e> %. ..^w^ w IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.0 It 14.0 1.4 1.6 V] <^ /] 7] .>/ y Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (71fe) 872-4503 A ,\ (v \\ <^ ►% > ^^ C/.A i V^Q ^%^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". aire Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est fiimd d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. by errata ned to lent une pelure, faqon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 / "'1 ^X''^ ■ -■ ■ . ■ ^ - 1) i 1 "5 ^ ■ ■»! / y o u R N E r FROM - -r.c«; ; for fome of them were heard Ihooting in the neighbourhood of the Fort ten days after they were repulfed ; and one man in particular walked up and down the platform leading from the gate of the Fort to the Launch for a whole day. Mr. FuUarton, who was then Governor at Albany, fpoke to him in French, and offered him kind quarters if he chofc to accept them ; but to thofe propofals he made no reply, and only (hook his head. Mr. Fullarton then told him, that unlefs he would refign himfclf up as a prifoner, he would moft affurcdly fhoot him ; on which the man advanced nearer the Fort, and Mr. Fullarton fliot him out of his chamber window. Perhaps the hardfliips this poor man expeftcd to encounter in his return to Canada, made him prefer death ; but his. refufing to receive quarter from fo humane and generous an enemy as the Englifli, i« aftonifhing. Thofe :'l •Ji lliii :^»Yi I N T R O D U C T I O N, Thofe difadvantages, added to his advanced age, he' being then near eighty, by no means difcouragcd this bold adventurer ; who was fo prepofleffed of his fuCcefs, and ■ . of the great advantage that would arife from his difco- veries, that he procured, and took with him, £bmc large iron-bound chefts, to hold gold duft and other valuables, which he fondly flattered himfelf were to be found in thofe parts. The firft paragraph of the Company's Orders to Mr. Knight on this occaiion appears to be as follows: /• fc*«'. or Garbct, who have all of them been at Marble Ifland, and feme of them •often, ever difcovered this harbour ; particularly the laft-mcntioned gentleman, who actually failed quite round the ifland in a very fine pleafant day in the Sum- mer of 1766. But this difcovery was rcferved for a Mr. Jofeph Stephens ! a man of the leaft merit I ever knew, though he, then iiad the command of a veflel called the Succefs, employed in the whale-fifliery ; and in the year 1769, had the command of the Charlotte given to him, a fine brig of one hundred tons i when I was his mate. fc'** d 2 . .. !, fculls X3(XU INTRODUCTION. fcuHs and other large bones of thofe two men are now lying above-ground clofe to the houfe. The longeft liver was, according to the Efquimaux account^ always employed in working of iron into implements for them } probably he was the armourer, or fmith. ^ Some Northern Indians who came .^ trade at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Spring of the year one thoufand feven hundred and lixty-eight, brought farther accounts of the grand river, as it was called, and alfo feveral pieces of copper, as famples of the produce of the mine near it ; which determined Mr. Norton, who was then Go- vernor at Churchill, to reprefent it to the Company as an affair worthy of their attention ; and as he went that year to England, he had an opportunity of laying all the in- formation he had received before the Board, with his opi- nion thereon, and the plan which he thought moft likely to fucceed in the difcovery of thole mines. In confe- quence of Mr. Norton's reprefentations, the Committee re- folved to fend an intelligent perfon by land to obferve the longitude and latitude of the river's mouth, to make a chart of the country he might walk through, with fuch remarks as occurred to him during the Journey ; when I was pitched on as a proper perfon to condud: the expe- dition. By the fhip that went to Churchill in the Sum- mer of one thoufand feven "hundred and fixty-nine, the Company fent out fome aftronomical inftruments, very portable, and fit for fuch obfervations as they required me to INTRO D IT C T I O R sxxiul to make, and at the fame time requefted me to undertake the Journey, promidng to allow me at my return, a gra- tuity proportionable to the trouble and fatigue I might undergo in the expedition *^ I did * The conditions offered me on tlris occafion cannot be better exprefied than in the Company's own words, which I have tranfcribed from their private letter to me, dated 25th May 1769. " From the good opinion we entertain of you, and Mr. Norton's recom- " mrndation, we have agreed to raife your wages to £ per annamr for ** two years, and have placed you in our Council at Prince of Wales's Fort j *' and we (hould have been ready to advance you to the command of the *' Charlotte, according to your rcqucft, if a matter of more immediate confc'* ** qucnce had not intervened. " Mr. Norton has propofed an inland Journey > far to the North of Ghurch- . ** ill, to promote an extenfion of our trade^ as well as for. the difcovery of •* a North Weft Paflage, Copper Mines, &c. i and as an undertaking of this " nature requires the attention of a perfon capable- of. taking an obfervation " for determining the longitude and latitude, and alfo Jiltances, and the courfe «* of rivers and their depths, we have fixed upon you (efpecially as it is re- " prefented to us to be your own inclination) to condudt this Journey, with^ *• proper afUflants. " We therefore hope you will fecond our expeftations in readily perform- " ing this fervice, and upon your return we (hall willingly make you any ae- " knowledgment fuitable to your trouble therein. •* We highly approve of your going in tlie Speedwell, to aflift on the whale- •* filhery laft. year, and heartily wifh you health and fucccfs in the preftnt ex» *' pedition. We remain your loving Friends, « BiBYE Lak£, Dep. Gov. " John Anthony M£RL£. " Robert Merrv. «♦ Samuel Wecg. " James Winter Laks. ♦* Herman Berens. *' Joseph Spurrel. " James Fitz Gerald.'* The I fi ■ ,1 'U iAi ixxlv FNTRODUCTION. 1 did not hefitate to comply with the requeft of the Company, and in the November following, when fomo Northern Indians came to trade, Mr. Norton, who was then returned to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, en- gaged fuch of them for my guides as he thought were moft likely to anfwer the purpofe ; but none of them had been at this grand river. I was fitted out with every thing thought neceflary, and with ammunition to ferve two years. I was to be accompanied by two of the Company's fervants, two of the Home-guard * (Southern) Indians, The Company had no fooner perufed my Journals and Charts, than they •ordered a handfome fum to be placed to the credit of my account; and in t!ie two firft paragraphs of their letter to me, dated J2tli May 1773, they cx- prefs themfelves in the following words: *' Mr. Samuel Hearne, , . « S I R, *' Your letter of the aSth Auguft lafl: gave us the agreeaible plcafure to hear *' of your lafe return to our Faftory. Your Journal, and the two charts you *' fent, fufficiently convinces us of your very judicious remarks. " We have maturely confidered your great aJTiduity in the various acci- ** dents which occurred in your feveral Journics. We hereby return you our ^' grateful thanks ; and to manifeft our obligation we have confented to allow ^' you a gratuity of ^^ for thofc fervices." As a farther proof of the Company's being perfeftly fatisfied with my con- duct while on that Journe^ , the Committee unanimoufly appointed me Chief of Prince of Wales's Fort in the Summer of J775 ; and Mr. Bibye Lake, who was then Governor, and feveral others of the Committee, honoured me with a regular correspondence as long as they lived. ♦ By the Home-guard Indians we are to undcrftand certain of the natives who are immediately .employed under the protcdlion of the Company's fervants, reflde on the plantation, and arc employed in hunting for the Fadory. •"* « '' and I ! INTRODUCTION. and a fufficient number of Northern Indians to carry and haul my baggage, provide for me^ ft^c. But for the better dating this arrangement, it will not be improper to infert my Inftruftions, which, with fome occafional re- marks thereon, will throw much light on the following J^purnal, and be the beft method of proving how far thofc orders have been complied with, as well as fhew my rea- fons for negledting fome parts as unneceflary, and the im- poflibility of putting other parts of them in execution.^ C( ORDERS and INSTRUCTIONS for Mr. " Samuel Hearne, gomg on an Expedition by ** hand towards the Latitude 70" Nor thy in order to gain a Knowledge of the Northern Indians Country ^ &c. on Behalf of the Ho- nourable Hudfons Bay Company^ in the Tea?^- 1769. (( ({ n t( C( »( i( *( (C (( (( Mr, Samuel Hearne^ "SIR, " Whereas the Honourable Hudfon's- Bay Company have been informed by the report from Indians, that there is a great probability of confiderable advan- tages to be expected from a better knowledge of their country by us, than what hitherto has been obtained; and as it is the Company's earneft defire to embrace every circumftance that may tend to the benefit of the faid Company, or the Nation at large, they have re- queued you to condud this Expedition j and as you ** have SXXIT >1 Xxwi INTRODUCTION, 4( It ' ■ i 'I ^.-sf . f rv dun i**^f( /■ J SaaMiUrx ^iuip^ ALK:?":S fort in IKlITKJSONS BAY,N0RTH AMKEHrA.bv SAMf-HEJRNE,yjT/ . ■V y /..//./, 7/ ruNts/uJ J.!ii ' r'' i Uh' /■) t'.r.A// A- /hu ii-y. Suwi.f . eiatel To Aue foft 1. ii m ^.^ AHORTH West VIEW o 1777. ri> tiue tagt I. -■'■*'■» ".- J Jaundrrj yfeutf* JO U R N E Y TO THE NO RTHERNOCEAN. C H A P. I. Tranfa^tions from my leaving Prince of Wales's Port on my firft expedition, till our arrival there again. Set off from the Fort, — Arrive at Pchco-ree'kif-co River.'^One of the Northern Indians defert. — Crofs Seal River, and walk on the barren grounds.-^Reccive wrong it^ormation concerning the difiance (f the woods, ^Weather begins to be very cold, provifions all expended, and nothing to be got,'^trike to the Wefiward, arrive at the wo^ds, and kill three deer, — Set forward in the North Wejl quarter, fee the tracks of mufk-Qxen and deer, but killed none. — Very pjort of provifions.-^ Cbawchinahaw wants us to retum.-^Neitber he nor his crew con" tribute to our maintenance. •"■^He influences feveral of the Indians tt defert. — Chawchinahaw andallb's crew leave us. — Begin our return to the faSiory i kill a fekv partridges, the frft meal we had had for feveral days. --Villany of one of the home Indians and his wife, who was a Northern Indian woman. — Arrive at Seal River, kill two deer; partridges plenty s-^-Meet^ q firange Northern Italian^ accooipanf htm ■'to his tent, tfage received there; my Indians qjift in killing fome beaver, — Proceed toward home, and arrive at the Fort. HAVING made every neceflary arrangement for my de- parture on the fjxth of November, I took leave of the Governor, ar.d my other friends, at Prince of Wales's Fort, and began my journeyj under the fdute of feven caimon. B The 1769. November 6th. ii i 111 tth. 9th. A JOURNEY TO THE The weather at that time being very mild, made it but indifferent hauling*, and all my crew being heavy laden, occafioned us to make but (hort days journeys ; how- ever, on the eighth, we croffcd the North branch of Po-co-rec-kif-co River, and that night put up in a fmall tuft of woods, which is between it and Seal River. In the night, one of the Northern Indians deferted ; and as all the reft of my crew were heavy laden, I was under the neceflity of hatiling the fledge he had left, which however was not very heavy,, as it fcarcely exceeded lixty pounds^ The weather ftill continued very fine and pleafant : we diredied our courfe to the Weft North Weft, and early in the day croffed Seal River. In the courfe of this day's journey we met feveral Northern Indians, who were going to the faftory with furs and venifon ; and as we had not killed any deer from our leaving the Fort, I got feveral joints of venifon from thofb ftrangers, and gave them a note on the Governor for payment, which feemed per- fe' A JOURNEY TO THE he had not met with any fiiccefs that day, yet he kindly invited us to his tent, faying he had plenty of venifon at my fervice ; and told the Southern Indians, that as there were two or thr^e beaver houfes near his tent, he fhould be glad of their affiftance in taking them, for there was only one man and three women at the tent. Though we were at that time far from ' »ing in want of provifions, yet we accepted his offer, and fet off with our new guide for his tent, which, by a comparative diftance, he told us, was not above five miles from the place where we met him, but we found it to be nearer fifteen ; Co that it was the middle of the night before we arrived at it. When we drew near the tent, the ufual fignal for the approach of ftrangers was given, by firing a gun or two, which was immediately anfwered by the man at the tent. On our arrival at the door, the good man of the houfe came out, (hook me by the hand, and welcomed us to his tent ; but as it was too fmall to contain us all, he ordered his women to aflift us in pitching our tent ; and in the mean time invited me and as many of my crew as his little habitation could contain, and regaled us with the beft in the houfe. The pipe went round pretty brifkly, and the converfation naturally turned on the treat- ment we had received from Chawchinahaw and his gang ; which was always anfwered by our hoft with, " Ah I if " I had been thei*e, it fhould not have been foV when, notwithftanding his hofpitality on the prefent occafion, he would 1 NORTHER.N OCEAN. ^ would moft affiiredly have aded the fame part as the 1769. others had done^ if he ha^' been of the party. Dcce»b«r. Having refreflied owfelves with a plentiful fupper, we took leave of our hoft for a while, and retired to our tent j but not without being made thoroughly fen- fible that many things would be expefted from me, before I finally left them* Early in the morning, my Indians afUfted us in talcing the beaver houfes already mentioned ; but the houfes being fmall, and fbme of the beavers efcaping, they only killed fix, all of which were cooked the fame night, and voracioufly devoured under the denomination of a feaft. I alfo received from the Indians feveral joints of venifbn, to the amount of at leafl two deer; but notwithftanding I was to pay for the whole, I found that Mackachy and his wife got all the prime parts of the meat ; and on my mentioning it to them, there was fo much clanfhip among them, that they preferred making a prefent of it to Mackachy, to felling it to me at double the price for which venifon fells in thofe parts : a fufHcient proof of the fingular advantage which a native of this country has over an Englifhman, when at fuch a diftance from the Company's Fa<3:ories as to depend entirely on them for fubfiftence. he had been very near to the fomous river I was engaged to go in. queft of* Accordingly Mr. Norton engaged him and two other Northern Indians to accompany me on this fecond attempt; but to avoid all incumbrances as much as poflible, it was thought advifable not to take any women*, that the Indians might have fewer to provide few. I would not permit any European to go with me, but two of the home- guard (Southern) Indian men were to accompany me as before. Indeed the Indians, both Northern and Southern, paid fo little attention to liibefter and Merriman on my former journey, particularly in times of fcarcity, that 1 was determined not to take them with me in future; though the former was very defirous to accompany me again, and was well calculated to encounter the hardlhips of * This was a propofal of the Governor's, though he well knew we could not do without their affiftance, both for hauling our baggage, as well as drcfling (kins for clothing, pitching our tcrtt, getting firing, &c. fuch NORTHERN OCEAN. ^ch an undertaking. Merriman was quite flck of iudi excurfions, and fo far from oiSering his fetvice a fecond time, feeraed to be very thankful that he was once more arrived in fafety among his friends ; for before he g<^ to the Fa^ory he had contracted a moft violent cold- Having come to the above refolutions, and finally de- termined on the number of Indians that were to accom- pany us, we were again fitted out with a large fupply c£ anununition, and as many other ufeful articles as we could conveniently take with us, together whh a fiaaU. fample of light tradiii^ goods, for prefents to the Indians,; as before^ My inflruiSlions on this occaficm amounted to no more than an order to proceed as fiail as pofiible ; and for my, condud during, the journeyy I was referred to my former iaftru(9ions of November 6th, 1 769. Every thing being in readinefs for our departure, on the twenty- third of Febuary I began my fecond journey, accompanied by three Northern Indians and two of the home-guard (Southern) Indians. 1 took particular care, however, that Mackachy,^ though an excellent hunter, fliould not be of our party ;, as he had proved himfelf, during my former journey, to be a fly artful villain. The fnow at this time was fo deep on the top of the ramparts, that few of the cannon were to be feen, otherwife 23d, .f'-a ^ I ■ii. ■; ■I- f A JOURNEY TO THE otherwife the Governor woulc^ 'ave faluted me at my departure, as before ; but as the ^e honours could not pofTibly be of any fervice to luj expedition, I readily relinquifhed every thing of the kind ; and in lieu of it, the Governor, officers, and people, inlifted on giving me three cheers. After leaving the Fadlory, we continued our courfe in much the fame diredion as in my former journey, till we arrived at Seal River ; when, inftead of crofling it, and walking on the barren grounds as before, we followed the courfe of the river, except in two particular places, where the bends tended fo much to the South, that by crofllng two necks of land not more than five or fix miles wide, Ave faved,the walking of near twenty miles each time, and ilill came to the main river again. The weather had been fo remarkably bo'fterous and ■changeable, that we were frequently obliged to continue two or three nights in t3ie fame place. To noke up for this inconveniency, deer were fo plentiful for the firft eight or ten days, that the Indians killed as many as was neceflary ; but we were all fo heavy laden that we could not poflibly take much of the meat with us. This I foon perceived to be a great evil, which expofed us to fuch fre- quent inconveniences, that in cafe of not killing any thing for three or four days together, we were in great want of pro- v^fions J wp fejidom, howeya', we^t to bed entirely fuppcrjels till ti«' NORTHERN OCEAN. till the eighth of March ; when though we had only walked about eight miles that morning, and expended all the remainder of the day in hunting, we could not pro • duce a (ingle thing at night, not even a partridge 1 nor had we difcerned the track of any thing that day, which was likely to afford us hopes of better fuccefs in the morning. This being the cafe, we prepared fome hooks and lines ready to angle for fifli, as our tent was then by the fide of a lake belonging to Seal River, which fccmed- by its fituation to afford fbme profped of fuccefs. Early in the morning we took down our tent, and moved about five miles to the Weft by South, to a part of the lake that feemed more commodious for fifhing than that where we had been the night before. As fbon as we arrived at this place, fome were immediately employed cutting holes in the ice, while others pitched the tent, got firewood, &c. ; after which, for it v/as early in the morning, thofe wlio pitched the tent went a hunting, and at night one of them returned with a porcupine, while thofe who were angling caught feveral fine trout, which afforded us a plentiful fuppcr, and we had fome trifle left for breakfaft. »5 1770. March- 8th. 9th. Angling for fifii under the ice in winter requires no other procefs, than cutting round holes in the ice from one to two feet diameter, and letting down a baited hook, which is always kept in motion, rot only to \ , prevent A JOURNEY TO THE prevent the water from freezing fo foon as it would do if fufFercd to remain quite ftill, but becaufc it is found at the fame time to be a great means of alluring the fifli to the hole ; for it is always obferved that the fifli in thofe parts will take a bait which is in motion, much fooner than one that is at reft. •tjth. 2«th. Early in the morning we again purfued our angling, and all the forenoon being expended without any fuccefs, wc took down our tent and pitched it again about eight miles farther to the Weft ward, on the fame lake, where we cut more holes in the ice foar angling, and that night caught feveral fine pike. The next day we moved about five miles to the South Weft, down a fmall river, where we pitched our tent ; and having fet four fifliing nets, in the courfe of the day we caught many fine fifh, particularly pike, trout, tittymeg, and a coarfe kind of tfifh known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Methy*. To fet a net under the ice, it is firft neceflary to afccrtain its exad length, by ftretching it out upon the ice near the part propofed for fetting it. This being *r i. h'l N O R T H E K M O a E A N. 23 Early in the morning we arofe ; when my guide Con- nc-e-quefe went a hunting, and the reft attended the nets and hooks near home ; but all with fuch bad fuccefs, that we could not procure enough in one day to ferve two men for a fupper. This, inftead of awakening the reft of my companions, fent them to Heep ; and fcarcely any of them had the prudence to look at the fifhing nets, though they were not more than two or three hundred yards from the tent door. •- My guidt, who was a fleady man, and an excellent hunter, having for many years been accuftomed to pro- vide for a large family, feemed by far the moft in- duftrious of all my crew ; he clofely purfued his hunt- ing for feveral days, and feldom returned to the tent till after dark, while thofe at the tent pailied moft of their time in fmoking and deeping. Several days pafled without any figns of relief, till the loth, when my guide continued out longer than ordi- ,oth. nary, which made us conjedurc that he had met witli ftrangers, or feen fome deer, or other game, which occa- itoned his delay. Wc all therefore lay down to fleep, having had but little refrefhmcnt for the three preceding days, except a pipe of tobacco and a draught of water ; even partridges had become fo fcarce that not one was to be got ; the heavy thaws had driven them all out towards the barren grounds. About midnight, to our great 24 AJOI^RNEYTOTHE great joy, our hunter arrived, and brought with him the blood and fragments of two deer that he had killed. This unexpedbed fuccefs foon roufed the Heepers, who, in an inftant, were bufily employed in cooking a large kettle of broth, made with the blood, and fome fat and fcraps of meat (bred fmall, boiled in it. This might be reckoned a vdainty dilh at any time, but was more particularly fo in our prefent almofl famifhed condition. After partaking of this refrefliment, wc refumed our reft, and early in the morning fet out in a body for the place where the deer were lying. As we intended to make our ftay but fhort, wc left our tent ftonding, con- taining all our baggage. On our arrival at the place ,„}j^ of deftination, fome were iinmediatcly employed in mak- ing a hut or barrocado with young pine trees ; while one man (kinned the deer, the remainder went a hunting, and in the afternoon returned to the hut, after having killed two deer. Si ;? Several days were now (pent in fcafting and glut- tony; during w^ich the Indians killed five more deer and three fine beavers ; finding at lail, however, that there was little profped: of procuring cither more deer or beavers, we determined to return to our tent, with the remains of what we had already obtained. The flefli of thefe deer, though none of the largeft, might with frugality have fervcd our fmall nuiJibcr, (being only NORTHERN OCEAN. only fix) for fome time ; but my companions, like other Indians, feafted day and night while it lafted ; and ;vere Co indolent and unthinking, as not to attend properly to the fi{hing-nets ; fo that many fine fifh, which had been en- tangled in the nets, were entirely fpoiled, and in about twelve or fourteen days we were nearly in as great diftrefs for provifions as ever. During the courfe of our long inactivity, Saw-fop-o- kifliac, commonly called Soffop, my principal Southern Indian, as he was cutting fome birch for fpoons, difties, and other neceffary houfehold furniture, had the misfortune to cut his leg in fuch a manner as to be incapable of walk- ing; and the other Southern Indian, though a much younger man, was fo indolent as not to be of any fervice to me, except hauling part of our luggage, and eating up part of the provifions which had been provided by the more induftrious part of my companions. On the twenty-fourth, early in the day, a great body of Indians was feen to the South Weft, on the large lake by the fide of which our tent ftood. On their arrival at our tent we difcovered them to be the wives and families of the Northern Indian goofe-hunters, who were gone to Prince of Wales's Fort to attend the feafon. They were bound toward the barren ground, there to wait the re- turn of their hulbands and relations from the Fort, after the termination of the goofe-feafon. E My 2J 1770. ApriL 3Jth. 26 I770. April 27th. A JOURNEY TO THE . My guide having for fome days paft determined to move toward the barren ground, this morning we took down our tent, packed up our luggage, and proceeded to the Eaftward in the fame track we came ; but Soffop being fo lame as to be obliged to be hauled on a fledge, I eafily prevailed on two of the Indians who had joined us on the 24th, and who were purfuing the fame road, to perform this fervice for him. jsptli. .V 3 Majr 13th. After two 'ys g^'^od walking in our old track, wc ar- rived at a part of Scai River called She-than-nee, where we pitched our tent and fet both our fifliing-nets, intend- ing to ftay there till the geefe began to fly. Though we had feen feveral fwans and fome geefe flying to the North- ward, it was the thirteenth of May before we could procure any. On that day the Indians killed two fwans and three geefe. This in fome meafure alleviated our diftrefs, which at that time was very great ; having had no other fub{ifl:encc for Ave or fix days, than a few cran- berries, that we gathered from the dry ridges where the fnow was thawed away in fpots; for though we fet our filhing-nets in the befl judged places, and angled at every part that was likely to aftbrd fuccefs, we only caught three imall fifh during the whole time. Many of the Northern Indians, who had joined us on the 24th of April, remained in our company for fome time ; and though I well knew they had had a plentiful winter, and had then good flocks of dried meat by them, and were NORTHERN OCEAN. «7 were alfo acquainted with our diftrefs, they never gave ^71^' me or my Southern companions the leaft fupply, although May. they had in fecret amply provided for our 1^ rthern guides. By the nineteenth, the geefe, fwans, ducks, gulls, and other birds of paffage, were fo plentiful, that we killed every day as many as were fufficient for our fupport ; and having flopped a few days to recruit our fpirits after fo long a faft, on the twenty -third we began once more to proceed toward the barren ground. Soffop having now perfedly recovered from his late misfoiiu e, every thing feemed to have a favourable appearaiiie; efpecially as my crew had been augmented to twelve perfons, by the addition of one of my guide's wives, and five others, whom I had engaged to aflift in carrying our ' ^gage ; and I well knew, from the feafon of the year, that hauling would foon be at an end for the fummer. 19th. 23d. i| The thaws having been by this time fo great as to ren- der travelling in the woods almoft impradlicable, we con- tinued our courfe to the Eall on Seal River, about fixtcen miles farther, when we came to a fmall river, and a ftring of lakes conneded with it, that tended to the North. The weather for fome time was remarkably fine and pleafant. Game of all kinds was exceedingly plentiful, E 2 and '■m ■ il 28 A JOURNEY TO THE 1770. June. J ft. 4th. 5th. tfth. loth. m and wfc continued our courfe to the Northward on the above river and lakes till the firft of June, when we ar- rived at a place called Beralzone. In our way thither, beftde killing more geefe than was ncceflary, we fhot two deer. One of my companions had now the misfor- tune to fhatter his hand very much by the burfting of a gun ; but as no bones were broken, I bound up the wound, and with the afliftance of Tome of Turlington's drops, yellow bafilicon, &c. which I had with me, foon reftored the ufe of his hand ; fo that in a very fhort time he feemed to be out of all danger. After flopping a few days at Beralzone, to dry a little venifon and a few geefe, we again proceeded to the North- ward on the barren ground ; for on our leaving this place we foon got clear of all the woods. The fnow was by this time fo foft as to render walking in fnow-fhoes very laborious ; and though the ground was bare in many places, yet at times, and in particular places, the fnow- drifts were fo deep, that we could not poflibly do without them. By the fixth, however, the thaws were fo general, and the fnows fo much melted, that as our fnow-fhoes were attended with more trouble than fervice, we all confented to throw them away. Till the tenth, our fledges proved ferviceable, particularly in crofling lakes and ponds on the ice ; but that mode of travelling now growing dangerous on account of the great thaws, we 3 determined NORTHERN OCEAN. ig determined to throw away our fledges, and every one to take 1 77o* a load on his back. June. This I found to be much harder work than the winter carriage, as my part of the luggage conflfted of the fol- lowing articles, viz. the quadrant and its ftand, a trunk containing books, papers, &c. a land-compafs, and a large bag containing all my wearing apparel ; alfb a hatchet, knives, files, &c. befide feveral fmall articles, intended for prefents to the natives. The aukwardnefs of my load, added to its great weight, which was upward of fixty pounds, and the exceflive heat of the weather, rendered walking the mofl: laborious tafk I had ever encountered ; and what confiderably increafed the hardfhip, was the bad- nefs of the road, and the coarfenefs of our lodging, being, on account of the want of proper tents, expofed to the utmoft feverity of the weather. The tent we had with us was not only too large, and unfit for barren ground fervice, where no poles were to be got, but we had been obliged to cut it up for flioes, and each perfon carried his own fhare. Indeed my guide behaved both negligently and ungene- roufly on this occafion ; as he never made me, or my Southern Indians, acquainted with the nature of pitching tents on the barren ground; which had he done, we could eafily have procured a fet of poles before we left the woods. He took care, however, to procure a fct for him- felf and his wife ; and when the tent was divided, though he made ftiift to get a piece large enough to ferve him for a com- II ' f'-'i I ; 30 AJOURNEYTOTHE '77°' a complete little tent, he never aflced me or my Southern juuc. Indians to put our heads into it. Befide the inconvenience of being expofed to the open air, night and day, in all weathers, we experienced real diftrefs from the want of vidluals. When provifions were procured, it often happened that we could not make a fire, fo that we were obliged to eat the meat quite raw ; which at firft, in the article of fifh particularly, was as little reliflicd by my Southern companions as myfelf. Notwithftanding thefe accumulated and complicated hardfhips, we continued in perfedl health and good fpirits; and my guide, though a perfc6l niggard of his provifions, cfpeciaily in times of fcarcity, gave us the ftrongeft af- furancc of foon arriving at a plentiful country, which would not only afford us a certain fupply of provifions, but where we fhould meet with other Indians, who pro- bably would be willing to carry part of our luggage. This news naturally gave us great confolation ; for at that time the weight of our conftant loads was fo great, that when Providence threw any thing in our way, we could not carry above two days provifions with us, which indeed was the chief reafon of our being fo frequently in want. u 23^' From the twentieth to the twenty-third we walked every day near twenty miles, without any other fubfiftence than NORTHERN OCEAN. than a pipe of tobacco, and a drink of water when we p'eafe»i even partridges and gulls, which fome time before were in great plenty, and eafily procured, were now fo fcarcc and fhy, that we could rarely get one ; and as to geefe, ducks, &c. they had all flown to the Northward to breed and molt. Early in the morning of the twenty -third, we fet out as ufual, but h.id not walked above feven or eight miles be- fore we faw three mufk-oxen grazing by the flde of a fmall lake. The Indians immediately went in purfuit of them ; and as fome of them were expert hunters, they foon killed the whole of them. This was no doubt very fortunate.; but, to our great mortification, before we could get one of them fkinned, fuch a fall of rain came on, as to put it quite out of our power to make a fire ; which, even in the fineft weather, could only be made of mofs, as we were near an hundred, miles from any woods. This was poor comfort for people who had not broke their faft for four or five days. Neceflity, however, has no law ; and having been before initiated into the method of eating raw meat, we were the better prepared for this repaft: but this was by no means fo well reliflied, either by me or the Southern Indians, as either raw venifon or raw fifh had been : for the flefh of the mufk-ox is not only coarfe and tough, but fmells and taftes fo ftrong of muflc as to make it very difagrecable when raw, though it is tolerable eating when properly cooked. The weather continued fo remark- V 1: I •rj 32 A JOURNEY TO T HE remarkably bad, accompanied with conftant heavy rain, fnow, and iili:ct„ and our neceffiti'^'s were fo great by the time the weather permitted us to make a fire, that we had neaiiy eat to the anioimt of one buffalo quite raw. Notwithftanding I miiftcred up all my philofophy on this o(:c:baunt River f . On thofe occaiions only, we had recourfe to our cauoe, which, though of the common fize^ was too fmall to carry more y I, iil • Wifh-a-capucca is the name given by the natives to a plant which is found all over the country bordering on Hudfon's Bay i and an infufion of it is ufcd as tea by all the Europeans fettled in that country. t This river, as v/ell a.^ all others dcfcrving that appellation which I croflTed during this part of my journey, ran to the Ead and North Ead ; and both them and the lakes were pcrfeftly frefh, and inhabited by fifti that are well known never to frequent Iklt water. than m4 .8:-:. NORTHERN OCEAN. 41 than two pcrfom; one of whom always lies down at full 1770- length for fear of making the canoe top-heavy, and the AugiZ^ other Cits on his heels and paddles. This method of fer- rying over rivers, though tedious, is the moft expeditious way thcfc poor people can contrive ; for they arc fomc- times obliged to carry their canoes one hundred and fifty, or two hundred miles, without having occafion to make ufe of them; yet at times they cannot do without them; and were they not very fmall and portable, it would be impoflible for one man to carry them, which they are often obliged to do, iiot only the didance above mentioned, but even the whole Summer. The perfon I engaged at Catha^./hachaga to carry my eth. canoe proving too weak for the taflc, another of my crew was obliged to exchange loads witli him, which fcemed perfedly agreeable to all parties ; and as we walked but fhort days journies, and deer were very plentiful, all things went on very fmoothly. Nothing material happened till the eighth, when we were near lofing the quadrant and 8ti». all our powder from the following circumftance : the fellow who had been releafcd from carrying the canoe provmg too weak, as hath been already obferved, had, after the exchange, nothing to carry but my powder and his own trifles ; the latter were indeed very inconfiderable, not equal in iize and weight to a foldier's knapfuck. As I intended to have a little fport with the deer, and knowing his load to be much lighter than mine, I gave him the qua V^o ;\ 4f ' AJOURNEYTOTHE 1 770. This unaccountable behaviour of the Indians occaiioned Auguft. much ferious refledion on my part; as it fhewed plainly how little 1 had to exped: if I Inould, by any accident, be reduced to the neceflity of depending upon them for fupport ; fo that, though I laid me down to reft, fleep was a ftranger to me that night. The following beau- tiful lines of Dr. Young I repeated above an hundred times : ' " Tired Nature's fweet reftorer, balmy Sleep; ■' " He, like the world, his ready vifu pays « Where fortune fmiles ; the wretched he forfakes : " Swift on his downy pinions flies from woe, " And lights on lids unfully'd with a tear." Night Thoughts. 9th. After paffing the night m this melancholy manner, I got up at day-break, and, with the two Southern Indians, fet out in queft of our deferter. Many hours elapfed in fruitlefs fearch after him, as we could not difcover a {ingle track in the diredion which we were informed he had taken. The day being almoft fpent without the leaft appearance of fuccefs, I propofed repairing to the place where I had delivered the quadrant to him, in hopes c!" feeing fome track in the mofs that might lead to the way the Indians were gone whom our deferter had accom- panied. On our arrival at that place, we found they had ftruck down toward a little river which they had crofTed the morning before ; and there, to our great joy, we found the quadrant and the bag of powder lying on the top of a high ftone, but not a human being was to be feen. On examining N O R T H E R N O C E A N. examining the powder, we found that the bag had been opened, and part of it taken out ; but, notwithftanding our lofs was very confiderable, we returned with light hearts to the place at which we had been the night before, where we found our baggage fafe, but all the Indians gone : they had, however, been (o confiderate a>i to fet up marks to direA us what courfe to fteer. By the time we had adjufted oiir bundles, the day was quite fpent; feeing, however, a fmoke, or rather a fire, in the di- redtion we were ordered to fteer, we bent our way towards it ; and a little after ten o'clock at night came up with the main body of the Indians ; when, after refrefhing ourfelves with a plentiful fupper, the firft morfel we had tafted that day, we retired to reft, which I at leaft enjoyed with better fucc^^-fs than the preceding night. 4<^ Augult. In the morning of the eleventh we proceeded on. to the Weft, and Weft by South ; but on the twelfth did not move. This gave us an opportunity of endeavouring to afcertain the latitude by a meridian altitude, whea we found the place to be in 63* 10' North nearly. It proving rather cloudy about noon, though exceeding fine weather, I let the quadrant ftand, in order to obtain the latitude more exactly by two altitudes ; but, to my great mortification, while I was eating my dinner, a fudden guft of wind blew it down; and as the ground where it ftood was. very. I ith. ■ii n 4^ A JOURNEY TO THE very ftoney, the bubble, the fight-vane, and vernier, w^ere entirely broke to pieces, which rendered the inftrument ufelefs. In confequence of this misfortune I refolved to return again to the Fort, though we were then in the la- titude of 63° 10' North, and about 10° 40' Weft longi- tude from Churchill River. CHAP. hi. CHAP. III. Tranfadions from the Time the Quadrant was broken, till I arrived at the Fadory. M NORTHERN OCEAN. 47 Several Jlrange Indians join us from the Northward. — They plundered me of all I had; but did not plunder the Southern Indians. — My guide plundered. — We begin our return to the Fadlory. — Meet with other Indians^ who join our company. — ColleSl deer-fkins for clothings but could not get them drcffed. — Suffer much hnrdfhip from the 7vant of tents and warm clothing. — Mofl of the Indians leave us. — Meet with Matonabbee.—Some account of him^ and his behaviour to me and the Southern Indians. — We remain in his company fome tir?/e. — His obferva- tions on my two unfvccefsful attempts. — Ws leave him, and proceed to a place to which he dire&ed us, in order to make fnowfhoes and f edges. — Join Matonabbee again, and proceed towards the FaBory in his com- pany.-—Ammunition runs fhort. — My/elf and four Indians fet off' pofl for the FaBory. — Much bewildered in a fnow form ; my dog is frozen to death; we lie in abufh of willows. — Proceed on our journey. — Great difficulty in crofftng a jumble of rocks,'— -Arrive at the Fort, T^ H E day after I had the misfortune to break the qua- •*■ drai.t, feveral Indians joined me from the Northward, fome of whom plundered me and my companions of almoft every ufeful article we had, among which was my gun J and notwithftanding we were then on the point of returning to the Fadory, yet, as one of my companions* guns was a little out of order, the lofs was likely to be feverely 1770. Augud 13th, 48 JOURNEY TO THE • 770. fcverciy felt ; but it not being in my power to recover it Auguft. again, we were obliged to reft contented. Nothing can exceed the cool deliberation of thofe vil- lains ; a committee of them entered my tent *. The ringleader feated himfelf on my left-hand. They firft begged me to lend ihem my flcipertogan f to fill a pipe of tobacco. After fmoking two or three pipes, they aflced mc for fcvcral articles which I had not, and among others for a pack of cards ; but on my anfwering that I had not any of the articles they mentioned, one of them put his hand on my baggage, and afked if it was mine. Before I could anfwer in the affirmative, he and the reft of his companions (fix in number) had all my treafure fpread on the ground. One took one thing, and another another, till at laft nothing was left but the empty bag, which they permitted me to keep. At length, confidering that, though I was going to the Fadlory, I fhould want a knife to cut my viftuals, an awl to mend my fhoes, and a needle to mend my other clothing, they rcad'ly gave me thefe articles, though not without making me underftand that I ought to look upon - ♦ This only condfted of three walking-fticks ftuck into the ground, and a blanket thrown over them. f Skipertogan is a fmall bag that contains a flint an.d fteel, alfo a pipe and tobacco, as well as touchwood, &c. for making a fire. Some of thefe bagg may be called truly elegant j being tlrhly ornamcoted with beads, porcupine- quills, morfejihair, &c. a work always performed by the women.; and they ve, with much propriety, greatly cftecnjed by moft Eutopc^s for the neat- nt& of their workmanfliip. 2 it NOR THE R N OCEAN. it as a great favour. Finding them poffcffed of fo much generofity, I ventured to folicit them for my razors ; but thinking that one would be fufficient to (have me during my paffage home, they made no fcruple to keep the other ; luckily they chofe the worft. To complete their generofity, they permitted me to take as much foap as I thought would be fufficient to wafh and fhave me during the remainder of my journey to the Fadory. " !T"' They were more cautious in plundering the Southern Indians, as the relation of fuch outrages being com- mitted on them might occafion a war between the two nations ; but they had nothing of that kind to dread from the Englifh. However, the Northern Indians had ad- drefs enough to talk my home-guard Indians out of all they had : fo that before we left them, they were as clean fwept as myfelf, excepting their guns, fome ammunition, an old hatchet, an ice-chiflel, and a lile to iharpen them. in It may probably be thought ftrange that my guide, who was a Northern Indian, fliould permit his countrymen to commit fuch outrages on thofe under his charge; but being a man of little note, he was fo far from being able to proted: us, that he was obliged to fubmit to nearly the fame outrage himfelf. On this occafion he afilimed a great air of generofity ; but the fa6t was, he gave freely what it was not in his power to proted:. H Early 1 ■ 1770. Auguft. ipth. A JOURNEY TO THE Early in the morning of the nineteenth, I fet out on my return, in company with feveral Northern Indians, who were bound to the Fadory with furrs and other commo- dities in trade. This morning the Indian who took my gun, returned it to me, it being of no ufe to him, having no ammunition. The weather for fome time proved fine, and deer were very plentiful; but as the above ravagers had materially lightened my load, by taking every thing from mc, except the quadrant, books, &c. this part of my journey was the eafieft and moft pleafant of any 1 had experienced fince my leaving the Fort. In our way we frequently met with other Indians, fo that fcarcely a day pafled without our feeing feveral fmokes made by other ftrangers. Many of thofe we met joined our party, having furrs and other commodities for trade. 3" The deer's hair being now of a proper length for cloth- ing, it was neceffary, according to the cuftom, to procure as many of their fkins, while in feafon, as would make a a fuit of warm clothing for the Winter : and as each grown perfon requires the prime parts of from eight to eleven of thofe fkins (in proportion to their (ize) to make a complete fuit, it muft naturally be fuppofed that this addition to my burdei^ was very confiderable. My load, however curnberfome and heavy, was yet very bear- September, able; but, after I had carried it feveral weeks, it proved of no fervice ; for we had not any women properly belonging to our company, confequently had not any perfon Ill NORTHERN OCEAN. 5« perfon to drefs them; and fo uncivil were the other In- >77o« dians, that they would neither exchange them for others September, of an inferior quality already dreffed, nor permit their women to drefs them for us, under pretence that they were always employed in the like duty for themfelves and families, which was by no means the cafe; for many of them had fufficicnt time to have done every little . fervice of that kind that we could have required of them. The truth was, they were too well informed of my po- verty to do anv «fls of generoftty, as they well knew I had it not then in my power to reward them for their trouble. I never faw a fet of people that pofleffed fo little humanity, or that could view the diftrefles of their fellow-creatures with fo little feeling and unconcern ; for though they feem to have a great affedlion for their wives and children, yet they will laugh at and ridicule the diftrefs of every other perfon who is not immediately re- lated to them. This behaviour of the Indians made our fituatlon very difagreeable ; for as the fall advanced, we began to feel the cold very feverely for want of proper clothing. We fuffered alfo greatly from the inclemency of the weather, as we had no tent to fhelter us. My guide was en- tirely exempted from all thofe inconveniences, having procured a good warm fuit of clothing ; and, as one of his wives had long before joined our party, he was pro- vided with a tent, and every other neceflhry confiflent H 2 with :i V.i 41 fi |i.ii!lll n Hi "mm fl '•■"' '.fm ^M ' ''■] ||H \i ] ' m m ■J. September 15th. 17th, aoth. A JOtJftl^EY T6 fkE with their manner of living : but the old fellow was fo far from interefting himfelf in our behalf, that he had, for fome time before, entirely withdrawn from our company ; and though he then continued to carry the greateft part of our little remains of ammunition, yet he did not con- tribute in the fmallefl. degree towards our fupport. As deer, however, were in great plenty, I felt little or no inconve- nience from his negled: in this refpedt. Providons ftill continued very plentiful ; which was a fingukr piece of good fortune, and the only circum- ftance which at this time could contribute to our hap- pinefs or fafety ; for notwithftanding the early feafon of the year, the weather was remarkably bad and feverely cold, at leaft it appeared fo to us, probably from having no kind of fkin-clothing. In this forlorn ftate we con- tinued our courfe to the South Eaft ; and, to add to the gloominefs of our fituation, mofl of the Northern In- dians who had been in our company all the firft part of the fall, were by this time gone a-head, as we could not keep up with them for want of fnow-fhoes. In the evening of the twentieth, we were joined from the Weftward by a famous Leader, called Matonabbee, men- tioned in my inftrudions ; who, with his followers, or gang, was alfo going to Prince of Wales's Fort, with furrs, and other articles for trade. This Leader, when a youth, relided feveral years at the above Fort, and was not Vii N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 53 not only a perfcd mafler of the Southern Indian language, but by being frequently v/ith the Company's fervants, had acquired feveral words of Engliih, and was one of the men who brought the lateft accounts of the Coppermine River ; and it was on his information, added to that of • one l-dot-le-ezey, (who is fince dead,) that this expedi- tion was fct on foot. The courteous behaviour of this ftranger ftruck me very fenfibly. As foon as he was acquainted with our diftrefs, he got fuch {kins as we had with us drefled for the South- ern Indians, and furnifhed me with a good warm fuit of • otter and other {kins : but, as it was not in his power to provide us with fnow-fhoes, (being then on the barren ground,) he direded us to a little river which he knew, and where there was a fmall range of woods, which, though none of the be{l, would, he faid, furnifh us with temporary fnow-{hoes and {ledges, that might materially a{ri{l us during the remaining part of our journey. We oftober. fpent feveral nights in company with this Leader, though we advanced towards the Fort at the rate of ten or twelve miles a day ; and as provi{ions abounded, he made a grand fea{l for me in the Southern Indian ftile, where there was plenty of good eating, and the whole concluded with {ing- ing and dancing, after the Southern Indian ftyle and manner. In this amufement my home-guard Indians bore no incon{lderable part, as they were both men of fome 8 confequence - I '! •^t \A i If. 54 A JOURNEY TO THE confequcncc when at home, and well known to Matonab- bee : but among the other Northern Indians, to whom they were not known, they were held in no cflimation ; which indeed is not to be wondered at, when we confider that the value of a man among thofe people, is always pro- portioned to his abilities in hunting ; and as my two In- dians had not exhibited any great talents that way, the Northern Indians fliewed them as much refpeft as they do in common to thofe of very moderate talents among them- felves. ■! 