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Ni THE NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA, AKD THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES. 33ti f alritk /ram €r[\\tx, (Sa\ WITH CONTINUATION, BY R. M. BALLANTYNE, AUTHOR OF "HUDSON'S BAT; OR, EVEBT-DAT LIFE IN THE WILUS OF KORTH AMSUICA." T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; AND EDINBURGH. MDCCCLIV. 18 4319 Tv vrA£/^, Pf PREFACE. The progress of Discovery has ever been regarded with the deepest interest by mankind. Whether viewed with reference to its bearing upon the commercial interests of nations, its valuable additions to the acquisitions of science, or regarded as bringing to light many of the hidden wonders with which the Great and Good Creator has so plentifully stored our world, it is fraught with interest and instruction. Among the various Expeditions of Discovery by land and sea, none have claimed our attention or enlisted our sympathies more powerfully than those into the Arctic Regions. Nowhere has the navigator to con- tend with difficulties so formidable; nowhere is i^xure presented more vividly under so terrific and beautiful an aspect — now howling in the fury of elemental strife, and anon reposing in all the fairy-like brilliancy peculiar to the icy oceans of the north; and nowhere has been more strikingly exemplified at once the power and the impotency of man. In the volume of this series entitled Polar Seas AND Regions, full and interesting details are given of the PREFACE. various expeditions by sea to these frozen regions. But before we could be said to have obtained a complete view of the efforts made to explore the extreme north by the nations of Europe, there remained to be completed another branch of adventure, equally arduous, and more varied in character. We allude to the expeditions undertaken, partly by land and partly by lake and river navigation, to trace the Northern Coasts of America. This desideratum the present volmne will supply, and in combination with the work alluded to, will be found to give a complete account of the whole series of Northern Discoveries by land and water, from the earliest period down to the pre- sent time. The beautiful and romantic scenery through which the successive adventurers passed, the wild uncultivated natives with whom they came into contact, the manifold dangers they encountered among the lakes and foaming cataracts, and the stirring rencontres they frequently had with the ferocious animals that inhabit the North American wil- derness, form a large portion of the foUovving pages. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. DISCOVERT OF NORTH AMERICA— EARLY VOYAGES OP THE POKTUGUBSB, FRENCH, AND SPANIARDS. ftp First Discovery of North Atnericaby John Cabot-Voyages of Sebastian Cabot -Of the Cortereals-Discovery of Labrador-French Dlscoveries-Voyagei of Verazzano-Of Jacques Cartier-Dlscovery of Canada^Spanish Voyages of Discovery— Cortes-UUoa^Alarchon—Viscaino, 0 CHAPTER II. EUSSIAN AND ENGLISH VOYAGES. Behring—Tchirlkow— Cooke and Clerk&-Meares— Vancouver— Kotzebue,... 56 CHAPTER III. HEAKNE AND SIB ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. Colonization of Canada-French Fur-Trade— Rise of Hudson's Bay Company — Heame's Three Journeys— North-West Fur Company— First Journey of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in 1789— His Second Expedition, in 1792, 105 CHAPTER IV. DBCOVEBIES ALONG THE SHORES OP THE ARCTIC OCEAN. First and Second Expeditions of Franklin— Voyage of Captain Beechey, 181 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. KBCENT DISCOVKBIES. Captain Back's Overland Journey to the Arctic Sea, 1833-35,, CHAPTER VI. KECRNT DISC0VEKIE3. Dease and Simpson's Overland Journey to the Polar Sea, 1837-38-39,. I'age 256 310 CHAPTER VII. KECENT DISCOVERIES. Expedition of Dr. Eae, 1846-7, 861 256 8-39, 310 861 190 I./mgiUideWc«t Via of «»Tpm«i*ii- T. NELSON AND SONS LONDON ANO NtLSOM AND SONS LONDON AND EDINBURGH. V. PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY ox THB NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA. CHAPTER I. Discovery of Nortk America-Early Voyaoesoftke Portuguese J! rench, and Spaniards. ' Ca.a^.^,, V„,^« „, .Uco,erAZ':^^n:iZX When we peruse the lives of such men as De Gama «n^ Columbus and consider the complicated difficuUirover rirranTdT'r"'^'''"''' *''"■ ™P'=*'=' »-- Ind the dark and defective state of their knowledge it is diffi cult to repress astonishment at the success »h^h tLf d the.rexert.ons and the magnitude and splendo„r"r d.scovenes In reflecting, indeed, upon so great a heme as the revelation of a new world, it becomes us „ raise ou mmds from the region of second causes to the aXon temp at.o„ of that Almighty Being, who co„f„„„d!lt°' ,„n preparations; and it is one of the finest features^m the character of Columbus, that he invlfaT; COLUMBUS. [1493. acted under the conviction of being selected by God for the task which he at length accomplished ; but the admiration with which we regard this great man — and that belongs, though in an inferior degree, to many of his contempora- ries in the field of discovery — is enhanced rather than dimi- nished by this union of simple nnd primitive faith with ardent genius and undaunted resolution. A former volume* has been devoted to the description of the daring efforts which have been made to explore the Polar Seas ; and we now proceed to direct our attention to another, and a no less interesting and important chapter in the history of human enterprise — ^the discovery of North America, and the progress of maritime adventure on the more northern coasts of this vast continent. Without de- tracting in any degree from the fame of Columbus, it may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance, that although the admiral landed in Hispaniola as early as the 4th of February 1493, he did not ascertain the existence of the continent of South America till the 30th of May 1498 ; whilst there is certain evidence that, almost a year before, an English vessel had reached the shores of North Ame- rica. As much obscurity hangs over the circumstances of this early voyage, and as I have arrived at a conclusion completely at variance with that adopted by a late acute writer, -j- it will be necessary to dwell with some minuteness on the history of this great event. * Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions, by Sir John Leslie, &c. London, 1853. •J- The author of the Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 50, 51, an anony- mous work (London, 1831), which contains much ingenious criticism and valuable research. It is, however, unhappily confused in its arrange- ment, and written throughout in a tone of asperity which, in the discus- sion of a subject of remote biography, is unpleasant and uncalled for. The author has been unjustly severe in his animadversions on the labours of Hakluyt, of whom a brief Vindication will be found at the end of this volume. £1 1494.] JOHN CABOT AND IIEXKY VII. 3 The attention paid to navigation by the commercial states of Italy, and especially by the republics of Genoa and Venice, is familiar to all acquainted with the history of Europe during the fifteenth century. Italian merchants and agents of opulent commercial houses were found settled in every European state ; and the impetus communicated to the human mind by the discoveries of the Portuguese and the Spaniards rendered the sciences of cosmography and navigation the most popular subjects of instruction which were taught in the schools. A devotion to them became fashionable among the noble and ardent youths, who asso- ciated with them all that was romantic and delightful; they were considered as the certain guides to daring and successful maritime adventure, and the handmaids to wealth and fame. It was about this momentous period, in the year 1494, that we find a Venetian, named John Cabot, or Gabota, residing in the opulent city of Bristol. At what precise time he settled in England is not now discoverable,- we only know that he left Italy for the purpose of devot- ing himself to the mercantile profession. He was one of those enthusiastic spirits upon whom the career of Colum- bus made a deep impression ; and about a year after the return of the great Genoese from his first voyage, the merchant of Bristol appears to have embraced the idea that new lands might be discovered in the north-west, and a passage in all probability attained by this course to India.* Animated by such a project, Cabot addressed him- self to Henry VII., and found immediate encouragement from that monarch, who, though of a cold and ctiUtious dis- position, was seldom slow to listen to any proposal which promised an increase of wealth to his exchequer. On the 5th of March 1495, the king granted his royal commission *• Tiraboschi, Storia dolla Letter. Ital., vol. vi. b. i. cap. vi. § 24. 4 JOHN CABOt's project. [1495. to John Cabot, citizen of Venice, and his sons, Louis, Sebastian, and Sanchez, committing to him and them, and to their heirs and deputies, full authority to sail to all countries and seas of the East, West, and North, under the banner of England, with five ships of whatever burden and strength in mariners they might choose to employ. The equipment of this squadron was cautiously stipulated to be made "at their own proper costs and charges;" and its object stated to be the discovery of the isles, regions, and provinces of the Heathen and Infidels, which hitherto had been unknown to all the nations of Christendom, in what- ever part of the globe they might be placed. By the same deed the Cabots were empowered to set up the banners and ensigns of England in the newly discovered countries ; to subdue and possess them as lieutenar/.s of the king; and to enjoy the privilege of exclusive trade ; — the wary mon- arch, however, annexing to these privileges the condition, that he was to receive the fifth part of the capital gain upon eveiy voyage, and binding their ships to return to the port of Bristol. * Two important facts are ascertained by this authentic document. It proves that John Cabot, a citizen of Venice, was the principal author of, and adventurer in, the project ; and that no voyage with a similar object had been under- taken prior to the 5th of March 1495. The expedition, however, did not sail till the spring of 1497, more than a twelvemonth subsequent to the date of the original commission. What occasioned this delay it is now difficult to determine ; but, as the fleet was to be equipped at the sole expense of the adventurers, it is not improbable that Cabot had required the interval to raise the necessary capital. It is much to be regretted that in no * I have nearly followed the words of this important document, which h still preserved. Eymer, Fcedera Angliae, vol. xii. p. 505. 1497.] DISCOVERY OF NORTH AMERICA. contemporary chronicle is there any detailed account of the voyage. We know, however, that it was conducted by John Cabot in person, who took with him his son Sebas- tian, then a very young man. Its result was undoubtedly the discovery of North America; and although the parti- culars of this great event are lost, its exact date has been recorded by an unexceptionable witness, not only to a day, but even to an hour. On an ancient map, drawn by Sebas- tian Cabot, the son, whose name appears in the commission by the king, engraved by Clement Adams, a contemporary, and published, as there is reason to believe, under the eye of Sebastian, was written in Latin, the following brief but clear and satisfactory account of the discovery :— " In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, and his son Sebastian, discovered that country, which no one before his time had ventured to approach, on the 24th of June, about five o'clock in the morning. He called the land Terra Primum Visa, because, as I conjecture, this was the place that first met his eyes in looking from the sea. On the contrary, the island which lies opposite the land he called the Island of St. John— as I suppose, because it was discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist. The inhabitants wear beasts' skins and the intestines of animals for clothing, esteeming them as highly as we do our most precious garments. In war their weapons are the bow and arrow, spears, darts, slings, and wooden clubs. The country is sterile and uncultivated, producing no fruit • from which circumstance it happens that it is crowded with white bears, and stags of an unusual height and size. It yields plenty of fish, and these very large; such as seals and salmon : there are soles also above an ell in length ; but especially great abundance of that kind of fish called m the vulgar tongue Baccalaos. In the same island, also, breed hawks, so black in their colour that they wonderfully 6 DISCOVERY OF NOKTU AMERICA [1549. u resemble ravens ; besides which, there are partridges and eagles of dark plumage." * Such is the notice of the discovery of North America; and as some doubt has lately been thrown upon the subject, it may be remarked that the evidence of the fact cont^.iied in this inscription is perfectly unexceptionable. It comes from Clement Adams, the intimate friend of Richard Chan- celor ; and Chancelor lived, as is well known, in habits of daily intercourse with Sebastian Cabot, who accompanied his father on the first voyage of discovery. Unfortunately, both the original map and the engraving are lost; but happily Purchas has preserved the information, that the engraved map by Adams bore the date of 1549 ; f at which time Sebastian Cabot was in such gre«t reputation at the court of Edward VI., that for his services he had received a princely pension. This young monarch, as we learn from Burnet, showed a peculiar fondness for maritime affairs. He possessed a collection of charts, which were hung up in his cabinet, and amongst them was the engraving of Cabot's map. The inscription, therefore, must have been seen there and elsewhere by Sebastian ; and, when we consider that the date of the engraving corresponds with the time when he was in high favour with the king, it does not seem impro- bable that this navigator, to gratify his youthful and royal patron, employed Adams to engrave from his own chart the map of North America, and that the facts stated in the inscription were furnished by himself. The singular minuteness of its terms seems to prove this ; for who but he, or some one personally present, after the lapse of fifty- two years, could have communicated the information that the discovery was made about five o'clock in the morning of the 24th June? If, however, this is questioned as being [1549. tridges and 1 America ; the subject, ;t contt*-iied It comes hard Chan- In habits of ccompanied fortunately, e lost; but in, that the ■{- at which ation at the lad received e learn from time affairs. 1 hung up in g of Cabot's n seen there onsider that B time when seem impro- al and royal 3 own chart ;ts stated in ^he singular for who but ipse of fifty- -mation that the morning ned as being . iii. p. C07. 14<)7.] BY JOHN CABOT, i .A t conjectural, the fact that Sebastian , lust have seen the inscription is sufficient to render the evidence p3rfectly con- clusive upon the important point of John Cabot, being the discoverer of North America. That he had along with him in his ship his son Sebastian, cannot, we think, in the opinion of any impartial person, detract from or infringe upon the merit of the father. But, to complete the proof, a late writer has availed himself of an imperfect extract from a record of the rolls, furnished by the industrious Hakluyt, to discover an original document which sets the matter alto- gether at rest. This is the second commission for discovery, granted by Henry VII. on the 3d of February, and in the thirteenth year of his reign, to the same individual who conducted the first expedition. The letters are directed to John Kabotto, Venetian, and permit him co sail with six ships " to the land and isles of late found by the said John in our name and by our commandment."* It presents a singular picture of the inability of an ingenious and other- wise acute mind to estimate the weight of historical evi- dence, when we find the biographer of Sebastian Cabot insisting, in the face of such a proof as this, that the glory of the first discovery of North America is solely due to Sebastian, and that it may actually be doubted whether his father accompanied the expedition at all. f Immediately after the discovery, the elder Cabot appeara to have returned to England; and on the 10th of August we find, in the privy purse expenses of Henry VII., the sum of ten pounds awarded to him who found the New Isle, which was probably the name then given to New- foundland. Although much engrossed at this moment with the troubles which arose in his kin^^dom in consequence of the Cornish rebellion, the war with Scotland, and the * Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 7G. t Ibid. p. 50. > J011V C' ?0T *Nrir,HTED. ri497. ] rkin Warb« ck, the kiner de- attempt upon tile /Town tennined to puvsu« the entcrjj 'se, and to eneonrnge a scheme for olf^^Mxaiion under the conduct of the original discoverer. To this eiiffrprising nuvig-'itor he, on the 3d of February 1497,* granted those second ktters-patent just alluded to, which C4,u(i'rr* d an ampler authorit/- ar' ' more favourable terms than the tirbu commission. L' e empowered John Kabotto, Venetian, to take at his pleasure six English ships, with their necessary apparel, and to lead them to the land and isles lately found by him according to the loyal command. Cabot was also permitted to receive on board all such masters, mariners, pages, and other subjects as chose to accompany him; and it seems probable, from some entries in the privy purse expenses, that Launcelot Thir- kill of London, Thomas Bradley, and John Carterj embarked in the adventure.