A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean Part 23

[Sidenote: 5th.]

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

From the first to the fifth of November we walked on the ice of a large lake, which, though very considerable both in length and breadth, is not distinguished by any general name; on which account I gave it the name of No Name Lake.[90] On the South side of this lake we found some wood, which was very acceptable, being the first that we had seen since we left Point Lake.

No Name Lake is about fifty miles long from North to South, and, according to the account of the Indians, is thirty-five miles wide from East to West. It is said to abound with fine fish; but the weather at the time we crossed it was so cold, as to render it impossible to sit on the ice any {211} length of time to angle. A few exceedingly fine trout, and some very large pike, however, were caught by my companions.

When we arrived on the South side of the above lake, we shaped our course to the South West; and though the weather was in general very cold, yet as we every night found tufts of wood, in which we could pitch our tents, we were enabled to make a better defence against the weather, than we had had it in our power to do for some time past.

[Sidenote: 10th.]

On the tenth of November, we arrived at the edge of the main woods; at which time the Indians began to make proper sledges, some snow-shoes, &c. after which we proceeded again to the South West. But deer and all other kinds of game were so scarce the whole way, that, except a few partridges, nothing was killed by any in company: we had, nevertheless, plenty of the provision which had been prepared at Point Lake.

[Sidenote: 20th.]

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

On the twentieth of the same month, we arrived at Anaw'd Whoie,[91] or the Indian Lake. In our way we crossed part of Methy Lake,[92] and walked near eighty miles on a small river belonging to it, which empties itself into the Great Athapuscow[93] Lake.[AW] While we were walking {212} on the above little river, the Indians set fis.h.i.+ng-nets under the ice every night; but their labour was attended with so little success, that all they caught served only as a delicacy, or to make a little change in our diet; for the quant.i.ty was too trifling to occasion any considerable saving of our other provisions.

Anaw'd Lake, though so small as not to exceed twenty miles wide in the broadest part, is celebrated by the natives for abounding with plenty of fish during the Winter; accordingly the Indians set all their nets, which were not a few, and met with such success, that in about ten days the roes only were as much as all the women could haul after them.

t.i.ttimeg and barble, with a few small pike, were the only fish caught at this part; the roes of which, particularly those of the t.i.ttimeg, are more esteemed by the Northern Indians, to take with them on a journey, than the fish itself; for about two pounds weight of these roes, when well bruised, will make near four gallons of broth, as thick as common burgoe; and if properly managed, will be as white as rice, which makes it very pleasing to the eye, and no less agreeable to the palate.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

The land round this lake is very hilly, though not mountainous, and chiefly consists of rocks and loose stones; there must, however, be a small portion of soil {213} on the surface, as it is in most parts well clothed with tall poplars, pines, fir, and birch; particularly in the vallies, where the poplars, pine, and birch seem to thrive best; but the firs were as large, and in as flouris.h.i.+ng a state, on the very summit of the hills, as in any other part.

Rabbits[94] were here so plentiful, particularly on the South and South East side of the lake, that several of the Indians caught twenty or thirty in a night with snares; and the wood-partridges[95] were so numerous in the fir trees, and so tame, that I have known an Indian kill near twenty of them in a day with his bow and arrows. The Northern Indians call this species of the partridge Day; and though their flesh is generally very black and bitter, occasioned by their feeding on the brush of the fir tree, yet they make a variety, or change of diet, and are thought exceedingly good, particularly by the natives, who, though capable of living so hard, and at times eating very ungrateful food, are nevertheless as fond of variety as any people whom I ever saw; and will go as great lengths, according to their circ.u.mstances, to gratify their palates, as the greatest epicure in England. As a proof of this a.s.sertion, I have frequently known Matonabbee, and others who could afford it, for the sake of variety only, send some of their young men to kill a few partridges at the expence of more ammunition than would have killed deer sufficient to have maintained their families many days; whereas the partridges were always eaten up at one meal: and to {214} heighten the luxury on these occasions, the partridges are boiled in a kettle of sheer fat, which it must be allowed renders them beyond all description finer flavoured than when boiled in water or common broth. I have also eat deer-skins boiled in fat, which were exceedingly good.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

As during our stay at Anaw'd Lake several of the Indians were sickly, the doctors undertook to administer relief; particularly to one man, who had been hauled on a sledge by his brother for two months. His disorder was the dead palsey, which affected one side, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot. Besides this dreadful disorder, he had some inward complaints, with a total loss of appet.i.te; so that he was reduced to a mere skeleton, and so weak as to be scarcely capable of speaking.