'if k r » During my converfation with this Leader, he afkcd me very ferioufly, If I would attempt another journey for the difcovery of the Copper-mines ? And on my anfwering in the affirmative, provided I could get better guides than I had hitherto been furniflied with, he faid he would readily engage in that fcrvice, provided the Governor at the Fort would employ him. In anfwer to this, I aflured him his offer would be gladly accepted ; and as I had already ex- perienced every hardfhip that was likely to accompany any future trial, I was determined to complete the difcovery, even at the lifque of life itfelf. Matonabbee affured me, that by the accounts received from his own countrymen, the Southern Indians, and myfelf, it was very probable I might not experience fo much hardfhip during the whole journey, as I had already felt, though fcarcely advanced one third part of the journey. He NORTHERN OCEAN. He attributed all our misfortunes to the mifcondud of my guides, and the very plan we purfued, by the defire of the Governor, in not taking any women with us on tliis jour- ney, was, he faid, the principal thing that occafioned all our wants : " for, faid he, when all the men arc heavy laden, they can neither hunt nor travel to any confider- able diftancr ; and in cafe they meet with fucccfs in hunting, who is to carry the produce of their labour ? Women, added he, were made for labour ; one of them can carry, or haul, as much as two men can do. T hey alfo pitch our tents, make and mend our cloth- ing, keep us w \rm at night ; and, in fadl, there is no fuch thing as travelling any coniiderable diftance, or for any length of time, in this country, without their pTiftance " '* Women, faid he again, though they do every thing, are maintained at a trifling cx- pcnce ; for as they always ftand cook, the very licking of their fingers in fcarce times, is fufficient for ihcir fubfiftcnce." This, however odd it may appear, is but too true a defcription of the fituation of women in this country : it is at lead fo in appearance ; for the women always carry the provifions, and it is more thaii probable they help themfelves when the men are not prefcnt. SS Early in the morning of the twenty-third, I flruck out of the road to the Eaftward, with my two companions and two or three Northern Indians, while Matonabbee and his crew continued their courfe to the Fadory, promifmg to 23d. 56 I770. Gftober. 25th. November ill. A JOURNiEY TO THE to walk fo flow that we might come up with them again; and in two days we arrived at the place to which we were direfted. We went to work immediately in making fnow- fhoe frames and fledges ; but notwithftanding our utmoft endeavours, we could not complete them in lefs than four days. On the firfl: of November we again proceeded on our journey toward the Fadiory; and on the fxth, came up with Matonabbee and his gang : after which we proceeded on together feveral days ; when I found my new acquaint- ance, on all occaflons, the moft fociable, kind, and fenfible Indian I had ever met with. He was a man well known,, and, as an Indian, of univerfal knowledge, and gene- rally refpedec\ Deer proved pretty plentiful for fome time, Jbut to my great furprife, when I wanted to give Matonabbee a little ammunition for his own ufe, I found that my guide, Con- reaquefe, who had it all under his care, had fo embezzled or otherways expended it, that only ten balls and about three pounds of powder remained; fo that long before we arrived at the Fort we were obliged to cut up an ice-chiflel into fquare Jumps, as a fubftitute for bah. It is, however, rather dangerous firing lumps of iron out of fuch flight barrels as are brought to this part of the world for trade. Thefe, though light and handy, and of courfe well adapted for the ufe of both Englifli and Indians in long journies, and of fufficient ftrength for leaden fliot or ball, are not flrong enough fa: this NORTHERN OCEAN. 57 this kind of fliot ; and ftrong fowling-pieces would not 1770. only be too heavy for t j laborious ways of hunting in November. this country, but their bores being fo much larger, would require more than double the quantity of ammunition that fmall ones do ; which, to Indians at leaft, muft be an objed: of no inconfiderablc importance. I kept company with Matonabbee till the twentieth, at which time the deer began to be fo fcarce that hardly a frefh track could be feen ; and as we were then but a few days walk from the Fort, he advifed me to proceed on with all fpeed, while he and his companions followed at leifure. Accordingly, on the twenty-firft, I fet out poft-hafte, accompanied by one of the home-guard (Southern) Tribe, and three Northern Indians. That night we lay on the South fide of Egg River ; but, long before day-break the next morning, the weather became fo bad, with a violent gale of wind from the North Weft, and fuch a drift of fnow, that wc could not have a bit of fire : and as no good woods were near to afford us ftielter, we agreed to proceed on ©ur way ; efpecially as the wind was on our backs, and though the weather was bad near the furface, we could frequently fee the moon, and fome- times the ftars, to diredt us in our courfe. In this fitua- tion we continued walking the whole day, and it was not till after ten at night that we could find the fmalleft tuft ot woods to put up in; for though we v^^ell knew we mufl: have paficd by feveral hummocks of (lirubby woods I that 20th. 21(1. f' ja AJOURNEYTOTHE 1770* that might have afforded us fome flielter, yet the wind November, blcw fo hard, and the fnow drifted fo exceffively thick, that we could not fee ten yards before us the whole day. Be- tween feven and eight in the evening my dog, a valuable brute, was frozen to death ; fo that his fledge, which was a very heavy one, I was obliged to haul. Between nine and ten at night we arrived at a fmall creek, on which we walked about three quarters of a mile, when we came to a large tuft of tall willows, and two or three fets of old tent-poles. Being much jaded, we determined not to pro- ceed any farther that night ; fo we went to work, and made the beft defence againfl the weather that the fitua- tion of the place and our materials would admit. Our labour confifted only in digging a hole in the fnow, and fixing a few deer-fkins up to windward of us : but the moft difficult tafk was that of making a fire. When this was once accomplifiied, the old tent-poles amply fupplied us with fewel. By the time we had finifhed this bufinefs, the weather began to moderate, and the drift greatly to abate ; fo that the moon and the Aurora Borealis flionc out with great fplendor, and there appeared every fymp- tom of the return of fine weather. After eating a plentiful fupper of venifon, therefore, of which we had a fufficient flock to laft us to the Fort, we laid down and got a little i3«^ fleep. The next day proving fine and clear, though ex- ceffively fharp, we proceeded on our journey early in the , morning, and at night lay on the South Eaft fide of Seal River. We lliould have made a much lorcrer day's jour- ney, V NORTHERN OCEAN. ney, had we not been greatly embarrafled at fetting out, by a jumble of rocks, which we could not avoid without going greatly out of our way. Here I muft obferve, that we were more than fortunate in not attempting to leave the little creek where we had fixed our habitation the preceding night, as the fpot where we lay was not more than two or three miles diftant from this dangerous place ; in which, had we fallen in with it in the night, we muft unavoidably have been bewildered, if we had not all periftied ; a« notwithftanding the advantage of a clear day, and having ufed every poflible precaution, it was with the utmoft difficulty that we croffed it without broken limbs. Indeed it would have been next to an impoflibility to have done it in the night. The twenty-fourth and twenty- fifth proved fine clear weather, though exceffively cold ; and in the afternoon of the latter, we arrived at Prince of Wales's Fort, after having been abfent eight months and twenty-two days, on a fruitlefs, or at leaft an uniuccefsful journey. 59 X770. November. 24th. 2Sth. n ."•rri la C H A P. Co A JOURNEY TO THE CHAP. IV. Ki Ih 1770. November 28th. Tranfadions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort, and the former Part of our third Expedition, till our Arrival at Clovvey, where we built Canoes, in May 1 771. Preparations for our departure. — Refrfe to take any of the home-guarcC , Indians •with me. — By fo doings I offend the Governor. — Leave the Fort . a third time. — My inflruElions on this expedition. — Proviftons of alt kinds very fcarce. — uirrive at the ivoods^ ivhcrc we killfome deer. — Ar- rive at Ifland Lake. — Matonabbee taken ill. — Some remarks thereon. — Join the remainder of the Indians' families. — Leave Ifland Lake. — De^ fcription thereof. — Deer plentiful. — Meet ajlrange Indian. — Alter our conrfe from Wefl North Wefl to Wejl by South. — Crofs Catbaiuhacbaga River, Cofed Lake, Snow-Bird Lake, and Pike Lake. — Arrive at a tent of f rangers, who are employed infnaring deer in a pound. — Defcription of the pound. — Method of proceeding. — Remarks thereon. — Proceed on our journey. — Meet with fever al parties of Indians ; by one of whom I fcnt a Letter to the Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort.^ — Arrive at Tblcweyaviayetb. — Employment there. — Proceed to the North North Wefl and North. — Arrive at Clowey. — One of the Indian'' s wives taken in labour. — Remarks thereon. — Cujloms ohferved by the Northern In- dians on thofe occaftons, /^N my arrival at the Fort, I Informed the Governor, of ^^ Matonabbee's being fo near. On the twenty-eightli of November he arrived. Notvvithftanding the many difficulties and hardfliips which I had undergone during my two unfuccefsful attempts, I was fo fur from being folicited NORTHERN OCEAN. 6t foUcited on this occafion to undertake a third excurfion, i??^' that I willingly offered my fervice ; which was readily ac- November' cepted, as my abilities and approved courage, in perfe- vering under difficulties, were thought noways inferior to the tafk». I then determined to engage Matonabbee to be my guide; to which he readily confented, and with a freedom of fpeech and corredbiefs of language not commonly met with among Indians, not only pointed out the reafons which had occafioned all our misfortunes in my two former attempts, but defcribed the plan he intended to purfue ; which at the fame time that it was highly fatisfadlory to me, did honour to his penetration and judgment ; as it proved him to be a man of extenfive obfervation with refped to times, feafons, and places ; and well qualified to explain every thing that could contribute either to fiicilitate or re- tard the eafe or progrefs of travelling in thofc dreary parts of the world. Having engaged Matonabbee, therefore, as my guide, I began to make preparations for our departure; but Mr. Norton, the Governor, having been very fully occupied in trading with a large body of Indians, it was the feventh of December before 1 could obtain from him my difpatclics. It may not be improper to obferve, that he again wanted to force fome of the home-guard Indians (who were his 11 D--"cembcr 7 th. 6z A JOURNEY TO THE 1 77°- his own relations *) into our company, merely with a view December, that they might engrofs all the credit of taking care of mc * Mr. Norton was an Indian ; he was born at Prince of Wales's Fort, but had been in England nine years, and confidering the fmall fum which was expended in his education, had made fome progrefs in literature. At his re- turn to Hudfon's Bay he entered nito all the abominable vices of his countrymen. He kept for his own ufe five or fix of the fiieft Indian girls which he could fcleft; and notwithftanding his own uncommon propcnfity to the fair fex, took every means in his power to prevent any European from having inter- courfe with the women of die country j for which purpofe he proceeded to the mofl: ridiculous length. To his ov* i friends and country he was fo partial, that he fet more value on, and fliewed more refpt*?: to one of their favourite dogs, than he ever did to his firft officer. Among his miferablc and ignorant countrymen he p-ifled for a proficient in phyfic, and always kept a box of poifon, to adminifter to thofe who refufed him their wives br daughters. With all thefe bad qualities, no man took more pains to inculcate virtue, moraHty, and continence on others j always painting, in the moft odious co- lours, the jealous and revengeful difpofition of the Indians, when any attempt was made to violate the chaftity of dieir wives or daughters. Ledlures of this kind from a man of eftabliflicd virtue might have had fome effeft j but when they came from one who was known to live in open defiance of every law, human and divine, they were always heard with indignation, and confidercd as the hypocritical cant of a felfifli debauchee, who wilhed to engrofs every woman in the country to himfelf. His apartments were not only convenient but elegant, and always crowded with favourite Indians : at night he locked the doors, and put the keys under his pillow ; fo that in the morning his dining-room was generally, for the want of neceflary conveniencies, worfe than a hog-ftye. As he advanced in years hisjcaloufy increafed, and he adually poifoned two of his women becaufe he thought them partial to other objefts more fuitable to their ages. He was .1 moft notorious fmuggler; but though he put many thoufands into the pockets of the Captains, he fcldom put a fhilling into his own. 3 An NORTHERN OCEAN. 6j me during the journey : but I had found them of fo little ^T7°- ufe in my two former attempts, that I abfolutely refufed December. them ; and by fo doing, offended Mr. Norton to fuch a degree, that neither time nor abfence could ever after- wards eradicate his diflike of me j fo that at my return he ufed every means in his power to treat me ill, and to render my life unhappy. However, to deal with candour on this occafion, it muft be acknowledged to his honour, that whatever our private animofities might have been, Be did not fuffer them to interfere with public buHnefs ; and I was fitted out with ammunition, and every other article which Matonabbee thought could be wanted. I was alfo furniflied, as before, with a fmall affortment of light trading goods, as prefents to the far diftant Indians. At laft 1 fucceeded in obtaining my inftrudions, which were as follows : An inflammation in his bowels occafioned his death on the a9th of De- cember 1773; and though he died in the moft excruciating pain, he retained his jealoufy to the laft ; for a few minutes before he expired, happening to fee an officer laying hold of the hand of one of his women who was ftanding by the fire, he bellowed out, in as loud a voice as his fituation would admit, '« God " d— n you for a b ' " h, if I live I'll knock out your brains." A few minutes after making this elegant apoftrophe, he expired in the greateft agonies that can poflibly be conceived. This I declare to be the real charafter and manner of life of the late Mr. Mofcs Norton. ** Orders 64 A JOURNEY TO VHE 1770. December. ■•^ *' Orders a^^ Instructions for Mr. Samuel " Hearnr, goi^ig on his third Expedition to the " North of Churchill River, in quefi of a North ' ' Wefl Pajfage, Copper Mines, or any other thing *' that may be ferviceable to the Britijh Natiofi in *' general, or the Hudfons Bay Company in par- *' tictilar \ in theyear I'j'jo. it. ; " Mr. Samuel Hearne, "SIR, " As you have offered your fervice a third time to go in fearch of the Copper Mine River, &c. and as Ma- tonabbee, a leading Indian, w^ho has been at thofe parts, is willing to be your guide, we have accordingly engaged him for that fervice ; but having no other inftrument on the fame conflru6tion with the quadrant you had the misfortune to break, we have furnifhed you with an Elton's quadrant, being the mofl proper inftrument we can now procure for making obferva- " tlons on the land. (C C( C( C( (C (( C( (( ** The above Leader, Matonabbee, and a few of his " beft men, which he has felefted for that purpofe, are to provide for you, aflift you in all things, and con- dud you to the Copper Mine River; where you muft «' bes << (< fei NORTHERN OCEAN. ** be careful to obferve the latitude and longitude, alfo " the courfe of the river, the depth of the water, the ** fituation of the Copper Mines, &c. but your firft iij- " ftruAions, of November iixth, one thoufand feven hun- " dred and fixty-ninc, being fufficiently full, we refer " you to every part thereof for the better regulation of " your conduft during this journey. 65 770' fliould ever difcover the offenders : the only cffe thofe of the mildeft and inpli pbUging turn of mind } fo that the only real difference is, the one obeys through fear, and the other complies cheerfully from a willing mind j both knowing that what is commanded mart be done. They are, in fad, all kept at a great diilance, and the rank they hold in the opinion of the men cannot be better exprefied or explained, than by obferving the method of treating or ferving them at meals, which would appear very humi- liating, to an European woman, though cuftom makes it (it light on thofe whofe lot it is to bear it. It is neceffary to obferve, that when the men kill any large beail, the women are always fent to bring it to the tent : when it is brought there, every operation it undergoes, fuch as fplit- ting, drying, pounding, &c. is performed by the women.^ When any thing is to be prepared for eating, it is the women who cook it ; and when it is done, the wives and daughters of the greateft Captains in the country are uevcr ferved, till all the males, even thofe who are in the capacity of fervants, have eaten what they think proper ; The ilonc hcr^ meant is fourteen pounds. and MbAtHERNOCEAN. ^i dftd in tiWtts of fcarcity it is frequently their lot to be left withoti't a ftngle nlotfei. It is, however, natural to think thiey take the liberty of helping themfelvcs in fecret ; but this miift be done with great prudence, as capital em- bezzlements of provifions in fuch times are looked on as affairs of real conft^uence, and frequently fubjecl: them to a very feverc beating. If they are prac^ifcd by a woman whofe youth and inatteiltion to domeftic concerns cannot plead in her favour, they vrill for ever be a blot in her character, and few men will chufe to have her for a wife. Finding plfenty of good birch gtowihg by the fide bf Theley-aza River, wc remained there for a few days, in order to complete all the wdckl-work for the canoes, as well as for every dthef ufc for which we could poflibly want it oh the barren ground, during our Summer's cruife. On the twentieth, Matonabbee fertt one of his 20th. brothers, and fome others, a-head, with birch-rind and wood-work for a canoe, and gave them ordeis to proceed to a fmall Lak tli€ White Martin, the Black Martin, the Summer Martin, the Martin's Head, the Martin's Fobt, the Martin's Heart, the Martin's Tail, &c. ♦ On the twenty-third, as I hinted abbve, we began to move forward, and to ihape our courfe nearly North; but the weather was in general fo hot, and Co much fnbw had, in confequence, been melted, as made it bad walking in fnow-flioes, and fuch exceeding heavy hauling, that it was the third of May before we could arrive at Clowey, though the diftance was not above eighty-five miles from Thelewey-aza-yeth. In our way we crofled part of two fmall Lakes, called Tittameg Lake and Scartack Lake ; neither of which are of any note, though both abound with fine fifh. * Matonabbce had eight wives, and they were all called Martins. CHAP. N P ther ifland in Pefhew Lake. The preceding afternoon the Indians had killed a few deer ; but our number was ' then fo great, that eight or ten deer would fcarcely afford us all a tafte. Thefe deer were the firft we had feen fince our leaving the neighbourhood of Thelewey-aza-yeth ; fo that we had lived all the time on the dried meat which had been prepared before we left that place in April. 3otIi. The thirtieth proved bad, rainy weather ; we walked, however, about ten miles to the Northward, when we arrived on the North fide of Pefhew Lake, and put up. Here Matonabbee immediately began to make every ne- ceflary arrangement for facilitating the execution of our defign ; and as he had prOmifed to make all pofllble haile, he thought it expedient to leave moft of his wives and all his children in the care of feme Indians, then in our company, who had his orders to proceed to the North- ward NORTHERN OCEAN. ward at their leifure ; anii who, at a particular place ap- pointed by him, were to wait our return from the Copper- mine River. Having formed this refolution, Matonabbee fele vf her countrywomen think little of, but of providing for hcrl'clf. This is, indeed, too frequent a pradlicc among Europeans in that country, who bring up their children in fo indulgent a manner, th"" when ihcy retire, and leave their offspring bthind, fhcy find ihemfelvcs Co helplelB, a« to be i.nablc to provide for the few wants to which they ire lubjeft. The hte Mr. Ferdinand Jacobs, many years Chief u York Fort, was the only perfon whom I ever knew that a^ftcd in a different manner; thougj. no man could poflibjy be fonder of his chiidrcn in other rcfpetfts, yet as «>iTe were fome that he could not bring to England, he hati them broughr up eat'rcly among tfic natives } fo that when he left the country, they fcarti.:} ever f'l' li-e lofs, though they regretted the ablencc of a fond and indulgent narcuv. permit NORT^HERN OCEAN. •permit mc to make a few of the worft charafters a ftandard for the general conduft of all of them. Indeed it is but reafonable to think that travellers and interlopers will be always ferved with the worft commodities, though perhaps they pay the beft price for what they have. It may appear ftrange, that while I am extolling the chaftity of the Northern Indian women, I fhould ac- knowledge that it is a very common cuftom among the men of this country to exchange a night's lodging with each other's wives. But this is fo far from being confidered as an adl which is criminal,. that it is cftcemed by them as one of the ftrongeft ties of friendfliip between two families ; and. in cafe of the death of either man, the other confiders himfelf bound to fupport the children of the deccafcd. Thofe people are fo fiir from viewing this engagement as a mere ceremony, like moft of our Chriftian god- fathers and god-mothers, who, notwithftanding their vows are made in the moft folcmn manner, and in the prcfence of both God and man, fcarcely ever afterward remember what they have promifcd, that there is not an inftance of a Northern Indian having once neglected the duty which he is fup- pofed to have taken upon himfclf to perform. The Southern Indians, with all then- bad qualities, are remark- ably humane and charitable to the widows and children of departed friends ; and as their fituarion and manner of life enable thtm to do more adts of charity > ith kfs trouble S than A4*%\ ■J ■. ''^ 130 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E tjju than falls to the lot of a Northern Indian, few widows or June. orphans arc ever unprovided for among them. Though the Northern Indian men make no fcrnple of having two or three (ifters for wives at one time, yet they . are very particular in obferving a proper diftance in the confanguinity of thofe they admit to the above-mentioned intercourfe with their wives. The Southern Indians are lefs fcnipulous on thofe cccafions ; among them it is not at all uncommon fox one brother to make free with ano- ther brother's wife or daughter * ; but this is held in abhoiTence by the Northern Indians. • Moft of the Southern Indians, as well the Athapufcow and Neheaway tribes, are entirely without fcruple in this refpcdk. It is notorioulfly known, that many of them cohabit occafionally with their own mothers, and frequently efpoute their fillers and daughters. I have known feveral of them who, after having lived in that ftatc for fomt time with their daughters, have given them to their fona, and all parties been perfi:£lly reconciled to it. In faft, notv/ithftanding the fevcrir/ of the climate, the licentioufnefs of the inhabitants cannot be exceeded by any of the Eaftern nations, whofc luxu- rious manner of .■ *, and genial clime, feem more adapted to excite extraor- dinary palTions, tha.^ the fevcre cold of the frigid Zone. It is true, that few of thoft who live under the immediate protcftion of thtf Englilh ever take either their fifters or daughters for wives, which is probably owing to the fear of incurring their difpleafure ; but it is wcli known that afts of inceft too often take place among them, though perhaps not fo fre- quently as among the foreign Indians. By NORTHERN OCEAN. By the time the Indians had killed as many deer as they thought would be fufficient for the fupport of the women during our abfence, it was the firft of July ; and during this time I had two good obfervations, both by meridional and double altitudes ; the mean of which determined the latitude of Congecathawhachaga to be 68* 46' North ; and its longitude, by account, was 24° 2' Weft from Prince of Wales's Fort, or 118* 15' Weft of the meridiaia of London. On the (econd, tlic weather proved very bad, with much J*. fnow and fleet ; about nine o'clock at night, however, it grew more moderate, and fomewhat clearer, fo that we fet out, and walked about ten miles to the North by Weft, when wc lay down to take a little fleep. At our de- parture from Congecathawhachaga, feveral Indicms who had entered the war-lift, rather chofe to ftay behind with the women ; but their lofs was amply fupplied by Copper Indians, who accompanied us in the double capacity of guides and warriors. On the third the weather was equally bad with that of 3d. the preceding day ; we made fliift, however, to walk ten or eleven miles in the fame direction we had done the day before, and at laft were obliged to put up, not being able to fee our way for fnow and thick drift. By putting up, no more is to be underftood than that we got to leeward of a S 3 great It" it! •^ 132 A JOURNEY TO TKE 177'' great ftone, or into the crevices of the rocks, where wc July. regaled ourrdvcs with fuch proviiions as wc had brouglit with us, fmokcd our pipes, or went to (kep, till the weather permitted us to proceed on our journey. 4*. On the fourth, we hid rather better weather, though conftant light fnow, which made" it very difagrvcablc under foot. We neverthel^fs waHced twenty- feven miles to the North Weft, fourteen of which were on what tlit Indians call the Stony Mountains ; and furely no part of the world better defervcs that name. On our firft approaching thcfe mountains, they appeared to be a confufed heap oi ftoncs, utteily inacceffible to the foot of man : but having fome Copper Indians with us who knew the bcft road, we made a tolerable fbiff to get on, though not with- out being obliged frequently to crawl on our hands and knees. Notwithftanding the intricacy of the road, there is a very vifible path the whole way acrofs thefe mountains, even in the molt difficult parts : and alfo on the fmooth rocks, and thofe parts which are capable of receiving an imprefllon, the path is as plain and well- beaten, as any bye foot-path in England. By the fide of this path there are, in different parts, feveral large, flat, or table ftoncs, which are covered with many thoufands of fmall pebbles. Thefc the Copper Indians fay have been gradually increafed by pafTengers going to and from the mines 3 and on its being obfcrved to us that it was the uni- vcrfal • NORTHERN OCEAN. VCrfal cuftom for every one to add a ftone to the heap, each of us took up a fmall ftonc in order to increafc the number, for good luck. Juft as we arrived at the foot of the Stony Mountains^ . three of the Indians turned back j faying, that from every ' appearance, the remainder of the journey feemed likely to » bfe attended with more trouble than would counterbalance thfc pleafurc they could promife themfelves by going to war with the Efquimaux. On the fifth, as the weather was fo bad, with conftant fnow, fleet, and rain, that we could not fee our way, we did not offer to move : but the fixth proving moderate, and quite fair till toward noonj we fct out in the morn- ing, and walked about eleven miles to the North Weft ; when perceiving bad weather at hand, we began to look out- for flieltcr among the rocks, as we had done the four preceding nights, having neither tents nor tent- poles with IS. The next morning fifteen more of the Indians defcrted us, being quire fick of the road, and the uncommon badnefs of the weather. Indeed, though thefe people are all enured to hardfliips, yet their com- - plaint on the prefent occafioii was not without reafon ; : for, from our leaving Congecathawhachaga we had fcarccly a- dry garment of any kind, or any thing to fkreen us from the inclemency of the weather, except rocks and caves ; ■ 6th. f. 9 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) t ^ /. 4t. i' A^.^ '> O /: 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation •sj \ \\ 4^ '\ ""^^^^ A. 6^ •^'- >.1^ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^v- 4l, ;j i ¥1 ili A JOURNEY TO THE caves ; the beft of which were but damp and unwholefome lodging. In fome the water was conftantly dropping from the rock that formed the roof, which made our place of retreat little better than the open air ; and we had not been able to make one fpark of fire (except what was fufficient to light a pipe) from the time of our leav- ing the women on the fecond inftant ; it is true, in fome places there was a little mofs, but the conftant fleet and rain made it fo wet, as to render it as impoflible to fet fire to it as it would be to a wet fpunge. We had no fooner entered our places of retreat, than we regaled oirrfelves with fome raw venifon which the In- dians had killed that morning ; the fmall flock of dried provifions we took with us when we Iclt the women being now all expended. Agreeably to our expedations, a very fudden and heavy gale of wind came on from the North Weft, attended with fo great a fall of fnow, that the oldcft Indian in com- pany laid, he never faw it exceeded at any time of the year, much lefs in the middle of Summer. The gale was foon over, and by degrees it became a perfed calm : but the flakes of fnow were fo large as to furpafs all credibility, and fell in fuch vaft quantities, that though the fliower only lafted nine hours, we were in danger of being fmothered in our caves. On m ' / . • N O R T li E R N OCEAN. On the fevcntli, we had a frefh breeze at North Weft, with fome flying ftiowers of fm?.U rain, and at the fame time a conftant warm funfhine, which foon difiblved the greateft part of the new-fallen fnow. Early in the morning we crawled out of our holes, which were on the North fide of the Stony Mountains, and walked about eighteen or twenty miles to the North Weft by Weft. In our way we crofted part of a large lake on the ice, which was then far from being broken up. This lake 1 diftinguiftied by the name of Buft'alo, or Mufk-Ox Lake, from the number of thofe animals that we found grazing on the margin of it ; many of which the In- dians killed, but finding them lean, only took fome of the bulls* hides for fhoe-foals. At night the bad wea- ther returned, with a ftrong gale of wind at North Eaft, and very cold rain and fleet. This was the firft time we had feen any of the mufk- oxen fince we left the Fadory. It has been obferved that we faw a great number of them in my firft unfuccefsful attempt, before I had got an hundred miles from the Fac- tory ; and indeed I once perceived the tracks of two of thofe animals within nine miles of Prince of Wales's Fort. Great numbers of them alfo were met with in my fecond journey to the North : feveral of which my companions killed, par- ticularly on the feventeenth of July one thoufand {even hundred and feventy. They are alfo found at times in confiderable numbers near the fea-coaft of Hudfon's Bay, 4 ' all US July 7 th. m m j^ I 1^ MM 3 ,." r.ii b ' .1 h i 136 A J O U R N E'Y TO T HE all the way from Knapp's Bay to Wager Water, but are nioft plentifal within the Ardic Circle. In thofe high latitudes I have frequently feen many herds of them in the courfe of a day's walk, and fome of thofe herds did not contain lefs than eighty or an hundred head. The num- ber of bulls is very few in proportion to the cows ; for it is rare to fee more than two or three full-grown bulls with the largeft herd : and from the number of the males that are found dead, the Indians are of opinion that they kill each other in contending for the females. In the rutting feafon they are fo jealous of the cows, that they Tun at either man or beaft who offers to approach them ; And have been obfcrved to run and bellow even at ravens, and other large birds, which chanced to light near them. They delight in the moft ftony and mountainous parts of the barren ground, and are fcldom found at any great diflance from the woods. Though they are a bead of great magnitude, and apparently of a very unwieldy in- adive ]ftru • tenfivc I'll NORTHERN OCEAN. tenfive meaning of the word. Property of every kind that could be of general ufe now ccafed to be private, and every one who had any thing which came under that de- fcription, feemed proud of an opportunity of giving it, or lending it to thofe who had none, or were moft in want of it. 1 &h ■ The number of my crew was fo much greater than that which five tents could contain, and the warlike manner in which they vvere equipped fo greatly fuperior to what could be expeded of the poor Efquimaux, that no lefs than a total maflacre of every one of them was likely to be the cafe, unlefs Providence fhould work a miracle for their deliverance. The land was fo fituated that we walked under cover of the rocks and hills till we were within two hundred yards of the tents. There we lay in ambufh for fome time, watching the motions of the Efquimaux ; and here the Indians would have advifed me to ftay till the fight was over, but to this I could by no means confent ; for I con- fidered that when the Efquimaux came to be furprifed, they would try every way to efcape, and if they found me alone, not knowing me from an enemy, they would pro- bably proceed to violence againft me when no perfon was near to afTift. For this reafon I determined to accompany them, telling them at the fame time, that I would not have any hand in the murder they were about t^ commit, unlefs i-i' ■m ■jNiK i I I ' !M!; u . *> m LM: '1:/ ■ i , 5:? ■. f;i A JOURNEY TO THE unlefs I found it neceffary for my own fafety. The In- dians were not difpleafed at this propofal ; one of them immediately fixed me a fpear, and another lent me a broad bayonet for my protedion, but at that time I cotUd not be provided with a target ; nor did I want to be encumbered with fuch an unneceffary piece cf lumber. While we lay in ambufli, the Indians performed the laft ceremonies which were thought neceflary before the en- gagement. Thefe ch'c ^y confifted in painting their faces ; fome all black, fome all red, and others with a mixture of the two ; and to prevent their hair from blowing into their eyes, it was either tidd before and behind, and on both fides, or elfe cut jfhort all round. The next thing they confidered was to make themfelves as light as poflible for running ; which they did, by pulling off their ftockings, and cither cutting off the fleeves of their jackets, or roll- ing them up clef'" to their arm-pits ; and though the muf- kettoes at that time were fo numerous as to furpafs all cre- bibility, yet fome of the Indians actually pulled off their jackets and entered the lifts quite naked, except their breech-cloths and ihoes. Fearing I might have occafion to run with the reft, I thought it alfo advifable to pull off my ftockings and cap, and to tie my hair as clofe up as poffible. .V . By the time the Indians had made themfelves thus completely frightful, it "as near one o'clock in the morn- ing mi NORTHERN OCEAN. ing of the feventeenth ; when rinding all the Efquimaux quiet in their tents, they rufhed iorth from their ambuf- cade, and fell on the poor unfufpeding creatures, unper- ceived till clofe at the very eves of their tents, when they foon began the bloody maffacre, while I flood neuter in the rear. In a few feconds the horrible fcene commenced ; it was fhocking beyond defcription ; the poor unhappy vidims were furprifed in the midft of their fleep, and had neither time nor power to make any refiftance ; men, women, and children, in all upward of twenty, ran out of their tents ftark naked, and endeavoured to make their efcape; but the Indians having poffefTion of all the land-fide, to no place could they fly for {helter. One alternative only remain- ed, that of jumping into the river ; but, as none of them attempted it, they all fell a facrifice to Indian barbarity I The fhrieks and groans of the poor expiring wretches were truly dreadful ; and my horror was much increafed at feeing a young girl, feemingly about eighteen years of age, killed fo near me, that when the fiift fpear was ftuck into her fide fhe fell down at my feet, and twifted round my legs, fo that it was with difficulty that I could difengage myfelf from her dying grafps. As two Indian men pur- fued this unfortunate vidim, I folicited very hard for her life; but the murderers made no reply till they had X ~ . ftuck 1771. ' m nfeCi »5!4 il . J OtJRNEY TO THE /tuck both their fpears through her body, and transfixed her to the ground. They then looked me fternly in the face, and began to ridicule me, by afking if I wanted an Efquimaux wife ; and paid not the fmalleft regard to the fhrieks and agony of the poor wretch, who wat twining round their fpears like an eel ! Indeed, after receiving much abufive language from them on the occafion, I was at length obliged to defirc that they would be more expe- ditious in difpatching their vidtim out of her miicry, other- wife I fhould be obliged, out of pity, to ailift in the friendly oiEce of putting an end to the exiftence of a fel- low-creature who was fb cruelly wounded* On this re- queft being made, one of the Indians haftily drew his fpear from the place where it was firft lodged, and pierced it through her breaft near the heart. The love of life^ however, even in this moft miferable ftate, was fo predo- minant, that though this might juftly be called the moft merciful ad that could be done for the poor creature, it feemed to be unwelcome, for though much exhaufted by pain and lofs of blood, fke made feveral efforts to ward off the friendly blow. My fituation and the terror of my mind at beholding this butchery, cannot eafily be con~ ceived, much lefs defcribed ; though I fummed up all the fortitude I was mafter of on the occaiion, it was with difficulty that I could refrain from tears ; and I am con- fident that my features muft have feelingly expreffed how fincerely I was affeded at the barbarous fcene I then wit- neffed; 4-r- %% I it NORTHERNOCEAN. nefl'ed ; even at this hour I cannot refledt on the tranf- ^dions of that horrid day without fhedding tears. The brutifh manner in which thefe favages ufcd the bodies they had fo cruelly bereaved of life was fo ihock- ing, that it would be indecent to defcribe it ; particularly their curiodty in examining, and the remarks they made, on the formation of the women ; which, they pretended to fay, diF red materially from that of their own. For my own part I muft acknowledge, thju however favour- able the opportunity for determining that point might have been, yet ray thoughts at the time were too much agitated to admit of any fuch remarks ; and I firmly be- lieve, that had there adually been as much difference be- tween them as there is faid to be between the Hottentots and thofe of Europe, it would not have been in my power to have marked the diflin^ion. I have reafon to think, however, that there is no ground for the affertion ; and really believe that the declaration of the Indians on this occafion, was utterly void of truth, and proceeded only from the implacable hatred they bore to the whole tribe of people of whom I am fpeaking. , ^ . ^.^ • ? .. : t. . . m l('wv , .When the Indians had completed the murder of the poor Efquimaux, feven other tents on the Eaft fide the river immediately engaged their attention : very luckily, however, our canoes and baggage had beep 'ft at a little diflance up the river, fb that they hui uk >vay of X 2 croffing mi I 4 1:1 !'.;■': I V: if J i!:^''i: ^, is6 . A JOURNEY TO THE 4 cro/ling to get at them. The river at this part being little more than eighty yard '^de, they began firing at them from the W-ft fide. Th ^oor Efquimaux on the oppofite Ihore, though all up in arms, did not attempt to abandon their tents ; and they were To unacquainted with the nature of fire-arms, that when the bullets ftruck the ground, they ran in crowds to fee what was fent them, and fccmcd anxious to examine all the pieces of lead which they found flattened againft the rocks. At length one of the Efquimaux men was {hot in the calf of his leg, which put them in great confufion. They all imme- diately embarked in their little canoes, and paddled to a flioal in the middle of the river, which being fomewhat more than a gun-fliot from any part of the fhore, put them out of the reach of our barbarians. When the favages difcovered that the furviving Efqui- maux had gained the fhore above mentioned, the Northern Indians began to plunder the tents of the deceafed of all the copper utenfils they could find ; fuch as hatchets, bay- onets, knives, &c. after which they afTcmbled on the top of an adjacent high hill, and {landing all in a clu{ler, fo as to form a folid circle, with their fpears ered: in the air, gave many fhouts of vi(^ory, con{lantly clafhing their fpe^^rs againft each other, and frequently calling out n'ma f tima * ! by wa.y of derifion to the poor furviving Efqui- • Tima in the Efquimaux language i: a friendly word fimilar to what cheer I .'■•■ .- • I ' •-. • mauY, •NORTHERN OCEAN. maux, who were ftanding on the (hoal ahnoft knce-decp in water. After paradirtg the hill (or fome time, it was agreed to return up the river to the place where we had left our canoes and baggage, which was about half a mile diftant, and then to crofs the river again and plunder the feven tents on the Eaft fide. This refolution was im- mediately put in force ; and as ferrying acrofs with only three or four canoes * look a confiderable time, and as we were, from the crookednefs of the river and the form of the land, entirely under cover, fevcral of the poor furviving Efquimaux, thinking probably that we were gone about our bufinefs, and meant to trouble them no more, had returned frbm the fhoal to their habitations. When we approached their tents, which we did under cover of the rocks, we found them bufily employed tying up bundles. Thefe the Indians fcized with their ufual ferocity ; on which, the Efquimaux ^having their canoes lying ready in the water, immediately embarked, and all of them got fafe to the former Ihoal, except an old man, who was fo intent on colledting his things, that the In- dians coming upon him before he could reach his canoe, he fell a fiicrifice to their fury : I verily believe not lefs than twenty had a hand in his death, as his whole body was like a cullender. It is here neceffary to obferve that the fpies, »57 i %, nii I ■(■1 m- I ! ^■iA * When the fifteen Indians turned back at the Stony Mountains, they took, two or three canoes with them j fome of our crew that were fent a-head as mcffengcrs had not yet returned, which occafioned the number of our canoes to be fo fmall. . when ■^8 if 1: A JOURNEY TO THE when on the look-out, could not fee thcfe fcven tents, though clofc under them, as the bank, on which they flood, ftretched over them. It ought to have been mentioned in its proper place, tliat in making our retreat up the river, after killing the Efquimaux on the Weft fide, we faw an old woman fitting by the fide of the water, killing falmon, which lay at the foot of the fall as thick as a (hoal of herrings. Whether from the noife of the fall, or a natural defcft in the old woman's hearing, it is hard to determine, but certain it is, (he had no knowledge of the tragical fcene which had been fo lately tranfa ■ . A JOURNEY TOTHE times their whole dependance for fupport is on that ar- ticle*. When * When the Efquimaux who refide near Cliurchill River travel in Winter, h is always from lake to lake, or from river to river, where they have formed magazines of provifions, and heaps of mofs for firing. As fomc of thofe places are at a confiderable diftance from each other, and fome of the lakes of confiderablc width, they frequently pitch their tents on the ice, and infttad of having a fire, which the feverity of the climate fo much requires, they cut holes in the ice within their tents, and there fit and angle for fifti j if they meet with any fuccefs, the fifli are eaten alive out of the water ; and when they are thirfty, water, their ufual beverage, is at hand. When I firft entered into the employment of the Hudfon's Bay Company, it was as Mate of one of their fioops which was employed in trading with the Efquimaux; I had therefore frequent opportunities of oblcrving the mi;'er- able manner in which thofc people hve. In the courle of our trade with them we frequendy purchafed fcvera! fcal-fkin bags, which we fuppofcd were full of oil} but on opening them have fometimes found great quantities of venir>n, feals, and fea-horfc paws, as we 1 as falmon ; and as thefe were of no ufe to us, we alv\ ays returned them to the Indians, who eagerly devoured them, though Ibmc of the articles had been perhaps a whole year in that (late; and they feemcd to exult greatly in havmg fo over-reached us in the way of trade, as CO have fometimes one third of their bargain returned. This method of preferving their food, though it Cifedually guards it from the external air, and from the flies, does'not prevent putrcfaftion entirely, tliough it renders its progrefs very flow. Pure train oil is of fuch a quality that it never freezes folid in the coldeft Winters; a happy circumlbncc for thofe people, who are condemned to live in the mod rigorous climate without the afTiftance of fire. While thefe magazines laft, they have no- tliing more to do when hunger affails them, but to open one of the bags, take out a fide of venifon, a few feals, fea-horfc paws, or fome half-rotten falmon, and without any preparation, fit down and make a meal ; and the lake or river by which they pitch their tent, affords them water, which is their con- ftant drink. Bcfidcs tiie extraordinary food already mentioned, they have fc- veral rnHKvwi ?