-j- A ^en ( out to set sail on his second voyage, John Cabot, who nad previously received from Henry the honour of knighthood, appears, from some cause not now discover- able, to have been prevented from taking the command ;:|: and though the name of Sebastian was not included in the second royal commission, he was promoted to the situation left vacant by his father. He must still, indeed, have been a young man ; but he had accompanied the first voyage, and at an early age developed that genius for naval enterprise which afterwards so remarkably distinguished him. We know from his account of himsrlf that, at the time his parents carried him from Venice to London, he had attained some * Old style— 1498, nevs' style. f See Mr. Nicholas' excellent collection entitled Excerpta Historica, pp. 116, 117. X The cause might be his dt ^^ but this is conjecture; of the fact there is no direct proof: of thv. k v v i.- >d if h not possible to doubt. See, in the Vindication of Haklr:}n, xt rr ,::.rks on the errors of the bio- grapher of Cabot in his chapter .m tlil, ou^ect. 1498.] ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT's VOYAGE. 9 knowledge of the sphere; and when ahout this period the great discovery of Columbus began to b. talked of in Eii'^- land as a thing almost more divine than human, the effect of it upon lis youthful imagination was to excite " a mighty longing," to use his own words, "and burning desire in his heart that he too should perform some illustrious action."* With such dispositions, we may easily imagine how rapid must have been his progress in naval science, with the benefit of his father's example and instructions. It is not matter of surprise, therefore, that tiiough probably not more than twenty-three ycjrs old, the conduct of the enterprise was intrusted to hna. He accordingly sailed from England with two ships in the summer of 1498, and directing his course by Iceland, soon reached Newfoundland, which he called Terra de Baccalaos, from the great quantity of fish of that name. Of this remarkable voyage a short account is preserved by Peter Martyr, the historian of the New World, a writer of high authority, and so intimate a friend of the navi- gator, that, at the time he wrote the passage which we now give, Sebastian was in the habit of paying him frequent visits at his house : " These northern seas," says this writer "have been navigated and explored by Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian by birth, whom his parents, when they were setting out to settle in Britain, according to the common custom of the Venetians, who for the sake of commercial a:J\ opfure become citizens of every country, carried along w>l'. ". when h;- v/as little more than an infant.f He fitted out two ships in England at his own charges, and first * Eamusio, Viaggi, vol. i. p. 414. t Cabot was born in Engl-nd, and carried by his father into Italy when four years old. He was afterwards brought back to EnHand when a youth, " assai giovane."— Kamusio, vol. i. p. 414. Memoir of Cabot, p. 69. 10 ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOt's VOYAGE. [149S. with three hundred men, directed his course so far towards the North Pole, that even in the month of July he found great heaps of ice swimming in the sea, and almost con- tinual daylight. Yet he saw the land free from ice, which had been melted by the heat of the sun. Thus observing such masses of ice before him, he was compelled to turn his sails and follow the west; and, coasting still by the shore, was brought so far into the south, by reason of the land bending much to che southward, that it was there almost equal in latitude with the sea called Fretum Herculemn. He sailed to the west till he had the Island of Cuba on his left Land, almost in the same longitude. As he passed along those coasts, called by him Baccalaos, he affirmed that he found the same current of the waters towards the west which the Spaniards met with in the southern naviga- tions, with the single difference that they flowed more gently. From this circumstance it appears to me," says Martyr, "not only a probable, but an almost necessary conclusion, that there must exist, between both the conti- nents hitherto unknown, great gaps or open places, through which the waters continually pass from the east to the west. * * * Sebastian Cabot himself named these lands Baccalaos, because in the seas thereabout he found such an immense multitude of large fish like tunnies, called baccalaos by the natives, that they actually impeded the sailing of his ships. He found also the inhabitants of these regions covered with beasts' skins, yet not without the use of reason. He also relates that there are plenty of bears in these parts, which feed upon fish. It is the prac- tice of these animals to throw themselves into the midst of the shuals of fish, and, each seizing his prey, to bury their claws in the scales, drag them to land, and there devour them. On this account he says that these bears meddle intimate men. my [149S. 1498.] ACCOUNT OF SWbASTIAN CABOt's VOYAGE. 11 ir towards ' he found [most con- ice, which observing to turn his the shore, r the land f ere almost '1 [erculeum. 8 uba on his m he passed ■ e affirmed wards the H rn naviga- H wed more 1 me," says B necessary H the conti- H s, through H ast to the H ned these H he found 1 lies, called H peded the 1 ibitants of 1 ot without B e plenty of sB 3 the prac- H le midst of H bury their 1 ere devour H irs meddle ' lH' y intimate 1 friend, and one whom it is my delight to have frequently under my roof; for, being called out of England by the command of the King of Castile after the death of Henry VII., he was made one of our council and assistants relating to the affairs of the new Indies ; and he looks daily for ships to be fitted out for him, that he may discover this hidden secret of nature. I expect," concludes Peter Mar- tyr, " that he will be able to set out on his voyage during the course of the next year, 1516, and in the month of March." * When it is known that Sebastian Cabot's second voyage-j- from England to North America did not take place till 1517, it becomes certain that the above passage, written in 1515, must relate to the expedition of 1498; and re- membering that the author was personally intimate with this navigator, and wrote only seventeen years after the voyage had taken place, we are inclined to set a high value on such an authority. It is deeply to be regretted that the original maps drawn by so eminent a discoverer, and the discourses with which he illustrated them, are now lost ; \ but in this deficiency of original materials, the work of Ramusio — a collector of voyages who was a contempo- rary of Cabot — supplies some valuable information. In the first volume of his Voyages, this amusing writer has introduced a discourse upon the different routes bj which the spices of the East were conveyed in ancient times to Europe; and towards the conclusion of the essay he brings * Peter Martyr, De Orbe Novo, 3d decad. cap. 6. Edition by Hak- luyt, p. 232.— Eden's Translation in Willes' Hist, of Travayle, p. 125. — The hidden secret, or natural phenomenon, of which Cabot was ex- pected to penetrate the cause, is stated by Martyr at p. 231. It was to resolve the question, " Why the seas in these parts run with so swift a current from the east to the west ?" t Although the son accompanied the father, 1 consider the voyage of 1497 as solely conducted by John Cabot. I Memoir of Cabot, p. 41. 12 RAMUSIO S ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT. [1496. i.' in a subject which then deeply occupied the attention of learned men — the project, namely, for discovering a passage to the kingdom of Cathay and the coasts of India, by the north-west. In the discussion of this point, Ramusio minutely describes a conversation which took place at the villa of the celebrated Italian physician and poet, Fracas- toro, between Ramusio himself, Fracastoro, an architect named St. Michael, and a certain philosopli ^r and mathe- matician, who gave them an account of an interview which he once had with Sebastian Cabot in the city of Seville. The whole passage is interesting, whether we look to the information regarding Cabot, or to the pleasing picture it brings before us of the great Fracastoro in his philosophic and classical retreat at Caphi. No apology, therefore, need be made for presenting it to the reader. " Having thus given you," says the Italian writer, " all that I could ex- tract from ancient and modern authors upon this subject, it would be inexcusable in me if I did not relate a high and admirable discourse, which, some few months ago, it was my good fortune to hear, in company with the excel- lent architect, Michael de St. Michael, in the sweet and romantic country-seat of Hieronymo Fracastoro, named Caphi, situated near Verona, whilst we sat on the top of a hill, commanding a view of the whole of the Lago di G arda. * * * Being then, as I said, at Caphi, where we had gone to visit our excellent friend Hieronymo, we found him on our arrival sitting in company with a certain gentleman, whose name, from motives of delicacy and re- spect, I concoal. He was, however, a profound philosopher and mathematician, and at that moment engaged in ex- hibiting to Fi'acastoro an instrument lately constructed to show a new motion of the heavens. Having reasoned upon this pr)iut for a long time, they, by way of recreation, caused a large globe, upon which the world was minutely )T. [1496. attention of ig a passage idia, by the , Ramusio )lace at the )et, Fracas- in architect and mathe- vieAv which of Seville, look to the J picture it philosophic refore, need aving thus I could ex- his subject, slate a high iths ago, it 1 the excel- sweet and )ro, named he top of a le Lago di , where we 0, we found a certain icy and re- philosopher ged in ex- istructed to J reasoned recreation, 8 minutely 1496.] RAMUSIO'S ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT. 13 I 'I laid down, to be brought; and having this before him, the gentleman I have mentioned began to speak to the follow- ing purpose." Ramusio, after this introduction, gives us, as proceeding from the stranger, a great mass of geogra- phical information, after which he introduces him discussing with Fracastoro the probability of a north-west passage to India. "At this point of his conversation," says he, " after the stranger had made a pause for a few moments, he turned to us and said, — ' Do you not know, regarding this project of going to India by the north-west, what was formerly achieved by your fellow-citizen the Venetian, a most extraordinary man, and so deeply conversant in every- thing connected with navigation and the science of cosmo- graphy, that in diese days he hath not his equal in Spain, insomuch that for his ability he is preferred above all other pilots that sail to the West Indies, who may not pass thither without his license, on which account he is denomi- nated Piloto Mayor, or Grand Pilot ?' When to this ques- tion we replied that we knew him not, the stranger pro- ceeded to tell us, that being some years ago in the city of Seville, he was desirous to gain an acquaintance with the navigations of the Spaniards, when he learnt that there v;as in the city a valiant man, a Venetian born, named Sebastian Cabot, who had the charge of those things, being an expert man in the science of navigation, and one who could make charts for the sea with his own hand. ' Upon this report of him,' continued he, ' I sought his acquaint- ance, and found him a pleasant and courteous person, who loaded me with kindness, and showed me many things ; among the rest a large map of the world, with the naviga- tions of the Portuguese and the Spaniards minutely laid down upon it; and in exhibiting this to me, he informed me that his father, many years ago, having left Venice and gone to settle as a merchant in England, had taken him to 14 RAMUSIO'S ACCOUNT OP SEBASTIAN CABOT. [1496. London when he was still a youth; yet not so backward, but he had then acquired the knowledge of the Latin tongue, and some acquaintance with the sphere. It so happened, he said, that his father died at that time when the news arrived that Don Chi'istopher Columbus had discovered the coast of the Indies, of which there was much talk at the court of Henry VII., who then reigned in England.' " The effect of this discovery upon Cabot's youthful ambition, which we have already alluded to, is next described by Ramusio from the report of the stranger, and he then pro- ceeds in these remarkable words : — " ' Being aware,' said Cabot to me, ' that if I sailed with the wind bearing me in a north-westerly course, I should come to India by a shorter route, I suddenly imparted my ideas to the king, who was much pleased with them, and fitted out for me three caravels with all necessary stores and equipments. This,' he added, * was in the beginning of the summer of the year 1496, and I began to sail towards the north-west with the idea that the first land I should make would be Cathay, from which I intended afterwards to direct my course to the Indies ; but after the lapse of several days, having discovered it, I found that the coast ran towards the north, to my great disappointment. From thence sailing along it, to ascertain if I could find any gulf to run into, I could discover none ; and thus having proceeded as far as 56'' under the Pole, and seeing that here the coast trended towards the east, I despaired of discovering any passage, and after this turned back to examine the same coast in its direction towards the equinoctial — always with the same object of finding a passage to the Indies — ^and thus at last I reached the country at present named Florida, where, since my provisions began to fail me, I took the refjolution of returning to England. On arriving in that country, I found great tumults, occasioned by the rising 1498.] SEBASTIAN CABOT. 15 of the common people and the war in Scotland ; nor was there any more talk of a voyage to these parts. For this reason I departed into Spain to their most Catholic Majes- ties, Ferdinand and Isabella, who, having learnt what I had accomplished, received me into their service, provided for me handsomely, and despatched me on a voyage of discovery to the coast of Brazil, where I found an exceed- ing deep and mighty river, called at present La Plata, into which I sailed and explored its course into the continent more than six score leagues. * * * This,' continued the stranger gentleman, addressing himself to us, * is the substance of all that I learnt from the Signor Sebastian Cabot.' "* Such is the passage from Ramusio; and from it we have another proof, that of this second voyage, which probably took place after the death of the original discoverer, Sebas- tian Cabot had the sole command ; that its object was to find a north-west passage to India, and that the highest latitude which he reached was 56''. I am quite aware some of the statements in this extract are erroneous, and that Gomara, an author of good authority, carries Sebas- tian as far as 58° north ;-f- but, considering the particular circumstances under which the information is conveyed, there is no reason to doubt that the general sketch of the voyage is correct; and it establishes the important fact, that as early as 1498, the coast of North America, from the latitude of 56° or 58° north to the coast of Florida, had been discovered by the English. The domestic affairs of Henry, however, and the involved political negotiations with France and the continent, undoubtedly prevented the king from holding out to Sebastian that encouragement with which so great a discovery ought to have been re- * Viaggi del Ramusio, torn. i. pp. 413, 414. t Memoir of Cabot, p. 87. IC CORTEREAL. [1500. warded; and after an interval of fourteen years, of which we have no certain account, this great navigator left Eng- land and entered into the service of Spain. The Portuguese, a nation to whose genius and persever- ance the sister sciences of geography and navigation owe some of their highest triumphs, were at this period in the zenith of their fame, animated with an enthusiastic spirit of enterprise, and ready to consider every discovery not conducted by themselves as an encroachment upon their monopoly of maritime glory. Inspired with this jealousy, Gaspar de Cortereal, of whose expedition notice has already been taken in this Library,* determined to pursue the track of discovery opened by Cabot in the north-west, and in 1500, sailed with two ships from Lisbon, animated by the desire of exploring this supposed new route to India.f Cortereal touched at the Azores, where he completed his crews, and took in provisions. He then steered a course never, as far as he knew, traced by any former navigator, and came upon a countiy to which he gave the name of Terra Verde, but which is carefully to be distinguished from that called Greenland. This was in truth the coast of Labrador, denominated in an old map published at Rome in 1508, Terra Corterealis. It lay between the west and north-west; and, after having explored it for upwards of * Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas, 3d edition, p. 184, and Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier, p. 24. t Cortereal had been educated in the household of tho King of Por- tugal before he came to the throne, and when he still bore the title of Duke de Beja. — Damiano Goes, Chronica del Rey Dom. Slanuel, c. 66, cap. 66, p. 187. His character, as given by this ancient and contem- porary chronicler, is brief and forcible: "Gaspar de Cortereal, son of Jolm Vaz Cortereal, was a man of an enterprising and determined char- acter, ardently thirsting after glory; for which reason he proposed tc set aut on a voyage of discovery, fieeking cmmtric:? in northern latitudps, we (the Portuguese) having at this time discovered many in southern parts." ^ 1500.] CORTEREAL 17 f six hundred miles without reaching any termination, Cortereal conduded that it must form part of the mainland, which was connected with another region discovered in the preceding year in the north— evidently alluding to the voyage of Sebastian Cabot in 1498.