In this deplorable condition, he was laid in the center of a large conjuring-house, made much after the manner as that which has been already described. And that nothing might be wanting toward his recovery, the same man who deceived me in swallowing a bayonet in the Summer, now offered to swallow a large piece of board, about the size of a barrel-stave, in order to effect his recovery. The piece of board was prepared by another man, and painted according to the direction of the juggler, with a rude representation of some beast of prey on one side, and on the reverse was painted, according to their rude method, a resemblance of the sky.

{215} Without entering into a long detail of the preparations for this feat, I shall at once proceed to observe, that after the conjurer had held the necessary conference with his invisible spirits, or shadows, he asked if I was present; for he had heard of my saying that I did not see him swallow the bayonet fair; and on being answered in the affirmative, he desired me to come nearer; on which the mob made a lane for me to pa.s.s, and I advanced close to him, and found him standing at the conjuring-house door as naked as he was born.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

When the piece of board was delivered to him, he proposed at first only to shove one-third of it down his throat, and then walk round the company afterward to shove down another third; and so proceed till he had swallowed the whole, except a small piece of the end, which was left behind to haul it up again. When he put it to his mouth it apparently slipped down his throat like lightning, and only left about three inches sticking without his lips; after walking backwards and forwards three times, he hauled it up again, and ran into the conjuring-house with great precipitation. This he did to all appearance with great ease and composure; and notwithstanding I was all attention on the occasion, I could not detect the deceit; and as to the reality of its being a piece of wood that he pretended to swallow, there is not the least reason to doubt of it, for I had it in my hand, both before and immediately after the ceremony.

{216} To prevent a variety of opinions on this occasion, and to lessen the apparent magnitude of the miracle, as well as to give some colour to my scepticism, which might otherwise perhaps appear ridiculous, it is necessary to observe, that this feat was performed in a dark and excessively cold night; and although there was a large fire at some distance, which reflected a good light, yet there was great room for collusion: for though the conjurer himself was quite naked, there were several of his fraternity well-clothed, who attended him very close during the time of his attempting to swallow the board, as well as at the time of his hauling it up again.

For these reasons it is necessary also to observe, that on the day preceding the performance of this piece of deception, in one of my hunting excursions, I accidentally came across the conjurer as he was sitting under a bush, several miles from the tents, where he was busily employed shaping a piece of wood exactly like that part which stuck out of his mouth after he had pretended to swallow the remainder of the piece. The shape of the piece which I saw him making was this, [Ill.u.s.tration]; which exactly resembled the forked end of the main piece, the shape of which was this, [Ill.u.s.tration]. So that when his attendants had concealed the main piece, it was easy for him to stick the small point into his mouth, as it was reduced at the small end to a proper size for the purpose.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

{217} Similar proofs may easily be urged against his swallowing the bayonet in the Summer, as no person less ignorant than themselves can possibly place any belief in the reality of those feats; yet on the whole, they must be allowed a considerable share of dexterity in the performance of those tricks, and a wonderful deal of perseverance in what they do for the relief of those whom they undertake to cure.