*"™:i;*A NORTHERN OCEAN. ' When the Indians had plundered the feven tents of all the copper utenfils, which feemed the only thing worth their i6i veral other diflics equally difgufting to an European palate; I will only mention one, as it was more frequently part of their repaft when I vifitcd their tents, than any other, except fifli. The difli I allude to, is made of the raw liver of a deer, cut in fmall pieces of about an inch fquare, and mixed up with the con- tents of the ftomach of the fame animalj and the farther digeftion has taken place, the better it is fuited to their tafte. Ft is impoflible to dcfcribe or cconeive the plcafure they feem to enjoy when eating fuch unaccountable food : nay, I have even feen them eat whole handfuls of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows ; and it is their conftant cuftom, when their nofes bleed by any accident, to lick their blood into their mouths, and fwallow it. Indeed, if wc confidcr the inhofpitable part of the globe they arc deftined to inhabit, and the great diftrcfles to wliich they arc frequently driven by hunger in confe- quence of it, we fhall no longer be furprifed at finding they can reli(h any thing in common with the meaneft of the animal creation, but rather admire the wifdom and kindnefs of Providence in forming the palates and powers of all creatures in fuch a manner as isbefl: adapted to the food, climate, and every otlicr circumftancc which may be incident to their refpedlive fituations. It is no lefs true, that thcfe people, when I firfl: knew them, would not eat any of our provifions, fugar, raifins, figs, or even bread ; for thougii fomc of them would put a bit of it into their mouths, they foon fpit it out again with evident marks of diflikej fo that they had no greater relilh for our food than we had for theirs. At prclent, however, they will eat any part of our provifions, cither frclh or faked ; and fome of them will drink a draft of porter, or a little brandy and water ; and they are now fo far civilized, and attached to the Englilh, that I am perfuaded any of the Company's fcrvants who could habituate thcmlclves to their diet and manner of life, might now live as fecurc under their proteftion, as under tlwt of any of the tribes of In- ' dians who border on Hudlbn's Bay. They live in a ftatc of pcrfeft freedom i no one apparently claiming 5 the fupcriority over, or acknowledging tho kail fuboniination to ajiother, j Y n except (:;::. ;!■, 1^. '':t . Mm 1 W" It :.;f;-^ MM i ■■'mi •tf. : m ■■'If #'5 ■ J 7th. lit: ■ A JOURNEY TO THE their notice, they threw all the tents and tent-poles into the river, deftroyed a vaft quantity of dried falmon, muflc- oxen flefh, and other provifions ; broke all the ftone kettles ; and, in fad, did all the mifchief they poflibly could to diflrefs the poor creatures they could not mur- der, and who were ftanding on the (hoal before men- tioned, obliged to be woeful fpedators of their great, or perhaps irreparable lofs. After the Indians had completed this piece of wanton- nefs we fat down, and made a good meal of frefli falmon, which were as numerous at the place where we now relied, as they were on the Weft fide of the river. When we had finifhed our meal, which was the firft we had enjoyed for many hours, the Indians told me that they were again ready to aflift me in making an end of my furvey. It was then about five o'clock in the morning of the feventeenth, the fea being in fight from the North Weft by Weft to the North Eaft, about eight miles diftant. I therefore fet in- ftantly about commencing my furvey, and purfued it to the mouth of the river, which I found all the way fo full of fhoals and falls that it was not navigable even for a boat, and that it emptied itfelf into the fea over a ridge or bar. vu except what is due from children to their parents, or fuch of their kin as take care of them when they are young and incapable of providing fc/ thcmfclves. There is, however, reafon to think that, when grown up to manhood, they pay fome attention to the advice of the old men, on account of their ex- perience. i The -, \.'''' m, NORTHERN OCEAN. '- The tide was then out ; but I judged from the marks which I faw on the edge of the ice, that it flowed about twelve or fourteen feet, which will only reach a little way within the river's mouth. The tide being out, the water in the river was perfeftly frefh ; but 1 am certain of its being the fca, or fome branch of it, by the quantity of whalebone and feal-fkins which the Efquimaux had at their tents, and alfo by the number of feals which I faw on the ice. At the mouth of the river, the fea is full of iflands and fhoals, as far as I could fee with the afllftance of a good pocket telefcope. The ice was not then broke up, but was melted away for about three quarters of a mile from the main fliore, and to a little diflance round the iflands and flioals. 163 ;r . -Am. By the time I had completed this furvey, it was about one in the morning of the eighteenth ; but in thofe high latitudes, and at this feafon of the year, the Sun is always at a good height above the horizon, (o that we had not only day-light, but fun-fliine the whole night : a thick fog and drizzling rain then came on, and finding that neither the river nor fea were likely to be of any ufc, I did not think it worth while to wait foi fair weather to determine the latitude exadly by an obfervation; but by tlie extraordi- nary care I took in obferving the courfes and diftanccs when I walked from Congccathawhachaga, where I had two good obfervations, the latitude may be depended upon within twenty miles at the utniofl. -For the fake of form, Y 2 Iiowcvcr, idth. t:r:^ 1^4 W- ilia A JOURNEY TO THE however, after having had fome confultation with the In- dians, I ere• ,?w>- .^' '1*; >%- "lipi^ i? Loneil lule igo.,ii>. nWf of ' (Iivi-iih ii'li A Si-alo ;i/'Kii^1iRli Si-a Mik's, <"'>' to ,i Deuroi-. /.,iiJ..ii./'uNi.f/ltU.ftUi!' /." ijff-'.tu oiiA// i- /)iii/4j;. 0i0»..0$m^mm 'J'o laiY /'OAfc JV.l '^^iXxT' EK-MlXE lilVER , .////y./77/. '.nUii./'ut'lufiiU .Km' I " i^^,^,(u uul^ll i- /hwiij-.Suuni/ ■ MVM* .tttit/.! :i^7 X/i;in,/ . •!>'C''-^"|^„ ^^' r NORTHERN OCEAN, jackafheypuck, which the natives ufe as tobacco ; and a few cranberry and heathberry bufhes ; but not the lead appearance of any fruit. The woods grow gradually thinner and fmaller as you approach the fea ; and ihe 1^ little tuft of pines that I faw is about thirty miles from the mouth of the river, fa that we meet with nothing between that fpot and the fca- iide but barren hills and marfhes. The general courfe of the river is about North by Eaft ; but in fome places it is very crooked, and its breadth varies from twenty yards to four or five hundred. The banks are in general a folid rock, both fides of which coar- refpond fo exadly with each other, as to leave no doubt that the chaimel of the river has been caufed by fome ter- rible convulfion of nature ; and the dream is fupplied by a variety of little rivulets, that rufli down the fides of the hills, occafioned chiefly by the melting of the fiiow. Some of the Indians fay, that this river takes its rife from the Nortk Weft fide of Large White Stone Lake, which is at the diftance of near three hundred miles on a ftraight line ; but I can fcarcely think that is the cafe, unlefs there be many inter- vening lakes, which are fupplied by the vaft quantity of water that is coUeAed in fo great an extent of hilly and mountainous country: for were it otherwife, I fhould imagine that the multitude of fmall rivers, which muft empty themfelves into the main ftream in the courfe of .fo. great 165 i66 A JOURNEY TO THE 177'' great a diftance, would have formed a much deeper July. and ftronger current than I difcovered, and occafioned an annual deluge at the breaking up of the ice in the Spring, of which there was not the leaft appear- ance, except at Bloody Fall, where the river was con- traded to the breadth of about twenty yards. It was at the foot of this fall that my Indians killed the Efquimaux ; which was the reafon why I diflinguiihed it by that appel- lation. From this fall, which is about eight miles from • the fea-fide, there are very few hills, and thofe not high. The land between them is a ftiff loam and clay, which, in fome parts, produces patches of pretty good grafs, and in others tallifh dwarf willows : at the foot of the hills alfo there is plenty of fine fcurvy-grafs. The Esquimaux at this river are but low in ftature, none exceeding the middle fize, and though broad fet^ are neither well-made nor ftrong bodied. Their com- plexion is of a dirty copper colour ; fome of the women, however, are mcwe fair and ruddy. Their drefs much re- sembles that of the Greenlanders in Davis's Straits, except the women's boots, which are not ftiifened out with whale- bone, and the ^'^Is of their jackets are not more than a foot long. Their arms and fifhing-tackle are bows and arrows, fpears, lances, darts, &c. which exactly rcfemble thofe made ufe of by the Efquimaux in Hudfbn's Straits, and which NORTHERN OCEAN. which have been well defcribed by Crantz * ; but, for want of good edge-tools, are far inferior to them in work- manfliip. Their arrows are either fhod with a triangular piece of black, ftone, like flate, or a piece of copper ; but moft commonly the former. The body of their canoes is on the fame conftrudlion as that of the other Efquimaux, and there is no unneceflary prow-projedtion beyond the body of the veffel ; thefe, like their arms and other utenfils, are, for the want of better tools, by no means fo neat as thofe I have feen in Hudfon's Bay and Straits. The double-bladed paddle is in univerfal ufe among all the tribes of this people. Their tents are made of parchment deer-flcins in the hair, and are pitched in a circular form, the fame as thofe of the Efquimaux in Hudfon's Bay. Thefe tents are un- doubtedly no more than their Summer habitations, for I faw the remains of two miferable hovels, which, from the fituation, the ftrufture, and the vaft quantity of bones, old fhoes, fcraps of (kins, and other rubbifh lying near them, had certainly been fome of their Winter retreats. Thefe houfes were fituated on the South fide of a hill ; one half of them were under-ground, and the upper parts clofely fet round with poles, meeting at the top in a conical form, like their Summer-houfes or tents. Thefe tents, 167 • See HiR. of Greenlanii, vol.i. p. 132—156, when i68 i. I A JOURNEY TO THE when inhabited, had undoubtedly been covered with (kins ; and in Winter entirely overfpread with the fnow-drift, which muft have greatly contributed to their warmth. They were fo fmall, that they did not contain more than fix or eight perfons each ; and even that number of any other people would have found them but miferable habitations. Their houfehold furniture chiefly confifts of ftone kettles, and wooden troughs of various fizes ; alfo diflies, fcoops, and fpoons, made of the buffalo or mu(k-ox horns. Their kettles are formed of a pepper and fait coloured ftone J and though t-he texture appears to be very coarfe, and as porous as a drip-ftone, yet they are perfectly tight, and will found as clear as a China bowl. Some of thofe kettles are fo large as to be capable of containing five or fix gallons ; and though it is impofllble thefe poor [ eople can perform this arduous work with any other tools than harder ftones, yet they are by far fuperior to any that I Iiid ever fcen in Hudfon's Bay ; every one of them being ornamented with neat mouldings round the rim, and fome of the large ones with a kind of flute-work at each corner. In fliape they were a long fquare, fomething wider at the top than bottom, like a knife-tray, and ftrong handles of the folid ftone were left at each end to lift them up. Their hatchets are made of a thick lump of copper, about five or fix inches long, and from one and a half to two inches fquare ; they are bevelled away at one end like a mortice- |i.:1 NORTHERN OCEAN. tnortioe-chifrel. Tiiis is lafhed into the end of a piece of wood about twelve or fourteen inches long, in fuch a man- ner as to adl like an adze : in general they are applied to the wood like a chiiTel, and driven in with a heavy club, inftcad of a mallet. Neither the weight of the tool nor the (harpnefs of the metal will admit of their being handled either as adze or axe, with any degree of fuccefs. 169 4 The men*8 baypnets and women's knives are alfo made of copper; the former are in £hape like the ace of fpades, with the handle of deers horn a foot long, and the latter exaAly rcfemble thofe defcribed by Crantz. Samples of both thefe implements I formerly fent home to James Fitz- gerald, £fq. then one of the Hudfon's Bay Committee. Among all the fpoils of the twelve tents which my com- panions plundered, only two fmall pieces of iron were found; one of which was -about an inch and a half long, and three eighths of an inch broad, made into a woman's knife; the other was barely an inch long, and a quarter of an inch wide. This laft was rivetted into a piece of ivory, fo as to form a man's knife, known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Mokeatoggariy and is the only inftrument ufed by them in ihaping all their wood- work. Thofe people had a fine and numerous breed of dogs, with (harp ered ^"^rs, fharp nofes, bulhy tails, &c. ex- Z aaly •<■ . •• >.. / .'. * 1' .,!( I; ■( I ,,r. fi •1 Silt m ft i-m 1:1' K J !^;) 17© I ! i'i Nil. is'r A JOURNEY TO THE a6tly like thofe feen among the Efquimaux in HudfonV Bay and Straits. They were all tethered to ftones, to pre- vent them, as I fuppofe, from eating the fifh that were fpread all over the rocks to dry. I do not recoUeft that my companions killed or hurt one of thofe animals ; but after we had left the tents, they often wifhed they had taken fome of thofe fine dogs with them. Though the drefs, canoes, utenfils, and many other articles belonging to thefe people, are very fimilar to thofe of Hudfon's Bay, yet there is one cuftom that pre- vails among them — namely, that of the men having all the hair of their heads pulled out by the roots — which pronounces them to be of a different tribe from any hitherto feen either on the coaft of Labradore, Hudfon's Bay, or Davis's Straits. The women wore their hair at full length, and exadly in the fame ftile as all the other Efquimaux women do whom I have feen. When at the fea-fide, (at the mouth of the Copper River,) befides feeing many feals on the ice, I alfo obferved feveral flocks of fea-fowl flying about the fliores; fuch as, gulls, black-heads, loons, old wives, ha-ha-wie's, dunter geefe, arje »7S i'lliT' ur ■' % i;^ If A jbt'UN'EV t 6 T«E paths that had been beaten by the Indians on thefc oo cafions, and which are yet, in many pkces, very perfeA, cfpecially on the dty ridges and hills, is furpiifing ; in the vallies and marfhy grounds, however, they are moftly grown over tv^ith herbage, fo as not to be difcemed. The Coppt Indians fet a great value on their native - metal even to this day ; and prefer it to iron, for almofl every ufe except that of a hatchet, a knife, and an awl ; for thefe three neceffary implements, copper makes but a Very poor fubftitute When they exchange copper for iron-work with our trading Northern Indians, which is but feldom, the ftandard is an ice-chiffel of copper for an ice-chiflel of iron, or an ice-chiflel and a few arrow- heads of copper, for a half-worn hatchet ; but when they barter furrs with our Indians, the eftabli(hed rule is to give ten times the price for every thing they purchafe that is given for them at the Company's Factory. Thus, a, hatchet that is bought at the Fadory for one beaver-fkin, or one cat-lkin, or three ordinary martins' ikins, is fold to ^tr alive, and the quantity of copper much dccreafed j and on their repeating their vifit the year following, flie had quite difappeared, and all the principal part of the mine witli her; fo that after that period nothing remained on the furface but a few fmall pieces, and thofe were fcattered at a confiderablc dif- tance from each other. Before that period they fay the copper lay on the furface in fuch large heaps, that the Indians liad nothing to do but turn it over, and pick fuch pieces as would beft fuit the different ufes for which they in- tended it. < thofe NORTHERN OCEAN. thofe people at the advanced price of one thoufand p&r cent, ; they alfo pay in proportion, for knives, and every other fmaller piece of iron-work. For a fmall brafs kettle of two pounds, or two pounds and a half weight, they pay fixty martnis, or twenty beaver in other kinds of furrs *. If the kettles are not bruifed, or ill-ufed in any other refpeiSt, the Northern traders have the confcience at times to cxad fomething more. It is at this extravagant price that ^U' the Copper and' Dog-ribbed Indians, who tjraffic witii our yearly ^^ders^ fupply themfelves with iron* work,. &c. From thofe two tribes our Northern Indians ufed formerly to purchafe mod of the furrs they brought to the Company's Fa redtly keeping their accounts, the Hudfon's Bay Company have made a full- grown beaver-flcin the ftandard by which they rate all other furrs, according to their relpeftive values. Thus in feveral fpecies of furrs, one fkin is valued at the rate of four beaver fkins; fome at three, and others at two ; whereas thofe of an inferior quality are rated at one ; and thofe of dill lefs Value con- fidered fo inferior to that of a beaver, that from fix to twenty of their fkins are only valued as equal to one beaver fkin in the way of trade, and do not fetch one-fourth of the price at the London market. In diis manner die term <* Made Beaver" is to be underflood. A a fuch '■' ■ 178 A JOURNEY TO THE fuch furrs as they could extort from the Copper and Dog- ribbed Indians, compofed the whole of their trade ; which, on an average of many years, and indeed till very lately, fcldom or ever exceeded lix thoufand Made Beavtr per annum, . At prefent happy it is for them, and greatly to the advantage of the Company, that they are in pcrfed peace, and live in friendfhip with their Southern neighboursr The good efFedt of this harmony is already fo vifible, that within a few years the trade from that quarter has increafed many thoufands of Made Beaver annually ; fome years even to the amount of eleven thoufand fkins*. Befide the . :l ■ ' ; * Since this Journal was written, the Northern Indians, by annually viflting. their Southern friends, the Athapufcow Indians, have contradV<;d the fmall-pox, which has carried off nine-tenths ot* them, and particularly thofc people who compofed the trade at Churchill Fadlory. The few furvivors follow the ex-> ample of their Southern neighbours, and all trade with the Canadians, who arc fettled in the heart of the Athapufcow country : fo that a very few yean has proved my Piort-fightednefs, and that it would have been much more to the advantage of the Company, as well as have prevented the depopulation of the Northern Indian country, if they had ftill remained at war with the •Southern tribes, and never attempted to better their fituation. At the fame time, it is impofTible to fay what incr^rtfe of trade might not, in time, have^ arifen from a conftant and regular trafHc with the different tribes of Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians. But having been totally neglcfted for feveral years, they have now funk into their original barbarifm and extreme indigence j and a war has enfued between the two tribes, for the lake of the few remnants of iron*work which was left among them : and the Dog-ribbed Indians were fo numerous, and fo fuccefsfulj as to dcftroy almoft the whole race of the Copper Indians. WhUe NORTHERN OCEAN. the advantage aridng to the Company from this increafe, the poor Northern Indians reap innumerable benefits from a fine and plentiful country, with the produce of which they annually load themfelves for trade, without giving the lead ofFence to the proper inhabitants. Several attempts have been made to induce the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians to vifit the Company's Fort at Churchill River, and for that purpofe many prefents have been lent, but they never were attended with an) fuccefs. And though feveral of the Copper ^ndians have vifited Churchill, in the capacity of fervar to the Northern Indians, and were generally fent back aded with prefents for their countrymen, yet the Northern Indians always plundered them of the whole foon after they left the Fort. This kind of treatment, added to the many incon- veniencies that attend fo long a journey, are great obftacles in their way ; otherwife it would be as poffible for them to bring their own goods to market, as for the Northern In- dians to go fo far to purchafe them on their own account, !; '' I'llill While I was writing this Note, I was informed by fomc Northern Indians, that the few which remain of the Copper tribe have found their way to one of the Canadian houfcs in the Athapufcow Indians country, where they get fupplicd with every thing at Icfs, or about half the price they were formerly obliged to give; fo that the few furviving Northern Indians, as well as the Hudfon's Bay Company, have now loft every ftiadow of any future trade from that quarter, unlefs the Company will eftablifli a fettlement witl , the Athapufcow country, and under fell the Canadians. A a 2 and i 1 ■ m in 180 A JOURNEY TO THE and have the fame diftance to bring them as the firft pro- prietors would have had. But it is a political fchcme of our Northern traders to prevent fuch an intercourfe, as it would greatly lefTen their confequence and emolument. Superftition, indeed, will, in all probability, be a lafting hairier againft thofe people ever having a fettled communi- cation with our Fadory ; as few of them chufe to travel in countries fo remote from their own, under a pretence that the change of air and provifions (though exactly the fame to which they are accuftomed) are highly prejudicial to their health ; and that not one out of three of thofe who have undertaken the journey, have ever lived to return. The iirld of thefe reafons is evidently no more than grofs fuperftition ; and though the latter is but too true, it has always been owing to the treachery and cruelty of the Northern Indians, who took them under thf li* pro- tedion. yu , ^ P\ r ll:wl-i . It is but a few years fince, that Captain Keel/hies, who is frequently mentioned in this Journal, took twelve of thefe people under his charge, all heavy laden with the moft valuable furrs ; and long before they arrived at the Fort, he and the reft of his crew had got all the furrs from them, in payment for provifions for their fiipport, and obliged them to carry the furrs on their account. On their arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort, Keelfhies laid claim to great merit for having brought thofe ftrangers, fo m NORTHERN OCEAN. 46 richly laden, to the FaAory, and aflbred the Governor that he might, in future, expe^ a great increafe in trade from that quarter, through his intereft and afiiduity. One of the ftrangers was dubbed with the name of Captain, and treated accordingly, while at the Fort ; that is, he was drefled out in the beft manner ; and at Jiis departure, both himfelf and all his countrymen were loaded with prefents, in hopes that they would not only repeat the viiit themfelves, but by difplaying fo much generofity, many of their countrymen would be induced to accom- pany them. i8i tm ^m There feems to be great propriety in the conduct of the Governor * on this occafion ; but however well-intended, it had quite the contrary effed, for Keel (hies and the reft of his execrable gang, not content with fharing all the furrs thofe poor people had carried to the Fort, deter- mined to get alfo all the European goods that had been given to them by the Governor. As neither Keelfliies nor any of his gang had the courage to kill the Copper Indians, they concerted a deep-laid fcheme for their de- ftruAion; which was to leave them on an iiland. With this view, when they got to the propofed fpot, the North- ern Indians took care to have all the baggage belonging to^ the Copper Indians ferried acrofs to the main, and having ftripped them of fuch parts of their clothing as they it r'.V;ii t • Mr. Mofcs Norton. thought -<^. ffia AJOURNEYTOTHE i77«' thought worthy their notice, went off with all the canoes, July. leaving them all behind on the ifland, where they periOied for want. When I was on my journey to the Fort in June one thouf id feven hundred and fcventy-two, I faw the bones of thofe poor people, and had the foregoing account from my guide Matonabbee j but it was not made known to the Governor for fome years afterward, for fear of prejudicing him againft Keelfhies. A fimilar circumftance had nearly happened to a Copper Indian who accompanied me to the Fort in one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-two : after we were all ferried acrofs Seal River, and the poor man's bundle of furrs on the South-fide, he was left alone on the oppofite ftiore ; and no one except Matonabbee would go over for him. The wind at that time blew fo hard, that Matonabbee ftripped himfelf quite naked, to be ready for fwimming in cafe the canoe ftiould overfet ; but he foon brought the Copper Indian fafe over, to the no fmall mortification of the wretch who had the charge of him, and who would gladly have poiTefled the bundle of furrs at the expence of the poor man's life. When the Northern Indians returned from the Faftory that year, the above Copper Indian put himfelf under the protection of Matonabbee, who accompanied him as far North as the latitude 64°, where they faw fome Copper Indians, among whom was the young man's father, into whofe # • NORTHERN OCEAN. At three o'clock in the morning of the twenty-fecond, Matonabbee*s broth'^r and one of the Copper Indians, who had been firft difpatched a-head from Congecatha- whachaga, overtook us. During their abfence they had not difcovered any Indians who could have been ferviceable to my expedition. They had, however, been at the Cop- per River, and feeing fome marks fet up there to diredl them to return, they had made the beft of their way, and had not flept from the time they left the river till they joined us, though the diftance was not lefs than a hundred, miles. When they arrived we were alleep, but we fooa awakened, and began to proceed on our journey. That, day we walked forty-two miles ; and in our way palTed' Buffalo Lake : at night, we put up about the middle, of the Stony Mountains. The weather was exceflively hot and fultry. The itj whofc hands Matonabbee delivered him in good health, >77'' with all his goods fafe, and in gc ' ^rder. juiy. Soon after we had left the Coj>j t-mine, there came on a thick fog with rain, and at intervals heavy fliowers of fnow. This kind of weather continued for fome days ; and at times it was fo thick, that we were obliged to ftop for feveral hours together, as we were unable to fee our way, and the road was remarkably rocky and intricate. .-, f atd* e 0 I \ ' ' i' I ■H mf i A'i, m 111 iJI. i% f84 1771. July 231I. A JOURNEY TO THE On the twenty-third, the weather continued much the fame as on the preceding day. Early in the morning we fet out, and walked forty- iive miles the firft day, during which the Indians killed federal fine fat buck deer. m 24tii. About one o'clock in tl:e morning of the twenty-fourth, we flopped and took a little rcfrefhment, as we had alfo done about noon the preceding diiy; but the Indians had been fo long from their wives and families, that they pro- mifed not to fleep till they faw them, efpecially as wc were the c in iight of the hills of Congecathawhachaga, where wc had left rfie lafl of them. After refling about an Jiour, wc proceeded on our way, and at fix in the morning arrived at Congecathawhachaga; when, to our great difap- pointmcnt, we found thatallour women had got fet acrofs the river before the Copper Indians left that part; fo that when wc arrived, not an Indian was to be found, except an old man and his famil^, who had arrived in our ab- fence^ and was waiting ac the croillng-place with fbme furrs for Matonabbee, who was fo nearly related tv the old man as to be his fon in-law, having one of his daughters for a wife. The old man had another with him, who was alfo offered to the great man, but not accepted* Our (lay at this place may be faid to have been of very ihort duration ; for on feeing a large fmoke to the Southward, we immediately crofled the nver, and walked towards it, 6 when s. NORTHERN OCEAN. when we found that the women had indeed been there fomef days before, but were gone ; and at their departure had fet the mofs on fire, which was then burning, and occafioned the fmoke we had feen. By this time the afternoon was far advanced ; we purfucd, however, our courfe in the diree&ive ways. — Pifs by White Stone Lake. — Many deer- killed merely for their fkins. — Remarks thereon^ and on the deer^ refpeSing feafons and places, — Arrive at Point Lake. — One of the Indians wives being ficky is left behind to perifb above-ground. — Weather very bad^ hut deer ' plenty, — -Stay fome time at Point Lake to dry meat^ &c. — Winter Jet in.—Superftitious cujloms obferved by my companions^ after they had killed the Efquimaux at Copper River- — A violent gale of wind over- fets my tent and breaks my quadrant. — Some Copper and Dog-ribbed In- dians join us, — Indians propofe to go to the Athapufcow Country to kill moofe. — Leave Point Lake^ and arrive at the wood^s edge. — Arrive at Anawd Lake. — Tranfaffions there. — Remarkable inflance of a man being cured of the palfey by the conjurers. — Leave Anawd Lake. — Ar- rive at the great Athapufcow Lgke, SEVERAL of the Indians being very ill, the conjurers, who are always the doctors, and pretend to perform great cures, began to try their fkill to eff'cdl their re- covery. Here it is neceflary to remark, that they ufe no medicine either for internal or external complaints, but perform all their cures by charms. In ordinary cafes, fucking the part aft'edted, blowing, and iinging to it; haugh- 189 ill '\mm M i I9P I fi A JOURNEY TO THE haughing, fpitting, and at the fame time uttering a heap of unintelligible jargon, compofe the whole procefs of the curcv For fome inward complaints ; fuch as, griping in the inteftines, difficulty of making water, ^c. it is very common to fee thofe jugglers blowing into the anus, or into the parts adjacent, till their eyes are almoft ftarting out of their heads : and this operation is per- formed indifferently on all, without regard either to age or fey. The accumulation of fo large a quantity of wind is at times apt to occafion fome extraordinary emo- tions, which are not eafily {uppreffed by a fick perfon ; and as there is no vent for it but by the channel through which it was conveyed thither, it fometimes occasions an odd fcene between the dodor and his patient 5 which I once wantpnly called an engagement, but for which I was af- terward exceedingly forry, as it highly offended (everal of the Indians ; particularly the juggler and the fick perfon, both of whom were men I much cfteemed, and, except in that moment of levity, it had ever been no lefs my inclination than my intereft to (hew them every rcfped that my fituation would admit. I have often admired the great pains thefe jugglers take to deceive their credulous countrymen, while at the fame time they are indefatigably induftrious and perfevering in their efforts to relieve them. Being naturally not very delicate, they frequently continue their windy procefs fo long, that I have more than once feen the dodor quit his patient with his face and breaft in a very diHigreeable condition. However 3 laugh- NO KTHERN OCEAN. laughable this may appear to an European, cuftom makes it very indecent, in their opinion, to turn any thing of the kind to ridicule. When a friend for whom they have a particular regard ij, as they fuppofe, dangeroufly ill, bedde the above methods, they haverecourfe to another very extraordinary piece of fuperfbtion ; which is no lefs than than that of pretending to fwallow hatchets, ice-chiflels, broad bayo- nets, knives,, and the like; out of a fuperftitious notion that undertaking fuch defperate feats will have fome in- fluence in appealing death, and procure a refpite for their patient. On. fuch extraordinary occafiions a conjuring-houle is erected, by driving the ends of four long fmall flicks, or poles, into the ground at right angles, fo as to form a iquare of four, five, fix, or feven feet, as may be required. The tops of the poles are tied together, and all is clofe covered with a tent-cloth or other fkin, exadly in the fhape of a fniall fquare tent, except that there is no va- cancy left at the top to admit the light. In the middle of this houfe, or tent, the patient is laid, and is foon fol- lowed by the conjurer, or conjurers. Sometimes five or. fix of them give their joint-afllftance ; but before they enter, they ftrip themfelves quite naked, and as foon as they get into the houfe, the door being well clofed, they kneel round the fick perfon or perfons, and begia to fuck and 191 "i ■n: m li 192 A JOURNEY TO THE and blow at the parts affeded, and then in a very fliort fpace of time fing and talk as if converfing with familiar fpirits, M'hich they fay appear to them in the fhape of different beafts and birds of prey. When they have had fufficient conference with thoie neceflary agents, or fhadows, as they term them, they afk for the hatchet, bayonet, or the like, which is always prepared by another perfon, with a long ftring faftened to it by the haft, for the conveni- ence of hauling it up again after they have fwallowed it ; for they very wifely admit this to be a very neceflary pre- caution, as hard and compact bodies, fuch as iron and fteel, would be very difficult to digeft, even by the men who are enabled to fwallow them. Beiides, as thofe tools are in themfelves very ufeful, and not always to be pro- cured, it would be very ungenerous in the conjurers to digeft them, when it is known that barely fwallowing them and hauling them up again is fully fufficient to an- fwer every purpofe that is expected from them. II At the time when the forty and odd tents of Indians joined us, one man was fo dangeroufly ill, that it was thouGjht neceflary the conjurers fliould ufe fome of thole wonderful experiments for his recovery ; one of them therefore immediately confented to fwallow a broad bayonet. Accordingly, a conjuring-houfe was ereded in the manner above defcribed, into which the patient was conveyed, and he was foon followed by the conjurer, who, after a long preparatory difcourfe, and the neceflTary con- ference NORTHERN OCEAN. ference with his familiar fpirits, or fhadows, as they call them, advanced to the door and afked for the bayonet, which was then ready prepared, by having a firing faftened to it, and a fhort piece of wood tied to the other end of the ftring, to prevent him from fwallowing it. I could not help obferving that the length of the bit of wood was not more than the breadth of the bayonet : however, as it anfwered the intended purpofe, it did equally well as if it had been as long as a handfpike. Though I am not fo credulous as to believe that the I conjurer abfolutely fwallowed the bayonet, yet I muft ac- knowledge that in the twinkling of an eye he conveyed it to— God knows where ; and the fmall piece of wood, or one exadly like it, was confined clofe to his teeth. He then paraded backward and forward before the conjuring- houfe for a fhort time, when he feigned to be greatly dif- ordered in his flomach and bowels j and, after making many wry faces, and groaning moft hideoufly, he put his body into feveral diftorted attitudes, very fuitable to the occaiion. He then returned to the door of the conjuring-houfe, and after making many flrong efforts to vomit, by the help of the firing he at length, and after tugging at it fome time, pro- duced the bayonet, which apparently he hauled out of his mouth, to the no fmall furprize of all prefent. He then looked round with an air of exultation, and flrutted into the conjuring-houfe, where he renewed his incantations, and continued them without intermiflion twenty- four hours. C c Though »93 Auguft 6th. ]'i ilH 1 ;■ UilHI • i? sx^^^^^H 1 MM^H rill ll^^l ' ftS^^^^I V ^^^1 I ^^^1 ' M^^l ' * 'i Un^^^H T hU^I )^y nJH^^I I tKmm^n l> , MJgMHPl iIMb ■ - 1 mEw^^H^^B 'Ifn^B ,"?^f lifH ' Y^ ■i I'^^H f a ^''{^ }m f-iMUt i > ' ^^|fflfi ''iifl ; '?S-Affl A JOUR MET TO THE Though I was not clofe t< his elbow when ho petfoffncd the above feat, yet I thought myfelf near enough (and P can afTure my readers I was all attention) to have detc^d him. Indeed I muft confeis that it appeared to mo to be a very nice piece of deception, efpecially as it was pec-t formed by a man quite naked. Not long after this fligbt-of-hand work was over, Ibme of the Indians afked me what I thought of it; ta which: I anfwered, that I was too far off to fee it fo plain as I could wifh ; which indeed was no more than the flrifteft truth, bccaufe I was not near enough to deted the decep- tion. The fick man, however, foon recovered; and in a few days afterwards we left that place and proceeded to< the South Wefl. pth. On the ninth of Augufl^ we on:e more purflied our journey, and continued 010" courfc in the South Weft quar- ter, generally walking about feven or ?ight miles a day. All the Indians, however, who had been in our company, except twelve tents, ftruck ofF difFerent ways. As- to myfelf, having had feveral days rc(V, my feet were com- pletely healed, though the fkin remained very tender for fome time. ijth-25th. From the nineteenth to the twenty-fifth, we walked by the fide of Thaye-chuck-gyed Whoie, or Large Whitc- fione Lake, which is about forty miles long from the North Eaft NORTHERN OCiEiAN. Eaft to the South Welt, but of very unequAl breadth. A rriver from the North Weft fide of this lake is faid to run rinia (erpentine manner a long way to the WeiWard; and then tending to the Northwai.' i Mil M fi 3 Hi J! m\ $1 Hi 196 A JOURNEY TO THE more plentiful in other parts of the country than they were formerly. The fcarcity or abundance of thefe animals in different places at the fame feafon is caufed, in a great meafure, by the winds which prevail for fomc time before ; for the deer are fuppoied by the natives to walk always in the dire«Jlion from which the wind blows, except when they migrate from Eaft to Weft, or from Weft to Eaft, in fearch of the oppofite fex, for the purpofeof propagating their fpecies. Tt requires the prime part of the fkins of from eight to ten deer to 'make a complete fuit of warm clothing for a grown perfon during the Winter ; all of which fhould, if poffible, be killed in the month of Auguft, or early in September ; for after that time the hair is too long, and at the fame time fo lopfe in the pelt, that it will drop off with the fhghteft injury. Befide thefe fkins, which muft be in the hair, each per- fon requires feveral others to be drefTed into leather, for ftockiugs and (hoes, and light Summer clothing ; feveral more are alfo wanted in a parchment flate, to make clewla as they call it, or thongs to make netting for their fnow- ihoes, fnares for deer, fewing for their fledges, and, in fad, for every other ufe where ftrings or lines of any kind are required : fo that each perfon, on an average, expends, in the courfe of a year, upwards of twenty deer fkins in clothing NORTHERN OCEAN. clothing and othc: domcftic ufes, cxclufivc of tent cloths, bags, and many ^ther things which it is impofTible to re- member, and unneccffary to enumerate. All (kins for the above-mentioned purpofes are, if pof- fible, procured between the beginning of Auguft and the middle of 0 November till May, the bucks continue: to the Weftward, among the woods, when their horm he->^ gin to fprout; after which they proceed on to the Eaft- ward, to the barren grounds j and the does that have been on the barren ground all the Winter, are taught by inftindt to advance to the Weftward to meet them, in order to propagate theit fpecies. Immediately after the rutting ieafcm is over, they feparate, as hath been mentioned above. The old vulgar faying, fo generally received among the lower clafs of people in Bngland, concerning the bucks ' fhcdding their yards, or more properly the glands of the Rent's f, t^ 10* A JOURNEY TOTHE penisy yearly, whether it be true in England or not, is cer- tainly not true in any of the countries bordering on Hud- fon'& Bay. A long refidence among the Ind ans has enabled me to confirm this affertion with great confidence, as I have feen deer killed every day throughout the year ; and when I have mentioned this circumftance to the Indians, either Northern or Southern, they always afiured me that they never obferved any fiich fymptoms. With equal truth I can afiert, and that from ocular demonftration, that the animal which is called the Alpine Hare in Hudfon's Bay, actually undergoes fomething fimilar to that which is vul- garly afcribed to the Englifh deer. I have feen and handled feveral of them, who had been killed juft after they had coupled in the Spring, with the penifes hanging out, dried up, and flirivelled, like the navel-ftring of young animals ; and on examination I always found a pafTage through them for the urine to pafs. I have thought proper to give this re- mark a place in my Journal, becaufe, in all probability, it is not generally known, even to thofe gentlemen who have made natural hiftory their chief ftudy j and if their refearches are of any real utility to mankind, it is furely to be regretted that Providence (hould have placed the greateft part of them too remote from want to be obliged to travel for ocular proofs of what they affert in their publica- tions ; they are therefore wifely content j ftay at home, and enjoy the blefTmgs with which they are endowed, refling fatisfied to coUeft fuch information for their own amufement, and the gratification of the public, as thofe a who NORT HERN OCEAN. who are neceflltated to be traveUers are able or willing to give them. It is true, and I am forry it is fo, that I come under the latter defcription ; but hope I have not, or ihall not, in the courfe of this Journal, advance any thing that will not ftand the teft of experiment, and the fkill of the moft competent judges. After leaving White Stone Lake, wc continued our courfe in the South Weft quarter, feldom walking more than twelve miles a day, and frequently not half that diftance. On the third of September, we arrived at a fmall river belonging to Point Lake, but the weather at this time jH-oved fo boifterous, and there was fo much rain, fnow, and froft, alternately, that we were obliged to wait feveral days before we could crofs it in our canoes ; and the water was too deep, and the current too rapid, to attempt ford- ing it. During this interruption, however, our time was not entirely loft, as deer were fo plentiful that the Indians killed numbers of them, as well for the fake of their (kins, as for their flefh, which was at prefent in excellent order, and the (kins in proper feafon for the fundry ufes for which they aic deftined. In the afternoon of the feventh, the weather became fine and moderate, when we all were ferried acrofs the river; and the next morning fhaped our courfe to the D d North 201 September 3d. 7th. 8th. I 1 K 'I w fi 202 \J6lttK A JOURNEY TO THE •Neil' til Weft, by the fide of Point Lake. After three days journey, which only confided of about eighteen miles, we came to a few fmall fcrubby woods, which were the firft that we had feen from the twenty-fifth of May, ex- cept thofe we had perceived at the Copper-mine River. One of the Indian's wives, who for fome time had been in a confumption, had for a ff.tv days paft become lo weak as to be incapable of travelling, which, among thofe people, is the mod deplorable ftate to which a human be- ing can poflibly be brought. Whether (he had been given over by the dodors, or that it was for want of friends among them, I cannot tell, but certain it is, that no ex- pedients were taken for her recovery ; fo that, without much ceremony, fhe was left unaflifted, to perifti above- ground. Though this was the firft inftance of the kind I had feen, it is the conunon, and indeed the conftant pradice of thofe Indians ; for when a grown perfon is fo ill, efpe- cially in the Summer, as not to be able to walk, and too heavy to be carried, they fay it is better to leave one who is paft recovery, than for the whole family to fit down by them and ftarve to death ; well knowing that they cannot be of any fervice to the afflided. On thofe occafions, therefore, the friends or relations of the fick generally leave i;hem fome viduals and water ; and, if the fituation of the place will afford it, a little firing. When thofe NORTHERN OCEAN. 203 thofe articles are provided, the perfon to be left is ac- ^77^' quainted with the road which the others intend to go ; September. and then, after covering them well up with deer fkins, ^c. they take their leave, and walk away crying. Sometimes perfons thus left, recover ; and come up with their friends, or wander about till they meet with other Indians, whom they accompany till they again join their relations. Inflances of this kind are feldom known. The poor woman above mentioned, however, came up wiO: us three feveral times, after having been left in the mamier defcribed. At length, poor creature ! (he dropt behind, and no one attempted to go back in fearch of her. A cuftom apparently fo unnatural is perhaps not to- je found among any other of the human race : if properly coniidered, however, it may with juftice be afcribed to neceflity and felf-prefervation, rather than to the want of humanity and focial feeling, which ought to be the cba- radleriftic of men, as the nobleft part of the creation. Neceflity, added to national cuftom, contributes prin- cipally to make fcenes of this kind lefs Ihocking to thofe people, than they muft appear to the more civilized part of mankind. During the early part of September, the weather was in general cold, with much fleet and fnowj which feemcd to- D d 2 promife Hi 204 A JOURNEY TO THE promife that the Winter would fet in early. Deer at this time being very plentiful) and the few woods we met with affording tent-poles and firing, the Indians propofed to remairi where we were fome time, in order to drefs fkins, and provide our Winter clothing ; alfo to make fnow-fhoes and temporary fledges, as well as to prepare a large quan- tity of dried meat and fat to carry with us ; for by the accounts of the Indians, they have always experienced a great fcarcity of deer, and every other kind of game, in the dircdion they propofed we fhculd go when wc left Point Lake. m Toward the middle of the month, the weather became quite mild and open, and continued fo till the end of it ; but there was fo much conftant and inceflant rain, that it jgjjj^ rottttd moft of our tents. On the twenty-eighth, how- ever, the wind fettled in the North Weft quarter, when 30th. the weather grew fo cold, that by the thirtieth all the ponds, lakes, and other ftanding waters, were frozen over fo hard, that we were enabled to crofs th;m on. the ice without danger. Among the various (uperftitious cuftoms of thofe people, it is worth remarking, and ought to have been mentioned in its proper place, that immediately after my companions had killed the Efquimaux at the Copper River, they con- fidered themfclves in a ftateof uncleannefs, which induced them to pradife fome very curious and unufual ceremonies. 10 In NORTHERN OCEAN. ao5 In the firft place, all who were abfoluiely concerned in i77i. the murder were prohibited from cooking any kind of ^September! viduals, either for themfelves or others. As luckily there were two in company who had not fhed blood, they were employed always as cooks till we joined the women. This circuniftance was exceedingly favourable on my fide ; for had there been no perlbns of the above defcription in company, that tafk, I was told, would have fallen on me ; which would have been no lefs fatiguing and troublefome, than humiliating and vexatious. When the victuals were cooked, all the murderers took a kind of red earth, or oker, and painted all the fpace between the nofe and chin, as well as the greater part of their cheeks, almofl to the ears, before they would tafte a bit, and would not drink out of any other difli, or fmoke out of any other pipe, but their own ; and none ot the others feemed willing to drink or fmoke out of theirs. We had no fooner joined the women, at our return from the expedition, than there feemed to be an univerfal fpirit of emulation among them, vying who fliould firft make a fuit of ornaments for their hufbands, which confifted of bracelets for the wrifts, and a band for the forehead, com- pofed of porcupine quils and moofe- hair, curioufly wrought on leather. The cuftom of painting the mouth and part of the cheeks before each meal, and drinking and finoking out of 3o5 i Oftobcr. 