* The most curious and authen- tic account of this remarkable expedition of the Portuguese navigator is to be found in a letter, written by Pietro Pas- quiligi, the Venetian ambassador at the court of Portugal to his brothers in Italy, only eleven days after the retuni of Cortereal from his first voyage. " On the 8th of Octo- ber," says he, "there arrived in this port one of the two caravels, which were last year despatched by the King of Portugal for the discovery of lands lying in the north, under the command of Gaspar Cortereal. He relates that he has discovered a country situated between the west and north-west, distant from this about two thousand miles, and M^hich before the present time was utterly unknown. They ran along the coast between six hundred and seven hundred miles without arriving at its termination, on which account they concluded it to be the same continent that is connected with another land discovered last year in the north, which, however, the caravels could not reach, the sea being frozen, and a vast quantity of snow having fallen. They were confirmed in the same opinion by finding so many mighty rivers, which certainly were too numerous and too large to have pro- ceeded from an island. They report that this land is thickly peopled, and that the houses are built of very long teams of timber, and covered with the furs of the skins of fishes. They have brought hither along with them seven of the inhabitants, including men, women, and children • and in the other caravel, which is looked for every hour' they are bringing fifty more. These people, in colour' B * Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 241. 18 CORTEREAL. [1500. figure, stature, and expression, greatly resemble gipsies; they are clothed with the skins of different beasts, but chiefly of the otter, wearing the hair outside in summer, and next to the skin in winter. These skins, too, are not sewed together, nor shaped to the body in any fashion, but wrapt around their anns and shoulders exactly as taken from the animals ; whilst the slight and partial covering which they wear is formed with strong cords made of the sinews or entrails of fishes. On this account their appear- ance is completely savage; yet they are very sensible to shame, gentle in their manners, and better made in their arms, legs, and shoulders, than can be expressed. Their faces are punctured in the same manner as the Indians;— some have six marks, some eight, some fewer; they use a language of their own, but it is understood by no one. Moreover, I believe that every possible language has been addressed to them. They have no iron in their country, but manufacture knives out of certain kinds of stones, with which they point their arrows. They have also brought from this island a piece of a broken sword inlaid with gold, which we can pronounce undoubtedly to have been made in Italy ; and one of the children had in his ears two pieces {todini) of silver, which as certainly appear to have been made in Venice— a circumstance inducing me to believe that their country belongs to the continent, since it IS evident that If it had been an island where any vessel had touched before this time, we should have heard of it. They have great plenty of salmon, herring, stockfish, and similar kinds of fish. They have also abundance of timber and principally of the pine, fitted for the masts and yards of ships; on which account his Serene Majesty anticipates the greatest advantage from this country, both in furnishing timber for his shinni'no- «f ,,,>,, v^- \~ -^ --. i t • — rr—bj "' rrmcii He u.i prcsunr stands in great need, and also from the men who inhabit it, who 1501.] OORTEREAL. 10 appear admirably fitted to endure labour, and will probablv turn out the best slaves which have been discovered up to this time. This arrival appeared to me an event of which it was right to inform you; and if, on the arrival of the other caravel, I receive any additional information, it shall be transmitted to you in like manner."* Nothing could be more cruel and impolitic than the con- duct of Cortereal, in seizing and carrying into captivity these unfortunate natives; and it is difficult to repress our indignation at the heartless and calculating spirit with which the Portuguese monarch entered into the adventure, con- templating the rich supplies of slaves that were to be im- ported from this new country.f It is an ingenious con- jecture of the biographer of Cabot, to whose research we owe our acquaintance with this letter, that the name Terra de Laborador was given to the coast by the Portuguese slave merchants in consequence of the admirable qualities of the natives as labourers, and in anticipation of the profits to be derived from a monopoly of this unchristian traffic. But distress and disaster pursued the speculation. On the 15th May 1501, Cortereal departed on a second voyage with a determination to pursue his discovery, and, as we may plausibly conjecture, to return with a new cLrgo of slaves and timber; but he was never again heard of. A c'milar dark and unhappy fate befell his brother, Michael de Cortereal, who sailed with two ships in search of his lost relative, but of whom no accounts ever again reached Portugal. The most probable conjecture seems to be, that * Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 230, 240 t I observe that in the History of Discovery and Adventure in the Po ar &eas Mr. Murray has questioned the accuracy of the opinion stated by the biographer of Cabot, "that the objects of Cortereal's «.cuncl voyage were lunber and slaves." The letter, however, of Pas- quihgi seems to rne decisive, that, if not the sole, they were at least very pnncipal objects m the second voyage. 20 UNFOUNDED CLAIM OF THE PORTUGUESE. [1503. they both fell victims to the just indignation of the natives, whose wives, children, and fathers had been stolen away during their first visit to the coast. "The king," says Goes, " felt deeply the loss of these two brothers, so much the more as they had been educated by him; and on this account, moved by royal and gracious tenderness, in the following year, 1503, he sent at his own expense two armed ships in search of them; but it could never be discovered where or in what manner either the one or the other was lost, on which account this province of Terra Verde, where it was supposed the two brothers perished, was called the Land of the Cortereals."* The description of the inhabitants, as given by this contemporary chronicler, contains a few ad«lltional particulars to those mentioned by Pasquiligi. "The people of the country," says he, "are very barbarous and uncivilized, almost equally so with the natives of Santa Cruz, except that they are white, and so tanned by the cold, that the white colour is lost as they grow older, and they become blackish. They are of the middle size, very lightly made, and great archers. Instead of javelins, they employ sticks burnt in the end, which they use as missiles to as good purpose as if they were pointed with fine steel. They clothe themselves in the skins of beasts, of which there are gi'eat plenty in the country. They live in caverns of rocks, and in houses shaped like nests [chonpanas). They have no laws, believe much in auguries, live in matrimony, and are very jealous of their wives, in which things they much resemble the Laplanders, who also inhabit a northern latitude under 70° to 85°, subject to the kings of Norway and Sweden."-|- Upon these voyages of the Cortereals the Portuguese at- tempted to establish a claim to the discovery of Newfound- land and the adjacent coasts of North America, though * Damiano Goes, Chronica del Key Dom. Manuel, part i. c. CG. t Ibid, c. 6G, p. 87. [1503. he natives, tolen away ing," says 3, SO much nd on this 3SS, in the two armed discovered other was rde, where called the ihabitants, ains a few Pasquiligi. barbarous 3s of Santa y the cold, , and they ery lightly ley employ siles to as el They 1 there are s of rocks, ey have no [id are very 1 resemble ude under 5weden."-J- uguese at- S^ewfound- la, though . c. 66. 1498.] SEBASTIAN CADGT's RETURN TO ENGLAND. 21 there is ample historical evidence that both had been visited by the two Cabots three years prior to the departure ot Corteieal from Lisbon. Maps appear to have been forged to support this unfair assumption ; and in a volume published by Maflrignanou at Milan in 1508, which represents itself to be a translation of the Italian work entitled " Paesi Nuovamente Kitrovati," the original letter of Pasquiligi, describing the arrival of Gasper Cortereal, is disgracefully garbled and corrupted, for the purpose, as it would seem, of keeping the prior discoveries of the Cabots in the back- ground, and advancing a fabricated claim for the Portu- guese.* It is unfortunate that this disingenuous process of poisoning tho sources of historic truth has succeeded, and that many authors, not aware of its apocryphal character, which has been acutely exposed by the biographer of Cabot, have given currency to the fable of Madrignanon. About fourteen years after his return from the voyage of 1498, we have seen that Sebastian Cabot was induced to outer the service of Spain; but, though highly esteemed for his eminent abilities, appointed one of the Council of the Indies by Ferdinand, and nominated to the command of an expedition to the north in search of a north-west passage, he appears to have been baffled and thwarted in his plans by the jealousy of the Spaniards, and was at last compelled to abandon them on the death of Ferdinand. He then returned to England; and, indefatigable in the prosecution of that great object which formed the prominent pursuit of his life, induced Henry VIII. to fit out a small squadron for the discovery of the north-west passage to India. Unfortunately, however, for the success of the voyage, Sir Thomas Pert, at this time Vice- Admiral of England, was intrusted with the supreme command, whose want of coura'*-e 82 IHJLAR DISCOVERIES. [14.08. and resolution was the cause of its ultimate failure. The object of Cabot was to proceed by Iceland towards the American coast, which ho had already explored as far as 56°, according to Rnmusio, or, if wo follow Gomara, 58*" north. This would lead him, to use the expression of Thome,* by the back of Newfoundland; and from this point, pursuing his voyage farther to the northward, he expected to find a passage to the kingdom of Cathay. The ships accordingly set sail, and on the llth of June they had reached the 67|° of northern latitude. They here found the sea open, and Cabot entertained a confident hope of sailing through a bay, or "fret," which they had then entered, to the shores of the Eastern Cathay, when a mutiny of the mariners, and the faintheartedness of Sir Thomas Pert, compelled him, much against his inclination, to desist from the farther prosecution of the voyage, and return home.f From the high latitude reached by this enter- * Letter of Robert Thome.— Hakluyt, edition of 1589 p 250 — » And if they wiU take their course, after they be past the Pole "towards the Occident, they shall goe in the back side of the Newfoundland which of late was discovered by your Grace's subjects, until they come to the back side and south seas of the Indies Occidental: And so, continuing their voyage, they may return thorow the Straight of Magellan to this coimtry, and so they compass also the world by that way; and if they goe this third way, and after they be past the Pole, goe right toward the Pole Antarticke, and then declino towards the lands and islands situated between the tropicks and under the equinoctial, without doubt they shall find there the richest lands and islands of the world, of gold, precious atones, balmis spices, and other thinges that we here esteem most, which come out of strange countries, and may return the same way." See also Gomara, as quoted in the Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 21. fit is evidently to this third voyage that the passage in Ramusio, vol. 111. p. 4, of the " Discorso sopra il terzo volume," applies. Memoir of Cabot, p. 117. It is valuable, as this author, though he appears by mistake to have put the name of Henry VII. for that of Henry VIII., quotes^ in it a letter which many years before he had received from Sebastian Cabot himself. He (Kamusinl, in sne-iti'Tiry ,^f *hp H^- r,-- subsequently made by Verrazzano, and of the country of New France, remarks, that of this land it is not certain as yet whether it is joined to 1498.J SEBASTIAN CABOT ENTERS IIUDSOn's BAY. 23 prising seaman, as well as from the expressions employed by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in speaking of the voyage, it appears certain that Cabot had entered the great bay after- wards explored by Hudson, and since known by his name.* It is an extraordinary fact, therefore, but it rests upon evidence which it would bo difficult to controvert, that ninety years before the first voyage of Hudson, he had been anticipated in his principal discovery by an early navigator, to whoso merits the world have done little justice. Whilst the Portuguese, the Spaniards, and the English, had early entered upon the career of discovery, the French, a people undoubtedly of the highest genius and enterprise, evinced an unaccountable inactivity upon this great subject, and appeared to view with indifference the brilliant suc- ihe continent of Florida and New Spain, or whether it is separated into islands, and may thus admit of a passage to the kingdom of Cathay. " Come," he proceeds, " ctme mi fu scritto gia molti anni sono, dal Sig- nor Sebastian Gabotto nostro Vinitiano huomo di grande esperienza et rata nell' arte del navigare, e nella scienza di cosmografia : il quale avea navicato disopra di questa terra della Nuova Francia a spese del Re Henrico VII. d'lnghilterra e me diciva, come essendo egli andato lunga- mente alia volta de ponente e quarta di Maestro dietro queste Isole poste lungo la delta terra fini a gradi sessanta sette e mezzo sotto il nostro polo a xi. di Guigno e trovandosi il mare aperto e senza impedimento alcuno, pensava fermamente per quella via di poter passare alia volta del Cataio Oriental e, e I'avrebbe fatto, se la malignita del padrone e de marineri soUevati non I'havessero fatto tornare a dietro." This discourse is dated 20th June 1553. * Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 16. It must be recollected that Sir Humphrey Gilbert had the advantage of having examined the charts of Sebastian Cabot, which, he tells us, were then to be seen in the Queen's privy gal- lery at Whitehall. It has also been acutely remarked by a late writer (Memoir of Cabot, p. 29), that Ortelius, who died nine years before Hudson undertook his first voyage, in the map of America, published in his great geographical work, the " Theatrum Orbis Terrarum," has laid down the form of Hudson's Bay with singular precision. Now, we know by the list of authorities cited by Ortelius, that he VraS in possession of a map of the world by Sebastian Cabot. The source, therefore, from which he derived his information is evident. 24 VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. [1524. cesses of other nations. At length Francis I., a monarch wno was deeply smit with the love of glory, caught the enthusiasm for maritime discovery, and eager to cope upon equal terms with his great rival Charles V., fitted out a squadron of four ships, the command of which he entrusted to Giovanni Verazzano, a Florentine navigator of great skill and celebrity. The destination of the armament, however, appears to have embraced the purposes of plunder as well as of discovery; and in a cruise, three of his vessels were so much damaged in a storm, that they were com- pelled, for the purpose of refitting, to run into a port in Brittany, from which, impatient of the delay, the admiral, in a single vessel named the Dauphin, set sail with a determina- tion to prosecute discoveries. He first steered his course for Madeira, and thence sailed in a westerly direction for tAventy- five days, making in that time five hundred leagues. A stom now attacked him, in which his little vessel had nearly perished; but he at last weathered the gale, and proceed- ing onwards for four hundred leagues, arrived upon a coast that, according to his own account, had never before beea visited.* It is probable ihat this shore belonged either to North or South Carolina;t and the appearance of many large fires on the beach convinced him that the country was inhabited. Verazzano, however, in vain sought for a port; and after exploring the coast both to the south and north without success, he was compelled to anchor in the open sea, after which he sent his boat on shore to open an intercourse with the natives. This he effected not without some difficulty; for as soon as the French landed, the savages fled in great trepidation; yet they soon after stole back, exhibiting signs of much wonder and .ariosity. At * Eamusio, Viaggi, vol. iii. p. 420.—" Dovi scopsimmo una terra nuova, non piu da granticlii ne da moderni vista." t " Sta questa terra m gi-adi 340."— Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 420. 1524.] VERAZZANO. 