Not long after the above performance had taken place, some of the Indians began to ask me what I thought of it. As I could not have any plea for saying that I was far off, and at the same time not caring to affront them by hinting my suspicions of the deceit, I was some time at a loss for an answer: I urged, however, the impossibility of a man's swallowing a piece of wood, that was not only much longer than his whole back, but nearly twice as broad as he could extend his mouth. On which some of them laughed at my ignorance, as they were pleased to call it; and said, that the spirits in waiting swallowed, or otherwise concealed, the stick, and only left the forked end apparently sticking out of the conjurer's mouth. My guide, Matonabbee, with all his other good sense, was so bigotted to the reality of those performances, that he a.s.sured me in the strongest terms, he had seen a man, who was then in company, swallow a child's cradle, with as much ease as he could fold up a piece of paper, and put it into his mouth; and that when he hauled it up again, not the {218} mark of a tooth, or of any violence, was to be discovered about it.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

This story so far exceeded the feats which I had seen with the bayonet and board, that, for the sake of keeping up the farce, I began to be very inquisitive about the spirits which appear to them on those occasions, and their form; when I was told that they appeared in various shapes, for almost every conjurer had his peculiar attendant; but that the spirit which attended the man who pretended to swallow the piece of wood, they said, generally appeared to him in the shape of a cloud. This I thought very apropos to the present occasion; and I must confess that I never had so thick a cloud thrown before my eyes before or since; and had it not been by accident, that I saw him make a counterpart to the piece of wood said to be swallowed, I should have been still at a loss how to account for so extraordinary a piece of deception, performed by a man who was entirely naked.

As soon as our conjurer had executed the above feat, and entered the conjuring-house, as already mentioned, five other men and an old woman, all of whom were great professors of that art, stripped themselves quite naked and followed him, when they soon began to suck, blow, sing, and dance, round the poor paralytic; and continued so to do for three days and four nights, without taking the least rest or refreshment, not even so much as a drop of water. {219} When these poor deluding and deluded people came out of the conjuring-house, their mouths were so parched with thirst as to be quite black, and their throats so sore, that they were scarcely able to articulate a single word, except those that stand for _yes_ and _no_ in their language.

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

After so long an abstinence they were very careful not to eat or drink too much at one time, particularly for the first day; and indeed some of them, to appearance, were almost as bad as the poor man they had been endeavouring to relieve. But great part of this was feigned; for they lay on their backs with their eyes fixed, as if in the agonies of death, and were treated like young children; one person sat constantly by them, moistening their mouths with fat, and now and then giving them a drop of water. At other times a small bit of meat was put into their mouths, or a pipe held for them to smoke. This farce only lasted for the first day; after which they seemed to be perfectly well, except the hoa.r.s.eness, which continued for a considerable time afterwards. And it is truly wonderful, though the strictest truth, that when the poor sick man was taken from the conjuring-house, he had not only recovered his appet.i.te to an amazing degree, but was able to move all the fingers and toes of the side that had been so long dead. In three weeks he recovered so far as to be capable of walking, and at the end of six weeks went a hunting for his family. He was one of the persons[AX] {220} particularly engaged to provide for me during my journey; and after his recovery from this dreadful disorder, accompanied me back to Prince of Wales's Fort in June one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two; and since that time he has frequently visited the Factory, though he never had a healthy look afterwards, and at times seemed troubled with a nervous complaint. It may be added, that he had been formerly of a remarkable lively disposition; but after his last illness he always appeared thoughtful, sometimes gloomy, and, in fact, the disorder seemed to have changed his whole nature; for before that dreadful paralytic stroke, he was distinguished for his good-nature and benevolent disposition; was entirely free from every appearance of avarice; and the whole of his wishes seemed confined within the narrow limits of possessing as many goods as were absolutely necessary, with his own industry, to enable him to support his family from season to season; but after this event, he was the most fractious, quarrelsome, discontented, and covetous wretch alive.

Though the ordinary trick of these conjurers may be easily detected, and justly exploded, being no more than the tricks of common jugglers, yet the apparent good effect of their labours on the sick and diseased is not so easily accounted for. Perhaps the implicit confidence placed in them by the sick may, at times, leave the mind so perfectly at rest, as to cause the disorder to take a favourable turn; and a few successful cases are quite sufficient to establish the doctor's character and reputation: {221} But how this consideration could operate in the case I have just mentioned I am at a loss to say; such, however, was the fact, and I leave it to be accounted for by others.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A WINTER VIEW IN THE ATHAPUSCOW LAKE By Samuel Hearne, 1771]

[Sidenote: 1771. November.]