6th. A JOURNEY TO THE of their own utenfils, was ftridly and iavariably obferved, till the Winter began to fet in ; and during the whole of that time they would never kifs any of their wives or children. They refrained alfo from eating many parts of the deer and other animals, particularly the head, entrails, and blood; and during their uncleannefs, their vitftuals Vff^'t ntvzx fodden in water, but dried in the fun, eaten qt la or broiled, when a fire fit for the purpofe could be pi , :ure :' When the time arrived that was to put an end to thefe ceremonies, the men, without a female being prefent, made a fire at fome diftance from the tents, into which they threw all their ornaments, pipe-ftems, and difhes, which were foon confumed to afhes ; after which a feaft was prepared, confiding of fiich articles as they had long been prohibited from eating ; and when all was over, each man was at libery to eat, drink, and fmoke as he pleafed ; and alfo to kifs his wives and children at difcretion, which they fcemed to do with more raptures than I had ever known them do it cither before or fince. Odober came in very roughly, attended with heavy falls of fnow, and much drift. On the fixth at night, a heavy gale of wind from the North Weft put us in great diforder; for though the few woods we paffed had fumiflied us with tent-poles and fewel, yet they did not afford us the leaft flielter whatever. The wind blew with fuch violence, NORTHERN OCEAN. violence, that in fpitc of all our endeavours, it overfct feveral of the tents, and mine, among t^^ reft, (hared the difafter, which I cannot fufficiently lam at, as the but- ends of the weather tent-poles fell on the quadrant, and though it was in a ftrong wainfcot cafe, two of the bubbles, the index, and feveral other parts were broken, which rendered it entirely ufelefs. This being the cafe, I did not think it worth carriage, but broke it to pieces, and gave the brafs-work to the Indians, who cut it into iinall lumps, and made ufe of it inftead of ball. On the twent;; thi'd of Odtober, feveral Copper and a few dog-ribbed Indians came to our tents laden with furrj, which they fold to (bme of my crew for fuch iron- work as they h-d to give in exchange. This vifit, I af- terwards found, was by appointment of the Copper In- dians whom we had feen at Congecathawhachaga, and who, in their way to us, had met the Dog-ribbed Indians, who were alfo glad of fo favourable an opportunity of purchafing fome of thofe valuable articles, though at a very extravagant price : fof one of the Indians in my com- pany, though not properly of my party, got no lefs than forty beaver fkins, and fixty martins, for one piece of iron which he had ftole when he was laft at the Fort *. One • The piece of iron above mentioned was the coulter of a new-falhioned plough, invented by Captain John Fowler, late Governor at Churchill River, with which he had a large piece of ground ploughed, and afterwards fowcd with ao7 Oaobci. 23d. 1 H II 208 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1771. One of thofe flrangcrs had about forty beaver fkins, uaober. with which he intended to pay Matonabbee an old debt ; but one of the other Indians feized the whole, notwith** (landing he knew it to be in fa diately after the ceremony. To> m »^6 November. A JOURNEY TO V H I To prevent a variety of opinioiu on this occafton, aiiid to lefTen the apparent magnitude of the miracle, as well as. to give fome colour to my fcepticifm, which might otherwife perhaps appear ridiculous, it is ncccfl'.ry to ob-^ ferve, that this feat was performed in a d^k and excef- fively cold night; and although there was a .'arge fire at fome diftance, which refleded a good light, yet there was great room for collufion : for though the conjurer himL-lf was quite naked, there were feveral of hie fraternity well- clo '.led, who attended him very clofc during the time of his attempting to fwallow the board, as well as at the time of his hauling it up again. ■^ For thefe reafons it is neceffary alfo tc ubfcrve, that on the day preceding the performance of this piece of decep- tion, in one of my hunting excuifions, I accidentally came acrofs the conjurer as he was fitting under a bufh, feveral miles from the tents, where he wr» bufily employed Hiaping a piece of wood cxadly like that pr\rt which ftuck out of his mouth after he had pretended to fwailow the remainder of the '•'■. - «". The (hapc of the piece which I faw him making v i:^ this, ^^ ; which exadiy rcfembled the forked end of the main piece, the fhape of which was tills, QX-Xj^. So that when his attendants had con- ccak'd the main piece, it was eafy for him to ftick the fmali point into his mouth, as it was reduced at the fmall end to a proper fize for the purpofe. Similar W O R T fl E »l N O € r. A M. Similar proofs may eafJy be urged s^aifi't liis {w/ixz^w- ing the bayonet in the Summer, as no perio ictn ii^^ iont than themfelves can poffibly place any bt^lie;. in tnc reality of thofe feats ; yet on the whole, they nriit be allowed a confiderablc fhare of dexterity in the performance of chofe tricks, and a wonderful deal of perfeverance in what they do for the relief of thofe whom they undertake to cure. 217 ft, i fli Not long after the above performance had taken place, fomc of the Indians began to tk(k. me what I thought of it. As I could mot have any plea for faying that I was far off, and at the fame time not caring to affront them by hinting my fufpicions of the deceit, I was fome time at a lofs for an aafwer: I urged, however, the impofTibility of a man's fwallowing 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 fome of them laughed at my ignorance, as they were pleafed to call it ; and faid, that the fpirits in waiting fwallo axd, or otlierwife concealed, the (lick, ar.\d o? ly left the forked end apparently fticking out of the , mjuver's mouth. My guide, Matonabbce, withal' his rr; crfrood fenfe, was fo b^olted to the reality of diofc perform^ ccs, that he af- fured me in the ftrongeft terms, he had feen a man, whc? was then in company, fwallow a child s cradle, with as tnuch cafe as he could fold up a piece of papci, and put it into his mouth ; and that when he hauk,;d it up again, no? the F f mark -1 .gu 'il$ A J O t; R N E Y TO THE 177'' rtuirk of a tooth, or of any violence, was to be difcover^ November, ubout it. ul* This ftoiy (o far exceeded! die fcata whicrh I had fecn with the bayonet and bosirdj th?Kt, for the fake of keeping up the farce, I began to be very inqiiiiitjve about the fpirits which appear to them on thofe occalions, and their form ; when I was iold that ihtj appeared in various fhapes, for aln^oft every conjui«r had his peculiar attend- ant ; but that the fpirit which attended the man %vho pre- tended to fwallow the piece of wood, they feid, generally appeared to him in the (hape of a cloud. This I thought very a-propos to the prefect occaiion ; and ) muft confefs tbnt I never had fo thick a cloud thrown before my eyes before or ixnce j and had it not been by accident, that I faw him make a cotsfitcr)>art to the piece of wood faid to he iWailowcd, F Ihoiild have been Hill at a lofs hov/ to ac- count for fo extraordinary a piece of deception, perform«id by a man who was cniirdy naked. As (ij]icn and an old woman, all of whom were great profcllbrs of that art, ftripped themfelves quite naked and followed him, when they foon began to fuck, blow, ling, find dance, round the poor par \lytic ; and continued fo to do for three days and four nights, without taking the leuA reft or rtirtflimcnt, not even fo much as a drop of water. When NORTHERN OCEAN. 2tt) When thefe poor deluding and deluded people came out of 177^' the conjuring-houfe, their mouths were fo parched with November. third as to be quite black, and their throats fo fore, that they were fcarcely able to articulate a fmgle word, except thofc that (land forces and »o in their language. After fo long an abftinence they were very careful not to cat or drink too much at one time, particularly for the lirft day ; and indeed fome of them, to appearance, were almod as bad as the poor man they had been endeavouring to relieve. But great part of tliis was feigned j for tliey lay on their backs with their eyes fixed, as if in the ago- nies of death, and were treated like young children j one pcrfon fat conftantly by them, moiftcning their mouths with fat, and now and then giving them a drop of water. At other times a fmall bit of meat was put into their mouths, or a pipe held for them to fmoke. This farce only lafted for the firft day ; after which they fcemed to be perfcer I gave to Matonabbec, wicii inliriidtions to make it as publicly known as pulfible. Sure enough, the fol- lowing yciir, when he came in to trade, he informed mc that the man was dc id, though at that time he was not lefs than tliree hundred miles from Prince Wales's Fort. He affurcd me that the man w.is in perfeft hcakh when he heard of my defign againft him} but almoft immediately afterwards became quite gloomy, and refufmg all kind of fullenance, in a very few days died. Afier this I was frequendy applied to on the fame account, both by Mato- unbU-c and other leading Indians, but never thought proper to comply v'lih their requcflsi by which means I not only prefervcd the credit I gained on the fitil attempt, but always kept them in awe,, and in fome degree of rcfpccl and obedience (111 i •f?M December ift. 122 AJOUENEYTOTHE «77^' kind caufcs the death of a whole family ; and that without November, any blood being (hed, or the leafl apparent moleftation being ofFcred to any of the parties. Having dried as many fifli and fifti-roes as we could con- veniently take with us, we once more packed up our (lores, and, on the firft day of December, fet out, and continued our courfe to the South Weft, leaving Anaw'd Lake on the South Weft. Several of the Indians being out of order, we made but fhort days joumics. From the firft to the thirteenth, we walked along a courfe of fmall lakes, joined to each other by fmall rivers, or creeks, that have communication with Anaw'd Lake. In our way we caught daily a few fifli by angling, and faw many beaver houfes; but thefe were generally in (b difficult a fituation, and had fo many ftones in the com- pofition of them, that the Indians killed but few, and that at a great expence of labour and tools. ,3th. On the thirteenth, one of the Indians killed two deer, which were the firft that wc had fcen fince the twentieth obedience to me. In faA, (Irange as it may appear, it is almod abfolutelf neceflary that the chiefs at this place fhould profefs fomething a little fupcrna- rorJ, to be able to deal with thofc people. The circumftance here recorded is a fa(ft well known to Mr. William JefFcrfon, who fucccedcd me at Churchill Factory, as well as to all the officers and many of the common men who were at Prince of Wales's Fort at the time. of NOR THERN OCEAN, 343 of Oftober. So that during a period of near two months, i??'* we had lived on the dried meat that we had prepared at December^' Point Lake, and a few fi(K ; of which the latter was not very confiderable in quantity, except what was caught at Anaw'd Lake. It is true, we alfo caught a few rabbits, and at times the wood-partridges were Co plentiful, that the Indians killed confiderable numbers of them with their bows and arrows ; but the number of mouths was fo great, that all which was caught from our leaving Point Lake, though, if enumerated, they might appear very confiderable, would not have afforded us all a bare fubri /*nce^ for though I and fome other" experienced no real v ant, yet there were many in our company who could fcarcely be faid to live, and would not have cxided at all, had it not been for the dry meat we had with us. When we left the above-mentioned lakes we fhape^T a courie more to the Southward, and on the twenty-fourth, arrived at the North fide of the great Athapufcow Lake. In our way we faw many Indian deer, and beaver were very plentiful, many of which the Indiana killed ; but the days were fo fhort, that the Sun only took a circuit of a few points of the compafs above the h(»izon,^ and did not, at its greateft altitude, rife half-way up the trees. The brilliancy of the Aurora Borealisy however, and of the Stars, even without the affiftance of the Moon, made Ibmc amends for that deficiency ; for it was frequently fo ligiit ail night, that I could fee to read a very fmall print. The a^th. li Si' j i^m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ ^-.^s '^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 Ul |Z5 mtf m 1^ IMI us 1st u ■ 40 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^m V2 ka> i (■ .'.I'- ilMi i 1 it; I i'll' 234 A JOURNEY TO THE 177'- that they carry both mud and ftonesj while they alwayt December, drag the wood with their teeth. All their work is executed in the night ; and they are fo expeditious in completing it, that in the courfe of one night I have known them to have colledled as much mud at their houfes as to have amounted to fome thoufands of their little handfuls ; and when any mixture of grafs or ftraw has appeared in it, it has been, moft afluredly, mere chance, owing to the nature of the ground from which they had taken it. As to their delignedly making a compoiltion for that purpofe, it is entirely void of truth. It is a great piece of policy in thofe animals, to cover, or plaifter, as it is ufually called, the outfide of their houfes every fall with frefli mud, and as late as poflible in the Autumn, even when the froft becomes pretty fevere ; as by this means it foon freezes as hard as a ftone, and pre- vents their common enemy, the quiquehatch, from dif- turbing them during the Winter. And as they are fre- quently feen to walk over their work, and fometimes to give a flap with their tail, particularly when plunging into the water, this has, without doubt, given rife to the vulgar opinion that they ufe their tails as a trowel, with which they plaifter their houfes ; whereas that flapping of the tail, is no more than a cuftom, which they always preferve, even when they become tame and domeftic, and more par- ticularly fo when they are ftartled. 5 Their NORTHERN OCEAN. Their food chiefly confifts of a large root, fomething rcfembling a cabbage-ftalk, which grows at the bottom of the lakes and rivers. They eat alfo the bark of trees, particularly that of the poplar, birch, and willow ; but the ice preventing them from getting to the land in Winter, they have not any barks to feed upon during that feafon, except that of fuch flicks as they cut down in Summer, and throw into the water oppofitc the doors of their houfes ; and as they generally eat a great deal, the roots above mentioned conftitutc a chief part of their food during the Winter. In Summer they vary their diet, by eating various ki/ids of herbage, and fuch berries as grow near their haunts ;?uring that feafon. Whcr the ice breaks up in the Spring, the beaver al- ways leave their houfes, and rove about the whole Sum- mer, probably in fearch of a more commodious fituation; but in cafe of not fucceeding in their endeavours, they return again to their old habitations a little before the fall of the leaf, and lay in their Winter ftock of woods. They feldom begin to repair the houfes till the froft commences, and never finifli the outer-coat till the cold is pretty fcverc, as hath been already mentioned. When they fhift their habitations, or when the increafe of their number renders it neceflary to make fome addition to their houfes, or to ered new ones, they begin felling H h 2 the f fx 1 common : perhaps they are more plentiful at Churchill than at any other Fadlory in the Bay ; but it is rare to get more than twelve or fifteen of their ikins in the courfe of one year's trade. Lefranc, as an Indian, muft have known better than to have informed Mr. Dobbs that the beaver have from ten to fifteen young at a time j or if he did, he muft have deceived him wilfully : for the Indians, by killing them in all ftages of geftation, have abundant opportunities of afcertaining the ufual number of their offspring. I have feen fome hundreds of them killed at the feafons favour-r able for thofe obftrvations, and never could difcover more than fix young in one female, and that onlv in two in^ I i ftances j 942 A JOURNEY TO TH E 177*' ftances ; for the ufual number, as I have before obferved, December, is from tWO tO flVe. I, i Fi > Befides this tmerrmg method of afcertaining the real number of young which any animal has at a time, there is another rule to go by, with refpe^t to the beaver, which experience has proved tc the Indians never to vary or de- ceive them, that is by difledion ; for on examining the womb of a beavn*, even at a time when not with young, there is always found a hardifli round knob for every young (he had at the lafl litter. This is a circumftance I have been particularly careful to examine, and can affirm it to be true, from real experience. Moft of the accounts, nay I may fay all the accounts now extant, refpedting the beaver, are taken from the authority of the French who have refided in Canada ; but thofe accounts differ fo much from the real flate and ceco- nomy of all the beaver to the North of that place, as to leave great room to fufped the truth of them altogether. In the firft place, the alTertion that they have two doors to their houfes, one on the land-fide, and the other next the water, is, as I have before obferved, quite contrary to fadt and common fenfe, as it would render their houfes of no ufe to them, either as places of fhdter from the incle- mency of the extreme cold in Winter, or as a retreat from their common enemy the quiquehatch. The only thing 10 that NORTHERN OCEAN. that could have made M. Du Pratz, and other French writers, conjcdurc that fuch a thing did exift, muft have been from having fecn fomc old beaver-houfes which had been taken by the Indiaas ; for they are always obliged to make a hole in one fide of the houfe before they can drive them out ; and it is more than probable that in fo mild a climate as Canada, the Indians do generally make thofe holes on the land-fide *, which without doubt gave rife to the fuggeftion. In refpe Deecmbcr. With refpeft to the inferior, or flave-beaver, of which fome Authors fpeak, it is, in my opinion, very difHcult for thofe who are befl acquainted with the oeconomy of this animal to determine whether there are any that de- ferve that appellation or not. It fometimes happens, that a beaver is caught, which has but a very indifferent coat, and which has broad patches on the back, and fhoulders almofl wholly without hair. This is the only foundation for afTerting that there is an inferior, or flave-beaver, among them. And when one of the above defcription is taken, it is perhaps too haflily inferred that the hair is worn off from thofe parts by carrying heavy loads: whereas it is mofl probable that it is caufed by a diforder that attacks them fomewhat fimilar to the mange; for * This being the largeft of the Orkney Iflands, is call n" by r'- inhabitants die Main Land. were 246 A JOUR^'EY TO THE were that falling off of t ^air occafioncd by perform- ing extra labour, it is natviral to think that inftances of it would be more frequent than there arc ; as it is rare to fee one of them in the courfc of fcven or ten years. I have fcen a whole houfe of thofc animals that had nothing on the furfacc of their bodies but the fine foft down ; all the long hairs having molted off. This and every other deviation from the general tun is undoubtedly owing to fome particular diforder. m CHAP. I'M 'I NORTHERN OCEAN. 347 CHAP. VIII. m Tranfadions and Remarks from our Arrival on the South Side of the Athapufcow Lake, till our Arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort on Churchill River. Crq/s the Athapufcow Lake. — Defcrlption of it and its produElions^ as far as'could be difcovered in Winter ^ when the fnow was on the ground. Fifb found in thelake.-—Defcriptionoftbe buffalo; — of the moofe or elky and the method of drejjing their fkins. — Find a woman alone that had not feen a human face for more than feven months. — Her account how fhe came to be in that fttuation ; and her curious method of pro' curing a livelihood. — Many of my Indians wrefiled for her. — Arrive at the Great Athapufcow River.— -Walk along the fide of the River for fever al days^ and thenflrike off to the Eqftward. — Difficulty in getting through the woods in many places.'— Meet with fomeflrange Northern Indians on their return from the Fort. — Meet moreflrangers^ whom my companions plundered^ and from whom they took one of their young women' — Curious manner of life which thofe firangers leady and the reafon they gave for roving fo far from their ufiial reftdence. — Leave the fine level country of the Athapufcows^ and arrive at the Stony Hills tf the Northern Indian Country.— Meet fome firange Northern Indians ^ one of whom carried a letter for me to Prince of Wales's Fort^ in March one thoufand feven hundred and feventy'one^ and now gave me an an- fwer to ity dated twentieth of yune following. — Indians begin preparing wood-work and birch-rind for canoes.— ^The equinoliial gole very feverc. —Indian method of running the moofe deer down by fpeed of foot.— Arrival at Theeleyaza River. — See fome firangers. — The brutality of my companions. — A tremendous gale and fnaw-drifl. — Meet with more firangers ;— 'remarks on it. — Leave all the elderly people and children^ and If ;'l '. '^^• iMtJSL. 348 A JO URN E Y -T O ' T H fi ' and proceed direSily to the Fort.-— Stop to Build canoesy and then advance, — Several of the Indians die through hunger^ and many others are obliged to decline the journey for want of ammunition.-^— A violent florm and inundation^ that forced us tp the top of a high hilly where wefuf- fered great diftrefs for more than two days. — Kill feveral deer. — The {Indians method of preferring thefefb without the affiflance of fait. — See feveral Indians that were going to Knapp's Bay.-— Came of all kinds remarkably plentiffil,~— Arrive at the FaSlory. 9'tHi A FTER expanding fomc days in hunting beaver, wc •^-^ proceeded to crofs the Athapufcow Lake ; but as we had lofl much time in hunting deer and beaver, which were very plentiful on fome of the iflands, it was the ninth of January before we arrived on the South fide. This lake, from the beft information which I could get from the natives, is about one hundred and twenty leagues long from Eaft to Weft, and twenty wide from North to South. The point where we croffed it is faid to be the narroweft. Ji is full of iflands ; moft of which arc clothed with fine tall itoplars, birch, and pines,- and are well ftdcked with Indian deer. On fome of the large iflands we alfo found feveral beaver ; but this muft be. underftood only of fuch iflands as had large ponds in them ; for not one bcaver-houfe was to be feen on the margin of any of them. The lake is ftored with great quantities of very fine fifti ; particularly between the iflands, which in fome parts V H •Slf.iUUn. Phut ir J.Suun.t/rx Jcii/f- :> ^^^- ■A PtaJt ir ATTrSTFM YIEW jn thi- ATlIAIl'ITSroW LAKE, bv .51^ _'. ttJini PtiNuhi'ii Ja/i:*' I f I .'Q.i .t\i- 1 'tuAiU i' /hvif.f, J'inim/. t Tc face Pa^t 948 J.J'ju/i.i.ry ^cti/pf J '// PdNuhi'ii Jan / / :^ / 7Q.i .bv i 'otitU i* A// u\f Sinifut . NORTHERN OGEAN. *4I9 parts are fo dole to each other as to form very narrow '77«' channels, like little rivers, in which I found (when juimtj. angling for fifti) a confiderable current fetting to the Eaflward. The fifh that are common in this lake, as well as in moft of the other lakes in this country, are pike, trout, perch, barbie, tittameg, and methy; the two laft are names given by the natives to tv'o fpecies of fifh which are found only in this country. Befides thefe, we alfo caught another kind of filh, which is faid by the Northern Indians to be peculiar to this lake ; at leaft none of the fame kind have been met with in any other. The body of this fifh much refembles a pike in (hape ; but the fcales, which are very large and ftiff, are of a beautifully bright filver colour: the mouth is large, and fltuated like that of a pike ; but when open, much refembles that of a fturgeon ; and thqugh not provided with any jtceth,^ takes a bait as ravenoufly as a pike or a trout. The flzes we caught were from two feet long to four feet. Their flefh, though delicately white, is very foft, and has {o rank a tafte, that many of .ae Indians, except they are in abiblute want, will not eat it. The Northern Iridians call this iifh Shees. The trout in this lake are of the largeft fize I ever faw: fome that were caught by my , companions could not, I think, be lefs than thirty-five or forty pounds weight. Pike are alfo of an incredible fize in this extenfive water ; here they are feldo'~i mo- Kk >fted, Hi I ■M i^o A JOURNEY TO THE kfted, and have multitudes of fmaller fifh to prey upon. If I fay that I have feen fome of thefe fifh that were up- wards of forty pounds weight, I am fure I do not exceed the truth. Immediately on our arrival on the South fide of the Athapufcow Lake, the fcene was agreeablj' altered, from an entire jumble of rocks and hills, for fuch is all the land on the North fide, to a fine level colintry, in which there was not a hill to be feen, or a ftone to be found : fo that fuch of my companions as had not brafs kettles, loaded their fledges with ftones from fome of the laft iflands, to boil their viAuals with in their birch-rind kettles, which will not admit of being expofed to the fire. They cherefore heat (tones and drop them into the water in the kettle to make it boil. Buffalo, moofe, and beaver were very plentiful ; and we could difcover, in many parts through which we pafled", the tracks of martins, foxes, quiquehatches, and other animals of the furr kind ; fo that they were by no means fcarce : but my companions never gave themfelves the leaft trouble to catch any of the three laft mentioned animals ; for the buffalo, moofe, and beaver engaged all their at- tention ; perhaps principally fo on account of the excel- lency of their flefh ; whereas the flefh of the fox and qui quehatch are never eaten by thofe people, except whea they are in the greateft diftrefs, and then merely to fave life. ■ » ' ■ NORTHERN OCEAN. life. Their reafons for this {hall be given in a fubfequent part of my Journal. The buffalo in hofe parts, I think, are in general much larger than the Englifli black cattle ; particularly the bulls, which, though they 'may not in reality be taller than the largeft fize of the Englifh oxen, yet to me always apneared to be much larger. In fad, they are fo heavy, that when fix or eight Indians are in company at the fkinning of a large bull, they never attempt to turn it over while entire, but when the upper fide is fkinned, they cut off the leg and (houlder, rip up the belly, take out all the inteftines, cut off the head, and make it as light as poffible, before they turn it to flcin the under £ k\ The fkin is in fome places of an incredible thicknefs, par- ticularly about the neck, where it often exceeds an inch. The horns are (hort, black, and almoft ftraight, but very thick at the roots or bafe. The head of an old bull is of a great fize and weight indeed : fome which I have feen were fo large, that I could not without difficulty lift them from the ground * ; * It is remarked by Mr. Catcfl^y, in his defcriptlon of this animal, thut no man can life one of their heads. Thofe I fiiv/ in the Athapufcow country are fuch as I have defcribed; and I am afllired by the Company's fervautj, as well as the Indians wlio live near Hudfon's Iloure, that the bufFalos there are much fmaller j fo that the fpecies Mr. Catefby Hxw, or wrote of, mull have been much larger, or have had very large heads ; for it is well known that a man of any tolerable ftrength can lift two and a half, or three hundred pounds weight. I think that the heads of his buffalos are too lieavy for the bodies, as the bodies of thofe I faw in the Athrpufcow country appear to have been of equal weight with his. K k 2 but 25> ' ■ si. I' ■it m ill 252 1772. January. AJOURNEYTOTHE but the heads of the cows are much fmaller. Their tails are, in general, about a foot long, though fome appear to be, exclufive of the long brufti of hair at the end, longer. The hair on the tails of the bulls is generally of a fine glofiy black ; but the brufh at the end of the cows' tails is always of a rufty brown, probably owing to being ftained with their urine. The hair of the body is foft and curled, fomcwhat approaching to wool ; it is generally of a fandy brown, and of an equal length and thicknefs all over the body : but on the head and neck it is much longer than it is on any other part. I* i- The Indians, after reducing all the parts of the fkin to an equal thicknefs by fcraping, drefs them in the hair for clothing; when they are light, foft, warm, and durable. They alfo drefs fome of thofe fkins into leather without the hair, of which they make tents and fhocs ; but the grain is remarkably open and fpungy, by no means equal in goodnefs to that of the Ikin of the moofe : nor am I certain that the curriers or tanners in Europe could manu> fadture thefe fkins in fuch a manner as to render them of any confiderable value ; for, to appearance, they are of the fame quality with the fkins of the mufk-ox, which are held in fo little eftimation in England, that when a number of them was fent home from Churchill Fadlory, the Company iffued out orders the year following, that unlefs they could be purchafed from the Indiana at the rate of four ikins ■ I, NORTHERN OCEAN. 253 Ikins for one beaver, they would not anfwer the expcncc i772« of fending home ; a great proof of their being of very January, little value. The buflfalos chiefly delight in wide open plains, which in thofe parts produce very long coarfe grafs, or rather a kind of fmall flags and ruflies, upon which they feed^ but when purfued they always take to the woods. They are of fuch an amazing ftrength, that when they fly through the woods from a purfuer, they frequently brufh down trees as thick as a man's arm ; and be the fnow ever fo deep, fuch is their fl:rength and agility that they are enabled to plunge through it fafter than the fwifteft Indian can run in fnow-flioes. To this I have been an eye-wit- nefs many times, and once had the vanity to think that I could have kept pace with them ; but though I was at that time celebrated for being particularly fleet of foot in fnow-fhoes, I foon found that I was no match for the buflalos, notwithfl:anding they were then plunging through fuch deep fnow, that their bellies made a trench in it as large as if many heavy facks had been hauled through it. Of all the large beafl:s in thofe parts the bufiklo is eaflefl: to kill, and the moofe are the raofl: difiicult ; neither are the deer very eafy to come at, except in windy weather : indeed it requires much pradice, and a great deal of pa- tience, to flay any of them, as they will by no means fuffer a diredl approach, unlefs the hunter be entirely flickered by woods or willows. The flefli of the buflfala 2 U 254 A JOURNEY TO THE is exceedingly good eating ; and fo entirely free from any difagreeable fmell or tafte, that it refembles beef as nearly as poflible : the flefli of the cows, when fomc time gone with calf, is efteemed the fineft ; and the young calves, cut out of their bellies, are reckoned a great delicacy in- deed. The hunch on their backs, or more ^«roperly on their fhoulders, is not a large flefhy lump, as fomc fuppofe, but is occafioned by the bones that form the withers being continued to a greater length than in moft other animals. The flefli which furrounds this part being fo equally inter- mixed with fat and lean, is reckoned among the niceft bits. The weight, however, is by no means equal to what has been commonly reported. The tongue is alio very delicate ; and what is moft extraordinary, when the beafts are in the pooreft ftate, which happens re- gularly at certain feafons, their tongues are then very fat and fine ; fome fay, fatter than when they are in the beft order : the truth of which, I will not confirm. They are fo efteemed here, however, that many of them are brought down to the Company's Faftory at York as prefents, and are efteemed a great luxury, probably for no other reafon but that they are far-fetched ; for they are by no means fo large, and I think them not fo fine, as a neat's tongue in England. E The moofe deer is alfo a large bcaft, often exceeding the largeft horfe botl. in height and bulk ; but the length of the legs, the bulk of the body, the fhortnefs of the neck, and NORTHERN OCEAN. and the uncommon length of the head and cars, without any appearance of a tail, make them have a very aukward appearance. The males far exceed the females in fize, and differ from them in colour. The hair of the male, which is long, hollow, and foft, like that of a deer, is at the points nearly black, but a little way under the fur- face it is of an afh-colour, and at the roots perfedtly white. The hair of the female is of a fandy brown, and in fome parts, particularly under the throat, the belly, and the flank, is nearly white at the furface, and moil delicately fo at the root. 2SS Their legs are fo long, and their necks fo fhort, that they cannot graze on level ground like other animals, but are obliged to brouze on the tops of large plants and the leaves of trees during the Summer ; and in Winter they always feed on the tops of willows, and the fmall branches of the birch-tree ; on which account they are never found during that feafon but in fuch places as can afford them a plentiful fupply of their favourite food : and though they have no fore-teeth in the upper-jaw, yet I have often feen willows and fmall birch-trees cropped by them, in the fame manner as if they had been cut by a gardener's fheer?, though fome of them were not fmaller than common pipe- ftems ; they feem particularly partial to the red willow. In Summer they are generally found to frequent the- banks of rivers and lakes, probably with no other view thaiii 256 AJOURNEYTOTHE «772* than to have the benefit of getting into the water, to avoid January, the innumerable multitudes of mufkettos and other flies that pefter them exceedingly during that feafon. There is alfo a variety of water-plants, of which the moofe are very fond, and which are adapted to their necefllties in a pecu- liar manner during the Summer feafon, as they can eafily brc-ze on them when nearly emerged in water, to avoid the torment of the flies. The head of the moofe is, as I have obferved, remark- ably long and large, not very unlike that of a horfe ; but the nofe and noflrils are at leaft twice as large. The ears are about a foot long, and large ; and they always (land eredl. Their faculty of hearing is fuppofed to be more acute than either their fight or fcent ; which makes it very difHcult to kill them, efpecially as the Indians in thofe parts have no other method of doing it but by creeping after them, among the trees and bufhes, till they get within gun-fho' ; taking care always to keep to leeward of the moofe, for fear of being overheard. In Summer, when they frequent the margins of rivers and lakes, they are often killed by the Indians in the water, while they are crofllng rivers, or fwimmin;^ from the main to iflands, ftff. When purfued in this manner, they are the moft inof- fenfive of all animals, never making any refiftance ; and the young ones are fo iimple, that I remember to have fecn an Indian paddle his canoe up to one of them, and take it by the poll without the leafl oppofition : the poor harmlefj NORTHERN OCEAN. harmlefs animal fecming at the Hime time as contented along-fide the canoe, as if fwimming by the fide of its dam, and looking up in our faces with the fame fcarlefs innocence that a houfe-lamb would, making ufe of its fore-foot almoft every inftant to clear its eyes of muf- kettoes, which at that time were remarkably numerous. I have alfo feen women and boys kill the old moofe in this fituation, by knocking them on the head with a hatchet ; and in the Summer of one thoufand feven hun- dred and feventy-five, when I was on my paffage from Cumberland Houfe to York Fort, two boys killed a fine buck moofe in the water, by forcing a ftick up its funda- ment ; for they had neither gun, bow, nor arrows with them. The common deer are far more dangerous to ap- proach in canoes, as they kick up their hind legs with fuch violence as to endanger any birch-rind canoe that comes within their reach ; for which reafon all the Indians who kill deer upon the water are provided with a long ftick that will reach far beyond the head of the canoe. i ^11 ii n If^ ii The moofe are alfo the eafieft to tame and domefticate of any of the deer kind. I have repeatedly fcen them at Churchill as tame as fheep *, and even more fo ; for they * The moofe formerly fent to his Majcfly was from that place. A young male was alfo put on board the fhip, but it died on tlic paffage, otiicrwifc it is probable they might have propagated in this country. L 1 would <,'-■ "'i -•; it llii! SjS A JOURNEY TO THE would follow their keeper any diftance from home, and at his call return with him, without the Icaft trouble, or ever offering to deviate from the path *. The flefh of the moofe is very good, though the grain is but coarfe, and it is much tougher than any other kind of venifon. The nofe is moft excellent, as is alfo the tongue, though by no means fo fat and delicate as that of the common deer. It is perhaps worth remarking, that the livers of the moofe are never found, not even at any time of the year ; and, like the other deer, they have no gall. The fat of the intellines is hard, like fuet , but all the external fat is foft, like that of a breaft of mutton, and when put into a bladder, is as fine as marrow. In this they differ from all the other fpecies of deer, of which the external fat is as hard as that of the kidnies. * Since the above was written, the fame Indian that brought all the above- mentioned young moofe to the Fadtory had, in the year 1777, two others, fo tame, that when on his paflage to Prince of Wales's Fort in a canoe, the moofe always followed him along the bank of the river ', and at night, or on any other occafion when the Indians landed, the young moofe generally came and fondled on them, in the fame manner as the moft domeftic animal would have done, and never offered to ftray from the tents. Unfortunately, in eroding a deep bay in one of the lakes, (on a fine day,) all the Indians that were not interefted in the fafe-landingof thofe engaging creatures, paddled from point to point 5 and the man that owned them, not caring to go fo far about by himfelf, accompanied the others, in hopes they would follow him round as ufual } but at night the young moofe did not arrive ; and as the howling of fome wolves was heard in that quarter, it was fuppofcd they had been devoured by them, as they were aevcr afterward fccn. 7 The NORTHERN OCEAN. The moofe in all their a<^ions and attitudes appear very uncouth, and when difturbed, never run, only make a kind of trot, which the length of their legs enables them to do with great fwiftnefs, and apparently with much eafe ; but were the country they inhabit free from under-wood, and dry under-foot, fo that horfemen and dogs might follow them, they would become an eafy prey, as they are both tender-footed and (hort-winded : But of this more hereafter *, »59 If The (kins of the moofe, when dreffed by the na- tives, make excellent ^nt-covers and ftioe- leather ; and in faft every other part of their clothing. Thefe, like the ikins of the buffalo, are of very unequal thicknefs. Some of the Indian women, who are acquainted with the manufadure of them, will, by means of fcraping, render them as even as a piece of thick cloth, and when well dreffed they are very foft ; but not being dreffed In oil, they always grow hard after being wet, unlefs great care be taken to keep rubbing them all the time they are drying. The fame may be faid of all the Indian-dreffed leather, except that of the wewafkifli, which will wafh as well as fliammoy-leather, and always prcferve its foftnefs. '^ m 1' a * Mr. Dii Pratz, in his dcfcription of this animal, fays, it is never found farther North than Cape Breton and Nova Scotia } but I have fcen them in great numbers in the Athapufcow Country, which cannot be much fliort of 60° North latitude. LI The m 26o A JOURNEl TO THE The female moofe never have any horns, but the males have them of a prodigious flze and weight, and very dif- ferent in fhape from thofe of the common deer. The extremity of each horn is palmated to the fize of a com- mon fhovel, from which a few fhort branches fhoot out ; and the fhaft of the horn is frequently as large as a com- mon man's wrift. They fhed them annually like the com- mon deer. The horns of the moofe are frequently found to exceed fixiy pounds weight ; and their texture, though of a large flze and of fuch rapid growth, is much*harder than any other fpecies of deer- horns in thofe parts. Though the flefli of the moofe is efteemed by moft Indians both for its flavour and fubftance, yet the North- ern Indians of my crew did not reckon either it or the flefh of the buffalo fubflantial food. This I fhould think entirely proceeded from prejudice, efpecially with refped: to the moofe ; but the flefb of the buffalo, though fo fine to the eye, and pleating to the tafte, is fo light and eafy of digeflion, as not to be deemed fubflantial food by any Indian in this country, either Northern or Southern. The moofe have from one to three young at a time, and generally bring them forth in the latter end of April, or beginning of May. Soon after our arrival on the South-fide of Athapufcow Lake, Matonabbee propofed continuing our courfe in the South ii' NORTHERN OCEAN. South Weft quarter, in hopes of meeting fome of the Athapufcow Indians ; becaufe I wiftied, if poffible, to purchafe a tent, and other ready-drefled fkins from them ; ' as a fupply of thofe articles would at this time have been of material fervice to us, being in great want both of tents and ftiDe-leather : and though my companions were daily killing either moofe or buffalo, the weather was fo ex- ceflively cold, as to render drefling their fkins not only very troublefome, but almoft impradticable, efpecially to the generality of the Northern Indians, who are not well acquainted with the manufadure of that kind of leather. To drefs thofe fkins according to the Indian method, a lather is made of the brains and fome of the fofteft fat or marrow of the animal, in which the fkin is well foaked, when it is taken out, and not only dried by the heat of a« fire, but hung up in the fmoke for feveral days ; it is then taken down, and well foaked and wafhed in warm water, till the grain of the fkin is perfeAly open, and has imbibed a fufficient quantity of water, after which it is taken out and wrung as dry as pofTible, and then dried by the heat of a flow fire ; care being taken to rub and ftretch it as long as any moifture remains in the fkin. By this fimple method, and by fcraping them afterwards, fome of the moofe fkins are made very delicate both to the eye and the touch. Oa i6i f Ii m W'H uy. t' m'M 'J: Five or fix inches of an iron hoop, made into a knife, and the ftiank of an arrow-head of iron, which ferved her as an awl, were all the metals this poor woman had with her when (he eloped ; and with thefe implements (he had made herfelf complete fnow-lhoes, and feveral other ufeful articles. Her method of making a fire was equally fingular and curious, having no other materials for that purpofe than two hard fulphurous ftones. Thefe, by long fridion and hard knocking, produced a few fparks, which" at length commu- nicated to fome touchwood ; but as this method was attend- ed with great trouble, and not always with fuccefs, fiie did * The Northern Indians make their fifliing-nets with i'mall thongs cut from raw deer-fliins ; which when dry appear very good, but after being foaked in water fome time, grow fo foft and flippery, that when lirge fifh ftrikc the net, the hitches are very apt to (lip and let them efcape. Befide this incon- venience, they arc very hable to rot, unlefs they be frequently taken out of die water and dried. not NORTHERN OCEAN. 265 not fuffer her fire to go out all the Winter. Hence we may conclude that Ihe had no idea of producing; fire by fi*i£tion, in the manner pra^tifed by the Efquimaux, and many other uncivilized nations ; becauw if fhe had, the above-mentioned precaution would have been unneceffary. The fingularity of the circumftance, the comelinefs of her perfon, and her approved iccompliftiments, occafioned a ftrong conteft between feveral of the Indians of my party, who fliould have her for a wife 5 and the poor girl was ac- tually won and loft at wreftling by near half a fcore dif- ferent men the fame evening. My guide, Matonabbee, who at that time had no lefs than feven wives, all women grown, befides a young girl of eleven or twelve years old, would have put in for the prize alfo, had not one nf his wives made him afhamed of it, by telhng him that he had al- ready more wives than he could properly attend. This piece of fatire, however true, proved fatal to the poor girl who dared to make fo open a declaration ; f< >r the great man, Matonabbee, who would willingly have been thought equal to eight or ten men in every refped, took it as fuch an aflFront, that he fell on her with both hands and feet, and bruifed her to fuch a degree, that after lingering fome time fhe died. '■'1 11 When the Athapufcow Indians took the above Dog- ribbed Indian woman prifoner, they, according to the uni- verfal cuftom of thofe favages, furprifed her and her party in Mm the •■:! a66 ii • A JOURNEYTO THE the night, and killed every foul in the tent, except herfelf and three other ypuijg .women. Among thofe whom they killed, were her father, rriother, and hufljand. Her young child, four or five months old, /he concealed in a bundle of clothing, and took with her undifcovered in the night j but when fhe arrived at the place where the Athapufcow Indians had left their wives, (which was not far diftant,) they began to examine her bundle, and finding the childj one of the women took it from her, and killed it on the fpot. This lad piece of barbarity gave her fuch a difguft to thofe Indians, that notwithftanding the man who took care of her treated her in every refpedt as his wife, and was, fhe faid, remarkably kind to, and even fond of her; fo far was fhe from being able to reconcile herfelf to any of the tribe, that fhe rather chofe to expofe herfelf to mifcry and want, than live in eafe and affluence among perfons who had fo cruelly murdered her infant *. The poor * It is too common a cafe with moft of the tribes of Southern Indians for the women to defire their hufbands or fiiends, when going to war, to bring them a flave, that they may have the pleafure of killing it j and fome of thcfc inhuman women will accompany their hufbands, and murder the women and children as faft as their hufbands do the men. When I was at Cumberland Houfe, (an inland fcttlement that I eftablifheJ for the Hudfon's Bay Company in the year 1774)) I was particul?rly ac- quainted with a very young lady of this extraordinary turn j who, when I defired fome Indians that were going to war to bring me a young flave, which I intended to have brought up as a domeftic, Mifs was equally dcfirous that one might NORTHERN OCEAN. On the (ixteenth, as we were continuing our courfe in the South Weft quarter, we arrived at the grand Atha- 267 poor woman's relation of this fliocking ftory, which (he 1772- delivered in a very afFefting manner, only excited laughter January. among the favages of my party. In a converfation with this woman foon afterward, fhe told us, that her country lies fo far to the Weftward, that fhe had never feen iron, or any other kind of metal, till (he was taken prifoner. All of her tribe, fhe obferved, made their hatchets and ice-chifels of deer's horns, and their knives of ftones and bones ; that their arrows were fhod with a kind of flate, bones, and deer's horns ; and the inftruments which they employed to make their wood- work were nothing but beavers' teeth. Though they had frequently heard of the ufeful materials which the nations or tribes to the Eaft of them were fupplied with from the Englifh, fo far were they from drawing nearer, to be in the way of trading for iron-work, ^c, that they were obliged to retreat farther back, to avoid the Atha- pufcow Indians, who made furprifing flaughter among them^ both in Winter and Summer. I^h. i^i h. I r- in\gh be brought to her, for tke cruel purpofe of murdering it. It is fcarctly pofTiblc to cxprcfs my aftonifliment, on hearing fuch an extraordinary rcqueft made by a young creature fcarcely fixteen years olds however, as foon as I recovered from my furprife, I ordered her to leave ihc fettlemenc, which (he did, with thofe who were going to war; and it is therefore probable fhe might not be difappointed in her requeft. The nest year I was ordered to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, and therefore never faw her afterward. M m 2 pufcow m 968 -A JOURNEY TO THE pufcow River, which at that part is about two miles wide, and empties itfelf into the great lake of the fame name we had fd lately eroded, and which has been al- ready defcribed. The woods about this river, particularly the pines and poplars, are the talleft and ftouteft I have fecn in any part of North America. The birch alfo grows to a confider- able fize, and fome fpecies of the willow are likewife tall ; but none of them have any trunk, like thofe in England. The bank of the river in moft parts is very high, and in fome places not lefs than a hundred feet above the or- dinary furface of the water. As the foil is of a loamy quality, it is very fubjedt to moulder or wafh away by heavy rains, even during the fhort Summer allotted to this part of the globe. The breaking up of the ice in the Spring is annually attended with a great deluge, when, I am told, it is not uncommon to fee whole points of land waftied away by the inundations ; and as the wood grows clofe to the edge of the banks, vaft quantities of it are hurried down the ftream by the irrefiftible force of the water and ice, and conveyed into the great lake already mentioned ; on the fliores and iflands of which, there lies the greateft quan- tity of drift wood I ever faw. Some of this wood is large enough to make mafts for the largeft fliips that are built. The banks of the river in general are fo fteep as to be in- acceflible to either man or beaft, except in fome flacks, or gulleys, that have been wore down by heavy rains, back- waters, I^ORTHERN OCEAN. 