25 last, being convinced that they had nothing to fear, they completely recovered their confidence, and not only brought provisions to the French, but assisted in drawing their boat on shore, and car fully and minutely scrutinized eveiy- thing belonging to the vessels and the crew. They ad- mired the white skin of the strangers, handled their dress, and exhibited the utmost astonishment and delight. They themselves were a handsome race of people, their eyes dark and large, their expression bold, open, and cheerful ; their chests were broad, and they combined middle stature and symmetry of limbs with great nimbleness and swiftness of foot. Their colour was tawny, not unlike the Saracens, and they wore their hair, which was black and thick, tied behi'^d their head in a little tail, and sometimes ornamented with a garland of birds' feathers. Their bodies were not disfigured or tattooed in any way, and they walked about perfectly naked, except that they wore short aprons of furs fastened round their middle by a girdle of woven grass. In the immediate vicinity of the coast the country was sandy, rising into gentle undulations ; as they proceeded it became more elevated, and was covered by noble woods, consisting, not of the usual forest trees, but of the palm, laurel, cypress, and others then unknown in Europe, which grew to a great height, and diffused a delicious perfume that was discerned far out at sea. " The land also," says Verazzano in his letter to Francis I., " is full of many animals, a* stags, deer, and hares, which were seen sport- ing in the forests, and frequenting the banks of pleasant lakes and rivers ; nor were there wanting great plenty and variety of birds of game, fitted to afford delightful recreation for the sportsman. The sky was clear, the air whole.finme and temperate, the prevalent wind blow^- ing from the west, and the sea calm and placid. In short, a country more full of amenity could not well be 26 VERAZZANO. 524. imagined."* An excellent author and navigator thinks it probable that the spot where Verazzano first landed was on the coast of Georgia, near the present town of Savannah.f From this he proceeded along the shore, which turned to the eastward, and appeared thickly inhabited, but so low and open, that landing in such a surf was impossible. In this perplexity a young sailor undertook to swim to land and accost the natives; but when he saw the crowds which thronged the beach, he repented of his purpose, and al- though within a few yards of the landing-place, his courage failed, and he attempted to turn back. At this moment the water only reached his waist ; but, overcome with ter- ror and exhaustion, he had scarcely strength to cast his presents and trinkets upon the beach, when a high wave cast him stupified and senseless upon the shore. The savages ran immediately to his assistance, and carried him to a little distance from the sea, where it was some time before he recovered his recollection; and great was his terror when he found himself entirely in their power. Stretching his hands towards the ship, he uttered a pierc- ing shriek, to which his friends of the New World replied by raising a loud yell, intended, as he afterwards found, to encourage him. But, if this was sufficiently alarming, their farther proceedings proved still more formidable. They carried him to the foot of a hill, turned his face towards the sun, kindled a large fire, and stripped him naked. No doubt was now left in the mind of the unhappy man that they were about to offer him as a sacrifice to the sun; and his companions on board, who watched the progress of the adventure, unable, from the violence of the sea, to lend him assistance, were of the same opinion. They thought, to use Verazzano's own words, that the natives were going * Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 420. t Forster's Diocoveries ia the North, p. 433. 4 la H I 1524.] VERAZZANO. 27 to roast and eat him.* But their fears were soon turned into gratitude and astonishment ; for they only dried his clothes, warmed him, and showed him every mark of kind- ness, caressing and patting his white skin; and on observ- ing that he still trembled and looked suspicious, they assisted him to dress, conducted him to the beach, tenderly em- braced him, and, pointing to the vessel, removed to a little distance, to show that he was at liberty to return to his friends. This he did by swimming to the ship's boat, which had been put out to receive him, followed by the kind ges- tures of the savages, who gazed after him till they saw him safe among his friends. The spot where Verazzano found this amiable people is conjectured by Forster to have been somewhere between New Jersey and Staaten Island. From this the Florentine sailed onward, observing the coast trending to the northward, and after a run of fifty leagues, came to anchor off a delightful country covered with the finest forests. The trees, although equally luxuriant, did not emit the same perfume as those before seen ; but the region was vlJh, covered with grass, and thickly peopled, although the natives appeared more timid than the last, and avoided all intercourse. The sailors, however, discovered and seized a family who had concealed themselves in the underwood, consisting of an old woman, a young girl of a tall and handsome figure, and six children. The two younger of the little ones were squatted on the shoulders of the old woman, and another chila hung behind her back, whilst the girl was similarly loaded. On being approached, both the females shrieked loudly ; but having succeeded in pacifying them, the sailors understood, by their signs, that all the men had escaped to the woods on the appearance of Itxuv^xx LrdoucLoiuii nciD xxuVr u.o\:;ii *-v/ iiluUv^u i;ili^xXl the o i3liiLr;3. * Kamusio, vol. in p. 421. 28 VERAZZANO. [1524. to go on board; but although the elderly lady showed symptoms of acquiescence, and eagerly ate the food which was offered her, no entreaties could soften the obstinacy and rage of the younger. She uttered piercing cries, cast the meat indignantly on the ground, and rendered the task of dragging her through the thick woods so tedious and dis- tressing, that they were obliged to desist and leave her, only ci^xTying with them a little boy, who could make no resistance.* The people of this country possessed fairer complexions than those whom they had just left, and were clad with large leaves sewed together with threads of wild hemp. Their common food was pulse, but they subsisted also by fishing, and were very expert in catching birds with gins. Their bows were made of hard wood, their arrows of canes headed with fish-bone, and their boats constructed of one large tree hollowed by fire, for they appeared to have no instruments of iron or other metal. Wild vines crept up the trunks ci the trees, hanging in rich festoons from the branches, and the banks and meadows were covered with roses, lilies, violets, and many sorts of herbs different from those of Europe, yielding a fresh and delightful fra- grance. Verazzano now proceeded one hundred leagues farther, to a sheltered and beautiful bay surrounded by gently rising hills, and discovered a large river, which from its depth seemed navigable to a considerable distance. Fearful, how- ever, of an J accident, they ascended it in boats ; and the voyage conducted them through a country so full of sweetness and attraction, that they left it with much regret.f Prosecut- ing their discoveries fifty leagues eastward, they reached another island of a triangular shape, covered with rich wood, and rising into gentle hills, which reminded them of * IJamuiso, vol. iii. p. 421. t Ibid. 1624.] VERAZZANO. 29 Rhodes, botli in its form and general aspect. A contrary- wind, however, rendered it impossible to land, and pursuing their course about fifteen leagues farther along the coast, they found a port where there was an excellent anchorage. Here they were soon visited by the natives, who came in a squadron of twenty boats, and at first cautiously kept at the distance of fifty paces. Observing, however, the friendly gestures of the strangers, they ventured nearer, and when the French threw them bells, mirrors, and other trinkets, they raised a loud and simultaneous shout expressive of joy and security, no longer hesitating to row their boats to the ship's side and come aboard. They are described by Verazzano, in his account of the voyage sent to Francis I., as the finest and handsomest race, and the most civilized in their manners, of any he had yet met in America. Their colour was fairer than that of the more southern people, and in the symmetry of their forms, and the simplicity and gracefulness of their attitudes, they almost vied with the antique. They soon became exceedingly friendly and inti- mate, and conducted the French into the interior of the country, which they found variegated with wood, and more delightful than can be easily described. Adapted for every sort of cultivation, whether of corn, vines, or olives, it was interspersed with plains of twenty-five or thirty leagues in length, open and unencumbered with trees, and of such fertility, that whatever fruit might be sown, was certain to produce a rich and abundant return. They afterwards entered the woods, which were of great size, and so thick that a large army might have been concealed in them. The trees consisted of oaks and cypresses, besides other species unknown to Europe. They found also apples, parsley, plums, and filberts, and many other kinds of fruit different from those of Italy. They saw likewise many animals, such as harts, roes, wolves, and stags, which the natives 30 TEEAZZANO. [1524. caught wuh snares, and destroyed with bows and arrows the.r principal weapons of offence. The arrows were made ,W r?- ?".""''' ""^ "' *•' P°'"'' '"^'o^d of "-O" they mserted ftnts, jaspers, hard marble, and other kinds of cut stones. These they also made use of in felling trees, and m excavatmg their boats, which, with great skill, were made of a smgle trunk, yet large enough to hold ten or twelve men eommodiously. Their oars were short and broad at the extremity, which they plied in the sea without any accdent happening, trusting solely to their strength of arm and sblful management, and seeming able to go at almost any rate they pleased. Their houses were constricted in a crcular shape, ten or twelve paces in circuit, built of paid to arehitectoal arrangement, covered with tiles made tl^^ o^^t^-oricmanship, and effectually protected fn>m the w,nd and rain.* On one subject alone they showed susp.c.on be,„g extremely jealous of the least intercourse between the French and their women. These they would on no persuasion allow to enter the ship, and on one occa- _«on, wh.le the k.ng came on board, and spent some hours m curiously examining every part of the vessel, his royal consort was left with her female attendants in a boat a some distance, and strictly watched and guarded.+ Ihe French now bade adieu to this kind people and pursued their discoveries for one hundred and fiftyljgues expknng a coast which extended fi>,t towards the east and' afterwards to the north. The country still presented an agree- abk and myUmg aspect, although the climate became colder, andthe regions along which they passed more hilly. A pro- * Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 422. ~ 1;124.] VERAZZANO. 31 I gress of other fifty leagues brought them to a more mountain- ous district than any yet seen, covered with dark and dense forests, and possessed by a people whose habits and temper seemed to partake of the severer nature of their country. On attempting to open an intercourse, Verazzano found them as fierce and sullen as those with whom he had lately dealt were agreeable and generous. Twenty-five of the crew who landed were received with a shower of arrows ; and although the exhibition of articles of barter overcajtne their scruples, and tempted them to agree to an interchange of commodities, the manner in which this was effected evinced a striking mixture of avidity and suspicion. They came down to the beach, choosing the spot where the surf was breaking most violently, and insisted that the French boat should remain on the other side; a rope was then passed from it to the shore, and the different articles were swung along it. Strings of beads, toys, or mirrors, they utterly despised; but eagerly received knives, fishing-hooks, swords, saws, or anything in the shape of cutting-metal, to be used in war or in the chase, though such was their savage temper, that during the process of exchange they expressed their aversion to the strangers by uncouth gestures of con- tempt and derision. It seems probable that the country, now for the first time visited by Europeans, was the present province of Maine — as we are told by Verazzano, that a farther run of fifty leagues along the coast brought him to a cluster of thirty islands separated by narrow channels — a description which points out, in precise temis, the Bay of Penobscot.* * Murray's North America, vol. i. p. 79. The veracity of the Flo- rentine navigator, in his description of the ferocious habits of the natives, i^ strildr.gly coiToboratcd by the detcrmijicd and rancorous hostility evinced afterwards by the Indians of this district in opposing every attempt at settlement. 32 VEKAZZANO. [1524. From this point he pursued his indefatigable course for one hundred and fifty leagues farther, till he reached the land already discovered, as he says, by the Britons, in the latitude of 50°, which is evidently Newfoundland. Here his provi- sions began to fail, and thinking it prudent to sail for France, he reached home in safety in the month of July 1524. Verazzano had thus completed the survey of a line of coast extending for seven hundred leagues, and embracing the whole of the United States, along with a large portion of British America. It was undoubtedly an enterprise of great magnitude and splendour, and deserves to be carefully re- corded, not only as comprehending one of the widest ranges of early discovery, but as making us for the first time ac- quainted with that noble country whose history is so important, and whose destinies, even after a progress un- rivalled in rapidity, appear at this moment only in their infancy. The Florentine gave to the whole region which he had discovered the name of New France ; he then laid before the king a plan for completing his survey of the coast, penetrating into the interior, and establishing a colony; and he appears to have met with encouragement from Francis I., who embraced his proposals for coloniza- tion. From this moment, however, his history is involved in obscurity. Hakluyt affirms that he perfonned three voyages to North America, and gave a map of the coast to Henry VIII. The biographer of Cabot asserts, that he was the "Piedmontese pilot" who was slain on the coast of America in 1527,* not aware that Verazzano was a Florentine, and alive in 1537; and Ramusio could not ascertain the particulars of his last expedition, or even dis- cover in what year it took place. All that is certainly known is, that it proved fatal to this great navigator. * Alemoir of Cabot, p. 278. 1534.] CARTIER. 33 Having landed incautiously upon the American coast, he and his party were surrounded and cnt to pieces by the savages; after which they barbarously devoured them in the sight of their companions.* The death of Verazzano appears to have thrown a damp over the farther prosecution of discovery by the court of France; but at length, after an interval of ten years, Jacques Cartier, an enterprising and able mariner of St. Malo, was chosen by the Sieur de Melleray e, Vice- Admiral of France, to conduct a voyage to Newfoundland, which, since its discovery by Cabot, had been seldom visited, and was imperfectly known. Cartier departed from St. Malo on the 20th of April 1534, with two ships, each of 60 tons burden, and having on board a well-appointed crew of sixty-one men.-|- The voyage appears to have been limited * Such is the account of Eamusio in his Discourse upon New France, vol. iii. p. 417. But Cardenas, in a work entitled " Ensajo Cronologico para la Historia de la Florida" (p. 8), has committed an error similar to that of the writer of Cabot's Life. He believes that Verazzano was the same as Juan the Florentine, a pirate in the service of France, who was taken by the Spaniards in 1524, and hanged. The evidence which over- turns the theories of both these authors is to be found in a letter of Annibal Caro, quoted by Tiraboschi, Storia della Letteratura Ital., vol. vii. part i. pp. 261, 262, from which it appears that Verazzano was alive in 1537. Lettere Familiar! del. Comm. Annibal Caro, vol. i. p. 11. In his great work, Tiraboschi has collected all that is known regarding the life of this eminent discoverer ; but this all ii extremely little. He was bom about the year 1485 ; his father was Pier Andrea Verazzano, a noble Florentine, his mother Fiametta Capelli. Of his youth, and for what reasons he entered into the service of Francis I., nothing is known. The only published work of Verazzano is the narrative in Eamusio, ad- dressed to Francis I., written with much simplicity and elegance. But in the Strozzi Library at Florence is preserved a manuscript, in which he is said to give, with great minuteness, a description of all the countries which he had visited during his voyage, and from which, says Tiraboschi, we derive the intelligence that he had formed the design of attempting a passage through these seas to the East Indies. It is much to be desired that some Italian scholar would favour the world w^ith the publicatios oi this MS. of Verazzano. t Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 435. C 3i CARTIER. [1534. to a survey of the northern coast of Newfoundland, of which he gives a minute description, dwelling particularly on the zoological features of the country. He found the land, in most parts, extremely wild and barren, " insomuch that he did not see a cart-load of good earth ; and the inhabit- ants were of stout make, but wild and unruly." They wore their hair tied on the top like a bunch of hay, fixed with a wooden bodkin, and ornamented with birds' feathers. Like their companions whom Cabot had described, they were clothed in beasts' skins, and ornamented their bodies by painting them with roan-colours. They paddled about in boats made of the bark of birch trees, in which they carried on a constant trade of fishing, and caught great numbers of seals. After having almost circumnavigated Newfoundland, Cartier stood in towards the continent, and anchored in a bay, which, from the extreme heat, was de- nominated Baye du Chaleur. The description of the in- habitants of this spot is striking and interesting. " Taking our way," says he, " along the coast, we came in sight of the savages, who stood on the borders of a lake in the low grounds, where they had lighted their fires, which raised a great smoke. We went towards them, and found that an arm of the sea ran into the lake, into which we pushed with our boats. Upon this the savages approached in one of their little barks, bringing along with them pieces of roasted seals, which they placed upon wooden boards, and afterwards retired, making signs that this was intended as a present for us. We immediately put two men ashore, with hatchets, knives, garlands for the head, and such like wares. On seeing these articles they appeared much de- lighted, and crowded to the bank where we were, paddling their barks, and bringing skins and other articles, which they meant to exchange for our merchandise. Their num- ber, including men, women, and children, was upwards of 1534.] CARTIER. 