[71] Probably some form of the wide-ranging _Salmo alpinus_.--E. A. P.

[AO] When the Esquimaux who reside near Churchill River travel in Winter, it is always from lake to lake, or from river to river, where they have formed magazines of provisions, and heaps of moss for firing.

As some of those places are at a considerable distance from each other, and some of the lakes of considerable width, they frequently pitch their tents on the ice, and instead of having a fire, which the severity of the climate so much requires, they cut holes in the ice within their tents, and there sit and angle for fish; if they meet with any success, the fish are eaten alive out of the water; and when they are thirsty, water, their usual beverage, is at hand.

When I first entered into the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was as Mate of one of their sloops which was employed in trading with the Esquimaux: I had therefore frequent opportunities of observing the miserable manner in which those people live. In the course of our trade with them we frequently purchased several seal-skin bags, which we supposed were full of oil; but on opening them have sometimes found great quant.i.ties of venison, seals, and sea-horse paws, as well as salmon: and as these were of no use to us, we always returned them to the Indians, who eagerly devoured them, though some of the articles had been perhaps a whole year in that state; and they seemed to exult greatly in having so over-reached us in the way of trade, as to have sometimes one third of their bargain returned.

This method of preserving their food, though it effectually guards it from the external air, and from the flies, does not prevent putrefaction entirely, though it renders its progress very slow. Pure train oil is of such a quality that it never freezes solid in the coldest Winters; a happy circ.u.mstance for those people, who are condemned to live in the most rigorous climate without the a.s.sistance of fire. While these magazines last, they have nothing more to do when hunger a.s.sails them, but to open one of the bags, take out a side of venison, a few seals, sea-horse paws, or some half-rotten salmon, and without any preparation, sit down and make a meal; and the lake or river by which they pitch their tent, affords them water, which is their constant drink. Besides the extraordinary food already mentioned, they have several other dishes equally disgusting to an European palate; I will only mention one, as it was more frequently part of their repast when I visited their tents, than any other, except fish. The dish I allude to, is made of the raw liver of a deer, cut in small pieces of about an inch square, and mixed up with the contents of the stomach of the same animal; and the farther digestion has taken place, the better it is suited to their taste. It is impossible to describe or conceive the pleasure they seem to enjoy when eating such unaccountable food: nay, I have even seen them eat whole handfuls of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows; and it is their constant custom, when their noses bleed by any accident, to lick their blood into their mouths, and swallow it. Indeed, if we consider the inhospitable part of the globe they are destined to inhabit, and the great distresses to which they are frequently driven by hunger in consequence of it, we shall no longer be surprized at finding they can relish any thing in common with the meanest of the animal creation, but rather admire the wisdom and kindness of Providence in forming the palates and powers of all creatures in such a manner as is best adapted to the food, climate, and every other circ.u.mstance which may be incident to their respective situations.

It is no less true, that these people, when I first knew them, would not eat any of our provisions, sugar, raisins, figs, or even bread; for though some of them would put a bit of it into their mouths, they soon spit it out again with evident marks of dislike; so that they had no greater relish for our food than we had for theirs. At present, however, they will eat any part of our provisions, either fresh or salted; and some of them will drink a draft of porter, or a little brandy and water; and they are now so far civilized, and attached to the English, that I am persuaded any of the Company's servants who could habituate themselves to their diet and manner of life, might now live as secure under their protection, as under that of any of the tribes of Indians who border on Hudson's Bay.

They live in a state of perfect freedom; no one apparently claiming the superiority over, or acknowledging the least subordination to another, except what is due from children to their parents, or such of their kin as take care of them when they are young and incapable of providing for themselves. There is, however, reason to think that, when grown up to manhood, they pay some attention to the advice of the old men, on account of their experience.

[72] Several species inhabit the region; the commonest is the ringed or fetid seal (_Phoca hispida_).--E. A. P.

[73] In the summer of 1821, fifty years after Hearne's visit, Sir John Franklin, accompanied by Sir John Richardson and Sir George Back, descended and surveyed the Coppermine River from Point Lake to the sea.

He was at the b.l.o.o.d.y Falls from the 15th to the 18th of July, exactly fifty years after Hearne, and found the lat.i.tude to be 67 42' 35" N. He speaks of it as follows:

"Several human skulls which bore the marks of violence, and many bones were strewed about the ground near the encampment, and as the spot exactly answers the description, given by Mr. Hearne, of the place where the Chipewyans who accompanied him perpetrated the dreadful ma.s.sacre on the Esquimaux, we had no doubt of this being the place. This rapid is a sort of shelving cascade, about three hundred yards in length, having a descent of from ten to fifteen feet. It is bounded on each side by high walls of red sandstone, upon which rests a series of lofty green hills.

The surrounding scenery was accurately delineated in a sketch taken by Mr. Hood" ("First Journey," pp. 349-350).

In 1838 Thomas Simpson determined the lat.i.tude of b.l.o.o.d.y Falls as 67 42' 52" ("Narrative of Discoveries," Thomas Simpson, p. 261).

Sir John Richardson revisited the lower part of the Coppermine River in 1826, and again in 1848, and he knew it better than any other white man.

Speaking of Hearne, he says: "His description of the lower part of the Coppermine River is evidently that of one who has been on the spot."

"He appears to have fallen on the Coppermine River first at the Sandstone rapids of Franklin, and to have traced it to b.l.o.o.d.y Falls; but as, contrary to his usual practice, he under-rates the distance from thence to the coast, we are led to conclude that he did not actually go down to the sea, but was content to view it from the top of the hill which overhangs the falls; and, indeed, it is not very probable that he could have induced the Indians, over whom he had little influence, to accompany him on his survey, after they had completed the ma.s.sacre which was the object of their long and laborious journey; nor, had he gone actually to the mouth of the river, would he have mentioned marks of a tide fourteen feet high" (Back, pp. 147-151).

Hearne's description of the occurrence of the timber on the banks of the river, is particularly accurate, and I am inclined to give him credit for having been at or near the mouth of the river, even though his statement in regard to the rise and fall of the tide is inaccurate.