269 waters, or deluges ; and even thofe flacks are, for the moft »77*' part, very difficult to afcend, an account of the number januwy. of large trees which lie in the way. There are feveral low iilands in this river, which arc much frequented by the moofe, for the fake of the fine willows they produce, which furnifh them with a plentiful fupply of their favourite food during the Winter. Some of thofe iflands are alfo frequented by a number of rabbits ; but as larger game could be procured in great plenty, thofe fmall animals were not deemed v orthy our notice at prefent. Befide the grand river already mentioned, there are fe- veral others of lefs note, which empty themfelves into the great Athapufcow Lake : There are alfo feveral fmall rivers and creeks on the North Eafl fide of the Lake that carry off the fuperfluous waters, fomc of which, after a variety of windings through the barren grounds to the North of Churchill River, are lofl in the marfhes and low grounds, while others, by means of many fmall chan- nels and rivulets, are difcharged into other rivers and lakes, and at lafl, doubtlefs, find their way into Hudfon's Bay. Thefe rivers, though numberhfs, are all fo full of fhoals and flones, as not to be navigable for an Indian canoe to any confiderable diflance ; and if they were, it would be of little or no ufe to the native., as none of them lead with'.i feveral hundred miles of Churchill River. Agree- •m ■M li . i . '^\ '"I nffi i|9 HI mm 970 II . A JOURNEY TO THt Agreeably to Matonabbee*s propofal, we Continued our courfe up the Athapufcow River for many days, and though we paffed feveral parts which we well knew to have been the former Winter-haunts of the Athapufcow Indians, yet we could not fee the lead trace of any of them having been there that feafon. In the preceding Sum- mer, when they were in thofe parts, they had fet fire to the woods ; and though many months had elapfed f|om that time till our arrival there, and notwithftanding the fnow was then verj^ deep, the mofs was ftill burning in many places, which at firft deceived us very much, as we took it for the fmoke of ftrange tents ; but after going much out of our way, and fearching very diligently, we could not difcover the leaft track of a ftranger. Thus difappointed in our expectations of meeting the Southern Indians, it was refolved (in Council, as it may be called) to expend as much time in hunting buffalo, moofe, and beaver as we could, fo that we might be able to reach Prince of Wales's Fort a little before the ufual time of the {hips arrival from England. Accordingly, after having walked upwards of forty miles by the fide of Athapufcow 27th. River, on the twenty-feventh of January we ftruck off to the Eaftvvard, and left the River at that part where It begins to tend due South. In confequence of this determination of the Indians, we continued our courfe to the Eaftward ; but as game of all kinds was very plentiful, we made but fhort days journies, 271 NORTHERN OCEAN. joiirnies, and often remained two or three days in one place, to eat up the fpoils or produce of the chace. The woods through which we were to pafs were in many places fo thick, that it was neceffary to cut a path before the women could pafs with their fledges ; and in other places fo much of the woods had formerly been fet on fire and burnt, that we were frequently obliged to walk farther than we otherwife fliould have done, before we could find green brufli enough to floor our tents. From the fifteenth to the twenty-fourth of February, February we walked along a fmall river that empties itfelf into '^ ~'^'*' the Lake Clowey, near the part where we built canoes in May one thoufand. feven hundred and feventy-one. This little river is that which we mentioned in the former part of this Journal, as having communication with the Athapufcow Lake : but, from appearances, it is of no confcquence whence it takes its rife, or where it empties itfelf,. as one half of it is nearly dry three-fourths of the year. The intervening ponds, however, having fuf- ficient depth of water, are, we may fuppofe, favourable fituations for beaver, as many of their houfes are to be found in thofe parts. On the twenty-fourth, a ftrange Northern Indian leader, called Thlew-fa-nell-ie, and feveral of his followers, joined us from the 1 aft ward. This leader prefented Matonabbee and myfelf with a foot of tobacco each, and a two-quart keg 2.ltll. ii m :(,■!■ k fi l^:.. in aya AJOURNEYTOTHE 1772* keg of brandy, which he intended as a prefcnt for the "r'cbruary. Southcm Indians; but being informed by my companions, that there was not L.ie leaft probability of meeting any, he did not think it worth any farther carriage. The tobacco was indeed very acceptable, as our ftock of that article had been expended fomc time. Having been lo long with- out tafting fpirituous liquors, I would not partake of the brandy, but left it entirely to the Indians, to whom, ' as they were numerous, it was fcarcely a tafte for each. Few of the Northern Indians arc fond of fpirit?, efpccially thofe who keep at a difl:ance from the Fort : fome who are near, and who ufually fhoot geefe for us in the Spring, will drink it at free coft as faft as the Southern Indians, but few of them are ever fo imprudent as to buy it. The little river lately mentioned, as well as the adjacent lakes and ponds, being well-ftocked with beaver, and the land abounding with moofe and buffalo, we were induced to make but flow progrefs in our journey. Many days were fpent in hunting, feafting, and drying a large quan- tity of flefli to take with us, particularly that of the buf- falo ; for my companions knew by experience, that a few days walk to the Eaftward of our prefent fituation would bring us to a part where we fhould not fee any of thofe animals. The ftrangers who had joined us on the twenty-fourth informed us, that all were well at Prince of Wales's Fort 13 when NORTHERN OCEAN. when they left it laft ; which, according to their account of the Moons paft fince, muft have been about the fifth of November one thoufand feven hundrct^ ^ feventy- one. Thefc Grangers only remained in 01 ipany one night before the Leader and part of his crt< left us, and proceeded on their journey to the North Weftward ; but a few of them having procured fome furrs in the eaily part of the Winter, joined our party, with an intent to accom- pany us to the FaAory. Having a good (lock of dried meat, fat, ^c. prepared in the beft manner for carriage, on the twenty-eighth we fhaped our courfc in the South Eaft quarter, and pro- ceeded at a much greater rai^- than we had lately done, as lit e or no time was now loft in hunting. The next day we faw the tracks of fome ftrangers ; and though I did not perceive any of them myfelf, fome of my companions were at the trouble of fearching for them, and finding them to be poor inofFenfive people, plundered them not only of the few furrs which they had, but took alfo one of their young women from them. Every additional a£t of violence committed by my com- panions on the poor and diftreffed, ferved to increafe my indignation and diflike ; this laft aft, however, difpleafed me more than all their former a£lions, becaiife it was com- mitted on a fet of harmlefs creatures, whofc general man- ner of life renders them the moft fecludcd from focicty of any of the human race* N n Matonabbee 373 28th. ' ll a74 A JOURNEY TO THE Matonabbec afllircd me, that for more than a generation! paft one family only, as it may be called, (and to whioh the young men belonged who were plimdered by my com- panions,) have aken up their Winter abode in thofc woods, which arc fituated Co far on the barren ground as to be quite out of the track of any other Indians. From the beft accounts that I could collet, the latitude of this place muft be about 635*, or 63° at Icafti the longitude is very uncertain. From my own experience I can aiBrm, hat it is fome hundreds of miles both from the (ea-lide and the main woods to the Weftward.. Few of the trading Northern Indians have vidted this place ; but thofe who have, give a pleafing defcription of it, all agreeing that it is fituated on the banks of a rivsr which has communication with feveral fine lakes. As the current fcts to the North Eaftward, it empties, itfclf, in all probability, into fome part of Hudfon's Bay ; and, from the latitude, no part feems mc'* likely for this com*- munication, than Baker's Lake, at the head of Chefter- field's inlet. This, however, is mere conjedure; nor is it of any confequence, as navigation on any of the rivers in thofe parts is not only impradticablc, but would be alfo unprofitable, as they do not lead into a country that produces any thing for trade, or that contains any inhabitants worth vifiting. The accounts given of this place, and the manner of life of its inhabitants, would, if related at full lengthy fill a volume : let it fuifice to obferve, that the fituation is NORTHERN OCEAN. is faid to be remarkably favourable for every kind of game that the barren ground produces at the different I'eafbns of the year; but the continuance of the game with them is in general uncertain, except that of fifh and par- tridges. That being the cafe, the few who compoie this little commonwealth, are, by long cuftom and the conflant example of their forefathers, pofleflcd of a provident turn of mind, with a degree of frugality unknown to every other tribe of Indians in this country except the £f- quimaux. Deer is faid to vi(it this part of the country in a(lo> nifliing numbers, both in Spring and Autumn, of which circumftanccs the inhabitants avail themfelves, by killing and drying as much of their flefli as poiTible, particularly in the fall of the year ; fo that they feldom are in want of a good Winter's flock. *75 Geefe, ducks, and fwans vilit here in great plenty during their migrations both in the Spring and Fall, and by much art, joined to an infurmountable patience, arc caught in confiderable numbers in fnarcs *, and, with- out • To fnare fwans, gcefe, or ducks, in the water, it requires no other procefs than to make a number of liedges, or fences, projcdt into the water, at right angles, from the banks of a river, lake, or pond j for it is obfervcil i.\M ihofe birds generally fwim near the margin^ for the beneBt of feeding on the grafs, &c. Thofc fences are continued for fomc difbncc from the fliorc, and feparated two or three yards from each other, fo that openings arc left fufficiently large to let the birds fwim through. In each of thofc opcn- N n 2 ings mi ii ;« ayS A JOURNEY TO THE »772* out doubt, make a very pleafing change in the food. It February, is alfo reported, (though I confcfs I doubt the truth of it,) ings a fnarc is hung and faftcned to a ftake> which the bird, when intangled, cannot drag from the bottom ; and to prevent the fnare from being wafted out of its proper place by the wind, it is fecurcd to the ftakes which form the opening, with tender grafs, which is cafily broken. This method, though It has the appearance of being very fimple, is never>^ thelefs attended with much trouble, particularly whrn we confider the fmall- nefs of their canoes, and the great inconvCniency they labour under in per> forming works of this kind in the water. Many of the ftakes ufcd on thol& occafions are of a confiderable length and fize, and the fmall branches whkh form the principal part of the hedges, are not arranged without much r:^iition,^ for fear of overfetting the canoes, particularly whert the water is deep, as it is in fome of the lakes ; and in many of the rivers the current is very fwift, which renders this bufinefs equally troublefome. When the lakes and rivers are (hallow, the natives are frequently at the pains to make fences from fhore to fhore. To fnare thofe birds in their nefts requires a confiderable degree of art,, and, as the natives fay, a great deal of cleanlinefs ; for they have obferve^^, that when fnares have been fet by thofe whoie hands were not clean> the bird»> would not go into the neft. Even the goofe, though fb Ample a bird, is notorioufly known to forfake- her eggs, if they are breathed on by the Indians. The fmaller fpecies of birds which make their neft in the ground, are by no- means fo delicate, of courfe Icfs care is ncceflary to fnare them. It has t'cn^ obferved that all birds which build in the ground go into their neft at one pai - ticularfide, and out of it on the oppofite. The Indians, thoroughly convificcd! of this, always (et the fnares on the fide on which the bird enters the ncftj. and if care be taken in fctting thera, fcldom fail of feizing their objeft. For fmall birds, fuch as larks, and many others of equal fize, the Indians-, only ufe two or three hairs oi,t of ihcir head; but for larger birds, particu- larly fwans, gcefe, and ducks, they make fnares of deer-finews, twifted like packthreadj and occafionally of a fmall thong cut from a parchment deer- ikin. - I that NORTHERN OCEAN. that a remarkable fpecies of partridges as large as Englifli fowls, are found in that part of the country only. Thofe, as well as the common partridges, it is faid, are killed in confiderable numbers, with fnares, as well as with bows and arrows* The river and lakes near the little foreft where the family above mentioned had fixed their abode, abound with fine fifli, particularly t-out and barbie, which are eafily caught ^ the former with hooks, and the latter ip. nets.. In. faft, I have not feen or heard of any part of thi§ country which feema to polTefs half the advantages requifite for a conflant refidence, that are afcribed to this little fpot^ The defcendents, however, of the prefent inhabitants muft in time evacuate it for want of wood, which is of fo flow a growth in thofe regions, that what is ufed in one year,, exclufive of what is cut down and carried away by the Efquimaux, muft coft many years to replace. It may piobably be thoiight ftrange that any par*" of a €ommuhity, apparently fo commodioufly fitun.':: !, and Ji^ppy within themfelves, fliould be found at fo g:e;rt a i^.iftance from the rcfl of their tribe, and ir? leed nothing but neceflity could poflibly have urged then to imdertake a journey of fo many hundred miles as they have ione ; but no fituation is without its inconveniences, and as their woods contain no birch-tiees of fufficient fize, or per-- haps none of any fize, this party had come fo far to the Weftr 278 A JOURNEY TOTHE Weftward to procure birch-rind for making two canoes, and fome of the fungus that grows on the oucfide of the birch-tree, which is ufed by aU the Indians in thofe parts for tinder. There are two forts of thefe fun- gufes which grow on the birch- trees ; one is hard, the ufe- ful part of which much refembles rhubarb j the other is foft and fmooth like velvet on the outfic' , and when laid on hot afhes for fome time, and weii beaten be- tween two ftones, is fomething like fpunk. The former is called by the Northern Indians Jolt-thee, and is known all over the country bordering on Hudfon's Bay by the name of Pefogan *, it being fo called by the Southern In- * The Indians, "both Northern and Southern, have found by experience, that by boiling the pefogan in water for a confiderable time, the texture is fo much improved, that when thoroughly dried, fome parts of k will be nearly as foft as fpunge. Some of thofe fungufes are as large as a man's head ; the outfide, which is very hard and black, and much indented with deep cracks, being of no ufc, is always chopped off with a hatchet. Befides the two forts of touchwood al- ready mentioned, there is another kind of it in thofe parts, that I think is in- finitely preferable to either. This is found in old decayed poplars, and lies in flakes of various fizes and thickncfs ; fome is not thicker than fhamoy leather, others are as thick as a fhoe-fole. This, like the fungus of the birch- tree, is always moift v/hen taken from the tree, but when dry, it is very foft and flejc- ible, and takes fire readily from the fpark of a fteel ; but it is much improved by being kept dry in a bag that has contained gunpowder. It is rather furprifing that the Indians, whofe mode of life I have juft been defcribing, have never acquired the method of making fire by friftion, like the Efquimaux, It is alfo equally furprifing that they do not make ufc of fkin-canoes. Probably deep-ikins cannot be manufaftured to withftand the water j for it is well known that th.e Efquimaux ufc always feal-lkins for that purpofc, though they are in tlie habit of killing great numbers of deer. dians. NORTHERN OCEAN. dians. The latter is only i.feci by the Northern tribes, and is called by them Clalte-ad>-dee. By the firft of March we began to leave the fine level country of the Athapufcows, and again to approach the ftony mountains or hills which bound the Northern In- dian country. Moofe and beaver ftill continued to be plentiful ; but no buffaloes could be feen after the twenty- ninth of February.. As we were continuing our courfe to the Eaft South Eaft, on the fourteenth we difcovered the tracks of more Grangers, and the next day csime up with them. Among thofe Indians was the man who had carried a letter for me in March one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-one, to the Chief at Prince of Wales's Fort, and to which he had brought an anfwer, dated the twenty-firft of June. When this Indian received the letter from me, it was very un- certain what route we (hould take in our return from the Copper River, and, in all probability, he himfelf had not then determined on what fpot he would pafs the prefent Winter ; confequently our meeting each other was merely accidental. Thefe Indians having obtained a few fufs in the courfe of the Winter, joined our party, which now confided of twenty tf nts, containing in the whole about two hun- dred. 279 tft.- 14th. 1.11 i^l At* A JOURNEY TO THE 1 1 772. dred perfons ; and indeed our company had not been much JMarch. Icfs duTUig the v/holc Winter. From the Arangers who laft joined us we received feme reaily-dreflcd moofe-fkins for tenting and (hoe-leather; alfp fome other {kins for clothing, for all of which the Chief at the Fadory was to pay on our arrival. I cannot fufficiently lament the lofs of my quadrant, as the want of it muft render the courfe of my journey from Point Lake, where it was broken, very uncertain ; and my watch flopping while I was at the Athapufcow Lake, has contributed greatly to the misfortune, as I am now deprived of every means of eftimating the diflances which we walked with any degree of accuracy, particu- larly in thick weather, when the Sun could not be feen. gjfl,. The Indians were employed at all convenient times in procuring birch-rin.d and making wood work ready for building canoes; alfo in preparing fmall ftafFs of birch-wood, to take with them on the barren ground, . to ferve as tent-poles all the Summer; and which, as- hath been already obferved, they convert into fnow- fhoe frames when the Winter fets in. Here it may be proper to obferve, that none of thofe incidental avo- cations interfere with, or retard the Indians in their journey ; for they always take the advantage of every op- portunity NORTHERN OCEAN. a8x portunity which ofFers, as they pafs along, and when they 1772* fee a tree fit for their purpofe, cut it down, and either March. ftrip off the bark, if that be what they want, or fplit the trunk in pieces ; and after hewing it roughly with their hatchet, carry it to the tent, where in the evenings, or in the morning before they fet out, they reduce it with their knives to the fhape and fize which is required. Provifions being plentiful, and the weather fine, we advanced a little each day ; and on the nineteenth took up ,pth. our lodgings by the fide of Wholdyeah-chuck'd Whoie, or Large Pike Lake. In our way we croffed another fmall lake, where we caught fome trout by angling, and killed a few deer and one moofc. On the twentieth we croffed Large Pike Lake, which 20th. at that part was not more than feven miles wide ; but from North North Weft to the South South Eaft is much longer. The next day we arrived at Bedodid Lake, which in ge- neral is not more than three miles wide, and in feveral places much lefs ; but it is upward of forty miles long, which gives it the appearance of a river. It is faid by the Indians to be (hut up on all fides, and entirely fur- rounded with high land, which produces vaft quantity of fir trees, but none of them grow to a great height in thofe parts : their branches, however, fpread widtr than •thofe of firs of three times their height and thicknefs do in Europe ; fo that they refemble an apple-tree in fhape, O o more PI 'H' aSa feift. JVpril 111 A JOURNEY TO THE more than any fpecies of the pine. They feem rich in tar, as the wood of them will burn like a candle, and emit as ftrong a fmell, and as much black fmoke, as the ftaves of an old tar-barrel ; for which reafon no Indians chufe to burn it in their tents, or even out of doors, for the purpofe of cooking their vidluals. The thaws began now to be very confiderable, and the under-woods were fo thick in thefe parts as to render tra- velling through them very difficult ; we therefore took the advantage of walking on the ice of the above-mentioned Lake, which lay nearly in the diredion of our courfe; but after proceeding about twenty-two miles on it, the Lake turned more toward the North, on which account we were obliged to leave it, ftriking ofF to the Eaftward ; and after walking fourteen miles farther, we arrived at Noo-ftietht Whole, or the Hill-Ifland Lake, fo called from a very high ifland which flands in it. From the twenty- eighth to the thirty-firft of March, we had fo hard a gale of wind from the South, as to ren- der walking on lakes or open plains quite' impoffible, and the violence with which the trees were blown down made walking in the woods fomewhat dangerous ; but though feveial had narrow efcapes, no accident happened* From the middle to the latter end of March, and in the beginning of April, though the thaw was not general, 7 yet NORTHERN OCEAN. yet in the middle of the day it was very confiderable : it N^ commonly froze hard in the nights ; and the young men took the advantage of the mornings, when the fnow was hard crufted over, and ran down many moofe ; for in thofe fituations a man with a good pair of fnow-fhoes will fcarcely make any imprefllon on the fnow, while the ' moofe, and even the deer, will break through it at every ftep up to the belly. Notwithftanding this, however, it is very feldom that the Indians attempt to run deer down. The moofe are fo tender-footed, and fo (hort- winded, that a good runner will generally tire them in lefs than a day, and very frequently in fix or eight hours ; though I have known fome of the Indians continue the chace for two . days, before they could come, up with, and kill the game. On thofe occafions the Indians, in general, only take with them a knife or bayonet, and a little bag containing a fet of fire-tackle, and are as lightly clothed as poffible ; fome of them will carry a bow and two or three arrows, but I never knew any of them take a gun, unlefs fuch as had been blown or burfted, and tht barrels cut quite fliort, which, when reduced to the leaft poffible fize to be ca- pable of doing any fervice, muft be too great a, weight for a man to run with in his hand for fo many hours together. 2B3, when the poor moofe are incapable of making farther fpeed, they ftand and keep their purfuers at bay with O o 2 their )84 I A JOURNEY TO THE their head and fore-feet ; in the ufp r^f which they arc very dexterous, cfpecially the latter; fo that the Indians who havx neither a bow nor arrows, nor a fhort gun, with them, are generally obliged to lafh their knives or bayonets to the end of a long ftick, and ftab the moofe at a diftance. For want of this neceflary precaution, fome of the boys and fool-hardy young men, who have at- tempted to rufli in upon them, have frequently received fuch unlucky blows from their fore-feet, as to render their recovery very doubtful. The Re(h of the moofe, thus killed, is far from being well-taftcd, and I fbould think muft be very unwhole- fome, from being over-heated : as by running fo many hours together, the animal tnuPi have been in a violent fever;- the flefh being foft and clammy, muft have i very dif- agreeable tafte, neither refembling fifh, ileih, Jior fowl*. The Southern Indians ufe dogs for this kind cf hunt- ing, which makes it eafier and more expeditious ; but the Northern tribes having no dogs trained to that exercife^ are under the ncceffity of doing it themfelves. • Though I was afwift runner in thofe days, I never accompanied the In- dians in one of thofc chaces, but have he. rd many of them fay, that after a long one, the moofe, when killed, did not produce more than a quart of blood, tbe remainder being all fettled in the flelh j whichj in that ftatc, muft be ten times wcrfc tailed, than the fplcca or milt of a bacon hog. On. NORTHERN OCEAN. On the fcventh we eroded a part of Thec-lee-aza River : at which time the fmall Northern deer were remarkably plentiful, but the moofe began to be very fcarce, as none were Killed after the third. 28^ 1773. April. 7 th. On the twelfth, we faw feveral fwans flying to the Northward ; they were the firft birds of paflage we had feen that Spring, except a few fnow-birds, which always precede the migrating birds, and confequently are with much propriety called the harbingers of Spring. The fwans alfo precede all the other fpecies of water-fowl, and migrate fo early in the feafon, that they find no open water but at the falls of rivers, where they are readily met,, and fometimes fhot, in confiderable numbers. i;th. On the fourteenth, we arrived at another part of Thec- lee-aza River, and pitched our tents not far from fome families of ftrange Northern Indians, who had been there fome time fnaring deer, and who were all fo poor as not to have one gun among them. The villains belonging to my crew were fo far from adminiftering to their relief, that they robbed them of al- moft every ufeful article in their pofiefllon ; and to com- plete their cruelty, the men joined themfelves in parties of fix, eight, or ten in a gang, and dragged fcvcral of their young women to a little diftance from their tents, where Mtiw afl6> A JOURNEY TO THE where they not only ravifticd them, but othcrwifc ill- treated them, and that in (o barbarous a manner, as to endanger the lives of one or two of them. Humanity on this, as well as on feveral other fimilar occaHons during my refidcnce among thofe wretches, prompted me to up- braid them with their bar'oarity ; but (o far were my re- monftrances from having the deflred efFeft, that they af- terwards made no fcruplc of telling me in the plained terms, that if any female relation of mine had been there, fhe fhould have been ferved in the fame manner. i 25th. Deer being plentiful, we remained at this place ten days, in order to dry and prepare a quantity of the flefti and fat to carry with us ; as this was the laft time the In- dians expected to fee fuch plenty until they met them again on the barren ground. During our ftay here, the Indians completed the wood-work for their canoes, and procured all their Summer tent-poles, ^c. ; and while wc were employed in this neceflkry bufinefs, the thaw was fo great that the bare ground began to appear in many places, and the ice in the rivers, where the water was fliallow and the current rapid, began to break up ; fo that we were in daily expectation of feeing geefe, ducks, and other birds of paflagc. On the twenty-fifth, the weather being cool and fa- vourable for travelling, we once more fet out, and that day NORTHERN ,0 C li A N. day walked twenty miles co the Kallward j as fome of the women had not joined us, we did not fliove on the two fi;J lowing days. On the twenty-eighth, having once more mudered all our forces, early in the morning we fet out, and the next day paiTed by Thlcweyaza Yeth, the place at which we iiad prepared wood-work for canoes in the Spring one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-one. As the morning of the firft of May was exceedingly fine and pleafant, with a light air from the South, and a great thaw, we walked cght or nine miles to the Eaft by North, when a heavy fall of fnow came on, which was followed, or indeed more properly accompauied, by a hard gale of wind from the North Well. At the time the bad weather began, we were on the top oi a high bar- ren hill, a confiderable diftance from any woods : judging it to be no more than a fquall, we fat down, in expedta^ tion of its foon paHing by. As the night, however, ad- vanced, the gale increafed to fuch a degree, that it was impoflible for a man to (land upright ; fo that we were obliged to lie down, without any other defence againft the weather, than putting our fledges and other lumber to windward of us, which in reality was of no real fervice, as it only harboured a great drift of fnow, with which in fome places we were covered to the depth of two or three feet; and as the night was not very cold, I found myfelf, and ^ a^th. May ilk. M a8« A JOURNEY TO THE and many others who were with me, long before morning in a puddle of water, occafioned by the h at of our bodies melting the fnow, . ad. The fecond proved fine pleafant weather, with warm flinfhinc. In the morning, having dried all our clothing, we prorffided on our journey. In the afternoon we arrived at the part at which my guide intended we fhould build our canoes ; but having had fome difitirence with his countrymen, he altered his mind, and determined to pro- ceed to the Eaftward, as long as the feafon would permit, before he attempted to perform that duty. Accordingly, i^ on the third, Wv*^ purfued our way, and as that and the fol- lowing day were very cold, which made us walk briikly, we were enabled to make good days' journics ; but the fifth was fo hot and fultry, that we only walked about thirteen miles in our old courfe to the Eaft by Korth, and then halted about three-quarters of a mile to the Soulh of Black Bear Hiil ; a place which I had feen in the Spring of one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-one. iJth. On the fixth, the weather w^as equally hot with the preceding day ; in the morning, however, we moved on eleven milee to the Eaft, and then met feveral ftrangc Indians, who informed ns that a few others, who had a tolerable cargo of furrs, and were going to the Fadory that Summer, were not far diftant. On NORTHERN OCEAN. On receiving this intelligence, my guide, Matonabbee, fent a meffcnger to defire their company. This was foon complied with, as it is an univerfal pradice with the In- dian Leaders, both Northern and Southern, when going to the Company's Fadory, to ufe their influence and intereft in canvafTmg for companions ; as they find by experience that a large gang gains them much refped. Indeed, the generality of Europeans who refiide in thofe parts, being utterly unacquainted with the manners and cuftoms of the Indians, have conceived fo high an opinion of thofe Leaders, and their authority, as to imagine that all who accompany them on thofe occafions are entirely devoted to their fervice and command all the year ; but this is fo far from being the cafe, that the authority of thofe great men, when abfeiit from the Company's Fac- tory, never extends beyond their own family; and the trifling refpc6l which is fliown them by their countrymen during their refidence at the Fadory, proceeds only from motives of interefl. The Leaders have a very difagreeable talk to perform on thofe occafions ; for they are not only obliged to be the ' mouth-piece, but the beggars for all their friends and re- lations for whom they have a regard, as well as for thofe whom at other times they have rcafon to fear. Thcfe un- unwelcomc commifilons, which are impofed on them by their followers, joined to t^"*- — — * iefire of being thought men of great confcquence and interefl with the Englilh, P p make a8<; 1'* I i i A JOURNEY TO THE make them very troublefome. And if a Governor deny them any thing which they alk, though it be only to give away to the moft vvorthlefs of their gang, they imir medi- ately turn fulky and impertinent to the higheft degree ; and however rational they may be at other times> are im- mediately diverted of every degree of reafon, and raife their demands to fo exorbitant a pitch, that after they hav^e received to the amount of five times the value of all the furrs they themfelves have brought, they never ceafe begging during their ftay at the Fadory ; and, after all, few of them go away thoroi^hly fatisfied *. After * As a proof of this afTcrtion I take the liberty, though a little foreign to the narrative of ray journey, to infert one inftance, out of many hundred's of the kind that happen at the different FaAories in Hudfon's Bay, but perhaps no where fo frequently as at Giurchill. In Oftober 1776, my old guide, Ma- tonabbee, came at the head of a large gang of Northern Indians, to trade at Prince of Wales's Fort ; at which time I had the honour to command it. When the ufual ceremonies had pafled, I dreflTed him out m a Captain of the firft rank, and alfo clothed his fix wives from top to toe : after which, that is to fay, during his ftay at the Fadory, which was ten days, he begged feven lieutenants' coats, fifteen common coats, eighteen hats, eighteen ftiirts, eight gunsi one hundred and forty pounda weight of gunpowder, with ihot, ball, and flints in proportion i together with many hatchets, ice-rhi(Ieb, files, bayo- nets, knives, and a great quantity of tobacco, clothe blankets, combs, looking- gbfles, ftockings, handkerchief!), &c. befides numbcrlcis fmall articles, fuch as awh, needles, paint, fteds, &c. in all to the amount of upwards of feven hundred beaver in the way of trade, to give away among his fbllov . '. This was exclufive of his own prcfent, which confifted of a variety c goods to the value of four hundred beaver more. But the moft extraordinary of his demands was twelve pounds of powder, twenty-eight pounds of (hot and ball, four pounds of tobacco, fomc articles of clothing, and fcvcral pieces of iron- work, &c. to ^ve to two men who had hauled his tent and other lumber the preceding NORTHERN OCEAN. After flopping four days at this place, Ma.tonabbec, and all the Indians who were to accompany me to the Fort, agreed to leave the elderly people and young children here, in the care of fome Indians who were capable of providing for them, and who had orders to proceed to a place called Cathawhachaga, on the barren grounds, and there wait the return of their relations from the Fadory. Matters of this kind being fettled, apparently to the entire fatisfadlion of all parties, we refumed our journey on the eleventh of May, and that at a much briflcer pace than we could pro> bably have done when all the old people and young children were with us. In the afternoon of the fame day we met {bme other Northern Indians, who were alfo going to the Fort with funs ; thofe joined our party, and at night we all pitched our tents by the fide of a river that empties itfelf into Doo-baunt Lake. This day all of us threw away our fnow-ftioes, as the ground was fo bare in moft places as not to require any fuch adiftance ; but fledges were oc- cafionally ferviceable for fomc time, particularly when we walked on the ice of rivers or lakes. 291 1772. May. tith. preceding Winter. This demand was fo very unrcafonable, that I made fome fcruple, or at leaft hefltated to comply with it, hinting that he was the perfon who ought to fatisfy thofe men for their fervicesj but I was foon anfwercd. That he did not expeA io have been denied Jucb a trifle as that was ; and for the future he would carry his goods where he could get his own price for them. On my aflcing him where that was ? he replied, in a very infolent tone, ** To the Canadian Traders." I was glad to comply with his demands; and I here infcrt the anecdote, as a fpecimcn of an Indian's confciencc. P p 2 The )Mi. 191I1. 7ift. A TOURNEY TO THE The weather on the twelfth was fo exceedingly hot. and fultry, and the water fo deep on the top of the ice of the above-mentioned river, as to render walking on it not only very troublefome, but dangerous ; fo after advancing about five miles we pitched our tents, and the warm weather being likely to continue, the Indians immedi- ately began to build their canoes, which were com- pleted with fuch expedition, that in the afternoon of the eighteenth we again fet forward on our journey, but the day being pretty far fpent, we only walked about four miles, and put up for the nighi'. The morning of the nineteenth was fine pleafant wea- ther ; and as all the water was drained off from the top of the ice, it rendered walking on it both fafc and eafy ; accordingly we fet out pretty eariy, and that day walked upwards of twenty miles to the Eaft North Eaft on the above-mentioned river; The next day proved fo cold, that after walking about fifteen miles, we were obliged to put up ; for having left Doo-baunt River, we were frequently obliged to wade above the knees through fwamps of mud, r/ater, and wet fnow ; which froze to our (lockings and flioes in fuch a thick cruft, as not only rendered walking very laborious, but at the fame time fubjedted us to the danger of having our legs and feet frozen. The weather on the <:wenty-firft was more fevere than on the preceding day ; but the fwamps and ponds being 3 by NORTHERN OCEAN. by that time frozen over, it was tolerable walking : we proceeded therefore on our journey, but the wind blew fo frefli, that we had not walked fixteen miles, before wc found that thofe who carried the canoes could not poffibly keep up with us, fo that we put up for the night. In the courfe of this day's journey we croffed the North Weft Bay of Wholdyah'd Lake ; which, at that part, is called by the Northern Indians A Naw-nee-tha'd Whoie. This day fcveral of the Indians turned back, not being able to proceed for want of provifions. Game of all kinds indeed were fo fcarcCj that, except a few geefe, nothing had been killed by any of our party, from our leaving the women and children on the eleventh inftant, nor had wc feen one deer the whole way. The twcnty-fecond proved more moderate, when all our party having jdned, wc again advanced to the North Eaft, and after walking about thirteen miles, the Indians killed' four deer. Our number, hoM'cver, had now fo increafed, that four fmall Northern deer would fcarccly afTord us all a fingle meaL The next day we continued our journey, generally walking in the North Eaft quarter ; and on the twenty- fifth, crofled the North bay of They-hole-kye'd Whoie, or Snow-bird Lake ; and at night got clear of all woods, and lay on the barren ground. The fame day feveral of the Indians ftruck off another way, not being able to pro- ceed !2d. 35th. 394 A JOURNEY TO THE *772- cecd to the Fort for want of ammunition. As we had Majr. for fome 6^.ys pad made good journies, and at the fame time were ali heavy-laden, and in great diftrefs for pro- viiions, fome of my companions were fo weak as to be obliged to leave their bundles of furrs * ; and many others were fo reduced as to be no longer capable of proceeding with us, having neither guns nor ammunition ; fo that their whole dependence for fupport was on the fifti they might be able to catch ; and though fifh was pretty plen- tiful in moft of the rivers and lakes hereabout, yet they were not always to be depended on for fuch an immediate fupply of food as thofe poor people required. lliough I had at this time a fufficient ftock of ammu- nition to ferve me and all my proper companions to the Fort, yet felf-prefervation being the ftrft law of Nature, it was thought advifable to referve tne greateft part of it for our own ufe; efpecially as geefe and other fmaller birds were the only game now to be met with, and which, in times of fcardty, bears hard on the articles of powder and fhot. Indeed mofl of the Indians who adually accompanied me the whole way to the Fadory had fome little ammunition remaining, which enabled them to travel in times of real fcarcjty better than Uiofe whom we left behind; and though • All the furrs thus left were properly fccured in caves and crevices of the rocks, fo as to withftand any attempt that might be made on them by beads of prey, and were weH fhiclded from the weather j fo that, in all probability, few . of tlxcm were loft. we NORTHERN OCEAN. we afllfted many of them, yet feveral of their womtn died for want. It is a melancholy truth, and a dilgrace to the little humanity of which thofe people are poiTefTed, to think, that in times of want the poor women always come ofF ftiort ; and when real diilrefs approaches, many of them are permitted to ftarve, when the males are amply jprovided for.. The twenty-fixth was fine and pleafant. In the morn- ing we fet out as ufual, and after walking about five miles^ the Indians killed three deer ; as our numbers were greatly lefiened, thefe ferved us for two or three meals, at a final 1 expence of ammunition. In continuing our courfe to the EaAward, we crofled Cathawhachaga River, on the thirtieth of May, on the ice, which broke up foon after the laft perfon had crofled it. We had not been long on the Eaft fide of the river before we perceived bad weather near at hand, and began to make every preparation for it which our fituation would admit ; and that was but very indifferent, being on entire barren ground. It is true, we had complete fets of Sum- mer tent-poles, and fuch tent-cloths as are generally ufed by the Northern Indians in that feafon ; thefe were ar- ranged in the befV manner, and in Tuch places as were mofl likely to afford us fhelter from the threatening florm; The rain foon began to defcend in fuch torrents as to make the river overflow to fuch a degree as foon to convert our firft place 26tlu 30th. June 3d. S96 A JOURNEY TO THE place of retreat into an open lea) and oblige us in the middle of the night to aflcmble at the top of an adjacent hill, where the violence of the wind would not permit us to pitch a tent ; fo that the only fhclter we could obtain was to take the tent-clofh about our fhoulders, and fit with our backs to the wind ; and in this fituation we we were obliged to remain without the leaft refrcfhment, till the J ii*i • of the; third of June: in the courfe of which tiiii the -^ind fhifted all round the compafs, but the bad weather lUil continued, fo that we were con- ftantly obliged to fhift our pofition as the wind changed. The weather now became more moderate, though there was ftill a frefh gale from the North _Weft, with hard froft and frequent fhowers of fnow. Early in the morn- ing, however, we proceeded on our journey, but the wet and cold I had experienced the two preceding days fo be- numbed my lower extremities, as to render walking for fome time very troublefome. In the courfe of this day's journey we few great numbers of geefe flying to the South- ward, a few of which we killed ; but thefe were very difproportionatc to the number of mouths we had to feed, and to make up for our long fafting, 8th. From that time to the eighth we killed every day as many geefe as were fuflicient to prefcrve life ; but on that day we perceived plenty of deer, five of which the In- dians killed, which put us all into good fpirits, and the number NORTHERN OCEAN. 497 number of deer we then faw afForded great hopes of more plentiful times during the remainder of our journey. It is almoft needlefs to add, that people in our diUrefl i fitu- ation expended a little time in eating, and dicing Icme of the flefh ready for drying ; but the drying it occafioned no delay, as we faftened it on the tops of the women's bundles, and dried it by the fun and wind while we were walking ; and, flrange as it may appear, meat thus pre- pared is not only very fubflantial food, but pleafant to the tafte, and generally much efteemed by the natives. For my own part I muft ack , but having fbme time before taken up goods on truft at Prince of Wales's Fort, were taking thafi* method to delay the payment of them. Defrauds of this kind have been pra6lifed by many of thofe people with great fuccefs, ever fince the furr-trade has been eftablifhed with the Northern Indians at Knapp*s Bay ; by which means debts to a coniiderable amount are annually loft to the Company, as well as their Governor in the Bay. Being defirous of improving every opportunity that the line weather afforded, we did not lofe much time in con- ver&tion with thole Indians, but proceeded 00 our courfe I to NORTH«llN OCEAN. 299 to the South Eaft, while they continued theirs to the '77J' North Bad. juae. For many days after leaving thofe people, we had the good fortune to meet with plenty of provifions ; and as the weather Was for a long time remarkably fine and plea- fant, our circumftances were altered (b much for the better, that every thing feemed to contribute to our happinefs, as if defirous to make fome amends for the fevere hunger, cold, and exoeilive hardfhips that we had fuflnn^ long before, and which had reduced us to the greateft mifery and want. f ' I Deer was fo plentiful great part of the way, that the Indians killed as many as were wanted, without going out of their road ; and every lake and river to which we came feemed willing to give us a chang ; of diet, by affording "US plenty of the fineft fifli, which we caught either with hooks or nets. Geefe, partridges, gulls, nnd many other fowls, which are excellent eating, were alfo in fuch plenty, that it only required ammunition, in (kilful hands, to have procured as many^of them as we could defire. The only inconvenience we now felt was from frequent (howers of heavy rain ; but the intervals between thefe fhowers being very warm, and the Sun fliining bright, that difficulty was eafily overcome, efpecially as the belly was plentifully fupplied with excellent viduals. Indeed th,e Q^q 2 very 300 i8di. atfth. A JOURNEY TO THE very thoughts of being once more arrived fo near home-, made me capable of encountt.'ng every difficulty, even if it had been hunger itfelf in the moft formidable fhape. On the eighteenth, we arrived at Egg River, from which place, at the felicitation of my guide Matonab- bee, I fent a letter poft-haAe to the Chief at Prince of Wales's Fort, advifmg him of my being fo far advanced on my return. The weather at this time was very bad and rainy, which caufed us to lofe near a whole day ; but upon the fine weather returning, we again proceeded at our ufual rate of eighteen or twenty miles a day, fome* times more or lefs, according as the road, the weather,, and other circumftances, would admit;. Deer now began to be not quite fo plentiful as they had been, though we met with enough for prefent ufe, which was all we wanted, each perfon having as much, dried meat as he could conveniently carry, bciides his furrs and other neceflary baggage. ., Early in the morning of the twenty-fixth we arrived at Seal River * ; but the wind blowing right up it, made ft> • Mr, Jcrcmie is very incorredb in his account of the fituation of this River, and its courfc. It is not cafy to guefs, whether the Copper or Dog- ribbed Indians be the nation he calls Plai/cotez de Chiens : if it ijc the for4iier, he is much miftaken i for they have abundance of beaver, and othet animals of the furr kind, in their country : and if the latter, he is equally wrong to alTcrt NORTHERN OCEAN. (b great a (ea, that we were obliged to wait near ten hours before we could venture to croft it in our little canoes. Ib 301 afleit that they have copper-mines in their country 1 for neither copper nor any other kind of metal is in ufe among them. Mr. Jeremim the fea, I muft here mention* that fo late as the year 1763, when Captain Chriftopher went to furvcyChef» terfield's Inlet, though he was furniflied with the moft intelligent and ex- perienced Northern Indians that could be found, they did not know an inch of the land to the Nofth of Whale Cove. Mr. Jercmie is alfo as much miftaken in what he (ays concerning Churchill River, as he was in the direction. of Seal. River ; for he fays that no woods were found but in fome iflands which lie about ten or twelve miles up the rivet. At the time lie wrote, which was long before a fetdement was made there, wood was in great plenty on both fides the river; and that within Rve miles of where Prince of Wales's Fort now ftands. But as to the iOands of which he fpeaks, if they ever exiftcd, they have of late years moft aflTuredly difappearcd; for fintc the Company have had a fettlcmcnt on that river, no one ever faw an iflaod in it that produced timber, or wpod of any defcription, within forty miles. m let A J O U R N 15 T T O T H E In die aft<.'moon the weather grew more nKxIerate, (6 th&t we were enabled, to ferry over the ritver ; after which we relumed our journey, and at night pitched our tents in fome tiifta of willows in fight of the woods of Fo- co-thec-lds-co River, at which we arrived early in the jnorning of the twenty-eighth ; but the wind again blowing very haid in the North Eaft qiiart«,T, it was the afternoon of the 29^^' f.wenty-ninth Mote we could attempt to crofs it, J ult at the time we were croffing the South branch of Pr^co-thec-kis-co River, the Indims that were fcnt from Egg River with a IcTccr to the Chitf at Churchill, joined us on their return, and brou^it a little tobacco and fome other articien which I had deiired. Though it was late in the afternoon before wc had all ax>fl*cl the river, yet we wjilked that evening till after ten o'clodc, and then put lap on one of the Goofe~h mating Ifknds,, as they are generally icallcdl, about ten miles from the Fadory. The next morning I ainved in good health at: Prin<::e of Wales's Fort., after having been abfcnt eighteen moMihs and twenty- miks of di« Fort. Bwi: the great number of ftuimpsi mow remaining, from 'which, in all jprobability, the trees huve bet^n cut for Siiring, are fufficient to prove that when C'yd.li River wwi firlH fettled, wooci wibis then ingtest plenty « but in die x.ciuiie of frvensy-fiK yciu-s lefiJeuce ia oiwr fiUce, it is naniraJ to Jfijppofe j*^ WHis Bouclj tSiinacd nciir the Settleiincnt, indeed for foi-nc yean paft (Common fewel is fo (caa-ce rieai that F*fltory, that it h the chief eimpkiyment of jnofl of i:he fcnanta for upwimi of kvcn months in i:hc yckr, to procure as nucli w(jod. IIS vfiU fupjily rhe Bees Tor a Wir.ttir, and a liti:lc timber foi- necefTiiry repairs. three NORTHE-RN OCEAN. three days on this lad expedition ; but from my firfl fet- ting out with Captain Chawchinaha, it was two years ieven months and twenty-four days. Though my difcoveries are not likely to prove of any material advantage to the Nation at large, or indeed to the Hudfon's Bay Company, yet I have the pleafure to think that I have fully complied with the orders of my Mailers, and that it has put a final end to aU difputes con- cerning a North Weft Paffiige through Hudfoa*i Bay. It will alfo wipe off, in (bme meafure, the ill-grounded and unjuft afpeHions of Dobbs, Ellis, Robibn, and the Ame* rican Traveller ; who have all taken much pains to con- demn the condudof the Hudibn's Bay Company, as being averiie from difcoveries, and from enlarging their trade. 