35 three hundred. Some of the women, who would not venture nearer, stood up to the knees in walei', singing and dancing. Others, who had passed over, came to us with great fami- liarity, rubbing our arms with their hands, which they afterwards lifted up to heaven, singing all the while, and making signs of joy ; such at last was their friendliness and security, that they bartered away everything they had, and stood beside us quite naked; for they scrupled not to give t . all that was on them, and indeed their whole wardrobe was not much to speak of. It was evident that this people mi^ht be, without difficulty, converted to our faith. They migrate from place to place, and subsist themselves by fish- ing. Their country is warmer than Spain, and as beauti- ful as can be imagined — level, and covered even in the smallest spots with trees, and this although the soil is sandy. It is full also of wild corn, which hath an ear similar to rye. We saw many beautiful meadows full of rich grass, and lakes where there were plenty of salmon. The savages called a hatchet, cochi; and a knife, bacm."* All the navigators who had hitherto visited Newfoundland, on reaching its northernmost point, appear to have sailed across the Straits of Belleiale to Cape Charles, upon the coast of Labrador; but the course of Cartier led him through the straits into the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, now for the first time visited by any European. His predecessor, Verazzano, after reaching the shore of the Bay of Fundy, had probably sailed along the coast of Nova Scotia until he reached Cape Breton. Cartier, on the contrary, saw before him a wide and extensive field of discovery to the west, which he pursued for some time, directing his course along the coast of the Bay of St. Lawrence ; but as the season was far advanced, and the weather became precari- * Kamusio, vol. ill. p. 438. 86 CARTIER S SECOND VOYAGE. [1535. ous, he determined to reserve a more complete examination of this unknown country for a second voyage, and returned safely to France, coming to anchor in the port of St. Malo upon the 5th of September 1534.* Having been received with favour and distinction, Car- tier, after a short interval, embarked upon a second voyage. His squadron consisted of three ships — the Great Hermina, of which Cartier himself was master, being a vessel of about 120 tons; the Little Hermina, of 60 tons; and the Hermi- rillon, of 40 tons burden. The crews solemnly prepared themselves for their voyage by confession and the reception of the sacrament ; after which they entered in a body into the choir of the cathedral, and stood before the bishop, who was clothed in his canonicals, and devoutly gave them his benediction. Having fulfilled these rites, the fleet weighed anchor on the 15th of May 1535, and the admiral steered direct for Newfoundland. His ships, however, were soon after separated in a storm, and did not again join company till the 26th of June ; after which they proceeded to explore the large gulf which he had already entered. " It was," to use the words of the navigator himself, " a very fair gulf, full of islands, passages,^ and entrances to what wind soever you pleased to bend, having a great island like a cape of land stretching somewhat farther forth than ^^he others." This island is evidently that named by the English Anticosti, being merely a corruption of Natiscotec, the appellation at this day given it by the nati\'es. To the channel between it and the opposite coast of Labrador, Cartier gave the name of St. Lawrence, which has since been extended to the whole gulf. On reaching the eastern point of the island of Anticosti, the French, who had along with them two of the natives * Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 440. 1535.] CARTIEU S gKCOND VOYAGE. S7 of the country, whom they had induced in their fonncr voyage to accompany them to France, requested their advice as to their farther progress. The savages stated, that the gulf in which they now lay gradually contracted its dimen- sions till it terminated in the mouth of a mighty river nam.ed ]Iochelaga, flowing from a vast distance in the interior of a great continent ; that two days' sail above Anticosti would bring them to the kingdom of Saguenay, beyond which, along the bank of the same river, was a populous territory, situated at its highest known point, where the stream was only navigable by small boats. Having received this information, Cartier sailed onwards, exploring both sides of the river, and opening a communi- cation with the inhabitants by means of the natives whom he carried along with him. The good effects of this arrange- ment were soon seen ; for at first they fled in great alarm upon the approach of any of the ships' crews ; but on hear- ing the interpreters cry out that they were Taignaogny and Domagaia — names which seemed to inspire immediate ideas of friendliness and confidence — they suddenly turned back ; after which they began to dance and rejuice, running away with great speed, and soon returning with eels, fishes, e-''^iiu, and musk-melons, which they cast into the boats with ges- tures expressive of much kindness and courtesy."* This soon led to a more intimate and interesting intercourse; and on the following day the lord of the country, who was named Donnaconna, made a formal visit to the admiral's ship, accompanied by twelve boats, in v\ hich were a great multitude of his subjects. On approaching the vessel, he ordered ten of these boats to ship their paddles and remain stationary, while he himself, with the other two boats, and attended by a suite of sixteen of his subjects, advanced over * Eamusio, vol. iii., p. 441. 'i : ii 38 cartier's second voyage. [1635. against the smallest of the French ships, and standing up, commenced a long oration, throwing his body into a variety of strange and uncouth postures, which were aftenvards discovered to be signs indicating gladness and security. Donnaconna now came aboard the admiral's ship, and an enthusiastic interview took place between him and the two savages who had been in France.* They recounted with much gesticulation the extraordinary things which they had seen in that country, dwelling on the kind entertain- ment they had experienced; and after many expressive looks of wonder and gratitude, the king entreated the admi- ral to stretch out his arm, which he kissed with devotion, laying it fondly upon his neck, and showing, by gestures which could not be mistaken, that he wished to make much of him. Cartier, anxious to evince an equal confidence, entered Donnaconna's boat, carrying with him a collation of bread and wine, with which the monarch was much pleased; and the French, returning to their ships, ascended the river ten leagues, till they arrived at a village where this friendly potentate usually resided, and which was named Stadacona. " It was," according to the original account of Cartier, " as goodly a plot of ground as possibly might be seen, very fruitful, and covered with noble trees similar to those of France, such as oaks, elms, ashes, walnut trees, maple trees, citrons, vines, and white thorns which brought forth fi-uit like damsons, and beneath these woods grew as good hemp as any in France, without its being either planted or cultivated by man's labour."* From this time the intercourse between the French and Donnaconna continued with every expression of friendliness ; but on hearing that the admiral had determined to go to Hochelaga, a sudden jealousy appeared to seize him lest he * Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 443. Secouda Itelationc di Jacques Cartier. t Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 216. 1535.] cartier's second voyage. 39 and his people should be deprived of the advantages of an uninterrupted communication with the white strangers, and every possible device was put in execution to deter them from their purpose. One of these stratagems was so ludi- crous, that we may be permitted to give Cartier's account of it in an abridgment of the quaint translation of Hakluyt : " The next day, being the 18th of September, these men still endeavoured to seek all means possible to hinder us from going to Hochelaga, and for this purpose devised a pretty guile : They went and dressed three men like devils, being wrapped in dogs' skins, white and black, with their faces besmeared as black as a coal, and horns upon their heads more than a yard long." These figures they caused to be secretly put into one of the boats, which they con- cealed within a winding of the wooded bay, waiting patiently for the tide. When the proper moment had arrived, a multitude of the boats, crowded with natives and conducted by Taignaogny, suddenly emerged from the creek ; on a signal given, the boat in which were the counterfeit devils came rushing out of its concealment, and the middlemost devil standing up, made a long oration, addressed to the French ships, of which of course every syllable was unin- telligible. " Then," to resume the words of Hakluyt, " did King Donnaconna with all his people purs^ie them, and lay hold on the boat and devils, who, so soon as the men were come to them, fell prostrate as if they had been dead ; upon which they were taken up and carried into the wood, being but a stonecast off, at which time every one of the savages withdrew himself into the wood, and when there began to make a long discourse, so loud that it was easy for the French to hear them even in their ships. When this ora- tion or debate, which lasted for half an hour, was ended, Cartier and his crew espied Taignaogny and Domagaia coming towards them, holding their hands joined together, 40 cartier's second voyage. [1535. carrying their hats under their upper garment, showing a great admiration, and looking up to heaven. Upon this the captain hearing them, and seeing their gestures and ceremonies, asked them what they ailed, and what was happened or chanced anew, to which they answered that there were very ill tidings befallen, saying in their broken French, * Nenni est il bon,' that is to say, it was not good. Our captain asked them again what it was, and then they answered that their god Cudraigny had spoken in Hoche- laga, and that he had sent those three devils to show unto them that there was so much ice and snow in that country, that whosoever went there should die ; which words when the French heard, they laughed and mocked them, saying that their god Cudraigny was but a fool and a noddie, for he knew not what he said or did. They bade them also carry their compliments to his messengers, and inform them that the god whom they served would defend them from all cold if they would only believe in him."* Having thus failed in the object intended to be gained by this extraordinary masquerade, the savages offered no farther opposition, and the French proceeded in their pinnace and two boats up the River St. Lawrence towards Hochelaga. They found the country on both sides extremely rich and beautifully varied, covered with fine wood, and abounding in vines, though the grapes, from want of cultivation, were neither so large nor so sweet as siiose of France. The prevalent trees were the same as in Europe— oaks, elms, walnut, cedar, fir, ash, box, and willow; and the natives on each side of the river, who appeared to exercise principally the trade of fishennen, entered into an intercourse with the strangers as readily and kindly as if they had been their own couutrj-men. One of the lords of the country did not » Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 218 ; and Kaniusio, vol. iii. p. 444. 1535.] cartier's second voyage. 41 showing a [Jpon this tures and ivhat was ered that lir broken not good, then they a Hoche- how unto ; country, rds when ained by 0 farther lace and ichelaga. rich and lounding on, were e. The cs, elms, itives on ncipally ivith the en their did not scruple, after a short acquaintance, to make a present to Cartier of two of his children, one of whom, a little girl ot seven or eight years old, he carried away with him, whilst he returned the other, a boy, who was considered too young to travel. They saw great variety of birds, almost all of which were the same as those of Europe. Cranes, swans, geese, ducks, pheasants, partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, turtles, finches, red-breasts, nightingales, and sparrows of divers kinds, were observed, besides many other birds. By this time the river had become narrow, and in some places dangerous in its navigation, owing to the rapids; and the French, who had still three days' sailing before them, left their pinnace and took to their boats, in which, after a prosperous passage, they reached the city of Hochelaga. It consisted of about fifty houses, built in the midst of large and fair corn-fields near a great mountain, which the French called Mont Royale, coiTupted by ti v -to Montreal, which name the place still retains ; whilst tne original American designation of Hochelaga has been long since forgotten. The city, according to Cartier's description, was round, compassed about with timber, and with three courses of ramparts, one within another, tramed like a sharp spire, but laid across above. The enclosure which surrounded the town was in height about two roods, having but one gate, which was shut with piles, stakes, and bars. Over it, and also in various parts of the wall, were places to run along, and ladders to get up, with magazines or heaps of stones for its defence. The houses were entirely of wood, with roofs of bark very artificially joined together. Each house had a court in the midst of it, and consisted of many rooms, whilst the family lighted their fire in the centre of the court, and during the day all lived in common ; at night the husbands, wives, and childr j., retired to their several chambers. At the top of the house were garners where 42 CAllTIER S SECOND VOYAGE. [1535. they kept their corn, which was something like the millet of Brazil, and called by them carracony. They had also stores of pease and beans, with musk-melons and great cucumbers. Many large butts were observed in their houses, in which they preserved their dried fish ; but this, as well as all their other victuals, the/ dressed and ate without salt. They slept upon beds of bark spread on the ground, with coverings of skins similar to those of which their clothes were made.* The reception of the French by the inhabitants of Iloche- laga was in a high degree friendly ; and indeed such was the extent of their credulity and admiration, that they con- sidered the strangers as possessed of miraculous power, and their commander a divine person. This was shown by their bringing their king, Agonhanna, an infirm paralytic about fifty years of age, to be touched, and, as they trusted, cured by the admiral, earnestly importuning him by expressive gestures, to rab his arms and legs ; after which the savage monarch took the wreath or crown which he wore upon his head, and gave it to Cartier. Soon after this they brought with them all the diseased and aged folks whom they could collect, and besought him to heal them ; on which occasion his conduct appears to have been that of a man of sincere piety. He neither arrogated to himself miraculous powers, nor did he altogether refuse their earnest request ; but read, from the Gospel of St. John, the passion of our Saviour, and praying that the Lord would be pleased to open the hearts of these forlorn pagans, and teach them to know the truth, he laid his hands upon them, and making the sign of the cross, left the issue of their being healed or not in the hand of their Creator.-{- *■ Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 445 ; and Ilaklujt, vol. iii. pp. 220, 221. t lIamu.sio, vol. iii. p. 448. 1635.] cartier's second voyage. 