When these jugglers take a dislike to, and threaten a secret revenge on any person, it often proves fatal to that person; as, from a firm belief that the conjurer has power over his life, he permits the very thoughts of it to prey on his spirits, till by degrees it brings on a disorder which puts an end to his existence:[AY] and sometimes a threat of this {222} kind causes the death of a whole family; and that without any blood being shed, or the least apparent molestation being offered to any of the parties.

[Sidenote: December. 1st.]

[Sidenote: 1771. December.]

Having dried as many fish and fish-roes as we could conveniently take with us, we once more packed up our stores, and, on the first day of December, set out, and continued our course to the South West, leaving Anaw'd Lake on the South West. Several of the Indians being out of order, we made but short days journies.

From the first to the thirteenth, we walked along a course of small lakes, joined to each other by small rivers, or creeks, that have communication with Anaw'd Lake.

In our way we caught daily a few fish by angling, and saw many beaver houses; but these were generally in so difficult a situation, and had so many stones in the composition of them, that the Indians killed but few, and that at a great expence of labour and tools.

[Sidenote: 13th.]

On the thirteenth, one of the Indians killed two deer, which were the first that we had seen since the twentieth {223} of October. So that during a period of near two months, we had lived on the dried meat that we had prepared at Point Lake, and a few fish; of which the latter was not very considerable in quant.i.ty, except what was caught at Anaw'd Lake. It is true, we also caught a few rabbits, and at times the wood-partridges were so plentiful, that the Indians killed considerable numbers of them with their bows and arrows; but the number of mouths was so great, that all which was caught from our leaving Point Lake, though if enumerated, they might appear very considerable, would not have afforded us all a bare subsistence; for though I and some others experienced no real want, yet there were many in our company who could scarcely be said to live, and would not have existed at all, had it not been for the dry meat we had with us.

[Sidenote: 24th.]

[Sidenote: 1771. December.]

When we left the above-mentioned lakes we shaped a course more to the Southward, and on the twenty-fourth, arrived at the North side of the great Athapuscow Lake.[96] In our way we saw many Indian deer,[97] and beaver were very plentiful, many of which the Indians killed; but the days were so short, that the Sun only took a circuit of a few points of the compa.s.s above the horizon, and did not, at its greatest alt.i.tude, rise half-way up the trees. The brilliancy of the _Aurora Borealis_, however, and of the Stars, even without the a.s.sistance of the Moon, made some amends for that deficiency; for it was frequently so light all night, that I could see to read a very small print. {224} The Indians make no difference between night and day when they are hunting of beaver; but those _nocturnal_ lights are always found insufficient for the purpose of hunting deer or moose.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo: J. P. Tyrrell, July 30, 1893._ HERD OF CARIBOU ON THE BANKS OF DUBAWNT RIVER]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo: J. P. Tyrrell, July 31, 1893._ DRYING CARIBOU MEAT]

[Sidenote: 1771. December.]

I do not remember to have met with any travellers into high Northern lat.i.tudes, who remarked their having heard the Northern Lights make any noise in the air as they vary their colours or position; which may probably be owing to the want of perfect silence at the time they made their observations on those meteors. I can positively affirm, that in still nights I have frequently heard them make a rustling and crackling noise, like the waving of a large flag in a fresh gale of wind. This is not peculiar to the place of which I am now writing, as I have heard the same noise very plain at Churchill River; and in all probability it is only for want of attention that it has not been heard in every part of the Northern hemisphere where they have been known to s.h.i.+ne with any considerable degree of l.u.s.tre. It is, however, very probable that these lights are sometimes much nearer the Earth than they are at others, according to the state of the atmosphere, and this may have a great effect on the sound: but the truth or falsehood of this conjecture I leave to the determinations of those who are better skilled in natural philosophy than I can pretend to be.

[Sidenote: 1771. December.]