30J 'M 'M i .1 >'■' CHAP. 304 A JOURNEY TO THE CHAP. IX. A fliort Defcription of the Northern Indians, alfo a farther Account oi their Country, Manufactures, Cuf- toms. An account of the perfons and tempers of the Northern Indtans.-^Tbej poffefs a great deal of art and cunning,— Are very guilty of fraud ^wben hi ibeir power^ and generally exaSl more for their furrs than any other tribe of Indians, -^Always diffatisfied^ yet have their good qualities,— The men in general jealous of their wives. -^Their mar- ' riages,'-^irU always betrothed when chiHren^ and their reafons for it.-— Great care and confinement of young girls from the age of eight or nine years old, — Divorces common among thofe people,—-The women are left prolific than in vjrmer countries, — Remarkable piece of fuperjlition ohferved by the women at particular periods. — Their art in making it an excufe for a temporary feparation from their hu/bands on any little quarrel, — Reckoned very unclean on thofe occafons.—'The Northern Jadians frequently ^ for the want of fringe are obliged to eat their meat raw. — Some through nccefftty obliged to boil it in vejfels made of the rind of the birch-tree. — A remarkable dijh among thofe people.—' The young animals always cut out of their dams eaten^ and accounted a great delicacy. — The parts of gewration of all animals eat ly the men and boys. — Manner of pajftng the'r time^ and method of killiug deer in Summer with bows and arrows. — Their tents^ dogs^ Jledges^ &c.— Snow-Jhoes. — Their partiality to domejiic vermin. — Utniojl extent of the Northern Indian country. — Face of the country. — Species ffffj. — A peculiar kind of mnfs ufeful for the fupport of man. — Northern In- dian method of catching fjh^ either with books or nets.— 'Ceremony obfcrved when two parties of thofe people meet. — Diverjions in common ufe, — A ftngular dforder which attacks fome of thofe people. — Their fnpcr- NORTHERN OCEAN. fuperJlUion with veJpeSI to the death of their friends. — Ceremony oh- ferved on tbofe occafons. — their ideas of the fir ft inhabitants of the world.— -No form of religion among them. — Remarks on that circiim- fance. — The extreme mifery to which old age is expofed. — Tbtir opinion of the Aurora Borealis, &c. — Some Account of Matonabbec^ and bis fervices to bis count ry^ as well as to the Hudfons Bay Company, A S to the perfons of the Northern Indians, they arc •*■ ^ in general above the middle fize ; well-proportioned, ftrong, and robuft, but not corpulent. They do not pof- fefs that activity ot body, and livelinefs of difpofition, which are fo commonly met with among the other tribes of Indians who inhabit the Weft coaft of Hudfon's Bay. Their complexion is fomewhat of the copper caft, in- clining rather toward a dingy brown ; and their hair, like all the olh^r tribes in India, is black, ftrong, and ftraight *. Few of the men have any beard ; this feldom makes its appearance till they are arrived at middle-age, and then is by no means equal in quantity to what is obferved on the faces of the generality of Europeans; the little they have, however, is exceedingly ftrong and briftly. Some of them take but little pains to eradicate their beards^ though it is confldered as very unbecoming; and thole • I have fcen fevcral of the Southern Indian men who were near fix feet high, prefcrve a finglc brk of their hair, that, when let down, would trail on the ground as they walked. This, however, is but feldom feenj and fomc have fufpcfted it to be falfe: but I have examined the hair of fevcral of them, and found it to be real. R r who 3«5 .f.- 'I, i ,! I /O' \ ,^o« A J 0 U R N E Y T O T H E who do, have no other method than that of pulling it out by the roots betwen their fingers and the edge of a blunt knife. Neither fex have any hair under their armpits, and very little on any other part of the body, particularly the women ; but on the place where Nature plants the hair, I never knew them attempt to eradicate it. Their features are peculiar, and different from any other tribe in thofe parts ; for they have very low fore- heads, fmall eyes, high cheek-bones, Roman nofcs, full cheeks, and in general long broad chins. Though few of either fex arc exempt from this national fet of features, yet Nature feems to be more ftrid in her obfervance of it among the females, as they fcldom vary fo much as the men. Their fkins are foft, imooth, and oolifhed ; and when they are drefled in clean clothing, they are as free from an offenfive fmcU as any of the human race. Every tribe of Northern Indians, as well as the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indiana, have three or four parallel black ftrokes marked on each clu 5^^ ; which is performed by entering an awl or needle unUcv the flcin, and, on drawing it out again, inomediatcly rubbing powdered charcc^l into the wound. Their difpofitions arc in general morofe and covetous, and they feem to be entirely unacquainted even with the name of gratitude. They arc for ever pleading poverty, 5 even N O R T li t R W O v^ T?. A N. even among themfclves ; and when they viflt the Fa^'^r'v, there is not one of them who has not a thoufand wa> '.^, 30? Hi 'MS When any real diftreffed objedts prcfcnt themfch^es ai tLi Company's Fadtory, they are always relieved with viduals, clothes, medicines, and every other neceflary, gran's ; and in return, they initrudt every one of their countrymen how to behave, in order to obtain the fame charity. Thus it is very common to fee both men and women come to the Fort half-naked, when cither the fevere cold in Winter, or the extreme troublefomenefs of the flics in Summer, make it neceflary for every part to be covered. On thofc occaflons they arc feldom at a loli for a plaufible fl:ory, which they relate as the occaflon of their diflrefs, (whether real or pretended,) and never fail to interlard their hiftory with plenty of fighs, groans, and tears, fometimes afFedt- ing to be lame, and even blind, in order to excite pity. Indeed, I know of no people that have more command of their paflions on fuch occaflons ; and in this refpeft the women exceed the men, as I can aflirm with truth T have feen fome of them with one fide of the fac" balhed in tears, while the other has exhibited a f liflcant fmile. Falfe pretences for obtaining charit) are fo co imon among thofe people, and fo often detected, that the G^^^ Tnor is * frequently obliged to turn a deaf ear to many wlio apply for relief; for if he did not, he might give away the wiiole of the Company's goods, aud by degrees all the Northern R r 2 tribe i:P ' , '■ W *€ mm 308 A' JOURNEY TO THE tribe would make a trade of begging, inftead of bringing furrs, to purchase what they want, it may truly be faid, that they pofftis a coniiderable degree of deceit, and are very complete adepts in tlie art of flattery, which they never fpare as long as they find that it conduces to their intercft, but not a moment longer. They take care always to feem attr:ched to a new Governor, and flatter his pride, by telling him that they look up to him as the father of their tribe, on whom they can fafeiy place their depend- ance ; and they never fail .to depreciate the generoflty of fiis piedeceffor, however exteniive that might have been, however humane or diflnterefted his conduit ; and if af- pcrflng ^he oldj and flattering the new Governor, has not the delsred tffc{i in a reafonable time, they reprelent him as the woril of charaders, and tell him to his face that he is one of the moJl cruel of men ; that he has no feeling for the vUftreiies of their tribe, an5. NORTHERN OCEAN. They diiFer fo much from the reft of mankind, that harfli uncourteous ufage feems to agree better with the generality of them, particularly the lower clafs, than mild treat- ment ; for if the leaft refpedt be ihewn them, it makes them intolerably infolent ; and though fome of their leaders may be exempt from this imputation, yet there arc but few even of them v^ho have fenfe enough to fet a proper value on the favours and indulgences which are granted to them while they remain at the Company's Fadories, or elfewhere within their territories. Experience has con- vinced me, that by keeping a Northern Indian at a dif- tance, he may be made ferviceable both to himfelf and the Company ; but by giving him the leaft indulgence at the Factory, he will grow indolent, inactive, and trouble- fomc, and only contrive methods to tax the gcnerolity of an European, The greatcft part of thefe people never fail to defraud Europeans whenever it is in their power, and take every method to over-reach them in the way of trade. They will difguife their perfons and change their names, in order to defraud them of their lawful debts, which they are fometimcs permitted to contrid at the Company's FaAoi y ; and all debts that are outftanding at the fuc- cellion of a new Governor are entirely loft, as they always declare, and bring plenty of witnefles to prove, that they v\'ere paid long before, but that their names had been for* gottcn to be ftruck out of the bookt 1 o Not with- 309 |S!> m m 310 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E Notwithftanding all thofe bad qualities, they are the mildeft tril>e of Indians that trade at any of the Com- pany's fettlements ; and as the greateil part of them are never heated with liquor, are always in their feafes, and never proceed to riot, or any violence beyond bad language. The men are in general very jealous of their wives, and I make no doubt but the fame fpirit reigns among the women ; but they are kept fo much in awe of their hii{bands, that the liberty of thinking is the greateft pri- vilege they enjoy. The prefence of a Northern Indian man ftrikes a peculiar awj into his wives, as he always affumes the fame authority over them that the mailer of a family in Europe ufuaily does over his domeflic fcrvants. Their marriages are not attended with any ceremony ; all matches are made by the parents, or next of kin. On thofe occafions the women fecm to have no choice, but implicitly obey the will of their parents, who al- ways endeavour to marry their daughters to thofe that feem moft likely to be capable of maintaining them, let their age, perfon, or difpolition be ever fo defpi- •cable. The girls are always betrothed when children, but never to thofe of equal age, which is doubtlefs found policy with people in their fituation, where the exigence of a family depends NORTHEPN OCEAN. depends entirely on the abilities and induftry of a fingle man. Children, as they juftly obferve, are fo liable to alter in their manners and difpofition, that it is impofllble to judge from the adions of early youth what abilities they may poflefs when they arrive at puberty. For this rea- fon the girls are often fo difproportionably matched for age, that it is very common to fee men of thirty-five or forty years old have young girls of no more than ten or twelve, and fometimes much younger. From the early age of eight or nine years, they are prohibited by cuftom from joining in the moft innocent amufements with chil- dren of the oppofite fex ; fo that when fitting in their tents, or even when travelling, they are watched and guaided with fuch an unremitting attention as cannot l)e exceeded by the moft rigid difcipline of an Engliili board- ing-fchool. Cuftom, however, and conftant example, make fuch uncommon reftraint and confinement fit light and eafy even on children, whofe tender ages fee in better adapted to innocent and cheerful amufements, than to be cooped up by the fide of old women, and conftantly em- ployed in fcraping (kins, mending ftioes, and learning other domeftic duties neceflary in the care of a family. 311 fii Notwithftanding thofe uncommon reftralnts on the young girls, the condudt of their parents is by no means uniform or confiftent with this plan ; as hey fet no bounds to their converfationj but talk before them, and even to them, on the moft indelicate fubjcds. As their ears arc accuflomcd to \l ' i I i '313 A JOURNEY TO THE to f^jch language from their earlieft youth, this has by no means the fame efFed on them, it would Lave on girls born and educated in a civilized country, where every care is taken to prevent their morals from being contaminated by obfcene converfation. The Southern Indians arc ftill lefs delicate in converfation, in. the prefence of their children. The women amonr: the Northern Indians are in general more backward than the Southern Indian women ; and though it is well known that neither tribe lofe any time, thofc early connexions are feldom produdive of children for fome years. Divorces arc pretty common among the Northern In- dians J fometimes for incontinency, but more frequently for want of what they deem neceflary accomplifhments, or for bad behaviour. This ceremony, in either cafe, condfls of neither more nor Lfs than a good drubbing, and turning the woman out of doors ; telling her to go to her paramour, or relations, according to the nature of her crime. Providence is very kind in caudng thefe people to be lefs prolific ti:an the inhabitants of civilized nations ; it is very uncommon to fee one woman have more than five or fix children ; and thefe are always born at fuch a diilance from one another, that the youngeft is generally two or ^ three NORTHERN OCEAN. three years old before another is brought in«-o the world. Their eafy births, and the ceremonies which take place on thofe occadons, have already been mentioned ; I (hall therefore only obfervc here, that they make no ufe of cradles, like the Southern Indians, but only tie a lump of mofs between their legs ; and always carry their chil- dren at their backs, next the (kin, till they are able to walk. Though their method of treating young children is in this refpeft the moft uncouth and awkward I ever faw, there are few among them that can be called kformed, and not one in fifty who is not bow-legged. There are certain periods at which they never permit the women to abide in the fame tent with their hufbands. At fuch times they are obliged to make a fmall hovel for themfelves at fome diflance from the ether tents. As this is an univerfal cuHom among all the tribes, it is alfo a piece of policy witii the women, upon any difference with their hufbands, to make that an excufe for a temporary feparation, when, without any ceremony, they creep out (as is their ufual cuftom on thofe occafions) under the eves of that fide ol the tent at which they happen to be fitting ; for at thofe times they are not permitted to go in or out through the door. This cuftoni is i"o generally prevalent among the women, that 1 have frequently known fome of the fulky dames leave their hufbands and tent for four or five days at a time, an > repeat the farce twice or thrice in a month, while the poor men have never fufpedcd the deceit, or if they S f have, sn ! r i * J '1Mh. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■-IM is IIIIM ■^ li^i^ 2.2 ^ m ^ ^ us, |||2.0 u 1- ,. hiuu 1 '-8 1.4 1.6 V] / > ^' y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 o i/.i lii 314 A J O U R N li Y T O T H E have, delicacy on their part has not permitted them to enquire into the matter. I have known Matonabbee's handfome wife, who eloped from him in May one thou- flmd fcven hundred and feventy-one, live thun-nardy, as as they call it, (that is, alone,) for feveral weeks together, under this pretence ; but as a proof he had fome fufpi- cion, fhe was always carefully watched, to prevent her from giving her company to any other man. The South- ern Indians are alfo very delicate in this point ; for though they do not force their wives to build a feparate tent, they never lie under the fame clothes during this period. It is, however, equally true, that the young girls, when thofe fymptoms make their flrft appearance, generally go a little diftance from the other tents for four or five days, and at their return wear a kind of veil or curtain, made of beads, for fome time after, as a mark of modefcy ; as they are then confidered marriageable, and of courfe are called women, though fome at thofe periods are not more than thirteen, while others at the age of fifteen or fixteen have been reckoned as children, though apparently arrived at nearly their full growth. P On thofe occafions a remarkable piece of fuperftition prevails among them ; women in this fituation are never permitted to walk on the ice of rivers or lakes, or near the part where the men are hunting beaver, or where a fifii- ing-net is fet, ,for fear of averting their fuccefs. They are alfo prohibited at thofe times from partaking of the head ■#" NORTHERN OCEAN. head of any animal, and even from v/alking in, or crolling the track where the head of a deer, moofe, beaver, and many other animals, have lately been carried, either on a fledge or on the back. To be guilty of a violation of this cuflom is confidered as of the greateft importance; becaufe they firmly believe that it would be a means of preventing the hunter from having an equal fuccefs in his future excurfions. 315 hi Thofe poor people live in fuch an inhofpitable part of the globe, that for want of firing they are frequently obliged to eat their vi(3:uals quite raw, particularly in the Summer feafon, while on the barren ground ; but early cuflom and frequent neceflity make this pradlice fo fa- miliar to them, that fo far from finding any inconveni- ence arife from it, or having the leaft dnlike to it, they frequently do it by choice, and particularly in the article of fifh ; for when they do make a pretence of drefling it, they feldom warm it through. I have frequently made one of a party who has fat round a frefh-killed deer, and alliftcd in picking the bones quite clean, when I thought that the raw brains and many other parts were exceedingly good ; and, however ftrangc it may appear, I muft beftow the fame epithet on half-raw fifli : even to this day I give the preference to trout, falmon, and the brown tittemeg, when they are not warm at the bone. Sf2 The i !:•'■, 3i6 AJOURNEYTOTHE The extreme poverty of thofe Indians in general will not permit one half of them to purchafe brafs kettles from the Company ; fo that they are ftill under the neceflity of continuing their original mode of boiling their vidluals in large upright veflcls made of birch-rind. As thofe veflels will not admit of being expofed to the fire, the Indians, to fupply the defeft, heat ftones red-hot and put them into the water, which foon occaiions it to boil ; and by having a conftant fucceflion of hot ftones, they may con- tinue the procefs as long as it is neceflary. This method of cooking, though very expeditious, is attended with one great evil : the victuals which are thus prepared are full of fand; for the ftones thus heated, and then im- merged in the water, are not only liable to fhiver to pieces, bui many of them being of a coarfe gritty nature, fall to a mafs of gravel in the kettle, which cannot be prevented from mixing with the victuals which are boiled in it. Be- fides this, they have feveral other methods of preparing their food, fuch as roafting it by a ftring, broiling it, &'c.; but thefe need no farther defcription. The moft remarkable difti among them, as well as all the other tribes of Indians in thofe parts, both Northern and Southern, is blood mixed with the half-digefted food which is found in the deer's ftomach or paunch, an,-^ boiled up with a fufticient quantity of water, to make it of the confiftence o'' peafe-pottage. Some fat and fcraps of ■1 HI NORTHERN OCEAN. of tender flefli are alfo flired fmall and boiled with it. To render this difh more palatable, they have a method of mixing the blood with the contents of the ftoniach in the paunch itfelf, and hanging it up in the heat and fmoke of the fire for feveral days ; which puts the whole mafs into a flate of fermentation, and gives it fuch an agreeable acid tafl:e, that were it not for prejudice, it might be eaten by thofe who have the niceft palates. It is true, fome people with delicate ftomachs would not be eafily perfuaded to partake of this difli, efpecially if they faw it dreflcd y for moft of the fat which is boiled in it is firft chewed by the men and boys, in order to break the globules that con- tain the fat ; by whi'^h means it all boils out, and mixes with the broth : whereas, if it were permitted to remain as it came from the knife, it would ftill be in lumps, like fuet. To dojuftice, however, to their cleanlinefs in this particular, I muft obferve, that they are very careful that neither old people with bad teeth, nor young childreuj have any hand in preparing this difh. At firft, I muft acknowledge that I was rather fhy in partaking of this mefs, but when I was fufficiently convinced of the truth of the above remark, I no longer made any fcruple, but always though- it exceedingly good. The ftomach of no ether large animal befide the deer is eaten by any of the Indians that border on Hudfon's Bay. In Winter, when the deer feed on fine white mofs, the contents of the ftomach is fo much efteemed by them, that 3^7 i ^'i 318 AJOURNEYTOTHE that I have often feen them fit round a deer where it was killed, and eat it warm out of the paunch. In Summer the deer feed more coarfcly, and therefore this difli, if it deferve that appellation, is then not fo much in favour. The young calves, fawns, beaver, ^c. taken out of the bellies of their mothers, are reckoned moft delicate food ; and I am not the only European who heartily joins in pronouncing them the greateft dainties that can be eaten. Many gentlemen who have ferved with mc at Churchill, as well as at York Fort, and the inland fettlements, will readily agree with me in aflerting, that no one who ever got the better of prejudice fo far as to tafte of thofe young ani- mals, but has immediately become exceffively fond of them ; and the fame may be faid of young geefe, ducks, &'c. in the fhell. In fad, it is almoft become a proverb in the Northern fettlements, that whoever wifhes to know what is good, muft live with the Indians. The parts of generation belonging to any beaft they kill, both male and female, are always eaten by the men and boys ; and though thofe parts, particularly in the males, arc generally very tough, they arc not, on any account, to be cut with an edge-tool, but torn to pieces with the teeth ; and when any part of them proves too tough to be maAicated, it is thrown into the fire and burnt. For the Indians believe firmly, that if a dog fliould eat any part ol' them, it would have the fame effed on their 7 fuccefs NORTHERN OCEAN. fuccefs in hunting, that a woman crofllng their hunting- track, at an improper period would have. The fame ill- fuccefs is fuppofcd alfo to attend them if" a woman eat any of thofc parts. 319 They arc alio remarkably fond of the womb of the buffalo, elk, deer, ^c. which they eagerly devour with- out wafliing, or any other procefs but barely ftroking out the contents. This, in fome of the larger animals, and efpecially when they are fome time gone with young, needs no defcription to make it fufficiently difgu fling ; and yet I have known fome in the Company's fcrvice remarkably fond of the dilh, though I am not one of the number. The womb of the beaver and deer is well enough, but that of the moofe and buffalo is very rank, and tridy difgufting *. Our * The Indian method of preparing this pnaccoiintable difl: is by throwing the filthy bag acrofs a pole diredlly over the fire, the finoke of which, they fay, much improves it, by taking off the original flavour j and when any of it is to be cooked, a large flake, like as much tripe, is cut off and boiled for a few minutes; but the many large nodes with which the infide of the womb is ftudded, make it abominable. Thefe nodes are as incapable of being divefted of moifture as the ikin cf a live eel ; but when boiled, much re- femble, both in Ihape and colour, the yolk of an egg, and arc lb called by the natives, and as eagerly devoured by them. The tripe of the buflalo is exceedingly good, and the Indian method of cooking it infinitely fuperior to that praftifed in Europe. When opportunity will permit, they wafli it tolerably clean in cold water, ftrip off all the honey- comb, and only boil it about half, cr three-quarters of an hour : in that time it if 320 AJOURNEYTOTHE Our Northern Indians who trade at he Factory, as well as all the Copper tribe, pafs their v hole Summer on the barren ground, where they generally hnd plenty of deer; and in fome of the rivers and lakes, a great abundance of fine fifli. til. i}' i' t !i I I 1^, C i Their bows and arrows, though their original weapons, are, fince the introdudion of fire-arms among them, be- come of little ufe, except in killing deer as they walk or run through a narrow pafs prepared for their reception, where feveral Indians lie concealed for that purpofe. This method of hunting is only pradlicable in Summer, and on the barren ground, where they have an extenfive profpeft, and can fee the herds of deer at a great diftance, as well as difcover the nature of the country, and make every ne- i- ■!■ Sufficiently done for eating; and though r?ther tougher than what is pre- ^ -.id in England, yet is exceedingly pleafant to the tafte, and muft be much more nourifhing than tripe that has been foked and icrubbed in many hot waters, and then boiled for ten or twelve hours. The lelTer ftomach, or, as fome call it, the many-folds, either of buffalo, iiioofe, or deer, are ufiially eat raw, and are very good; but that of the moofe, unlcfs great care be taken in wafhing it, is rather bitter, owing to the nature of their food. The kidneys of both moofe and buffalo arc ufually eat raw by the Southern Indians; for no fooncris one of thofe beads iiilled, than the hunter rips up its belly, thrufts in his arm, fnatches out the kidneys, and eats them warm, be- fore tJie animal is quite dead. They alfo at times put their moi.-ths to the wound the ball has made, and fuck the blood ; which tliey fiiy quenches thirft, and is very nourifhing. ceflary NORTHERN OCEAN. cefTary arrangement for driving them through the narrow defiles. This method of hunting is performed in the fol- lowing manner : » • • • When the Indians fee a herd of deer, and intend to hunt them with bows and arrows, they obfcrve which way the wind blows, and always get to leeward, for fear of being fmelled by the deer. The next thing to which they at- tend, is to fearch for a convenient place to conceal thofe who are appointed to Ihoot. This being done, a large bundle of flicks, like large ramrods, (which they carry with them the whole Summer for the purpofe,) are ranged in two ranks, fo as to form the two fides of a very acute angle, and the flicks placed at the diftance of fifteen or twenty yards from each other. When thofe neceflary arrange- ments are completed, the women and boys feparate into two parties, and go round on both fides, till they form a crefcent at the back of the deer, which are drove right forward ; and as each of the flicks has a fmall flag, of more properly a pendant, faflened to it, which is eafily waved to and fro by the wind, and a lump of mofs ftuck on each of their tops, the poor timorous deer, probably taking them for ranks of people, generally run flraight forward between the two ranges of flicks, till they get among the Indians, who lie concealed in fmall circular fences, made with loofe flones, mofs, ^c. When the deer approach very near, the Indians who are thus concealed flart up and fhoot ; but as the deer generally pafs along at T t full Tnlt 321 ■■a •V I i ■|r 3n A JOURNEY TO THE full fpccd, few Indians have time to fhoot more than one or two arrows, unkfs the herd be very large. This method of hunting is not always attended with equal fuccefs ; for fometimes after the Indians have been at the trouble of making places of flielter, and arranging the flag-flicks, &'c. the deer will make off another way, before the women and children can furround them. At other times I have feen eleven or twelve of them killed with one volley of arrows ; and if any gun-men attend on thofe occalions, they are always placed behind the other Indians, in order to pick up the deer that efcape the bow- men. By thefe means I have feen upwards of twenty fine deer killed at one broadfide, as it may be termed. Though the Northern Indians may be faid to kill a great number of deer in this manner during the Summer, yet they have fo far loft the art of fhooting with bows and arrows, that I never knew any of them who could take thofe weapons only, and kill either deer, moofe, or buf- falo, in the common, wandering, and promifcuous method of hunting. The Southern Indians, though they have been much longer ufed to fire-arms, are far more expert with the bow and arrow, their original weapons. The tent3 made ufe of by thofe Indians, both in Sum- mer and Winter, are generally compofed of deer-fkins in the hair; and for convenience of carriage, are always made NORTHERN OCEAN. made in fmall pieces, fcldom exceeding five buck-fkins in one piece. Thcfe tents, as nlfo their kettler., and fome other lumber, are always carried by dogs, whicli arc trained to that fervice, and are very docile and tradable. Tliofe animals are of various fizes and colours, but all of the fox and wolf breed, with fliarp nofes, full brufliy tails, and fharp cars ftanding eredt. They are of great courage when attacked, and bite fo fharp, that the fmalleft cur among them will keep fevcral of our largefl: Englidi dogs at bay, if he can get up in a corner. Thefe dogs are equally willing to haul in a fledge, but as few of the men will be at the trouble of making fledges for them, the poor women are obliged to content themfelves with lefTening the bulk of their load, more than the weight, by making the dogs carry thefe articles only, which arc always lafhed on their backs, much after the fame manner as packs are, or ufed formerly to be, on pack-horfcs, 3»J ..! In the fill of the year, and as the Winter advances, thofe people few the fkins of the deers legs together in the fhape of long portmanteaus, which, when hauled on the fnow as the hair lies, are as flippery as an otter, and ferve them as temporary fledges while on the barren ground ; but when they arrive at any woods, they then make proper fledges, with thin boards of the larch-tree, generally known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Juniper. T t 2 Thofc 324 AJOURNEYTOTHE Thofc fledges arc of vfirious flzes, according to the ftrength of the pcrfons who are to haul thcra : fome I have feen were not lefs than twelve or fourteen feet long, and fifteen or fixtcen inches wide, but in general they do not exceed eight or nine feet in length, uad twelve or fourteen inches in breadth. !: f" The boards of which thofe fledges are compofed are not more than a quarter of an inch thick, and feldom exceed five or fix inches in width ; as broader would be very un- handy for the Indians to work, who have no other tools than an ordinary knife, turned up a little at the point, from which it acquires the name of Bafe-hoth among the Northern Indians, but among the Southern tribes it is called Mo-co-toggan. The boards are fewed together with thongs of parchment deer-ikin, and feveral crofs bars of wood are fewed on the upper fide, which ferves both to ftrengthen the fledge and fecure the ground-lafhing, to which the load is always faftened by other fmaller thongs, or fl:ripes of leather. The head or fore-part of the fledge is turned up fo as to form a femi- circle, of at leaft fif- teen or twenty inches diameter. This prevents the car- riage from diving into light fnow, and enables it to flide over the inequalities and hard drifts of fnow which are confl:antly met with on the open plains and barren grounds. The trace or draught-line to thofe fledges is a double fl:ring, or flip of leather, made fafl: to the head ; and the bight is put acrofs the flioulders of the pcrfon who 4 hauls mm 11 NORTHERN OCEAN. hauls the fledge, fo as to reft againft the bread. This contrivance, though fo fimple, cannot be improved by the nioft inguii'ms collar-maker in the world. Their fnow-fhoes differ from all ethers made ufe of in thofe parts ; for though they are of the galley kind, that is, fliarp-pointcd before, yet they are always to be worn on one foot, and cannot be fl^.ifted from fide to fide, like other fnow-fhoes ; for this reafon the inner-fide of the frames are almoft ftraight, and the outer-fide has a very large fweep. The frames are generally made of birch- wood, and the netting is compofed of thongs of deer- fkin; but their mode cf filling that compartment where the foot refts, is quite dittc-ent from that ufed among the Southern Indians. 3^5 .i'.ni Their clothing, which chiefly confifts of deer fkins in the hair, makes them very fubjeft to be loufy ; but that is fo far from being thought a difgrace, that the beft among them amufe themfelves with catching and eating thefe vermin ; of which they are fo fond, that the produce of a loufy head or garment affords them not only pleafing amufcment, but a delicious repaft. My old guide, Matonabbee, was fo re- markably fond of thofc little vermin, that he frequently fet five or fix of his ftrapping wives to work to loufe their hairy deer-fkin fliifts, the produce of which being alway? very confiderable, he eagerly received with both hands, and licked them in as fall:, and with as good a grace, as any im\ I: i ia6 A JOURNEY TO THE any European epicure would the mites in a cheefc. He often affured me that fuch amufement was not only very pleafing, but that the objeds of the fearch were very good .; for which I gave him credit, telling him at the fame time, that though I endeavoured to habituate myfelf to every other part of their diet, yet as I was but a fojourner among them, I had no inclination to accuftom myfelf to fuch dainties as I could not procure in that part of the world where I was moft inclined to refide. The Southern Indians and Efquimaux are equally fond of thofe vermin, which are fo dclieftable in the eyes of an European ; nay, the latter have many other dainties of a limilar is.ind ; foi belide making ufe of train-oil as a cordial and as fauce to their meat, I have frequently fcen them eat a whole handlul of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows. It is their conftant cuftom to eat the iihk that comes from the nofe ; and when their nofes bleed by accident, they always lick the bloo4 into their mouths, and fwallow it. The track of land inhabited by the Northern Indians is very extenfive, reaching from the fifty-ninth to the flxty- eighth degree of North latitude; and from Eaft to Weft is upward of five hundred miles wide. It is bounded by Churchill River on the South ; the Athapufcow Indians' Country on the Weft ; the Dog-ribbed and Copper Indians Country on tlie North ; and by Hudfon's Bay ou the Eaft. The tm NORTHERN OCEAN. The land throughout that whole track of country is fcarcely^ any thing but one folid maf -f rocks and ftones, and irt moft parts very hilly, particularly to the Weftward, among the wc ods. The furface, it is very true, is in moft places covered with a thin fod of mofs, intermixed with the roots of the Wee-fa -ca-pircca, cranberries, and a few other in- iignificant fhrubs and herbage ; but under it there is in ge- neral a total want of foil, capable of producing any thing except what is peculiar to the climate. Some of the marflies, indeed, produce feveral kinds of grafs, the growth of which is amazingly rapid ; but this is dealt out with fo fparing a hand as to be barely fufficient to ferve the geefe, fwans, and Other birds of paflage, during their mi- grations in the Spring and Fall, while they remain in a moulting ftate» The many lakes and rivers with which this part of the country abounds, though they do not furnifh the natives with water-carriage, are yet of infinite advantage to them; as they afFord great numbers of fifh, both in Summer and Winter. The only fpecies caught in thofe parts are trout, tittameg, (or tickomeg,) tench, two forts of barbie, (called by the Southern Indians Na-may-pith,) burbot, pike, and a few perch. The four former are caught in all parts of this country, as well the woody as the barren ; but the three latter arc only caught to the Weftward, in fucli lakes and rivers as are fituated among the woods ; and though fome of thofe rivers lead to the barren ground, yet tiie three 3^? n 28 A JOURNEY TOTHE tliree lafl mentioned fpecies of fifli are feldom caught Jjeyond the edge of the woods, not even in the Summer ieafon. * . There is a black, hard, crumply mofs, that grows on the rocks and large ftones in thofe parts, which is of i:i- iinite fervice to the natives, as it fometimes furnifhes them with a temporary fuWlftcnce, when no animal food can be procured. This mofs, when boiled, turns to a gummy confiftence, and is more clammy in the mouth than fago ; it may, by adding either mofs or water, be made to almoft any confiftence. It is fo palatable, that all who tafte it generally grow fond of it. It is remarkably good and pleafing when ufed to thicken any kind of broth, but it is generally moft efteemed when boiled in fifli- liquor. The only method pra6tifed by thofe people to catch fifh either in Winter or Summer, is by angling and fet- ting nets ; both of which methods is attended with mucli fuperftition, ceremony, and unneceffary trouble ; but I will endeavour to defcribe them in as plain and brief a a manner as pojQlble. When they make a new fifliing-net, which is always compofed of fmall thongs cut from raw deer-ikins, they take a number of birds bills and feet, and tie them, a little apart from each other, to the head and foot rope of the net, and at the four corners generally faflcn forae of the toes and jaws of the otters and jackaflics. The birds feet and i.n f i ^NORTHERN OCEAN. and bills made choice of on fiicli occafions arc generally thofe of the laughing goofe, wavey, (or white goofe,) gulls, loons, and black-heads ; and unlefs fome or all of thefe be faflened to the net, they will not attempt to put it into the water, as they firmly believe it would not catch a fmgle fifh. A net thus accoutred is fit for fetting whenever occafion requires, and opportunity offers ; but the firft fifli of whatever fpecies caught in it, are not to be foddcn in the water, but broiled whole on the fire, and the flefli care- fully taken from the bones without diflocating one joint ; after which the bones are laid on the fire at full length and burnt. A ftrid obfervance of thefe rules is fuppofed to be of the utmoft importance in promoting the future fuccefs of the new net ; and a negledl of them would render it not worth a farthing *. When they fifh in rivers, or narrow channels that join two lakes together, they could frequently, by tying two, three, or more nets together, fpread over the whole breadth of the channel, and intercept every fizable fifli that paflcd ; but inflead of that, they fcatter the nets at a confidcrable diftance fiom each other, from a fuperfti- * They frequently fell new nets, which have net been wet more than once or twice, bccaiife they have not been fuccefsful. Thofe nets, when foked in water, are eafily opened, and then make moft excellent heel and toe netting for liiow-fhocs. In general it is far fiiperior to the netting cut by the Southern ludiau women, and is not larger than common net-twine. U u tious 329 ■I'i'l: . «» A TOURNEY TO TH% tioiis notion, that were they kept clofe together, one net would be jealous of its neighbour, and by that means not one of them would catch a lingle fifh. * If! 1 3 ! The methods ufed, and ftridlly obferved, when angling, are equally abfurd as thofe I have mentioned ; for when they bait a hook, a compofition of four, five, or fix ar- ticles, by way of charm, is concealed under the bait, which is always fewcd round the hook. In fad, the only bait ufed by thofe people is in their opinion a compofition of charms, inclofed Vv'ithin a bit of fifh-fkin, fo as in fome meafure to refemble a finall fifh. The things ufed by way of charm, are bits of beavers tiiils and fat, otter's vents and teeth, mufk-rat's guts and tails, loon's vents^ fquirrel's tefticles, the cruddled milk taken out of the ftomach of fiicking fawns and calves, human hair, and numberlefs other articles equally abfurd. Every maftcr of a family, and indeed almoft every other pcrfon, particularly the men, have a fmall bundle of fiich trafh, which they always carry with them, both in Sum- mer and Winter ; and without fome of thofe articles to put under their bait, few of them could be prevailed upon to put a hook into the water, being fully perfuaded that they may as well fit in the tent, as attempt to angle without fuch alfiftance. They have alfo a notion that fifh of the fame fpecies inhabiting different parts of the country, are fond of difi'erent things ; fo that almoft every ^ lake. I, NORTHERN OCEAN. lake and river they arrive at, obliges them to alter the coni- poiition of the charm. The fame rule is obferved on broiling the /irft fruits of a new hook that is ufed for a new net j an old hook that has already been fuccefsful in catching large fifli is efteemed of more value, than a handful of new ones which have never been tried. 55' Deer alfo, as well as filh, are very numerous in many parts of this country ; particularly to the North of the lixtieth degree of latitude. Alpine hares are in feme parts of the barren ground pretty plentiful, where alfo fome herds of mufk-oxen arc to be met with ; and to the Weftward, among the woods, there are fome rabbits and partridges. With all thofe feeming fources of plenty, however, ,one half of the inhabitants, and perhaps the other half alfo, are frequently in danger of being flarved to death, owing partly to their want of ceconomy ; and moft of thefe fcenes of diftrefs happen during their jour- nies to and from Prince of Wales's Fort, the only place at which they trade. When Northern Indians are at the Fadlory, they are very liable to ftcal any thing they think will be fervice- able; particularly iron hoops, fmall bolts, foikes, car- penters tools, and, in fliort, all fmall pieces of iron-work whicli they can turn to advantage, either for their own ufc, or for the purpofe of trading with fuch of their countrynien as feldom vifit the Company's Settlement - U 11 2 among m W I! 1- 33t AJOURNEYTOTHE among themfelves, however, the crime of theft is feldom heard of. When two parties of thofe Indians meet, the ceremonies which pafs between them are quite different from thofe made ufe of in Europe on fimilar occafions ; for when they advance within twenty or thirty yards of each otiier, they make a full halt, and in general fit or lie down on the ground, and do not fpeak for fome minutes, At length one of them, generaDv an elderly man, if any be in company, breaks filence, by acquainting the other party with every misfortune that has bffallen him and his companions from the lafl time they had feen or heard of each other ; and alfo of all deaths and other calamities that have befallen any other Indians during the fame period, at leaft as many particulars as have come to his knowledge. When the firfl has flnifhed his oration, another aged orator (if there be any) belonging to the other party re- lates, in like manner, all the bad news that has come to his knowledge ; and both parties never fail to plead po- verty and famine on all occafions. If thofe orations con- tain any news that in the leaft affed; the other party, it is not long before fome of them begin to figh and fob, and foon after break out into a loud cry, which is generally accom- panied by mofl: of the grown perfons of both fexes ; and . fometinies it is common to fee them all, men, women, and children, in one univerfal howl. The young girls, in particular, NORTHERN OCEAN. particular, are often very obliging on thofe occafions ; for I never remember to have feen a crying match (as I called it) but the greateft part of the company aflifted, although fome of them had no other reafon for it, but that of feeing their companions do the fame. When the firft tranfports of grief fublide, they advance by degrees, and both parties mix with each other, the men always aflbciating with the men, and the women with the women. If they have any tobacco among them, the pipes are pafl'ed round pretty freely, and the converfation foon becomes general. As they are on their jfirft meeting acquainted with all the bad news, they have by this time nothing left but good, which in general has fo far the predominance over the former, that in lefs than half an hour nothing but fmiles and cheerfulnefs are to be feen in every face ; and if they be not really in want, fmall prefents of provifions, am- munition, and other articles, often take place ; fometimes merely as a gift, but more frequently by way of trying whether they cannot get a greater prefent. 333 ■il^i'i They have but few diverfions ; the chief is fliooting at a mark with bow and arrows ; and another out-door game, called HoU, which in fome meafure refembles playing with quoits ; only it is done with fhort clubs, fharp at one end. They alfo amufe themfelves at times with dancing, which is always performed in the night. It is remarkable that tliofe people, though a diftindl nation, have never adopted any mode of dancing of their own, or any fongs to which they p.i:i 334 AJOURNEYTOTHE they can dance; fo that when any thing of this kind is attempted, which is but feldom, they always endeavour to imitate cither the Dog-ribbed or Southern Indians, but more commonly the former, as few of them are fufficiently acquainted either with the Southern Indian language, or their manner of dancing. The Dog-ribbed method is not very difficult to learn, as it only confifts in lifting the feet alternately from the ground in a very quick fuccefTion, and as high as pofTible, without moving the body, which fhould be kept quite ftill and motionlefs ; the hands at the fame time being clofed, and held clofe to the breaft, and the head inclining forward. This diverfion is always per- formed quite naked, except the breech-cloth, and at times that is alfo thrown off; and the dancers, who feldom ex- ceed three or four at a time, always ftand clofe to the mufic. The mufic may, by ftraining a point, be called both vocal and inflrumcntal, though both are fufficiently humble. The former is no more than a frequent repeti- tion of the words hee, liee, hee, ho, ho, ho, &'c. which, by a more or lefs frequent repetition, dwelling longer on one word and fhorter on another, and raifin?^ and lowerino: ' O CD the voice, produce fomething like a tune, and has the de- lired eiied. This is always accompanied by a drum or tabor ; and fometimcs a kind of rattle is added, made with a piece of dried buffalo (kin, in fnapc exactly like an oil-fliifk, into which they put a few fKot or pebbles, wi:ich, when fliook about, produces mufic liale inkiior \to the drum, though not fo loud. This NORTHERN OCEAN. This mode of dancing naked is performed only by the men ; for when the women are ordered to dance, they al- ways exhibit without the tent, to mufic which is played within it ; and though their method of dancing is perfectly decent, yet it has ftill lefs meaning and adion than that of the men : for a whole heap of them crowd together in a ftraight line, and juft fhuffle themfelves a little from right to left, and back Again in the fame line, without lifting their feet from the ground ; and when the mufic flops, they all give a little bend of the body and knee, fomewhat like an awkward curtfey, and pronounce, in a little fhrill tone, h-e-e, h-o-o-o-e. Befide thefe diverfions, they have another fimple in- door game, which is that of taking a bit of wood, a button, or any other fmall thing, and after fhifting it from hand to hand leveral times, afking their antagonift, which hand it is in ? When playing at this game, which only admits of two perfons, each of them have ten, fif- teen, or twenty fmall chips of wood, like matches ; and when one of the players guefles right, he takes one of his antagonift's flicks, and lays it to his own ; and he that firfl gets all the flicks from the other in that manner, is faid to win the game, which is generally for a fingle load of powder and fliot, an arrow, or fome other thing of inconfiderable value. 