4a On inquiring into their religious tenets, lie found that they Avere buried in the deepest ignorance and superstition, unacquainted with the existence of the only true God, and substituting in his place a capricious and horrid being of their own imaginations, named Cudraigny. They affirmed that he often spoke to them, and told them what kind of weather they were to have; but, if angry, would pumsh them by throwing dust in their eyes. They had a strange and confused idea regarding the immortality of the soul, believing that after death they went to the stars, and de- scended like these bright sparks by degrees to the horizon where they wandered about in delicious green fields, which were full of the most precious trees, and profusely sown with fruits and flowers. Cartier explained as well a^ he could the folly of such a creed, persuaded them that Cud- raigny was no god, but a devil, and at his departure pro- mised to return again, and bring some good and holy men who would instruct them in the knowledge of the true and only God, and baptize them in the name of ^^l^^^^'l''^' which they declared themselves well pleased.- There groweth here," says Cartier, " a certain kind of herb, of which during the summer they collect a great quantity for winter consumption, esteeming it much, and only permit- ting men to use it in the following manner: It is first dried in the sun; after which they wear it about their necks, wrapped in a little skin made in the shape of a bag, along with a hollow piece of stone or of wood formed hke a pipe; after this they bruise it into a powder, which is put into one of the ends of the said cornet or pipe, and laying a coal of fire upon it at the other end, they suck so bng that they fill their bodies lull of smoke till it comes out of their mouth and nostrils, even as * Ramusio, vol. iii- P- 449. 44 cartier's second voyage. [1535. out of the tunnel of a chimney. They say that this keeps them warm and in health, and never go without some of it about them." It is not impossible that the reader, perplexed by this laboriously minute descrip- tion, may have failed to recognise in it the first acquaint- ance made by the French with the familiar and far-famed plant of tobacco.* Not long after this the ships' crews were seized with a loathsome and dreadful disease, caught, as they supposed, from the natives, which carried off twenty-five men, reduc- ing the survivors to a state of pitiable weakness and suf- fering. The malady was then new to Europeans; but the symptoms detailed by Cartier— swollen legs, extreme de- bility, putrified gums, and discoloration of the skin and blood— leave no doubt that this " strange, unknown," and cruel pestilence, was the scurvy, since so fatally familiar to the European mariner. Providentially, however, they dis- covered from the savages a cure in the decoction of the leaves and bark of a species of tree called in their lan- guage hannida, and since well known as the North Ame- rican white pine. " This medicine," says Cartier, « worked so well, that if all the physicians of Montpelier and Lou- vain had been there with all the drugs of Alexandria, they would not have done so much in one year as that tree did in six days."-j- The French began now to make preparations for their departure ; but a dishonourable plot wa>f first carried into execution, by which they succeeded in seizing Donnaconna, whose usefulness and liberality to them during their resi- dence in Canada merited a more generous return. The monarch, however, with the exception of a slight personal restraint to prevent escape, was treated with kindness, and * Eaumtiio, vol. iii. p. 449. t Ibid. p. 451. 1536.] ROBERVAL. 45 soon became reconciled to his journey to Europe, although his subjects, inconsolable for his loss, came nightly howling like wolves about the ships, till assured he was in safety. Along with Donnaconna were secured Taignaogny and Domagaia, who had already been in France; and after a prosperous voyage, the French ships arrived at St. Malo on the 6th July 1536.* It might have been expected that, after a discovery of such magnitude and importance, imme- diate measures would have been adopted to appropriate and colonize this fertile, populous, and extensive country. This seemed the more likely, as the arrival of Cartier and the introduction of the Indian king at court created an extraordinary sensation; yet notwithstanding the manifest advantages, both commercial and political, likely to result from a settlement in "Janada, the weak and shallow preju- dice which at this time prevailed in most of the nations of Europe, that no countries were valuable except such as produced gold and silver, threw a damp over the project, and for nearly four years the French monarch would listen to no proposals for the establishment of a colony. Private adventure at length came forward to accomplish that which had been neglected by royal munificence, and the Sieur de Roberval, a nobleman of Picardy, requested permission of Francis I. to pursue the discovery, and attempt to form a settlement in the country. This the king readily granted; and as Roberval was opulent, the preparations were made on a great scale. He was created by Francis, on the 15th January 1540, Lord of Norim- bega, Lieutenant-General and Viceroy in Canada, Iloche- laga, Saguenay, Newfoundland, Belleisle, Carpon, Labra- dor, the Great Bay, and Baccalaos — empty and ridiculous *• Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 453. 46 ROBERVAL. [1540. titles, which, if merited by any one, ought to have been conferred upon Cartier. This eminent navigator, however, was only permitted to accept a subordinate command; and as Roberval, who wished to appear with splendour in his new dominions, was detained in fitting out two vessels which were his own property, Cartier was ordered to sail before him with the five ships already prepared. He accordingly did so; but Donnaconna, the Canadian king, had died in France, and the savages, justly incensed at the breach of faith by which they lost their sovereign, received the French with an altered countenance, devising conspiracies against them, that soon led to acts of open hostility. The French now built for their defence, near the present site of Quebec, a fort, which they named Charlesbourg, being the first European settlement formed in that part of America. After a long interval, Roberval arrived at Newfoundland; but a jealousy had broken out between him and Cartier, who took the first opportunity during the night to part from his principal, and return with his squadron to France. This of course gave a death-blow to the wjiole undertaking, for Roberval was nothing with- out Cartier; and, after some unsuccessful attempts to dis- cover a passage to the East Indies, he abandoned the enterprise, and returned to his native country. The pas- sion for adventure, however, again seiz id him in 1549, and he and his brother, one of the bravest men of his time' set sail on a voyage of discovery; but they shared the fate of Verazzano and the Cortereals, being never again heard of. These disasters effectually checked the enthu- siasm of France, whilst in England, the country to whose enterprise we have seen Europe indebted for her first acquaintance with the American continent, the spirit of maritime discovery appeared for dome years almost totally extinct. H ^^ H ^^ H ^' H ^^ H "^ H ^^ H ^^ 1 ^^ 1 ^" th * rei 1 j » co: 1 1 ho th( i CL 1 ^^ i ^" 1 bd du] his 1 toi • ; out cov " ent ■ ^1 sioi and Bet ■ fate J hea !l sias 1 1 ente 'i acqi ■■■n i mar ; j i extinct. :^-t! **A*Vtuw dVLUiXl 1 mM IIKKMAN tOKTKS. Tli« bold and coniprtliensive mind of Cortes, the ooiiqiieror of Mexico, not content with the acquibition of that noble empire, formed the nioit extensiys project! of lilscoverr. — I ase 47 M. 1537.] The the 62 Spanif the Nc rica. conqu( that n discov » cover to ma fi-om 1 north\ wheth cation in tin- rica, £ find £ India domin these couraj ungen of th€ the v( abanfl of ma equip Sea, Hurt£ of on \ Xalis for, a] 1537.] CORTES. 47 The plan of this historical disquisition now leads us to the examination of some remarkable enterprises of the Spaniards for the extension of their unraense dominions in the New World, along the more northern coasts of Ame- rica. The bold and comprehensive mind of Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, not content with the acquisition of that noble empire, formed the most extensive projects of discovery. Alarmed at the attempts of the English to dis- cover a northern passage to China and Cathay, he resolved to make a careful survey of the whole coast, extending from the River Panueo in Mexico to Florida, and thence northwards to the Baccalaos, for the purpose of ascertaining whether there might not exist in that quarter a communi- cation with the South Sea. At the same time a squadrr i in til. Pacific was to sail along the western coast of Am > rica, and by these simultaneous researches he trusted to find a strait affording a far shorter and easier route to India and the Moluccas, and connecting together the vast dominions of the Spanish crown.* Charles V., to whom these proposals were presented, although willing to en- courage every scheme for the extension of his power, ungenerously threw upon their author the whole expense of the undertaking; in consequence of which, the idea of the voyage for the discovery of a north-west passage was abandoned, and the magnificent designs for the conquest of many great and opulent kingdoms sunk at last into the equipment of two brigantines on the coast of the South Sea, the command of which was intrusted to Diego de Hurtado. This expedition ended calamitously in a mutiny of one of the crews, who brought back their ship to Xalisco : the fate of Hurtado was still more unfurtnnate, for, although he continued his voyage, neither he nor any of * Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 295. Memoir of Cabot, p. 263. 4« DISCOVERY OF CALIFORNIA. [1539. his crew were ever more heard of. A second expedition, intrusted by Cortes to two Spanish captains, Grijdva and Mendoza, was scarcely more fortunate: The vessels were separated on the first night of their voyage, and never again joined company. Grijalva penetrated to an island which he denominated Santa Tome, supposed to have been situated near the northern point of California, after which he returned to Tehuantepec; whilst Mendoza, by his haughty and tyrannical temper, having rendered himself odious to his crew, was murdered by the pilot, Ximenes, who assumed the command. Afraid of returning to Mexico, the traitor sailed northward, and discovered the coast of California, where he was soon after attacked and slain, along with twenty of his crew, by the savage natives.* The survivors, however, brought the vessel back to Chiametta, with the tempting report that the coast abounded in perils. Cortes now set out himself with a squadron of three ships; and, although his vessels were dreadfully shattered in a storm, pursued his voyage with his accus- tomed energy, till compelled to return by a summons from Mexico, where the breaking out of serious disturbances required his immediate presence. He intrusted, however, the prosecution of the voyage to Francisco de Ulloa, and this enterprising navigator, though at first obliged by want of provisions to return to Mexico, re-victualled his ships, and again set sail. The pious solemnity with which these ancient mariners were accustomed to regard their proceed- iugs, is strikingly shown by the first sentence of his journal ; —"We embarked," says he, "in the haven of Acaprlco, on the 8th of July, in the year of our Lord 1539, calling upon Almighty God to guide us with his holy hand to those places where be might be served, and hi , holy faith ad- * Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 364; and Kamusio, Viagt vol. Hi. p. 355 1539.] ULLOA. 49 vanced ; and we trailed from the said port by the coast of Sacatula and Motin, which is sweet and pleasant, owing to the abundance of trees that grow there, and the rivers which pass through these countries, for which we often thanked God, their Creator."* A voyage of twenty days brought the squadron to the harbour of Colima, from which they set out on the 23d of August; and after encountering a tempest, in which their ships were severely shattered, they stood across the Gulf of California, and came to the mouth of the Eiver St. Peter and St. Paul. On both sides of it were rich and extensive plains, covered with beautiful trees in full leaf; and farther within the land exceeding high mountains, clothed with wood, and affording a charming prospect; after which, in a course of fifteen leagues, they discovered two other rivers as great, or greater than the Guadalquiver, the currents of which were so strong that they might be discerned three leagues off at sea. UUoa spent a year in examining the coasts and havens on each side of the Gulf of California. In some places the Spaniards found the inhabitants of great stature, f armed with bows and arrows, speaking a language totally distinct from anything they had hitherto heard in America, and admirably dexterous in diving and swimming. On one occasion the crews, who had landed, were attacked with fierceness by two squadrons of Indians. These natives were as swift as wild- goats, exceedingly strong and active, and leaped from rock to rock, assaulting the Spaniards with their arrows and javelins, which broke and pierced their armour, and inflicted grievous wounds. It is well known that this nation had introduced the savage practice of em- ploying bloodhounds in their wars against the Mexicans, and Ulloa now used some of these ferocious animals. The * Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 339. Murray's North America, vol. ii. p. 68. f Eamutfio, vol. iii. p. 342. 50 ULLOA. [1540. Indians, however, discharged a shower of arrows against them, " by which," says Ulloa, " Berecillo, our mastiff, who uhould have assisted us, was grievously wounded by three arrows, so that we could by no entreaty get him to leave us ; the dog was struck in the first assault of the Indians, after he had behaved himself very gallantly, and greatly aided us, having set upon them and put eight or ten of them out of array. But the other mastiffs did us more harm than good, for when they attacked the Indians, they shot at them with their bows, and we received hurt and trouble in defend- ing them." * From this unfriendly coast the Spanish discoverer pro- ceeded to the Baya del Abad, about a hundred leagues dis- tant from the point of California, where he found a more pacific people, who, though they exhibited great symptoms of suspicion, were prevailed upon to traffic, exchanging pearls and parrots' feathers for the beads and trinkets of the strangers. So little, however, were they to be trusted, that they afterwards assaulted the ships' crews, compelling them to retreat to their vessels and pursue their voyage. They now discovered, in 28° north latitude, a great island, which they denominated the Isle of Cedars, taking possession of it in the name of the Spanish monarch. It was inhabited b}'^ a fierce race of Indians, powerful and well-made, and armed with bows and arrows, besides javelins, and long staves thicker than a man's wrist. With these thev struck at the sailors, braving them with signs and rude gestures, till at last it was found necessary to let loose the two mastiffs, Berecillo and Achillo; upon which they sud<1 nly took to flight, flying over the rough ground with the speed of wild horses.-j- Beyond this island the Spaniards attempted to continue their discoveries along the coast of California ; but * Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 409. Earausio, vol. iii. p. 345. t Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 351. Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 419. 1540.] ULLOA. 51 a tempest having driven them back and damaged their vessels, they determined to return to New Spain. In their homeward voyage they were in danger from a new and extraordinary enemy ; for, when sailing in the main ocean at a rapid rate, above five hundred whales, in separate shoals, came athwart them within one hour's space. Their monstrous size created great aatonishment, some of them approaching so near the ship, as to swim under the keel from one side to the other, " whereupon," says Francis Preciado, who wrote the relation of the voyage, " we were in great fear lest they should do us some hurt ; but they could not, because the ship had a prosperous and good wind and made much way, so that it received no harm although they touched and struck her."* In this voyage, which for the first time made the world acquainted with the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortes, Ulloa had not been able to spend sufficient time either in a survey of the coast, or in establishing an intercourse with the natives. But not long after his return, Mendoza, the viceroy of New Spain, despatched Friar Marco de Nica, upon an expedition of discovery from Culeacan, at that time tlie most northerly Spanish settlement, to a province called Topira, situated in the mountains. The account brought l)ack of the riches and extent of the co'mtry, proved so tempting to the ambition of the Spaniards, that soon after Vasquez de Coronado, an officer of great courage and expe- rience, was appointed by Mendoza to the command of a large force, for the reduction of the new territory, whilst, to co-operate with this land expedition, a naval armament was fitted out, of which Ferdinand de Alarchon was appointed admiral, with orders to explore the Gulf of California. As far as conquest was intended, these mighty preparations * HakUiyt, vol. iii. p. 424. 52 ALAIICUON. [1542. conducted to no permanent results ; but the voyage of Alar- chon led to some important discoveries. After a survey of the lower part of the coast of the gulf, he penetrated with much difficulty and hazard to the bottom of the bay, where he found a mighty river, flowing with so furious a current, that they could hardly sail against it.* This was evidently the noble river now known by the name of the Colorado, which has its rise in the great mountain- range near the sources of the Rio Bravo del Norte, and after a course of nine hundred miles falls into the head of the Gulf of California. Alarchon determined to explore it ; and taking with him two boats, with twenty men and some small pieces of artillery, he ascended to an Indian village, the inhabitants of which, by violent and furious gestures, dissuaded the Spaniards from landing. The party of natives, at first small, soon increased to a body of two hundred and fifty, drawn up in warlike fashion, with bows and arrows, and displayed banners. The Spanish admiral appeased them by signs, throwing his sword and target into the bottom of the boat, and placing his feet upon them. "They began," says he, in his letter to the viceroy Mendoza, " to make a great murmuring among themselves, when suddenly one came out from among them with a staff, upon which he had fixed some small shells, and entered into the water to give them to me. I took them, and made signs to him that he should approach. On his doing so I embraced him, giving him in exchange some trinkets, and he returning to his fellows, they began to look upon them and to parley together ; and within a while many of them cheerfully ap- proached, to whom I made signs that they should lay down their banners and leave their weapons; which they did immediately." Alarchon gives a minute description of the * Eamu&io, Viaggi, vol. iii. p. 3G3, 1542.] ALARCHON. £3 dress, weapons, and appearance of these Indians. They were decked after sundry fashions : the faces of some were covered with tattooed marks, extending lengthwise from the forehead to the chin ; others had only half the face thus ornamented ; but all were besmeared with coal, and every one as it liked him best. Others carried vizards before them, which had ihe shape of faces.* They wore on their heads a piece of deerskin two spans broad, like a helmet, ornamented by \arious sorts of feathers stuck upon small sticks. Their weapons were bows and arrows, and two or three kinds of maces of wood hardened in the fire. Their features were handsome and regular, but disfigured by holes bored through the nostrils, and in many parts of the ears, on which were hung pendants, shells, and bones. About their loins was a girdle of divers colours, with a large bunch of feathers in the middle, which hung down like a tail. They cut their hair short, before, but allowed it behind to grow down to their waist. Their bodies were tattooed with coals, and the women wore round their waist a great wreath of painted feathers, glued together, and hanging down both before and behind.-J- Having procured by signs a pacific reception from this new people, Alarchon found to his mortification that they did not understand his interpreter ; but after a little inter- course, observing that they worshipped the sun, he un- scmpulously intimated to them by significant gestures, that he came from that luminary; "upon which they marvelled," says he, " and began to survey me from top to toe, and showed me more favour than they did before." Soon after this a man was found among them who could speak the language of the interpreter ; and an intercourse of a very * Such is the translation of llakluyt ; but the passage in the original is obscure, t Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 304. 54 ALAKCHON. [1542. extraordinary nature took place, in which the honesty at?d pimplicity of the Indians are strikingly c^'ntrasted with tJie false and unprincipled policy of the SpaiVirds. The passage is uncommonly graphic and interesting : " The Indian first desired to know what nation we were, and whoce we came ? Whether we came out of the water, or inhabited the earth, or had fallen from the heaven ?" To this the adnnral re- plied, that they were Christians, and came from far to scve them, being sent by the sun, to which be pointed. " After this introduction, the Indian," continues Alarchon in his account of the voyage, " began again to ask me how the aun had sent me, seeing he wevst aloft in the sky and never ptood still, and for these many ytars neither they nor their oldest rjen had ever seen such as wc wern, and the sun till that hour had never sent any other. I answered him, h was true the sun pursued his course aloft in viu sky, and never stood still, but nevertheless they mlixht i f,reeiye that at his setting and rising he came near the earth, where his dwelling was, and that they always saw him come out of one place ; and he had created me in that land whence he came, in the same way ilif\i he had made many others whom he sent into other parts ; v^ind now he had desired me to visit this same river, and the people who dwelt near it, that I might speak with them, and become their friend, and give them such things as they needed, and charge them not to make war against each other. On this he required me to tell them the cause why the sun had not sent me sooner to pacify the wars which had continued a long time among them, and wherein many had been slain. I told him the reason was, that I was then but a child. He next inquired why we brought only one interpreter with us who compre- hended our language, and wherefore we understood not all other men, seeing we were children of the sun ? To which our interpreter answered, that the sun had also begotten 1542.] ALARCHON. 55 him, and given him a language to understand him, his master the admiral, and others ; the sun knew well that they dwelt there, but because that great light had many other businesses, and because his master was but young, he sent him no feooner. The Indian interpreter," continues Alar- choD, " liven turning i.o me, said suddenly, ' Comest thou, therefore, to be our lord, and that we should serve thee?' To which 1 aniiwerttd, I came not to be their lord, but rather iheir brother, and to give them such things as I had. He then inquired whether I was the sun's kinsman, or his child ? To which I replied I was his son, but those who were with me, thoygh all born in one country, were not his cl'-ildren : upon v/hich he raised his voice loudly and said, ' Seeing xiiou doest us so much good, and dost not wish us to make war, and art the child of the sun, we will all re- ceive thee for our lord, and always serve thee ; therefore we pruy thee not to depart hence and leave us.' After which he suddenly turned to the people, and began to tell them that I was the child of the sun, and therefore they should all choose me for their lord."* The Indians appeared to be well pleased with this proposal, and assisted the Spaniards in their ascent of the river to the distance of eighty-five leagues ; but finding it impossible to open a communication with the army under Coronado, Alarchon put about his ships, and returned to Mexico.-|- After the expeditions of Coronado and Alarchon in 1542, the spirit of enterprise amongst the Spaniards experienced some check, owing probably to the feeling of mortification and disappointment which accompanied the return of these ofiicers. Yet Mendoza, unwilling wholly to renounce the high hopes he had entertained, despatched a small squadron under Rodriguez Cabrillo, which traced the yet undiscovered * Hakluyt, vol. iii. v. 429. Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 356. t Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 438, 439. %% 56 DE FUCA. [1602. coast of North America some degrees beyond Cape Mendo- cino; and in 1596 and 1602, Sebastian Viscaino extended these discoveries along the coast of New Albion to a river which appears to have been the present Columbia. It has even been asserted by some authors, that, four years prior to the voyage of Viscaino, Juan de Fuca, a veteran Spanish pilot, conducted a ship beyond the mouth of the Columbia, and doubling Cape Flattery, entered the Straits of G eorgia, through which he passed till he came to Queen Charlotte's Sound. De Fuca imagined, not unnaturally, considering the imperfect and limited state of geographical knowledge, that he had now sailed through the famous and fabulous Strait of Anian; and that, instead of being in the Pacific, as he then actually was, he had conducted his vessel into the spacious expanse of the Atlantic. With this informa- tion he returned to Acapulco; but the Spanish viceroy received him coldly, and withheld all encouragement or reward — a circumstance to which we may perhaps ascribe the cessation from this period of all farther attempts at discovery by this nation upon the north-west coast of Ame- rica. The whole voyage of De Fuca, however, rests on apocryphal authority. CHAPTER II. Russian and English Voyages. Behring— Tchirikow— Cook— and Gierke— Meares— Vancouver— Kotzebue. As the zeal oi the Spanish Government in extending their discoveries upon the north-west coast of America abated, anotlier great nation, hitherto scarcely known to Europe, 1717.] PETER THE GREAT. 57 undertook at a later period the task Avhieli they had aban- doned. Russia, within little more than half a century, had grown up from a collection of savage, undisciplined, and unconnected tribes, into a mighty people. Her conquests had spread with amazing rapidity till they embraced the whole of the north of Asia, and under the energetic admin- istration of Peter the Great, this empire assumed at once that commanding influence in the scale of European nations which it has continued to preserve till the present times. Amongst the many great projects of this remarkable man, the solution of the question, whether Asia, on the north- east, was united with America, occupied a prominent place; and it appears that during his residence in Holland in 1717, he had been solicited by some of the most eminent patrons of discovery amongst the Dutch to institute an expedition to investigate the subject. The resolution he then formed, to set this great point at rest by a voyage of discovery, was never abandoned; but his occupation in war, and the multiplicity of those state affairs which engrossed his atten- tion, caused him to delay its execution from year to year, till he was seized with his last illness. Upon his death- bed he wrote, with his own hand, instructions to Admiral Apraxin, and an order to have them carried into immediate execution. They directed, first, that one or two boats with decks should be built at Kamtschatka, or at any other con- venient place; secondly, that with these a survey should be made of the most northerly coasts of his Asiatic empire, to determine whether they were or were not contiguous to America; and, thirdly, that the persons to whom the expe- dition was entrusted should endeavour to ascertain whether on these coasts there was any port belonging to Europeans, and keep a strict look-out for any European ship, taking r,i,:K,.i ,i,:„. aic aioO lU cIiipiOV nOiiic Bxviiiui iiicii m Iiiaii.ing xliuuiiica regarding the name and situation of the coasts which they 58 JB..UJ:tl^U A«D TCIIIKIKOW. Li^^'O. 1727.] discovered — of all which they wore to keep an exact jour- nal, and transmit it to St. Petersburg. Upon the death of Peter the Great, which happened shortly after these instructions were drawn up, the Empress Catherine entered fully into his views, and gave ordorp to fit out an expedition for their accomplishment, "'ii? com- mand was intrusted to Captain Vitus Behring. Under his orders were two lieutenants, Martin Spangberj; and Alexi Tchirikow; and, besides other subaltern officers, they en- gaged several excellent ship-carpenters. On the 5th of February 1725 they set out from St. Petersburg, and on the 16th March arrived at Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia. After a survey of the rivers Irtisch, Ob, Ket, Jenesei, Tun- gusca, and Ilim, they wintered at Ilin, and, in the spring of 1726, proceeded down the river Lena to Jakutzk. The naval stores and part of the provisions were now intrusted to Lieutenant Spangberg, who embarked on the Juduma, intending to sail from it into the Maia, and then by the Aldan into the Lena. He w as followed by Captain Behring, who proceeded by land with another part of the stores, whilst Lieutenant Tchirikow stayed at Jakutzk, \'.'ith the design of transporting the remainder overland. The cause of this complicated division of labour was the impassable nature of the country between Jakutzk and Ochotzk, which is impracticable for waggons in summer, or for sledges during winter. Such, indeed, were the difficulties of tr;, ^^porting these large bales of provisions, that it was the 30th July 1727 before the whole business was completed. In the meantime a vessel had been built at Ochotzk, in which the naval stores were conveyed to Bolscheretzkoi in Kamts- chatka. From this they proceeded to Nischnei Kamts- chatkoi Ostrog, where a boat was built similar to the packet-boats used in the Baltic. After the nr;ce;:!aary articles were shipped, Capta'.Ji Behring, determining no 1727.] behring's first voyage. 69 longer to delay the most important part of his enterprise, set sail from the mouth of the River Kamtschatka on the 14th of July, steering north-east, and for the first time laying down a survey of this remote and desolate coast. When they reached the latitude of 64° 30', eight men of the wild tribe of the Tschuktschi pushed off from the coast in a leathern canoe, called a baidar, formed of seal- skins, and fearlessly approachca the Russian ship. A communi- cation was immediately opened by means of a Koriak in- terpreter; and, on being invited, they came on board with- GUL hesitation. By these natives Behring was informed that the coast turned towards the west. On reaching the promontory called Serdze Kamen, the accuracy of this information was established, for the land was seen ex end- ing a great way in a western direction — a circumstance from which Behring somewhat too hastily concluded, that he had reached the extremest norther? point of Asia. He was of opinion that thence the coast must run to the west, and therefore no junction with America could take place, baiisiied that he hid now fulfilled his orders, he returned to the River Kamtschatka, m again took up his winter- quarters at i\ ischnei Kani ■ "chuLkoi Ostrog.* In this voyagt; it was conjt ured by Behring and his officers, from the reports of tue Kan badi les, that in all probability another country must be bituatr^ towards the east, at no great distance from ^erdze Kanieu ; yet no im- mediate steps wei taken either to complete the survey of the most northerly coasts of Ochozkoi, or to explore +he undiscovered reg-ion immediately opposite the promontory. In the course ot a campaign, however, against the fierce and indept" dent nation of the Tschuktschi, Captai Paw- lutzk penetrated by the Rivers Nboii.a, Bela, ana Tcherna, * Harris's Collection of Voyages, vol. ii. pp. 1020, 1021; t'oxc's Eussiaii i-coveries, pp. 23, 2i, 94. 60 PAWLUTZKl's EXPEDITION. [1741. 1741.] to tne borders of the Frozen Sea; and, after defeating tlie enemy in three battles, passed in triumph to a promontory supposed to be the Tgchukotzkoi Noss. From this point he sent part of his little army in canoes, whilst he liimself conducted the remaining division by land round the pro- montory, taking care to march ulong the sea-coast, and to communicate every evening with his canoes. In this man- ner Pawlutzki reached the promontory which is con^' ^^tured to have been the farthest limit of Behring's voyage, and thence by an inland route returned, on 21st October 1730, to Anadirsk, having advanced an important step in ascer- taining the separation between Americ and the remote north-westerly coast of Asia. Although the separation of the two continents had been thus far fixed, a wide field of discovery yet remained unex- plored; and in 1741, Behring, Spangberg, and Tchirikow, once more volunteered their services for this purpr,se. These offers were immediately accepted; the caf tain was promoted to the rauK of a commander, the two lieutenants were made captains, and instructions drawn up for the con- duct of the expedition, in which it was directed that the destination of the voyages should be eastward to the con- tinent of America, and southward to Japan, whilst, at the same time, an endeavour was to be made for the discovery of that northern passage through the Frozen Sea which had been so repeatedly but unsuccessfully attempted by other European nations. The voyage to Japan, under the command of Captain Spangberg and Lieutenant Walton, was eminently successful; and one of its material results was the correction of a geographical error of considerable magnitude, by which that island had hitherto been placed under the sam-. meridian as Kamtschatka instead of IP more to the westward. The expedition of Behrino- no Jcgg important and satisfactory-, was destined to be fatal to its 1741.] behring's second voyage. 