335. 1:3 The women never mix in any of their diverfions, i. ' even in dancing ; for when that is required of them, they ai ways; ,1 ' 33<^ A JOURNEY TO THE |S •-• '; I ■ I! always exhibit without the tent, as been already ob- lerved ; nor arc they allowed to be preient at a feaft. In- deed, the whole courfe of their lives is one continued fcene of drudgery, viz, carrying and hauling heavy loads, drefling fkins for clothing, curing their provifions, and prac- tifing other ncccflary -lomeftic duties which are required in a family, without enjoying the leaft diverfion of any kind, or relaxation, on any occalion whatever ; and except in the executicHi of thofe homely duties, in which they are al- ways inftrudled from their infancy, their fenfcs feem al- moft as dull and frigid as the zone they inhabit. There are indeed fome exceptions to be met with among them, and I fuppofe it only requires indulgence and precept to make fome of them as lofty and infolent as any women in the vi^orld. Though they wear their hair at full length, and never tie it up, like the Southern Indians ; and though not one in fifty of them is ever poflefled of a comb, yet by a wonderful dexterity of the fingers, and a good deal of patience, they make fhift to ftroke it out fo as not to leave two hairs entangled ; but when their heads are in- fefted with vermin, from which very few of either fex are free, they mutually aflift each other in keeping them under. A fcorbutic diforder, refembling the worfl ftage of the itch, confumptions, and fluxes, are their chief diforders. The firft of thefe, though very troublefome, is never known to prove fatal, unlefs it be accompanied with fome inward complaint j but the two latter, with a few acci- dents, t f 1 ' '■ >' ' 1, i NORTHERN OCEAN. dents, carries off great numbers of both fexcs and all ages : indeed few of them live to any great age, probably owing to the great fatigue they undergo from their youth up, in procuring a fubfiftence for themfelves and their offspring. Though the fcorbutic diforder above mentioned does appear to be infedlious, it is rare to fee one have it with*- out the whole tent's crew being more or lefs affcdled with it; but this is by no means a proof of its being contagious ; I rather attribute it to the effects of fome bad water, or the unwholefomenefs of fome fifli they may catch in particular places, in the courfe of their wandering manner of life. Were it otherwife, a flngle family would in a fliort time communicate it to the whole tribe ; but, on the contrary, the difeafe is never known to fpread. In the younger fort it always attacks the hands and feet, not even fparing the palms and foles. Thofe of riper years generally have it about the wrifts, infteps, and pof- teriors ; and in the latter particularly, the blotches, or boils as they may juftly be called, are often as large as the top of a man's thumb. This diforder mofl: frequently makes its appearance in the Summer, while the Indians are out on the barren ground ; and though it is by no means reckoned dangerous, yet it is fo obltinate, as not to yield to any medicine that has ever been applied to it while at the Company's Fadory. And as the natives themfelves never make ufe of any medicines of their own preparing, Nature alone works the cure, which is never performed in Xx lefs i$r 1>» 'A ij,^ A JOURNEY TOTRE lefs tlian twelve or eighteen months ; and fome of them are troubled with this difagreeable and loathfome diforder for years before they are pcrfcdlly cured, and then a dark livid mark remains on thofe parts of the fkin which have been afFedled, for many years afterwards, and in fome during life* When any of the principal Northern Indians die, it is generally believed that they are conjured to death, either by. fome of their own countrymen, by fome of the Southern Indians, or by fome of the Efquimaux : too frequently the fufpicion falls on the latter tribe, which is the grand reafon of their never being at peace with thofe poor and diftrefled people. For fome time paft, however, thofe Efquimaux who trade with our floops at Knapp's Bay,, Navel's Bay, and Whale Cove, are in perfedt peace and friendfhip with the Northern Indians ; which is entirely- owing ta the prote ;^^ /S*^//?^ y^ccount of M-AToii AUBEEy and of the eminent Services, which he rendered to his Country^ as well as to the Hudfons Bay Company, Matonabbee was the fon of a Northern Indian by a flave woman, who was formerly bought from fome Southern In- dians who came to Prince of Wales's Fort with furrs, ^c^ This match was made by Mr. Richard Norton, then Go- vernor, who detained them at and near the Fort, for the fame purpofe as he did thofe Indians called Home-guard. As to Matonabbee's real age, it is impoflible to be particular ; for the natives of thofe parts being utterly unacquainted with letters, or the ufe of hieroglyphics, though their memories are not lefs retentive than thofe of other nations,, cannot preferve and tranfmit to pofterity the exadt time when any particular event happens.' Indeed, the utmoft extent of their chronology reaches no farther, than to fay, My fon, or my daughter, was born in fuch a Governor's time, and fuch an event happened during fuch a per- fon's life-time (though, perhaps, he or {he has been dead many years). However, according to appearance, and fome corroborating circumftances, Matonabbee was born about the year one thoufand feven hundred and thirty-fix, or one thoufand feven hundred and thirty-feven ; and his father dying while he was young, the Governor took the boy, ■.f ""s,^ NORTHERN OCEAN. boy, and, according to the Indian cuftom, adopted him as his fon. ' Soon after the death of Matonabbee's father, Mr. Norton went to England, and as the boy did not experience from his fuccefTor the fame regard and attention which he had been accuftomed to receive from Mr. Norton, he was foon taken from the Fa6lory by fome of his father's relations, and continued with the Northern Indians till Mr. Ferdinand Jacobs fucceeded to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, in the year one thoufand feven hundred and fifty-two; when out of regard to old Mr. Norton, (who was then dead,) Mr. Jacobs took the firft opportunity that offered to detain Matonabbee at the Factory, where he was for feveral years employed in the hunting-fervice with fome of the Com- pany's fervants, particularly with the late Mr. Mofes Nor- ton *, (fon of the late Governor,) and Mr. Magnus John- ftonf. In the courfe of his long flay at and near the Fort, it is no wonder that he fhould have become perfedt mafter of the Southern Indian language, and made fome progrefs in the Engliih. It was during this period, that he gained a knowledge of the Chriftian faith ; and he always de- clared, that it was too deep and intricate for his compre- henfion. Though he was a perfedt bigot with relpedl to 349 * Afterwards Go\'':{nor,. t Mafter of the Churchill floop. the ;^^o AJOURNEYTOTHE the arts and tricks of Indian jugglers, yet he could by no means be impreffcd with a belief of any part of our reli- gion, nor of the religion of the Southern Indians, who have as firm a belief in a future flate as any people under the Sun. He had fo much natural good fenfe and libe- rality of fentiment, however, as not to think that he had a right lo ridicule any particular fed on account of their religious opinions. On the contrary, he declared, that he held them all equally in efteem, but was determined, as he came into the world, fo he would go out of it, without profefTmg any religion at all. Notwithftanding his averiion from religion, I have met with few Chriftians who pof- feffed more good moral qualities, or fewer bad ones. . - . .It is impofTible for any man to have been more punctual in the performance of a proinife than he was; his fcrupulous adherence to truth and honefty would have done honour to the moft enlightened and devout Chriftian, while his benevolence .nd univerfal humanity to all the human race *, according to his abilities and manner of life, could .■ '-;-:■ ^r- I '. ■■:... •' not • * I niuft here obferve, that when we wf nt to war with the Efquimaux at the Copper River in July 177 1> it was by no means his propofal : on the <;ontrary, he was forced into it by his countrymen. For I have heard him fay, that when he firft vifited that river, in company with I-dot-le-aza, they met with feveral Efquimaux; and fo far from killing them, were very friendly to them, and made them fmall prefents of fuch articles as they could ' beft fpare, and that would be of moft ufe to them. It is more than probable that the two bits of iron found among the plunder while I was there, v/cre part of thofe prefents. There were alfo a few long beads found among thofe people, b4t 14 NORTHERN OCEAN. not be exceeded by the moft illuftrious perfonage now on record ; and to add to his other good qualities, he was the only Indian that I ever faw, except one, who was not guilty of backbiting and flandering his neighbours. In ftature, Matonabbee was above the common fize, being nearly (ix feet highf ; and, except that his neck was rather (though not much) too fhort, he was one of the fineft and beft proportioned men that I ever faw. In complexion he was dark, like the other Northern Indians, but his face was not disfigured by that ridiculous cuftom of marking the cheeks with three or four black lines. His features were regular and agreeable, and yet fo ftrongly marked and exprefTive, that they formed a complete index of his mind ; which, as he never intended to deceive or diffemble, he never wifhed to conceal. In converfatioi? he was eafy, lively, and agreeable, but exceedingly modcfl ; and at table, the noblenefs and elegance of his manners might have been admired by the firft perfonages in the world ; for to the vivacity of a Frenchman, and the people, but quite different from any that the Hudfon's Bay Company had ever lent to the Bay : fo that the only probable way they could have come by them, muft have been by an intercourfe with fome of their tribe, who ha', dealings with the Danes in Davis's Straits. It is very probable, howevei. they might have paflfcd through many hands before they reached this remof place. Had they had an immediate intercourfe with the Efquimaux in Davis Straits, it is natural to fuppofe that iron would not have been fo fcarce amon '; them as it feemed to bej indeed the diftance is too great to admit of it. f I have fecn two Northern Indians who meaftired fix feet three inches j and one, fix feet four inches. I ' • fincerity 351 .152 A JOURNEY TO THE flncerity of an Englifliman, he added the gravity and noblenefs of a Turk ; all fo happily blended, as to render his company and converfation univcrfally pleafing to thofe who underftood either the Northern or Southern Indian languages., the only languages in which he could convcrfe. He was remarkably fond of Spaniili wines, though he never drank to excefs; and as he would not partake of fpirituous liquors, however fine in quality or plainly mixed, he was always mafter of himfelf. As no man is exempt from frailties, it is natural to fuppofe that as a man he had his fliare ; but the greateft with which I can charge him, is jealoufy, and that fometimes carried him beyond the bounds of humanity. In his early youth he difcovered talents equal to the greateft tafk that could poflibly be expedled from an In- dian. Accordingly Mr. Jacobs, then Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort, engaged him, when but a youth, as an Ambaflador and Mediator between the Northern Indians and the Athapufcow Tribe, who till then had always been at war with each other. In the courfe of this embafly Matonabbee not only difcovered the moft brilliant and folid parts, but (hewed an extenfive knowledge of every ad- vantage that could arife to both nations from a total fup- preflion of hoftilities ; and at times he difplayed fuch in- ftances of perfonal courage and magnanimity, as are rarely to be found among perfons of fuperior condition and rank. He yp— ^^ ■* '^i* NORTHERN OCEAN. He had not penetrated far into the country of the Atha- pufcow Indians, before he came to fevcral tents with in- habitants ; and there, to his great furprifc, he found Cap- tain Keelfhies, (a perfon frequently mentioned in this Journal *,) who was then a prifoner, with all his family and fome of his friends, the fate of whom was then undetermined ; but through the means of Matonabbee, though young enough to have been his fon, Keelfhics and a few others were rcleafed, with the lofs of his effeds and all his wives, which were fix in number. Matonab- bee not only kept his ground after Keelfhies and his fmall party had been permitted t*. return, but made his way into the very heart of the Athapufcow country, in order to have a perfonal conference with all or moft of the principal inhabitants. The farther he advanced, the more occafion he had for intrepidity. At one time lie came to five tents of thofe favages, which in the whole contained fixteen men, befides their wives, children, and fervants, while he himfelf was entirely alone, except one wife and a fervant boy. The Southern Indians, ever treacherous, and apparently the more kind when they are premedita- ting mifchief, feemed to give him a hearty welcome, ac- cepted the tenders of peace and reconciliation with appa- rent fatisfadion, and, as a mark of their approbation, each tent in rotation made a feaft, or entertainment, the • The fame perfon was at Prir.ce of Wales's Fort when the French arrived en the 8th of Auguft 1782, and faw them dcmolilh the Fort. * Z z fame iS3 ! i^BjlKi^^' H H ... „.. ...... ^^;..;ai:J ■ '!■ IE* "■ j..V 'JK^i '•\ j'' |bI|7 'i' ■'^Kf. •' '^Wm SSI [{ii i'^Hj 354 A JOURNEY TOTHE fame night, and invited him to partake ; at the laft of which they had concerted a fcheme to murder him. He was, however, fo perfeft a mafter of the Southern Indian language, that he foon difcovered their defign, and told them, he was not come in a hoftile manner, but if they attempted any thing of the kind he was determined to fell his life as dear as poflible. On hearing this, fome of them ordered that his fervant, gun, and fnow-ftioes, (for it was Winter,) ftiould be brought into the tent and fe- cured ; but he fprung from his feat, feized his gun and fnow-flioes, and went out of the tent, telling them, if they had an intention to moleft him, that was the proper place where he could fee his enemy, and be under no apprehenfions of being fhot cowardly through the back. I am fure (faid he) of killing two or three of you, and if you chufe to purchafe my life at that price, now " is the time ; but if otherwife, let me depart without " any farther moleftation " They then told him he was at liberty to go, on condition of leaving his fervant ; but to this he would not confent. He then rufhed into the tent and took his fervant by force from two men ; when find- ing there was no appearance of farther danger, he fet out on his return to the frontiers of his own country, and from thence to the Fadory. . „ <( :r- :;',-:. i..,..J^y NOR TgU. ERN OCEAN. but they were found among the woods, far from the places where thofe infedls haunt, and had fed on grafs and other herbage. After the middle of July, when the berries begin to ripen, they are excellent eating, and fo continue till January or February following ; but late in the Spring they are, by long fading, very poor and dry eating. The Southern Indians kill great numbers of thofe Bears at ail feafons of the year j but no encouragement can pre- vent them from fingeing almoft every one that is in good condition : fo that the few flcins they do fave and bring to the market, are only of thofe which are fo poor that their flelli is not worth eating *. In fad, the fkinning of a Bear fpoils the meat thereof, as much as it would do to fkin a young porker, or a roafting pig. The fame may be fald of fwans (the (kins of which the Company have lately made an article of trade) ; otherwife thoufands of theiv fkins might be brought to market annually, by the Indians that trade with the Hudfon's Bay Company's fer- vants at i^he different feftlements aboat the Bay. 37^ t;' J, Brown Bears are, 1 believe, never found in the North- Indian terr".tories ; but I faw the fkin of an enormous ^ * It is common for the Southern Indians to tame and domeilicate th. vfoun» cubs; i;;u they are frequently taken fo young diat they cannot eat. On thol-'. occafions the Indians oblige their wives who liave milk in their breafls to fuckJe them. And one of the Company's fervants, wliofe name is Ifaac Batt, wil- ling to be as great a brute as his Indian companions, abfolutcly forced one of his wives, who had recently loft her infant, to fuckle a young Bear. i :; • 3 B 2- grizzled Hrowi CMl". ,t ;:i ,)» f: 37» A' J O U R N E Y TO THE The Wolvc tene. grizzled Bear at the tents of the Efquimaux at the Copper River ; and many of them are faid to breed not very re- mote from that part. ,V...f '. . . • The Wolverene is common in the Northern regions, as far North as the Copper River, and perhaps farther. They are equally the inhabitants of woods and ba en grounds ; for the Efquimaux to the North of Churciiill kill many of them when their fkins are in excellent feafon : a proof of their being capable of braving the fevereft cold. They are very flow in their pace, but their wonderful fa- ' gacity, flrength, and acute fcent, make ample amends for that defeft ; for they are feldom killed at any feafon when they do not prove very fat : a great proof of their being excellent providers. With refpeft to the fiercenefs of this animal which fome alTert, I can (ay little, but I know them to be beads of great courage and refolution, for I once faw one of them take pofTeffion of a deer that an In- dian had killed, and though the Indian advanced within twenty yards, he would not relinquifli his claim to it, but fuffered himfelf to be ftiot (landing on the deer. I once faw a flmilar inftance of a lynx, or wild cat, which alfo fuflfered itfelf to be killed before it would relinquifli the . prize. The Wolverenes have alfo frequently been feen to take a deer from a wolf before the latter had time to be- gin his repaft after killing it. Indeed their amazing flrength, and the length and fliarpnefs of their claws, render them capable of making a ftrong reliftance againft any NORTHERN OCEAN, any other animal in thofe parts, the Bear not excepted* As a proof of their amazing ftrength, there was one at Churchill fome years fince, that overfet the greateft part of a large pile of wood, (containing a whole Winter's firing, that meafured upwards of feventy yards round,) to get at fome provifions that had been hid there by the Company's fervants, when going to thc Fadory to fpend the Chriftmas holidays. The fadt was, this animal had been lurking about in the neighbourhood of their tent (which was about eight miles from the Fadiory) for fome weeks, and had coiiiriitted many depredations on the game caught in their traps and fnares, as well as eaten many foxes that were killed by guns fet for that purpofe ; but the Wolverene was too cunning to take either trap or gun himfelf. The people knowing the mifchievous difpofition of thofe ani- mals, took (as they thought) the moft effedhial method to fecure the remains of their provifions, which they did not chufe to carry home, and accordingly tied it up in bundles and placed it on the top of the wood-pile, (about two miles from their tent,) little thinking the Wolverene would find it out; but to their great furprife, when they returned to their tent after the holidays, they found the pile of wood in the ftate already mentioned, though fome of the trees that compofed it were as much as two men could carry. The only reafon the people could give for the animal doing fo much mifchief was, that in his at- tempting to carry off the booty, fome of the fmall par:els of provifions had fallen down into the heart of the pile, and fooner 373 ,374 A J O U R N E Y T 0 T H E . ' (ooner than lofe half his prize, he purfued the above method till he had accomplifhed his ends. The bags of flour, oatmeal, and peafe, though of no ufe to him, he tore all to pieces, and Mattered the contents about on the fnow; but every bit of animal food, conflfting of beef, pork, bacon, venifon, lalt geefe, partridges, &*€. to a confidcrable amount, he 'carried away. Thefe ani- mals are great enemies to the Beaver, but the manner of life of the latter prevents them from falling into their clutches fo frequently as many other animals ; they com- mit vaft depredations on the foxes during the Summer, while the young ones are fmall ; their quick, fcent direds them to their dens, and if the entrance be too fmall, their ftrength enables them to widen it, and go in and kill the mother and all her cubs, in fad:, they are the moft de- ftrudive animals in this country *. ^v i4>'>' < a"' The Otter. Otters are pretty plentiful in the rivers to the North of Churchill, as far as latitude 62°; farther North I do not recoiled: to have feen any. In Winter they generally frequent thofe parts of rivers where there are falls or rapids, which do not freeze in the coldeft Winters j becaufe in • Mr. Graham fays they take their lodgings in the clefts of rocks, or in hollow trees. The ibrnier I acknowledge, but 1 believe that neither Mr. Graham nor any of the Company's fervants ever faw an inftance of the latter. In faft, during all my travels in the interior parts of Hudfon's Bay, I never faw a hollow tree that was capable of affording Ihelter to any larger animal than martins, jackalhes, or wejacks j much lefs the quiquchatch or bear, as fomc bavc afferted. c fuch NORTHERN OCEAN. fuch fituations they are moft likely to find plenty of fifli, and the open water gives them a free admiffion to the fliore, where they fometimes go to eat the fifli they have caught ; but moft commonly fit on the ice, or get on a great ftone in the river. They are fi-equently feen in the very depth of Winter at a confiderable diftance from any known open water, both in woods and on open plains, as well as on the ice of large lakes ; but it is not known what has led them to fiich places : perhaps merely for amufement,. for they are not known to kill any game on the land during that feafon. If purfued when among the woods in Winter, (where the fnow is always light and deep,) they immediately dive, and make confiderable way under it, but are eafily traced by the motion of the fnow above them, and foon overtaken. The Indians kill numbers of them with clubs, by tracing them in the fnow ; but fbme of the old ones are fo fierce when clofe purfued, that they turn and fly at their purfuer,.and their bite is fo fevcre that it is much dreaded by the Indians, Befides this method? of killing them, the Indians have another, which i« equally fuccefsful ; namely, by concealing themfelves within a reafonable gun-fhot of the Otters ufual landing-places, and waiting their coming out of the water. This method is more generally praftifed in moon-light nights. They alfo ihoot many of them as they are fporting in the water, and fome few are caught in traps. The Otters in this, as well as every other part of the bay, vary in fize and colour,, according to age and feafon* In. 375 M 376 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E In Summer, when the hair is very {hort, they are al- moft black, but as the Winter advances, they turn to a beautiful dark auburn, except a fmall fpot under the chin, ^vhich is of a filver gray. This colour they retain all the Winter ; but late in the Spring (though long before they {hed their coat) they turn to a dull rufty brown ; fo that a perfon who is acquainted with thofe changes can tell to a great nicety, by looking at the fkins, (when offered for i^le,) the very time they were killed, and pay for them according to their value. The number of their young is various, from three to five or fix. They unite in copu- lation the fame as a dog, and fo do every other animal that has a bone in the penis. X will here enumerate all of that defcription that I know of in thofe parts, Kjiz. bears of all forts, wolves, wolvereens, foxes, martins, otters, wejacks, jackafhes, fkunks, and ermines *. The Jack- afli. J A CRASH. This animal is certainly no other than the Icfler Otter of Canada, as its colour, fize, and manner of life entirely correfpond with the defcription of that animal in Mr. Tenant's Ardic Zoology. They, like the larger Otter, are frequently found in Winter feveral miles from any water, and are often caught in traps built for martins. They are fuppofed to prey on mice and partridges, the fame as the martin ; but when by the fide of rivers or * The Otter is very fond of play ; and one of their favourite paftimes is, to get on a high ridge of fnow, bend their fore-feet backward, and (lide down the fide of it, fomctimes to the diftance of twenty yards. * A creeks t£^ NORTHERN OCEAN. 377 creeks, they generally feed on fifti. They vary Co much in fize and colour, that it was very eafy for Mr. Pennant to have miftaken the fpecimen fent home for another ani- mal ► They are the eafieft to tame and domefticate of any animal I know, except a large fpecies of field-mice, called / the Hair-tailed Moufe ; for in a very fhort time they are fo fond, that it is fcarcely poflible to keep them from climb- ing up one's legs and body, and they never feel themfelves happier than when fitting on the flioulder ; but when angry, or frightened, (like the fkunk,) they emit a very dif- agreeable fmell. They fleep very much in the day, but prowl about and feed in the night ; they are very fierce when at their meals, not fuffering thofe to whom they are moft attached to take it from them. I have kept feveral of them, but their over-fondnefs made them troublefome, as they were always in the way ; and their fo frequently emit- ting a difagreeable fmell, rendered them quite difgufting;- • Though the Wejack * and Skunf are never found in ThcWc- the Northern Indian country, yet I cannot help obferving skunt." that the foetid fmell of the latter has not been much ex- aggerated by any Author. When I was at Cumberland * Mr. Graham afTerts that this animal frequents the banks of creeks, and ftcds on firti ; but thefe are by no means their ufual haunts. I have, howeverj no doubt, but when they, find fifh on the land, that they may eat it, like other earnivorous animals ; but they are as fliy of taking the water as a domcftic cat. They climb trees, and catch partridges, mice, and rabbits, with as much eafe as a martin. Tliey are eafily tamed and domefticated, arc very fond of tea- Teaves, have a pleafant mulky fmell, and are very playful. . 3 C Houfe, ttii in r .178 The Pine Martin. m A JOURNEY TO THE Houfe, in the Fall of one thoufand {cvcd hundred and fcventy-four, fome Indians that were tenting on the plant- ation killed two of thofe animals, and made a fcaft of them ; when the fpot where they were finged and gutted was fo impregnated with that naufeous fmell which they emit, rhat after a whole Winter had elapfed, and the fnow had thawed away in the Spring, the fmell was flill into- lerable. I am told, however, that the flefli is by no mems tainted with the fmell, if care be taken in gutting, and taking out the bag that contains this furpriling effluvia, and which they have the power of emitting at pleafure ; but I rather doubt their being capable of ejeding their urine fo far as is reported ; I do not think it is their urine which contains that peftilential effluvia, for if that was the cafe, all the country where they freo lent would be fo fcented with it, that neither man nor beaft could live there A^ith any degree of comfort. .: The Common Pine Martin is found in moft paru^ of this country, and though very fcarce in what is abfolutely called the Northern Indian, territory, yet by the Indians ftroUing toward the borders of the Southern Indian country, are killed in great numbers, and annually traded for at Churcliill Fadlory. TheErmiue, or Stote. The Ermine, or Stote, is common in thofe part?, but generally more plentiful on the barren ground, and open plaiiis or marflies, than in the woods , probably owing to : ,:. ■ ' . • • the WSESS N O R T H E R N O C £ A N. the mice being more numerous in the former fituations thaii in the latter. In Summer they are of a tawney brown, but in Winter of a delicate white all over, except the tip of the tail, which is of a glofly black. They are, for their fize, the ftrongeft and moft courageous animal I know ; as they not only kill partridges, but even attack rabbits with great fuccefs. They fomctimes take up their abode in the out-offices and provifion-fheds belonging to the Fac- tories ; and though they commit fome depredations, make ample amends by killing great numbers of mice, which are very numerous and deftrudlive at mofl: of the fettle- ments in the Bay. I have taken much pains to tame and domefticate this beautiful animal, but never could fuc- ceed ; for the longer I kept it the more reftlefs and im- patient it became. 379 , Animals with Cutting Teeth.. The Musk Rat, or Musquash; or, as Naturalifts call ThcMut it, the MuskBeaver; is common in thofe parts; generally frequenting ponds and deep fwamps that do not freeze dry in Winter. The manner of life of this fpecies of ani - mals is peculiar, aud refembles that of the Beaver, as they are in fome refpe(5ts provident, and build houfes to (lielter thcmfelves from the inclemency of the cold in Winter; but inftead of making thofe houfes on the banks of ponds or ,, fwamps, like the Beaver, they generally build them on the ice as foon as it is l^inned over, ^d at a confiderable i 3 C a diftaace j8o AJOURNEYTOTHE diftance from the fhore ; always taking care to keep a hole open in the ice to admit them to dive for their food, which chiefly coniifts of the roots of grafs : in the Southern parts of the country they feed much on a well-knowji root, called Calamus Aromaticus. The materials made ufe of in building their houfes are mud and grafsj which they fetch up from the br»ttom. It fometimcs happens in very cold Winters, that the holes in their houfcs freeze over, in fpite of all their efforts to keep them open. When that is the cafe, and they have no provifions left in the houfe, the ftrongeft prc/s on the weakeft, till by degrees only one is left out of a whole lodge. I have feen feveral inftances fufficient to confirm the truth of this aflcrtion ; for when their houfes were broke open, the fkeletons of feven or eight have been found, and only one entire ani- mal. Though they occafionally eat fifh and other animal food, yet in general they feed very clean, and when fat are good eating, particularly when nicely finged, fcalded, and boiled. They are eafily tamed, and foon grow fond ; are very cleanly and playful, and fmell exceedingly pleafant of mufk ; but their refemblance to a Rat is fo great, tliat few are partial to them. Indeed the only difference be- tween them and a common Rat, exclufive of their fuperior fize, is, that their hind-feet are large and webbed, and the tail, inftead of being round, is flat and fcaly. Though I have before faid, that the Mufk Beaver generally build their houfes on the ice, it is not always the cafe j for in the Southern parts of the country, par- ticularly * (1 NORTHERN OCEAN. licularly about Cumberland Houfe, I have feen, in fome of the deep fwamps that were over-run with rufhes and long grafs, many fmall iflands that have been raifcd by the induftry of thofe animals ; on the tops of wliich they had built their houfes, like the beaver, fome of which were very large. The tops of thofe houfes are favourite breed- ing-places for the geefe, which bring forth their young brood there, without the fear of being molefled by foxes, or any other dcftrudive animal, except the Eagle. Porcupines are fo fcarce to the North of Churchill River, that I do not recoiled to have feen more than fix during almoft three years rcfidence among the Northern Indians. Mr. Pennant obferves in his Arctic Zoology, that they always have two at a time ; one brouglit forth alive and the other ftill-born * ; but 1 ne\ er faw an in- ftance of this kind, though in different p?rts of the coun- try I have feen them killed in all ftages of pregnancy. The flefli of the Porcupine is very delicious, and fo much efteemed by the Indians, that they think it the grcateft luxury that their country affords. The quills are in great requcft among the women ; who make them into a variety of ornaments, fuch as fhot-bags, belts, garters, bracelets, &*€. Their mode of copulation is fingular, for their * This information was given to Mr. Pennant from the authority of Mr. Graham J but the before-mentioned account of feeing them killed in all ftages of pregnancy, when no fymptoms of that kind appeared, will, I hope, be iufficicnt to clear up that miftakc. quills .^8 1 The Porcu- pine. 'f. A m 382 AJOURNEYTOTHE quills will not permit them to perform that office in the ufual mode, like other quadrupeds. To remedy this in- convenience, they fometimcs lie on their fides, and meet in that manner; but the ufual mode is for the male to lie on his back, and the female to walk over him, (begin- ning at his head,) till the parts of generation come in contadl. They arc the mofl forlorn animal I know ; for in thofe parts of Hudfon's Bay where they are moft numerous, it is not common to fee more tlian one in a place. They are fo remarkably flow and flupid, that our Indians going with packets from Fort to Fort often fee them in the trees, but not having occaflon for them at that time, leave them till their return; and fhould their abfence be a week or ten days, they are fure to find them within a mile of the place where they had feen them before. Foxes of various Co- lours. Foxes of various colours are not fcarce in thofe parts ; but the natives living fuch a wandering life, feldom kill many. It is rathci firange that no other fpecies of Fox, except . the white, are found at any difbnce from the woods on the barren ground ; for fo long as the trade has been cftablifhed with the Efquimaux to the North of Churchill, I do not recoiled: that Foxes of any other co- lour than white were ever received from them. Varying I. lares. The Varying Hares are numerous to the North of Churchill River, and extend as far as latitude 72% pro- bably farther. They delight mofl in rocky and ftony places, I NORTHERN OCEAN. places, near the borders of woods ; though many of them brave the coldcft Winters on entire barren around. In Sum- mer they are nearly the colour of our Engiilh wild rabbit ; but in Winter afiume a moft delicate white all over, exxept the tips of the ears, which arc black. They arc, when full grown and in good condition, very large, niiiny of them weighing fourteen or fifteen pounds; and if not too old, are good eating. In Winter they feed on long rye-grafs and the tops of dwarf willows, bat in Summer cat berries, and dif- ferent forts of fmall herbage. They are frequently killed on the South-fide of Churchill River, and fevcral have been known to breed near the fettlement at that place. They muft multiply very faft, for when we evacuated Prince of Wales's Fort in one thoufand feven hundred and eighty- two, it was rare to fee one of them within twenty or thirty miles of that place ; but at our return, in one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-three, we found them in fuch numbers, that it was common for one man to kill two or three in a day within half a mile of the new fettlement. But partly, perhaps, from fo many being killed, and partly from the furvivors being fo frequently difturbed, they have fliifted their fituation, and are at prefent as fcarce near the fettlement as ever. The Northern Indians purfue a fingular method in (hooting thofe Hares ; finding by long experience that thefe animals will not bear a diredl ap- proach, when the Indians fee a hare fitting, they walk round it in circles, always drawing nearer at every revo- lution, till by degrees they get within gun-lhot. The 5 middle 3^3 !*?■ Ill 384 AJOURNEYTOTHE middle of the day, if it be clear weather, is the beft time to kill them in this manner ; for before and after noon, the Sun's altitude being fo fmall, makes a man's fhadow fo long on the fnow, as to frighten the Hare be- fore he can approach near enough to kill it. The fame may be faid of deer when on open plains, who are fre- quently more frightened at the long ftiadow than at the man himfelL The Ame- rican Hare. The American Hares, or, as they are called in Hudfon*s Bay, Rabbits, are not plentiful in the Eaftern parts of the Northern Indian country, not even in thofe parts that are fituated among the woods; but to the Weft ward, bordering on the Southern Indian country, they are ia fome places pretty numerous, though by no means equal- to what has been reported of them at York Fort, and fome other fettlements in the Bay.. The furr of thofe animals, when killed in the beft part of the feafon, was for many years entirely negleded by the furriers ; for fome time paft- the Company have or^ dered as many of their fkins to be fent home as can be procured; they are but of fmall value.. The flefh of thofe Hares is generaUy more efteemed than* that of the former. They are in feafon all the Winter ;• and though they generally feed on the brufti of pine and) fir during that feafon, yet many of the Northern Indians eat the contents of the ftomach. They are feldom fought after in Summer, as iu that feafon they are not efteemed. good NORTHERN OCEAN. 3S5 good eating ; but as the Fall advances they are, by feed- ing on berries, &'c. moft excellent. In Spring thty flicd their Winter coat, and during the Summer are nearly the colour of the Englifh wild rabbit, but as the Winter ad- vances they become nearly white. In thick weather they are eafily fhot with the gun ; but the moft ufual method of killing them is by fnares, fet nearly in the manner defcribed by Dragge in the Firft Volume of his North Weft Paflage. ' The Common Squirrels are plentiful in the woody parts t^ic Com- of this country, and arc caught by the natives in confider- J^°" ^*^''"" able mmibers with fnares, while the boys kill many of them with blunt-headed arrows. The method of fnar- ing them is rather curious, though very fimple, as it con- fifts of nothing more than fetting a number of fnares all round the body of the tree in which they are feen, and ar- ranging them in fuch a manner that it is fcarcely poiliblc for the fquirrels to defcend without being entangled in one of them. This is generally the amufement of the boys. Though fmall, and feldom fat, yet they are good eating. The beauty and delicacy of this animal induced me to attempt taming and domefticating fome of them, but with- out fiiccefs ; for though feveral of them were fo familiar as to take any thing out of my hand, and fit on the table where I was writing, and play vvith the pens, &'c. yet they never would bear to be handled, and were very mif-f chievous; gnawing the chair-bottoms, window- curtains, faftics, ^c* to pieces. They are an article of trade in the 3 D Company's 38$ A JCTTRNEY TO THE Company's ftandard, but thfe greateft partof their fkinsj being killed in Summer, are of very little value. ThcGrouiid The Ground Squirrels are- never found in the woody parts or North America, but are very plentiful on tho barren ground^ to the North of Churchill River, as fac as the latitude 71:°, and probably much farther. In fize they arc equal to the American Grey Squirrel, though more beautiful in colour. They generally burrow among the rocks and under great ftones, but fometimes on the fides of landy ridges j and are fo provident in laying up a> Winter's ftock during the Summery that they are feldom: feen on the furfece of the. ihow in Winter. They gene- rally feed on. the tufts, of grafs, the tender tops of dwarf willows, ^t. and are for the moft part exceedingly; fat, and good eating; They arc eafily tamed, and foon grow fond ;. by degrees they will bear handling as well as a cat ; are exceeding cleanly, very playful, and by no means fo^ reftlefs' and impatient of confinement as the Commons. Squirrel': ■)U Mfceofva- MicE are in great plenty and variety in all |jarts of H\idfon's Bay ; the marfhes being inhabited by one fpe- cies,. and the dry ridges by. another.. The Shrew Moufe is. frequently found in Beaver houfes during Winter,, where they not only find a warm; habitation, but alfo pick up a-, comfortable livelihood from- the fciaps left by the Beaver^. . ^ft.of the other fpecies build or make.nefts of dry grafs,„ ';ri() ' > qT NORTHERN OCEAN. of fuch a fize and thicknefs, that when covered with fnow, they muft be fufficiently warm. They all feed on grafs in general, but will alfo eat animal food when they can ;get it. The Hair-tailed Moufe is the largeft in the Northern parts of the Bay, being little inferior in fize to ^ common rat. They always burrow under ftones, on dry ridges ; are very inoffenfive, and fo eafily tamed, that if taken when full-grown, fomc of them will in a day or two be perfeftly reconciled, and are fo fond of being handled, that they will creep about your neck, or into your bofom. In Summer they are ^;"ey, and in Winter change to white, but are by no means fo beautiful as a white ermine. At that feafon they are infefted with multitudes of fmall lice, not a fixth part fo large as the mites in a cheefe^ in fa.■..; ...... . *,. ...m« , j^.. .^ - for their excrement is exceedingly offenfive. • Seals of various fizes and colours are common fn moft Scai*. parts of Hudfon's Bay, but moft numerous to the Norths- Some of thofe animals are beautifully fpeckfed, black andi "white; others are^of a dirty grey^ The former are ge- nerally fmall, but fome. of the latte* ai ive at an amazing ii'ze, and their fkins are of great \. e t j the Efquimaux ; as it is of them they cover their canoes, make all their boot-legs and fhccs, befides many other parts of their clothing. The Seal- fkins are a^S of great ufb to thofe people as' a fubftitute for cafks, to prefcrve oil, ^c. for- Winter ufe; they are alfo blown full of wind and dried, and then ufed as buoys on the whale-fifhery. The flefli- and fat of the Seal is alfo more cfteemcd by the Efqui- maux than thofe of any other marine animal, lalmon not • eKcej>tcd, - ^91 Befides thefe, the Sea-Unicorn is kiiown to frequent Hudfon's Bay and Straits, but I never faw one of them.. Their horns are freqivtntly purchafcd.. from our friendly Efquimaux, who probably get them in the way of barter ftom thofe tribes that reiide more to the North j but I.. Sea.TJni. corn. never- 302 A JOURNEY TO IHE never could be informed by the natives whether their (kins are like thofe of the Whale, or hairy like thofe of the Seal j I fuppofe the former. ....- nuck Whale. Species of Fifi, ' ' The Fifh that inhabit the fait water of Hudfon's Bay are but fcv/ : — the Black Whale, White Whale, Salmon, and a fmali fifli called Kepling, are the only fpecies of fea-fifli in thofe parts *. • • ■ The Black Whale is fometimes found as far South as Churchill River, and I was prefent at the killing of three there ; but this was in the courfc of twenty years. To the Northward, particularly near Marble Ifland, they are more plentiful ; but notwithftanding the Company carried on a fifhery in that quarter, from the year one thoufand feven hundred and {ixty-five till one thoufand feven hun- dred and feventy-two, they were fo far from making it anfwer their expectations, that they funk upwards of twenty thoufand pounds ; which is the lefs to be wondered at, when we confider the great inconveniencies and expences * In the Fall of the year 1768, a fine rock cod was drove on fliore in a high gale of wind, and was eaten at the Governor's tablej Meflrs. William Wales and Jofcph Dymond, who went out to obferve die tranfit of Venus which happened on the 3d of June 1769, partook of it ; but I never heard of one biiiifi; caught with a hook, nor ever faw an entire fifh of that defcription in thofe parts: their jaw-bones are, however, frequciidy found on the /hores. ■ they dfaiui^^f«4<»ww> N O R T H E R N| .0 C E A N. 39J they laboured under in fuch an undertaking. For as it was impofTible to profecute it from England, all the people employed on that fervice were obliged to reftde at their fettlement all the year at extravagant wages, cxclufive of their maintenance. The harpooners had no lefs than fifty pounds per atifium (landing wages, and none of the crew lefi than from fifteen to twenty-five pounds ; which, to- gether with the Captains falarics, wear and tear of their veflels, and other contingent cxpences, made it appear on calculation, that if there were a certainty of loading the veflels every year, the Company could not clear thcmfelves. On the contrary, during the feven years they perfcvci-ed in that undertaking, only four Black Whales were taken near Marble Ifland ; and, except one, they were fo fniall, that they would not have been deemed payable fi(h in the Greenland fervice *. But the Hudfon's Bay Company, with a liberality that does honour to them, though per- fectly acquainted with the rules obfcrved in the Greenland fervice, gave the fame premium for a fucking fiffi, as for one of the greateft magnitude. White Whales are very plentiful in thofe parts, par- wi,itc ticularly from Chefterfield's Inlet to York Fort, or Hay's * I have heard that no Whale caught by our Greenland fhips is called a Pay-fifh; that is, that no emolument arifcs to the hirpouncr that ftrikes it; unkfs tlie longeft blade of the bone, ufually called Whale-bone, nieafures fix- feet: whereac thofe killed in Hudlbn's Bay feldom .Ticafiircd more than four feet and an half. S^E River, ii 394 AJOURNETTOTHE River, on the Weft fide of the Bay ; and from Cape Smith to Sludc River on the Eaft fid - On the Weft coaft they arc generally found in the greateft numbers at the mouths of the principal rivers ; fuch as Seal River, Churchill, Port Nelfon, and Hay's Rivers. But the Eaft fide of the Bay not being fo well known. Whale River is the only part they are known to frequent in very confiderable num- bers. Some years ago the Company had a fettlement at this river, called Richmond Fort ; but all their endeavours to eftablifh a profitable fifhery here proved ineffedlual, and the few Indians who reforted to it with furrs proving very inadequate to the expences, the Company determined to evacuate it. Accordingly, after keeping up this fettle- ment for upward of twelve years, and finking many thou- fands of pounds, they ordered it to be burnt, for the more eafily getting the fpikes and other iron- work. This was in the year one thoufand feven hundred and fifty- eight. At the old eftabliftied Fadories on the Weft fide of the Bay, the Company have been more fuccefsful in the White Whale fifhery, particularly at Churchill, where fucK of the Company's fervants as cannot be employed during that feafon to more benefit for the Company, are fent on that duty, and in fome fuccefsful years they fend home from eight to thirteen tons of fine oil. To encourage a fpirit of induftry among thofe employed on this fervice, the Company allows a gratuity, not only to the harpoon- ers, but to every man that fails in the boats j and this a gratuity MsffiBi m NORTHERN OCEAN. gtafiiity is fo ample as to infpirc them with emulation, as they well know that the more they kill, the greater will Lc their cHiolument. • Salmon are in fome feafons very numerous on the North Salmon. Weft fide of Hudibn's Bay, particular! at Knapp's Bay and Whale Cove. At the latter I one found them fo plentiful, tha' had we been provided with a fufficienc number of nets, caflcs, and fait, we might foon have loaded the vefl'ei with them. But this is feldom the cafe, for in fome years they are fo fearce, that it is with diffi- culty a few meals of them can be procured during our flay at thofe harbours. They are ii. fome years fo plentiful near Churchill River, that I have known upward of two hundred fine fifh taken out of four fmall nets in one tide within a quarter of a mile of the Fort ; but in other years they are fo fearce, that barely that number have been taken in upward of twenty nets during the whole feafon, which generally begins the latter end of June, and ends about the middle or latter end of Auguft. Befide the fifli already mentioned, I know of no other Kepiing. that inhabits the fait water except theKEPLiNo, which is a fmall fifli about the fize of a fmelt, but moft excellent eating. In fome years they refort to the fhores near Church- ill River in fuch multitudes to fpawn, and fuch numbers of them are left dry among the rocks, as at times to be 3 E 2 quite i I 1 1 If ^ »j 39^ Shrll tiih. A JOURNEY TO THE quite offenfive. In other feafons they are fo fcarce, that hardly a meal can be procured. The fame remark may be made on almoft every fpecies of game, which conftitntes the greatefi; part of the fare of the people refidirig in thofe parts. For inftance, in fome yearsj hundreds of deer may eafily be killed within a mile of York Fort ; and in others, there is not one to be fcen within twenty or tliirty miles. One day thoufands and tens of thoufands of geefe are feen, but the next they all raife fiigh:, and go to the North to breed. Salmon, as I have lately obferved, is fo plentiful in feme years at Church- ill River, that it might be prccured in any quantity j at others, fo fcarce as to be thought a great delicacy. In fad, after twenty years refidence in this country, I am pcrfuadcd that whoever relies much on the produce of the different feafons, will fiequently be deceived, and cc- cafionally expofe hirnfelf and men to great want. To remedy tliis evil, it is moft prudent for thofe in command to a\'^ail themfelves of plentiful feafons, and cure a iiifficicDt quantity of the leaft perifliable food, ^:irti- cularly eeefe. Sl^e/l Ftp. ' •: Shell Fism of a variety of k'nds are alfo found in fome parti) of Hudfon's Eiiay. Mufcles in particular arc in great aburkdance on the rocky Ihores near Churchill River, mid what is vulgarly called the Periwinkle are very plentiful ■ NORTHERN OCEAN. on the rocks which dry at low -water. Small Crabs and Star-fifh are frequently th ownon the fliore by the furf in heavy gales of wind ; and thz empty fliclls of Wilks, fmall Scallops, Cockles, and many other kinds, are to be found on the beaches in great plenty. The fame may be faid of the interior parts of the country, where thj banks of the lakes and rivers aboimd v\ith empty {hells of various kinds; but the flfh themfclvcs have never been difcovercd by the natives. 397 Frogs, Grubs, and other InfeSis. Frogs of various colours are numerous in thofe parts Frojs. as far North as the latitude 6i°. They always frequent the margins of lakes, ponds, rivers, and fwamps : and as the Winter approaches, they burrow under the mofs, at a confiderable diftance from the water, where they remain in a frozen ftate till the Spring. I have frequenrly feen them dug up with the mofs, (when pitching tents in Win- ter,) frozen as hard as ice: in which ftite the legs are as eafily broken off as a pipe-ftem, without giving the leaft feniation to the animal; but by wrappliig them un in warm fkins, and expofmg them to a flow lire, they foon recover life, and the mutilated animal gains its ufual adivity ; but if they are permitted to freeze again, they are paft all recovery, and are never more known to come to life. The fame may be faid of the various fpecies of Spiders, i jpl A JOURNEY TO THE s.Mders and SpIdcrs, and all the Grub kind, which are very numerous in thofe parts. I have feen thoufands of them dug up with the mofs, when we were pitching our tents in the Winter ; all of which were invariably enclofed in a thick web, which Nature teaches them to fpin on thofe occa- sions ; yet they were apparently all frozen as hard as ice. The Spiders, if let fall from any height on a hard fub- ftance, would rebound like a grey pea ; and all the Grub kind are fo hard frozen as to be as eaiily broken as a piece of ice of the fame fize ; yet when expofed to a (low heat, even in the depth of Winter, they will foon come to life, and in a ftiort time recover their ufual motions. Birds. The feathered creation that refort to thofe parts in the diflferent feafons are numerous, but fuch as brave the fevere Winter are but few in number, and fhall be parti- cularly noticed in their proper places. Eagles. Eagles of Several forts are found In the country bor- dering on Hudfon's Bay during the Summer ; but none, except the common brown Fifhing Lagle, ever frequent the Northern parts. They always make their appear- ance in thofe dreary regions about the latter end of March or beginning of April, and build their nefts in lofty trees, in the crevices of inacccflible rocks near the banks NORTHERN OCEAN. banks of rivers. They lay but two eggs, (which are white,) and frequently bring but one young. I'hey ge- nerally feed on fifh, which they catch as they are fwim- ming near the furface ; but they are very deftrudive to the mufk rat and hares, as alfo to geefe and ducks, when in a moulting ftate, and frequently kill young beaver. Their nefts are very large, frequently fix feet i.'i diameter ; and before their young can fly, are fo provi- dent, that the Indians frequently take a mofl excellent meal of filh, flefli, and fowl from their larder. Though they bring forth their young fo early as the latter end of May, or the beginning of June, yet they never fly till September ; a little after which they migrate to the South- ward. They are the mofc ravenous of any bird I know ; for when kept in confinement, or in a tame ftate as it may be called, I have known two of them eat more than a bufliel of fifli in a day. They are never known to breed on the barren grounds to the North of Churchill River, though many of the lakes and rivers in thofe parts abound with variety of fifh. This is probably owing to the want of trees or high rocks to build in. The Northern Indians are very partial to the quill-feathers of the Eagle, as well as to thofe of the hawk, to wing or plume their arrows with, out of a fuperftitious notion that they have a greater effecfl than if winged with the feathers of geefe, cranes, crows, or other birds, that in faft would do equally as well. The flefli of the Eagle is ufually eaten by moft of the In- dians, but is always black, liard, and fifliy ; even the yoiuig, 399 400 J lawks of various fues. A J O [7 R N E Y TO THE young ones, when in a callow ftate, though the ficfh is lielicate white, are fo rank as to render them very iin- pleafiint to fome perfons, except in times of ncceflity. Hawks of various fizes and plumage frequent the dif- ferent parts of the country round Hudfon's Bay during Summer. Some of thofe Hawks are fo large as to weigh three pounds, and others fo fmall as not to exceed live or fix ounces. But the weight of thofe, as well as ever)*^ other fpecies of Birds, *s no ftandard for the Naturalift to go by ; for at different fcafons, and when in want of food, they are often fcarcely half the weight they are when fat and in good order. Notwithftanding the variety of Hawks that rcfort to thofe parts in Summer, I know but one fpecies that brave the intcnfe cold of the long Winters to the North of Churchill River ; and that is wJial Mr. Pennant calls the Sacre Falcon. They, like the other large fpv cies of Hawks, prey much on the white groule or partridge, and alfo on the American hare, ufually called here Rabbits. They are always found to frequent thofe parts where partridges arc plentiful, and are detcfted by the fportfmen, as they generally ■drive all the game off the ground near their tents ; but, in return, they often drive thither frclh flocks of fome hundreds. Notwithflandinc; this, they fo frequently baulk thofe who are employed on the huti'dng fcrvice, thnt the Governors generally give a rew ard of a quart of brandy for each of th:.ir heads. Their flefli is always eaten by the Indians, and fomctimcs by the En;!;!ilh ; tm^^ass: NORTHERN O G T A N. Englifti J but it k always black, hard, and tough, and Sometimes has a bitter tafte. The Indians are fond of taming thofe birds, and fre- quently keep them the whole Summer ; but as the Winter approaches they generally take flight, and provide for them- felves. When at Cumberland Houfe I had one of them, of vi'hich my people were remarkably fond ; and as it never wanted for food, woul i in all probability have re- mained with us all the Winter, had it not been killed by an Indian who did not know it to be tame. The beautiful fpecies of White or Snowv Owl is common in all parts of Hudfon's Bay, as far North as the Copper- mine River. Thefe birds, when flying or fitting, appear very large, but when killed, feldom weigh more than three and a half, or four pounds, and fometimes fcarcely half that weight. They generally feed on mice and partridges, and are at times known to kill rabbits. They are, like the hawk, very troublefome to the fportf- men; and, contrary to any other bird that I know, have a great propenf ty to follow the report of a gun, and frequently follow the hunters (as they are fually called in Hudfon's Bay) the whole day. On thofe occa- flons they ufually perch on high trees, and vvatch lUi a bird is killed, when they fkim down and carry it olT before the hunter can get near it ; but in return, the hunters, when they fee them on the watch, frequently decoy them within gun-fliot, by throwing up a dead bird, which 3 F xk9 White or Snowy OwU '4^ N ' G.ey or Mottled Owl. A JOURNEY T 0 T H K tlie Owl feldom refufes to accept", bv:»t the fportfmart being fully provided for this vifit, and on his guard, ge- nerally flioc^ts them before they can carry off the partridge. They are, however, fo great a hindrance to thofe em- ployed on the hunting fervice, that the fame premium Is given for one of their Jieads as for that of a hawk. In Winter they are frequently very fat, their flefn deli- cately white, and generally cftccmc^d good eating, both by Englifli and Indians. Thofe Owls always make their nefb on the ground, generally lay from three to four eggs, but feldom hatch more than two ; and in the extreme North the young ones do not fly till September. They never raigratCj, but L>ravc the coldeft Winters, even on the bar- ren ground, far remote from any woods j and in thoic fituations perch on high rocks and ftones, and watch for their prey. The fptvies of Grey or Mottled Owl are by no means fo numerous as the former, are fomething inferior in lize, and always frequent the woods. They never go in fearch of their prey in the d?y -time, but perch on the tops of lofty pines, and i.re eafiiy approached and fhor. Their food is generally known to be mice and fmall birds, yet their flefh is delicately white, and nearly as good as a barn-door fowl , of courfe it is much eflecined both by the Englilh and Indians. This fpecies of Owl is called by the Sot 'hern Indians Ho-ho, and the former Wap-a- kee-thow. ' < :: ^ '■''•• , . ,. Bcddes i»iii*wiiBiiM»!Wiiiawii«a«w-^^ '* ai jM-aasj j; NORTHERN OCEAN. 40J Bcfidcs thofe two fpecies of Owls, there is another that Cob-a-dcc- remains in Hudfon's Bay all the year, and is called by the Indians Cob-a-dee-cooch. It is fo far inferior in fize to the two former, that it feldom weighs half a pound ; is of a mottled brown, the feathers long, and of a mofl: delicate foft and filky quality. In general this fpecies feed on mice, and birds they find dead ; and are fo impudent at times, that they light on a partridge when killed by the hunter, but not being able to carry it ofF, are often obliged to rclinquifh the prize. Like the White Owl, at times, though but feldom, they follow the report of a gun, and by fo frequently fkimming round the fportfmen, frighten the game nearly as much as the hawk. They feldom go far from the woods, build in trees, and lay from two to four eggs. They are never fat, and their flcrti is eaten only by the Indians. Ravens of a moft beautiful glofly black, richly tinged Ravens, with purple and violet colour, are the conftant inhabitants of Hudfon's Bay ; but are fo fiir inferior in fize to the Englifii Raven, that they are ufually called Crows. They build their nefts in lofty pine-trees, and generally lay four fpeckled ep;gs ; they bring forth their young fo early as the latter end of May, or the beginning of June. In Summer many of them frequent the barren grounds, feveral hun- dred miles from any woods ; probably invited there by the multitudes of deer and mufk-oxen that are killed by the Northern Indians during that feaioii, merely for their , J 3 F 2 fkins, 404 A JOURNEY TO THE fkins, and who leave their flefli to rot, or be devoured by beafts or birds of prey. At thofe times they are very fat, and the flefb of the young ones is delicately white, and good eating. But in Winter they are, through neceflity, obliged to feed on a black mofs that grows on the pine-trees, alfo on deer's dung, and excrements of other animals. It is true, they kill fome mice, which they find in the furface of the fnow, and catch many wounded partridges and hares ; in fbme parts of the country they are a great nui- fance to the hunter, by eating the game that is cither caught in fnares or traps. With all this afllftance, they are in general fo poor during the fevere cold in Winter, as to excite wonder how they pofTibly can exift. Their faculty of fcent mufl be very acute ; for in the coldeft days in Winter, when every kind of effluvia is al- nioft inftantaneoufly deftroyed by the froft, I have fre- quently known buffiiloes and other bealh killed where not one of thofe birds were feen ; but in a few hours fcores of them would gather about the fpot to pick up the dung, blood, and other offal. An unarmed man may approach them vc.y near when feeding, but they are fhy of thofe that have a gun j a great proof that they fmell the gunpowder. They are, however, frequently fliot by guns let for foxes ; and fometimes caught in traps built for martins. Though, on the ^vholc, they may be called a (Iiy bird, yet their neceffities in Winter are fo great, that, like the White Owl, they frequently follow the report of a gun, keep prudently at a diftance from the fportfman, and frequently carry NORTHERN OCEAN. ' 405 carry off many wounded birds. Their quills make moft excellent pens for drawing, or for ladies to write with. The Cinereous Crow, or, as it is called by the South- Cinereou* ern Indians, Whiflc-e-jonifh, by the Englifh Whifkey- jack, and by the Northern Indians Gee-za, but as fome pronounce it, and that with more propriety, Jce-za^ though claflcd among the Crows, is in reality fo fmall,. as feldom to weigh three ounces ; the plumage grey, the feathers very long, foft, and (ilky, and in general en- tirely un webbed, and in fome parts much refembles hair. This bird is very familiar, and fond of frequenting habita- tions, either houfes or tents; and fo much given to pil- fering, that no kind of provifions it can come at, either frelh or fait, is fafe from its depredation. It is fo bold as to come into tents, and (it on the edge of the kettle when hanging over the fire, and fteal victuals out of the diflies. It is very troublefome to the hunters, both Englifli and Indian, frequently following them a whole day ; it will perch on a tree while the hunter is baiting his martin-traps, and as foon as his back is turned go and eat the baits. It is a kind of mock-bird, and of courfe has a variety of notes ; it is eafily tamed, but never lives long in confinement. It is well known to be a pro- vident bird, laying up great quantities of berries in Sum- mer for a Winter ftock ; but its natural propenfity to pilfer at all feafcns makes it much detefted both by the g EngliOi m 4>o6 Wood- pecker. Croufe. A JOURNF. YTOTHE Englijfh and Indians. It builds its neft in trees, cxadly like that of the blackbird and thruHi ; lays four blue egg^, but feldom brings more than three young ones. I know of only one fort of Wood-pecker that frequents the remote Northern parts of Hudfon's Bay ; and this is dif- tinguiflied by Mr. Pennant by the name of the Golden Winged Bird ; but to the South Weft that beautiful fpecies of Wood-pecker with a fcarlet crown is very frequent. The manner of life of this fpecies is nearly alike, always build- ing their nefts in holes in trees, and feeding on worms and infeds. They generally have from four to fix young at a time. They are faid to be very deftrudlive to fruit- trees that are raifed in gardens in the more Southern parts of America; but the want of thofe luxuries in Hudfon's Bay renders them very harmlcfs and inoffenfive birds. The red feathers of the larger fort, which frequent the interior and Southern parts of the Bay, are much valued by fome of the Indians, who ornament their pipe-ftems with them, and at times ufe them as ornaments to their children's clothing. Neither of the two fpecies here mentioned ever migrate, but are conftant inhabitants of the different cli- mates in which they are found. There are feveral fpecies of Grouse in the different parts of Kuvifon's Bay ; but two of the largeft, and one of them the moft beautiful, never reach fo ftir North as NORTHERN OCEAN. as the latitude 59°: but as I have fcen them in great plenty near Cumberland Houfe, I (hall take the liberty to dcfcribe them. 407 The Ruffed Grouse. This is the moft beautiful of I'"' }''^'"^ all that are clafTed under that name. They arc of a deli- cate brown, prettily variegated with black and white : tail large and long, like that of a hawk, which is ufually of an orange-colour, beautifully barred with black, cho- colate, and white ; and the tail is frequently "xpandcd like a fan. To add to their beauty, they have a i uS" of glofly black feathers, richly tinged with purple round the neck, which they can ered: at pleafure : this they fre- quently do, but more particularly fo when they fpread their long tail, which gives them a noble appearance. In iize they exceed a partridge, but are inferior to a phcafant. In Winter they are ufually found perched on the branches of the pine-trees ; and in that feafon are fo tame as to be cafily approached, and of courfe readily fliot. They always make their nefts on the ground, generally at the root of a tree, and lay to the number of twelve or fourteen eggs. In fome of the Southern parts of America feveral attempts have been made to tame thofe beautiful birds, by taking their eggs and hatching them under do- meftic hens, but it was never crowned with fuccefs ; for when but a few days old, they always make their cfcapc into the woods, where they probably pick up a fublift- cnce. Their ikfli is delicately white and lirm, and though (44 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 Ui 128 1 2.5 |50 "^~ MHB 1.8 1-4 IIIIII.6 Photoj^raphic Sciences Corpcration 33 WeST MAIN STRUT WEBSTIR.N.Y. 14.1S0 (716) •72-4303 d Thrushes, commonly called in Hudfon's Bay the Red Birds, but by fome the Black Birds^ on account of their note, and by others the American Fieldfares ufually make their appearance at Churchill River about the middk of May, build their nefts of mud, like the Englifh Thrufh, and lay four beautiful blue eggs. They have a very loud and plealing note, which they ge~ nerally exercife moft in the mornings and evenings, when perched on fome lofty tree near their neft ; but when the young can fly they are filent, and migrate to the South early in the Fall. They are by no means numerous, and are generally feen in pairs ; they are never fought after as an article of food, but when killed by the Indian boys,, are efteeined good eating,, though they always feed oa worms and infeds. Grcibeak. Grosbeak. Thefe gay birds vifit Churchill River in fome years fo early as the latter end of March, but are by no means plentiful ; they are always feen in pairs, and generally feed on the buds of the poplar and willow. The male is in moft parts of its plumage of a beautiful crimfon, but the female of a dull dirty green. la form they much refemble the Englifti bullfinch,, but are near ■ V • double NORTHERN OCEAN. 419 double therr fize. They build their ncfts in trees, fome- times not far from the ground ; lay four white eggs, and always hatch them in June. They are Taid to have a pleaflng note in Spring, though I 1 jver heard it, and are known to retire to the South early in the Fall. The Englifli refiding in Hudfon's Bay generally call this bird the American Red Bird. Snow Buntings, univerfally known in Hudfon's Bay by snow the name of the Snow Birds, and in the Ifles of Orkney by ^""""^'' the name of Snow Flakes, from their viflting thofe parts in fiich numbers as to devour the grain as foon as fown, in fome years are fo deftrudive as to oblige the farmer to fow his fields a fecond, and occafionally a third time. Thefe birds make their appearance at the Northern fettle- ments in the Bay about the latter end of May, or begin- ning of April, when they are very fat, and not infe- rior in flavour to an ortolan. On their firft arrival they generally ft on grafs-feeds, and ure fond of frequenting dunghills. At that time they are eafily caught in great numbers under a net baited with groats or oatmeal ; but as the Summer advances, they feed much on worms, and are then not fo much efteemed. They fometimes fly in fuch large flocks, that I have killed upwards of twenty at one fliot, and have known others who have killed double that number. In the Spring their plumage is prettily variegated, black and white ; but their Summer drefs may be called elegant, though not gay. They live 3 H 2 long ill m Mf^ 420 White- crcwncd I»ip1and V'iiich. A JOURNEY TO THE long in confinement, have naturally a pleafing note, and when in company with Canary birds ibon imitate their fong. I have kept many of them in cages in the fame room with Canary birds, and always found they fung in Winter as well as in Summer ; but even in confinement they change their plumage according to the feafon, the fame as in d wild ftate. This fpecies of bird feem fond of the coldeft reg ,ons, for as the Spring advances they fly fo far North thai: their breeding-places are not known to the inliabitants of Hudfon's Bay. In Autumn they return to the South ill large flocks, and are frequently fliot in con- fideia le njmbers merely as a delicacy; at that feafon, hovi" f, t ley are by no means fo good as when they firft make tlicir ;ippearance in Spring. > \ White-crowned Bunting. This fpecies is inferior in fize to the former, and feldom make their appearance till June. They breed in mofl: parts of the Bay, always make their nefts on the ground, at the root of a dwarf willow or a goofcberry-bufh. During the time their young are in a callow ftate they have a delightful note, but as foon as they are fledged they become iikut, and retire ta the South early in September. Lapland Finch, This bird is common on Hudfon's Bay, and never migrates Southward in the coldeft Winters^. During that feafon it generally frequents the juniprr plains, and feeds on the fmall buds of tiiat tree^ alfo on grafs- fceds i ^. #-^-- tWWlSffiiTilfiaiatirtiiHlM NORTHERN OCEAN. 421 feeds but at the approach of Sump-^er it flies ftill fiither North to breed. A variety of this bird is alfo common, and is beautifully marked with a red forehead and breaft. It is moft common in the Spring, and frequently caught in nets fet for the Snow Bunting ; and when kept in cages has a plcaiing note, but feldom lives long in confinement, though it generally dies very fat. •/ ., _ _ . ,-^ : Larks of a pretty variegated colour frequent thofe parts UiU.. in Summer, and always make their appearance in May ; build their nefts on the ground, ufually by the fiJc of a ftone at the root of a fmall bulli, lay four fpeckled eggs, and bring forth their young in June. At their firfl ar- rival, and till the young can fly, the male is in full fong; and, like the fky-lark, foars to a great height, and gene- rally defccnds in a perpendicular diredion near their ncft. Their note is loud and agreeable, but conflfts of little va- riety, and as foon as the young can fly they become filent, and retire to che Southward early in the Fall. They are impatient of confinement, never fing^ in that ftate^ and Hdomlivclpng.^,.^,.. ^,.: ^^^ /..h,.1 > : J^"S% The Titmouse is ufually called in Hudfon's Bay, Black- Titmoufc.. cap. This diminutive bird braves the coldeft Winter, and during that feafon l^eds on the feeds of long rye-grafs, but in Summer on infcds and berries.. The Southern Indians call this bird Kifs-kifs-hefhis, from a twittering noifc they make, vvhicli much refembles that word in found. .; • Swallows 422 Swallows. Martina. A JOURNEY TO THE Swallows vifit thefe parts in confiderable numbers in Summer, and are very domeftic ; building their nefts in neceflaries, ftables, and other out-offices that are much frequented. They feldom make their appearance at Churchill River till June, and retire South early in Auguft. They, like the European Swallow, gather in large flocks on the day of their departure, make feveral revolutions round the breeding-places, and then take their leave till the next year. I do not recoUedt to have feen any of thofe birds to the North of Seal, River. .' "' • . ^* ' Martins alfo viflt Hudfon's Bay in great numbers, but feldom fo far North as Churchill River. They ufually make their nefts in holes formed in the fteep banks of rivers ; and, like the Swallow, lay four or five fpeckled eggs ; and retire Southward in Auguft. At the North- ern fcttlements they are by no means fo domeftic as the Swallow, Hooping Crane. Hooping Crane. This bird vifits Hudfon's Bay in the Spring, though not in great numbers. They are generally feen only in pairs, and that not very often. It is a bird of confiderable fize, often equal Co that of a good turkey, and the great length of the bill, neck, and legs, makes it meafure, from the bill to the toes, near fix feet in common, and fome much more. Its plumage is of a pure white, except the quill-feathers, which are black ; the crown is covered with a red fkin, thinly NORTHERN OCEAN. thinly befet with black briftles, and the legs are large and black. It ufually frequents open fwamps, the fides of rivers, and the margins of lakes and ponds, feeds on frogs and fmall fifh, and efteemcd good eating. The wing- bones of this bird arc fo long and large, that I have known them made into flutes with tolerable fuccefs. It feldomi has more than two young, and. retires Southward early in the Fall. 423 -U The Brown Grane. This fpecies is far inferior in {ize to Brown the forn;er, being feldom three feet and a half in length, and on an average not weighing feven pounds. Their haunts and manner of life are nearly the fame as that of the Hoop- ing Crane, and they never have more than two young, and thofe feldjom fly till September. They are found far- ther North than the former, for I have killed feveral of them on Marble Ifland, and have feen them on the Con- tinent as high as the latitude 65°. They are generally eftcemed good eating, and, from the form of the body- when fit for the fpit, they acquire the name of the North Wefl: Turkey. There is a circumftance refpeding this bird that is very peculiar; which is, that the gizard is larger than that of a fvvan, and remarkably fo in the young birds. The Brown Cranes are frequently feen in hot calm days to foar to an amazing height, always flying in circles, till by degrees they are almofl: out of fight, yet their note is fo loud, thai the fportfman, before he fees their fitua- tioHy often fancies they are very near him. They vifit 6 Hudfon's 424 A JOURNEY TO THE Hudfon's Bay in far greater numbers than the former, and are very good eating. Bitterns. BiTTERNs are common at York Fort in Summer, but are feldom found fo far North as Churchill River. I have feen two fpecies of this bird; fome having afh-coloured legs, others with beautiful grafs-green legs, and very gay plumage. They always frequent marfhes and fwamps, alfo the banks of rivers that abound with reeds and long grafs. They generally feed on infefts that are bred in the "water, and probably on fmall frogs ; and though feldom fat, they are generally good eating. They are by no means nu- merous even at York Fort, nor in fad in the moft Southern parts of the Bay that I have vifited. Curlew. Curlews. There are two fpecies of this bird which frequent the coafts of Hudfon's Bay in great numbers during Summer, and breed in all parts of it as far North as the latitude 7 2" ; the largeft of this fpecies is diftin- guifhed by that great Naturalift Mr. Pennant, by the name of the Efquimaux Curlew. They always keep near the fea coaft ; attend the ebbing of the tide, and are fre- quently found at low- water-mark in great numbers, where they feed on marine infefts, which they find by the fides of flones in great plenty ; but at high-water they retire to the dry ridges and wait the receding of the tide. They fly as fleady as a woodcock, anfwer to a whiftle that refembles their note ; lay long on their wings, and are a niofl N O R T H E R N O C F A N. 425 moft excellent fhot, and at times are delicious eating. The other fpecies of Curlew are in colour and fliape ex- adly like the former, though inferior in fize, and differ in their manner of life, as they never frequent the water's- edge, but always keep among the rocks and dry ridges, and feed on berries and fmall infeds. The flefh of this bird is generally more efteemed than that of the former, but they are by no means fo numerous. This fpecies of Curlew are feldom found farther North than Egg River. Jack Snipes. Thofe birds vifit Hudfon's Bay in Sum- jack Snipes, mer in conjdderable numbers, but are feldom feen to the North of Whale Cove. They do not arrive till the ice of the rivers is broke up, and they retire to the South early in the Fall. During their ftay, they always frequent marfhes near the fea coaft, and the fhores of great rivers. In man- ner and flight they exadly relemble the European Jack Snipe J and when on the wing, fly at fuch a diftance from each other, that it is but feldom the beft fportfman can get more than one or two at a fliot. Their flefli is by no means fo delicate as thaf q( the Englifh Snipe. wait. Red Godwaits, ufually called at the Northern fettle- Re^God. ments in Hudfon's Bay, Plovers. Thofe birds viiit the fliores of that part in very large flocks, and ufually frequent the marflies and the margins of ponds. They alfo fre- quently attend the tide, like the Efquimaux Curlews; fly down to low- water-mark, and feed on a fmall fifli, .-ci..-''i ' ' . " 3I not 426 A J O U R N E Y TO THE J-' i'. Spotted Godwait. not much unlike a flirimp ; but as the tide flows, they retire to the marflies. They fly in fuch large flocks, and fo clofe to each other, that I have often killed upwards of twelve at one fliot j and Mr. Atkinfon, long refident at YtM-k Fort, a<^ually killed feventy-t wo at one {hot; but that • was when the birds were fitting. Near Churchill River they are feldom fat, though tolerably flefhy, and are generally good eating. They ufually weigh from ten to thirteen ounces ; the female is always larger than the male, and diflfers in colour, being of a much lighter brov/n. They retire to the South long before the froft com- mences; yet I have feen this bird as far North as the latitude 71* 50'. :Iu ^ . .v:...> .;7: Jj/ ;iri-} 4.2 5-i,;/7j •-.-' i1 '■: ^' Spotted Godwait, known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Yellow Legs. This bird alfo vifits that country in confiderable numbers, but more fo in the interior parts ; and ufually frequents the flat muddy banks of rivers. In Summer it is generally very poor, but late in the Fall is, as it may be called, one lump of fat. This bird, with many others of the migratory tribe, I faw in con- fiderable numbers as far North as the latitude 71*54'; and at York Fort I have known them fliot fo late as the latter end of Oftober : at which time they are in the greateft perfedion, and moft delicious eating, more particularly fb when put into a bit of pafte, and boiled like an apple- dumpling ; for in faft they are generally too fat at that feaibn to be eaten either roafted or boiled. Hebridal ,%' NORTHERN OCEAN. 427 • Hebridal Sandpipers, but more commonly known in HcbrMaJ Hudfon's Bay by the Name of Whale Birds, on account of their feeding on the carcafes of thofe animals which fre- quently lie on the fhores, alfo on maggots that are produced in them by fly-blows. Thefe birds frequent thofe parts in confiderable numbers, and always keep near the margin of the fea. They may, in faft, be called beautiful birds, though not gay in their plumage j they are ufually very fat, but even when firft killed they fmell and tafte fo much like train-oil as to render them by no means plealing to the palate, yet they are frequently eaten by the Com- pany's fervants. As the Summer advances they fly fo far North of Churchill River, that their breeding-places arc not known, though they remain at that part till the be- ginning of July, and return early in the Fall. They are by no means large birds, as they feldom weigh four ounces. The bill is black, plumage prettily variegated black and white, and the legs and feet are of a beautiful orange colour *. ' -^ ., . Plovers, commonly called Hawk's Eyes, from their Pio/er. watchfulnefs to prevent a near approach when fitting. When „''. thefe birds are on the wing, they fly very fwift and irregu- lar, particularly when Angle or in fmall flocks. At Church- ill River they are by no means numerous, but I have feen them in fuch large flocks at York Fort in the Fall of one ...... '^ .-- i'^ -^.-1 : . .. 1 '• ' - ," . ' *' '. _ "■ • ♦ They cxaftly corrcfpond with the bird dcfcrlbcd by Mr, Pennant, cxcjpt that they arc much longer. ;' . . .'.. 3 I 2 ~ thoufand • •«■ 4ii BUck Gul- lemots. A JOURNEY TO THE thoiifand feven hundred and feventy-three, that Mr. Ferdi- nand Jacobs then Governor, Mr. Robert Body Surgeon, and myfelf, killed in one afternoon as many as two men could conveniently carry. Tliey generally feed on infedls, and arc at all times good eating, but late in the Fall are moft ex- cellent. They are by no means equally plentiful in all years ; and at the Northern fettlements in the Bay they are not clafled with thofe fpecics of game that add to the general ftock of provifions, being only killed as a luxury ; but 1 am informed that at Albany Fort, feveral barrels of them ate annually falted for Winter ufc, and are eftecmed good eating. This bird during Summer reforts to the re- moteft Northern parts ; for I have feen them at the Copper River, though in thofe dreary regions only in pairs. The young of thofe birds always leave their nefts as foon as hatched, and when but a few days old run very faft; at night, or in rainy weather, the old ones call them to- gether, and cover them with their wings, in the fame man- ner as a hen does her chickens. Black Gullemots, known in Hudfon*s Bay by the name of Sea Pigeons. Thofe birds frequent the fliores of Hudfon*s Bay and Straits in confiderable numbers ; but more particularly the Northern parts, where they fly in large flocks ; to the Southward they are only feen in pairs. They arc of a fine black, but not glofly, with fcarlet legs and feet ; and the coverets of the wings are marked with white. They are in weight equal to a Widgeon, though m NOR T HERN OCEAN. ' " tho\igh to appearance not fo large. They ufually make their nefts in the holes of rocks, and lay two white eggs, which are delicate eating, but not proportionably large for the {izc of the bird. My friend Mr. Pennant fays, they brave the coldeft Winters in thofe parts, by keeping at the edge of the ice near the open water ; but as the fea at that feafon is frozen over for feveral miles from the fhore, I believe no one's curiofity ever tempted him to confirm the truth of this ; and it is well known they never make their appearance near the land after the froft becomes fevere. 429 O Northern Divers. Theife birds, though common in Northern Hudfon's Bay, are by no means plentiful ; they are ^'^"'* feldom found near the fea coaft, but more frequently in frefh water lakes, and ufually in pairs. They build their nefts at the edge of fmall iflands, or the margins of lakes or ponds ; they lay only two eggs, and it is very com- mon to find only one pair and their young in one fheet of water ; a great proof of their averfion to fociety. They are known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Loons. They differ in fpecies from the Black and Red throated Divers, having a large black bill near four inches long ; plumage on the back of a glofly black, elegantly barred with white ; the belly of a filver white ; and they are fo large as at times to weigh fifteen or fixteen pounds. Their flefh is always black, hard, and fifhy, yet it is generally eaten by the Indians. iix^ut to ^ . i" i>iii 10 Black- .•v 430 Black- ithroated Piver3. . A J O U R N E Y T O THE ?5 Black-throated Divers. "This fpecies arc more beau- tiful than the former; having a long white bill, plumage on the back and u^ings black, elegantly tinged with purple and green, and prettily marked with white fpots. In fize they are equal to the former ; but are fo watchful as to dive at the flafti of a gun, and of courfe are feldom killed but when on the wmg. Their flefli is equally black and fifhy with the former, but it is always eaten by the Indians. The fkins of thofe birds are very thick and ftrong, and they are frequently drefled with the feathers on, and made into caps for the Indian men. The flcins of the Eagle and Raven, with their plumj»ge complete, are alfo applied to that ufe, and are far from being an unbecoming head-drefs for a favage. . ,,. , . , . ; Red-throat- ed Divers. Red-throated Divers. This fpecies are alfo called Loons m Hudfon's Bay ; but they are fo far inferior to the two former, that they feldom weigh more than three or four pounds. They, like the other fpecies of Loon, are ex- cellent divers; they always feed on fifh, and when in purfuit of their prey, are frequently entangled in fifliing-nets, fetat the mouths of creeks and fmall rivers. They are more nu- merous than either of the former, as they frequently fly in flocks ; but like them make their nefts at the edge of the water, and only lay two eggs, which, though very rank and fifliy, are always eaten by Indians and Englifli. The legs of thofe three fpecies of Loon are placed fo near .X. - . . the NORTHERN OCEAN. 43^ .•■s^.it the rump as to be of no fcrvice to them on the land, as they are perfedlly incapable of walking ; and when found in that fituation (which is but feldom) they are eafily taken, though they make a ftrong refiftance with their bill, which is very hard and ftiarp. •»' ,'J , . / «» ..... 4 White Gulls. Thefe birds vifit Hudfon's Bay in WhUeGuUi. great numbers, both on the fca coafts and in the interior parts, and probably extend quite acrofs the continent of America. They generally make their appearance at Churchill River about the middle of May ; build their nefts on the iflands in lakes and rivers; lay two fpeckled eggs, and bring forth their young in June. Their eggs are generally efteemed good eating, as well as the flefh of thofe in the. interior parts of the country, though they feed on fidi and carrion. .They make their ftay on Hud- fon's Bay as long in the Fall as the froft will permit them to procure a livelihood. .■ •:i.:t ■ ' Grey Gulls. Thefe birds, though common, are by no GreyGuiia. means plentiful ; and I never knew their breeding-places, as they feldom make their appearance at Churchill River till the Fall of the year, and remain there only till the ice be- gins to be formed about the fhores. They feldom frequent the interior parts of the country. They are not inferior in fize to the former, and in the Fall of the year are generally fet. The flefh is white and very .good eating; and, like iiy>4.:>:. . moft ;i 4 43* A JOUR N E Y TO THE moft other Gulls, they are a mod excellent fliot when on the wing. • b ; '• '•r Dlack Gulls. Black Gulls, ufually called in Hudfon's Bay, Men of War, from their purfuing and taking the prey from a lefler fpecies of Gull, known in that country by the name of Black-head. In fize they are much inferior to the two former fpecies ; but, like them, always make their nefts on iflands, or at the margins of lakes or ponds ; they lay only two eggs, and are found at a confidcrable diftance from the fea coaft. The length of their wings is very great in proportion to the body ; the tail is uniform, and the two middle 'eathers are four or five inches longer than the reft. Their eggs are always eaten, both by the Indians and Eng- lifh ; but the bird itfelf is generally rejedted, except ^^ hen other provifions are very fcarce. •u TK ' ' .' •iiiTjfi :i'.i: :^/:^:\.^ n^ ui^i jt>) j> Vli, which are black. The bill is not more than an inch long, and at the bafe is ftudded round with little knobs about the fize of peas, but more remarkably fo in the males. Both the bill and feet are of the fame colour with thofe of the Snow Goofe. This fpecies is very fcarce at Churchill River, and I believe are never found at any of the South- ern fettlements ; but about two or three hundred miles to the North Wefl of Churchill, I have feen them in as large flocks as the Common Wavey, or Snow Goofe. The flefh of this bird is exceedingly delicate ; but they are fo fmal), that when I was on my journey to the North I eat two of them one night for fupper. I do not find this bird de- fcribcd by my worthy friend Mr. Pennant in his Ardlic Zoo^ logy. Probably a fpecimen of it was not fent home, for the perfon that commanded at Prince of Wales's Fort * at * Mr. Mofes Norton. the N O R T H E R N O C E A N. the time the colledlion was making, did not pay any at- tention to it. Laughing Goose. This elegant fpecies has a white bill, and the legs and feet are of a fine yellow colour ; the upper part of the plumage is brown, the breaft and belly white, the former prettily blotched with black. Iti iize they are equal to the Snow Goofe, and their fkins, when ftripped of their feathers, are delicately white, and the flefli excellent. They vifit Churchill River in very fmall numbers ; but about two hundred miles to the North Weft of that river I have feen them fly in large flocks, like the Common Waveys, or Snow Geefe ; and near Cum- berland Houfe and Bafquiau they are found in fuch num- bers, that the Indians in moon-light nights frequently kill upwards of twenty at a fliot. Like the Horned Wavey, they never fly with the lead of the coaft, but are al- ways feen to come from the Weft ward. Their general breeding-places are not known, though fome few of their eggs are occafionally found to the North of Churchill ; but I never heard any Indian fay that he had feen any eggs of the Horned Wavey: it is probable they retire to North • Greenland to breed ; and their rout in the Fall of the year, as they return Southward, is equally unknown. They are, I believe, feldom feen on tlie coaft of Hudfoif s Bay to the Southward of latitude 59° North. 44J Laughing Gooic. 3 L 2 Barren 444 A JOURNEY TO THE B.urcn Cecil'. -? Barren Geese. Thefe are the largeft of all the fpecics of Gccfe that frequent Hudfon's Bay, as they frequently weigh fixteen or feventecn pounds. They differ from the Common Grey Goofe in nothing but in fize, and in the head and breaft being tinged with a rufty brown. They never make their appearance in the Spring till the grcatcft part of the other fpecies of Gcefe are flown Northward to breed, and many of them remain near Churchill River the whole Summer. This large fpecies are generally found to be males, and from the exceeding fmallnefs of their tefticles, they are, I fuppofe, incapable of propa- gating their fpecies. I believe I can with truth fay, that I was the firrt: European who made that remark, though they had always been diftinguiflied by the name of the Bar- ren Gcefe ; for no other reafon than th it of their not being known to breed. Their flefli is by no means unpleafant. though always hard and tough ; and their plumage is Co thick before they begin to moult, that one bird ufually produces a pound of fine feathers and down, of a furprifing elafticity. " i ; . .y. ' , r Urent Cecfe. Brent Geese. This fpecies certainly breed in the re- moteft parts of the North, and feldom make their appear- ance at Churchill River till late in Auguft or September. The rout they take in Spring is unknown, and their breed- ing-places have never been difcovered by any Indian in Hudfon's Bay. When they make their appearance at ''v.^'i- .4 v:-^ - ■ Churchill NORTHERN OCEAN. Churchill River, they always come from the North, fly near the margin of the coaft, and are never fccn in the interior parts of the country. In fizc they arc larger than a Mallard Duck, but inferior to the Snow Goofe ; and though their flefh appears delicate to the eye, it is not much eftecmed. In fome years they pafs the mouth of Churchill River in prodigious numbers, and many of them are killed and fcrved to the Company's fervants as provifions ; but, as I have juft obferved, they are not much reliOied. When migrating to the South, they generally avail thcmfclvcs of a ftrong North or North Wefterly wind, which makes their flight fo fwift, that when I have killed four or rive at a (hot, not one of them fell lefs than from twenty to fifty yards from the perpendicular fpot where they were killed. Like the White, or Snow Geefe, when in large flocks they fly in the fhape of a wedge, and make a great noife. Their flight is very irregular, fometimes being forty or fifty yards above the water, and in an in- ftant, after they fkim clofc to the furface of it, and then rife again to a confiderable height j fo that they may juflily be faid to fly in teftoons* ^ ^-,, ; ? r t .; . 4 b- '1 The DuNTER Goofe, as it is called in Hudfon's Bay, but which is certainly the Eider Duck. They are com- mon at the mouth of Churchill River as foon as the ice breaks up, but generally fly fiir North to breed ; and the few that do remain near the fettlement are fo fcattcrcd among fraall iflands, and fea-girt rocks and fhoals, as to . , render Dunter Goolc. 44t) A JOURNEY TO THE , '^ render it not worth while to attempt gathering their down. Their eggs, when found, are exceeding good eating ; and in the Fall of the year the flefli is by no means unpleafunt, though they are notorioufly known to feed on fi(h. tcanCoofe. Bean Goose. This fpecics is feldom found in any part of Hudfon's Bay, as in all my travels I have only feen three that were killed. This bird never came under the infpedtion of Mr. Graham, or the late Mr. Hutchins, though they both contributed very largely to the colledliori "fent home to the Royal Society^ *. lii r/> .!,'/• 'i;»M species of Water-Fowl. Ducks. Ducks of various kinds are found in thofe parts during Summer ; fome only frequenting the fea-coaft, while others vifit the interior parts of the country in aftonifliing numbers. The fpecies of this bird which is found moft commonly here are, the King Duck, Black Duck, Mallard * It is, liowever, no lefs true, that the late Mr. Humphry Martin, many years Governor of Albany P'ort, fent home fcveral hundred fpecimcns of animals and plants to complete that coUeftion; but by fome miftakc, no- thing of the kind was placed to the credit of his account. Even my refpe<5ted friend Mr. Pennant, who with a candour that docs him honotir, has fo gene- roufly acknowledged his obliptitions to all to whom he thought he was indebted for information when he was writing his Ardlic Zoology, (fee the Advertife- - ment,) has not mentioned his name; but I am fully pcrfuaded that it entirely proceeded from a want of knowing the pcrfon j and as Mr. Hutchins fuc- cc-cded him at Albany in the year 1774, every thing that has been fent over ironi that part has been placed to his account. Duck, NORTHERN OCEAN. Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Widgeon, and Teal. The two firft only vifit the fca-coaft, feed on fifliand fifli-fpawn; and their flefli is- by no means efteemed good, though their eggs are not difagreeable. The Mallard and Long-tailed Duck vilit Hudfon's Bay in great numbers, and extend from the fea-coafl: to the rcmoteft Weftern parts, and near Cum- berland Houfe are found in vaft multitudes. At their firft arrival on the fea-coaft, they are exceeding good eating ; but when in a moulting ftate, though very fat, they are in ge- neral fo rank that few Europeans are fond of them. At thofe feafons the difference in flavour is cafljy known by the colour of the fat ; for when that is white, the flefli is moft afluredly good ; but when it is yellow, or of an orange colour, it is very rank and fifliy. This differen'ce is only peculiar to thofe that frequent and breed near the fea-coaft; for in the interior parts I never knew them, killed but their flefli was very good ; and the young MaL lard Duck beforie it can fly is very fat, and moft deli- cate eating. The fame may be faid of the Long-tailed Duck.. Neither of thofe fpccies lay more than flx or eight eggs in common, and frequently bring them all forth.. 447 \ ^, il3 w Widgeon. This fpecles of Duck is very uncommon in Hudfon's Bay ; ufualiy keeping in pairs, and being fel- dom feen in flocks. They ate by no means fo numerous as the two former, and are moft frequently feen in rivers and marflies near the fea-coaft. Their flefli is generally efteemed ; and the down of thofe I have examin?d is little inferior in elafticity to that of the Eider, though much fliortcr. Widgeon, 44^ Teal. A JOURNEY TO THE {horter. The fame may be faid of feveral other fpecies of Ducks that frequent thofe parts ; but the impofllbility of colledling the down in any quantity, prevents it from be- coming an article of trade. Tf.al. Like the Mallard, they are found in confider- able numbers near the fea-coaft ; but are more plentiful in the interior parts of the country, and fly in fuch large flocks that I have often killed twelve or fourteen at one fhot, and have fcen both EngKfli and Indians kill a much greater number. At their fivii arrival they are but poor, though generally efteemed good eating. This diminutive Duck is by far the moft prolific of any I know that reforts to Hi id Ton's Bay ; :>)r 1 have often fcen the old ones fwim- ming at the head of feventccn young, when not much large than walnuts. This bird remains in thofe parts as long as the fcafoii will permit ; for in the year one thoufand icvcn hiuidred and fcvcnty-five, in my paflage from Cum- berland Houfc to York Fort, I, as well as my Indian com- panions, killed them in the rivers wc pafllxl through as l.ite as the twentieth of 0<5^ober. At thofe times they me enlirtly involved in tat, but delicately while, and may truly be called a great luxury. • Ikljde* the birds nlreii/ //t/lr/t /t////f Set' /\ujes sji' (*'• .v/t ,t,*o, /■,'>lJ,-ii /'ii/'/to'/M/ Jii/i: if i^ikt. (•! I'lhM/ itKii ii\t Stnwit .Viv/i j\u//:' .i>'i .'V/-.»/*/ mmmmi \ :ii. 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