61 excellent commander. After a winter spent in the harbour of Awatscha, or Fetropalauska, on the west side of the great peninsula of Kamtsehatka, Bchring got his stores on board the two packet-boats built at Ochotzk, expressly for the intended American discoveries. The first of these, the St. Peter, was that in which the commander embarked; the second, the St. Paul, was utrusted to Captain Tchirikow. Along with Behring went Lewis de Lisle de la Croyere, Professor of Astronomy, whilst Mr. George William Stel- ler, an experienced chemist and botanist, accompanied Tchirikow. All things being ready, a council of officers was held, in which the question regarding the course they should steer was considered, and it happened, unfortunately for the ex- pedition, that an important error had crept into the map presented by the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg to the Senate, in laying down a coast south-east from Awatscha, extending fifteen degrees from west to east, whilst no land was marked due east. At this spot were written on the map the words " Land seen by Don Jean de Gama;" and, trusting to the accuracy of this information, it was determined to steer first south-east by east, in the hope of discovering this contin* nt; after which they might follow its coasts as a guide towards the north and east. On the 4th of June 1741 tlicy accordingly weighed anchor, and steered south-east by south, till, on the 12th, they found themselves in latitude 46°, without the slightest appearance of the coast of De Gama. Convinced at last of their error, they held on a northerly course as far as 50° north latitude, and were just about to steer due east, with the hope of reaching the continent of America, when the two ships were separated in a violent storm accompanied by a thick fog. Behring exerted every effort to rejoin his consort; but all proved in vain. He cruised for three days between 62 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW: [1741, 50° and 51° north latitude, after which he steered back to the south-east as far as 45"; but Tchirikow, after the storm, had taken an easterly course from 48° north latitude, so that they never met again. Both, however, pursued their discoveries simultaneously, and on the 15th of July, being in 56° north latitude, Tchiri- kow reached the coast of America. The shore proved to be steep and rocky, and in consequence of the high surf, he did not venture to approach it; but anchoring in deep water, despatched his mate, Demetiew, with the long-boat and ten men, on shore. The boat was provisioned for some days, the men armed and furnished with minute instruc- tions as to their mode of proceeding, and the signals by which they were to communicate with the ship. But nei- ther mate, men, nor barge, were ever again heard of. This was the more mysterious, as all at first appeared to go well with them. The barge was seen from the ship to row into a bay behind a small cape, and the appointed signals were made, intimating that she had landed in safety. Day after day the signals agreed on continued from the shore. The people on board began at last to think that the barge had probably received damage in landing, and could not re- turn till she was repaired; and it was resolved to send the small boat on shore, with the boatswain Sawelow and six men. Amonp-:;: these were some carpenters and a careener, well armed and provided with the necessary materials; and the boatswain had orders to return with Demetiew in the long-boat the moment the necessaiy repairs were com- pleted. But neither mate nor boatswain ever came back; and the most dark surmises of their fate were excited by the cessation of the signals, and the continual ascent of a large volume of smoke from the landing-place. Next day, however, a revival of hope was fnlt, ni iho «;n.i.f «f +,„,' boats whicl- were observed rowing from the land towards •\ 1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 63 the ship. It was believed to be Demetiew and Sawelow; and Tchirikow ordered all hands on deck, to prepare for setting sail on a moment's warning. A few minutes changed these cheerful anticipations into sorrow; for, as the boats approached, it was discovered that they were filled by American savages, who, seeing many persons on deck, instantly shipped their paddles and remained at a cautious distance. They then stood up, and crying with a loud voice " Agai, agail" returned with gre i speed to the shore. A strong west wind now rose, and threatened to dash the vessel on the rocky coast, so that they were obliged to weigh anchor and put to sea without the slightest hope of hearing any farther intelligence of their men ; for they had no more small boats, and all communication with the shore was cut off. Tchirikow, however, cruised some days in the neighbourhood, and when the weather became milder, returned towards the spot where his people landed ; but all appeared silent, lonely, and uninhabited ; and in a council of the officers, it was detsrminod to set out on their return, though with the most poignant regret at being obliged to leave this remote and desolate coast without hearing the slightest account of their companions. They arrived at Kamtschatka on the 27th of July.* No news of the fate of Demetiew and Sawelow ever reached Russia ; but it is evident that they had been successively attacked and mur- dered by the savages. "The natives of this part of the north-west coast of America," says Captain Burney, "live principally by hunting and catching game, in which occu- pations tliey are in the continual practice of every species of decoy. They imitate the whistlings of birds, — they have carved wooden masks resembling the heads of animals, which they put on over their own, and enter the woods in *■ Muller, Ddcouvertes faites par les Russes, vol. i. p. 244. 64 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : [1741. masquerade. They had observed the signals made to the ship by the Russian boat which first came to land ; and the continuance of signals afterwards seen and heard by the Russians onboard vvere doubtless American imitations."* Exactly three days after Tchirikow descried land, it appears that Commodore Behring also got sight of the continent in 58° 28", or, according to another account 60° north latitude. The prospect was magnificent and awful, exhibiting high mountains covered from the summits with snow. One of these, far inland, ^\m particularly remarked : It was plainly discernible sixteen G<>^mian miles out at sea; and Steller says in his journal, that j* all Siberia he had not met with a more lofty mountain.f The commodore, being much in want of water, approached the coast with the hope of being able to knd. He accordingly reached the shore on the 20th July, and anchored under a large island not far from the continent. A point of land projecting into the sea at this place they called St Elias. Cape, as it was discovered on that saint's day; whilst another headland was denon^inatfcd St. Hermogenes; and between these lay a bay, in which, if it became necessary to take shelter, they trusted they would find security. Two boats were now launched, in the first of which, Kytrof, the master of the fleet, was sent to examine the bay, whilst Steller proceeded with the other to fetch water. Kytrof found a convenient anchorage; and on an adjacent island were a few empty huts formed of smooth boards, ornamented in some places with rude carving. Within the huts they picked up a small box of poplar, a hollow earthen ball in which a stone rattled conjectured to be a child's toy, and a whetstone, on which it appeared that copper knives had been sharpened. J Su-ller, * Bumey's History of North-eastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 180 t Ibid. p. 164. ^ I Coxe"s Eussian Discoveries, pp. 42, 43. 1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAOE. 65 on the other hand, near the spot where he landed, discovered a celkr in which was a store of red salmon, and a sweet herb dressed for food in the same manner as in Kamts- chatka. Near them were ropes, and various pieces of household furniture and of domestic utensils. At a short distance he came to a place where the savages had recently dined; beside which they found an arrow, and an instru- ment for procuring fire exactly similar to that used for the same purpose in Kamtschatka. The sailors who fetched the fresh water had found two fire-places with the ashea newly extinguished, and near them a parcel of hewn wood, with some smoked fishes like lar^'e earp. They observed also marks of human footsteps ' the grass, but no natives were seen. In case, however, they should return, some small presents, such as it was conjectured might be suited to ♦heir taste or their wants, were left in the huts. These consisted of a piece of green glazed linen, two iron kettles, two knives, two iron Chinese tobacco-pipes, a pound of tobacco leaves, and twenty large glass beads. Stiller, an enthusiastic naturalist, entreated that he might have the command of the small boat and a few men, to complete a more accurate survey of this new coast; but Behring, who was from his advanced age rather timid and over-cautious, put a decided negative upon the proposal ; and his scientific companion, having climbed a steep rock to obtain a view of the adjacent country, found his progress interrupted by an immediate order to come aboard. *' On descending the mountain," says he in his journal, " which was overspread with a forest without any traces of a road, finding it im- passable, I reascended, looked mournfully at the limits of my progi-ess, turned my eyes towards the continent which it was not in my power to explore, and observed at the distance of a few versts some smoke ascending from a wooded eminence. * « * Again receiving a posi- B ■■M 66 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : [1741. tive order to join the ship, I returned with ray collec- tion."* Having put to sea next day, the 21st of July, they found it impossible, according to their original intention, to explore the coast as far as 65° north latitude, as it seemed to extend indefinitely to the south-west. It was studded with many small islands, the navigation through which, especially during the night, was dangerous and tedious. On the 30th of July they discovered, in latitude 56°, an island, which they called Tumannoi Ostrog, or Foggy Island ; and soon after the scurvy broke out with the most virulent symptoms in the ship's crew: so ^Iiat, in hopes of procuring water, they again ran to the north, and soon dis- covered the continent, with a large group of islands near the shore, between which they came to anchor. These they called the Schumagins, after the name of one of their men who died there. Whilst at this anchorage the weather became boisterous, and some brackish water procured from one of the largest islands increased the virulence of the dis- ease, Avhich prevailed to an alarming degree. All attempts to put to sea proved for some days unsuccessful, owing to the strong contrary winds; and at lergtlj one morning they were roused by a loud cry from one of the islands, upon which i,\u-y saw a fire burning. Soon after, two Americans i'owed towurdrt the ship in their canoes, which in shape resembled those of Greenland and Davis' Strait. They stopped, however, at some distance, and it was discovered that ti.ey not only understood the langua/^e of the (Jalumet, or Pipe of Peace, employed by the North American Indians, but had these symbolical instruments along with them. They were sticks with hawks' Avinga attached to one end. It was at first impossible to induce the natives to come on * Coxe'8 Russian Discoveries, pp. 40, 41. 1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 67 board; and Behring, anxious to establish a communication, and to become acquainted with the country, despatched Lieutenant Waxel in the boat, with nine men well armed amongst whom was a Tschuktschian or Koriak interpreter. It was found, however, that the savages were utterly igno- rant of his language; and Waxel having sent some men on shore, who fastened the boat by a long rope passed round a rock on the beach, commenced a friendly inter- course by means of signs. The Americans were disposed to be on the most amicable terms with their new acquaint- ances, giving them whales' flesh, the only provision they appeared to possess ; and at last one of them so far over- came his fears as to join the Russian lieutenant in the boat, which still lay a little way from the shore. Anxious to conciliate his favour and treat him with distinction, Waxel somewhat thoughtlessly presented him with a cup of brandy ; but the effect proved the reverse of what was expected. He made the most ludicrous wry faces, spit violently out of his mouth all that he had no. ^allowed, and cried aloud to his companions on the shore, complaining of the treatment he had experienced. " Our men," says Mr. Steller in his journal, " thought the Americans had sailors' stomachs, and endeavoured to remove his disgust by presenting him Mdth a lighted pipe of tobacco, which he accepted; but he was equally disgusted with his attempt to smoke. The most civilized European would be affected in the same manner if presented with toad-sti^ol, or rotten fish and willow bark, which are delicacies with the Kamtschadales." It was evi- dent he had never tasted ardent spirits or smoked tobacco till this moment ; and although every effort was made to soothe him and restore his confidence, by offering him needles, glass beads, an iron kettle, and other gifts, he T»/or{| nigus to be set on shore. In this it was ju^lged right lo gratify 68 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW ! [1741. him, and Waxel, at the same time, called out to the sailors who were on the heach to come back; the Americans made a violent attempt to detain them, but two blunderbusses were fired over their heads, and had the effect of making them fall flat on the ground, whilst the Russians escaped and rejoined their companions. This adventure gave them an opportunity of examining this new people, now for the first time visited by Europeans. " The islanders were of moderate stature, but tolerably well proportioned ; their arms and legs very fleshy. Their hair was straight, and of a glossy blackness ; their faces brown and flat, but neither broad nor large; their eyes were black, and their lips thick and turned upwards; their necks were short, their shoulders broad, and their bodies thick, but not corpulent. Their upper garment was made of whales' intestines, their breeches of seals' skins, and their caps formed out of the hide of sea-lions, adorned with feathers of various birds, especially the hawk. Their nos- trils were stopped with grass, and their noses as flat as Calmucks' ; their faces painted, some with red, others with different colours ; and some of them, instead of caps, wore hats of bark, coloured green and red, open at the top, and shaped like candle-screens, apparently for protecting the eyes against the rays of the nun. These hats might lead us to suppose that the natives of this part of America are of Asiatic descent ; for the Kamtschadales and Koriaks wear the like, of which several specimens may be seen in the Museum at St. Petersburg."* At this time, Behring being confined by severe sickness, the chief command fell on Waxel, who was preparing to sail, when seven Americans came in their boats to the ship's side, and two of them, catching hold of the entrance- * Coxe'a Russian Discoveries, p. 63. i! 1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 69 ladder, presented their bonnets, and a carved Image of bone, bearing some resemblance to a hmnan figure. They like- wise held up the calumet, and would have come aboard, but the sailors were taking up the anchor, and the breeze fresh- ening, they were under the necessity of making towards the shore as quickly as possible. There was time, however, to give a few presents, and as the ship passed by the point where they stood, she was saluted with loud and friendly shouts.* They had now to struggle against a tedious continuance of tvesterly winds, accompanied with thick fogs, which ren- dered the navigation in these unknown seas perilous in the extreme. On the 24th of September the mist cleared away, and disclosed a high and desolate coast, which a strong south wind made it dangerous to approach. The majority of the crew were by this time disabled by the scurvy, and the rest so weak, that to manage the vessel during the tempestuous weather was almost impossible. A violent gale soon after began tc blow from the west, which gradu- ally increased) and drove the ship far to Vic south-east. The storm continued for seventeen days — a fa^-i, tj which there are few parallels in the history of shipwrecks ; and the pilot, Andrew Hesselberg, who had served for fifty years in several parts of the world, declared he had never witnessed so long and terrible a gale. Meanwhile they carried as little sail as possible, and were driven for a fort- night at the mercy of the wind, under a sky as black as midnight, so that all the time they saw neither sun nor stars. When the fotorm abated, they found themselves, by the ship's reckoning, in 48° 18" north latitude. Steller, in his journal, draws a strik.ng picture of their extreme misery: — "The general distress and mortality," says he, * Barney's North-Eastern V» vagos of Discovery, p. 170. I 70 BEHRING AND TCHJRIKOW : [1741. " increased so fast, that not only the sick died, but those who still struggled to be numbered on the healthy list, when relieved from their posts, fainted and fell down dead, of which the scantiness of water, the want of biscuits and brandy, cold, wet, nakedness, vermin, fear, and terror, were not the least causes."* In these circumstances, it be- came difficult to determine whether they should return to Kamtschatka or seek a harbour on the nearest American coast. At last, in a council of officers, they embraced the first of these alternatives, and again sailed north, after which they steered towards the west. Oe t^ 29th of October they approached two islands re- seml , the two first of the Kurilian group. The long- wisb - jr coast of Kamtschatka, however, did not appear, and tb , condition of the vessel and crew began to be deplor ble. The men, notwithstanding their diseased state and want of proper food, were obliged to work in the cold; and as the continual rains had now changed into hail and snow, and the nights shortened and grew darker, their sufferings were extreme. The commodore himself had been for some time totally disabled by disease from taking an active command, his wonted energy and strength of mind left him, and he became childishly suspicious and indolent. Amongst the seamen the sickness was so dread- ful, that the two sailors whose berth used to be at the rudder, were led to it by others, w}io th.>mselves could walk with difficulty. When one could steer no longer, another equally feeble was supported to his place. Many sails they durst not hoist, because no one was strong enough to lower them in case < f need, whilst some of the sheets were so thin and rotten, itiat a violent wind would have torn them to pj- -s. The rent of t uis interesting but * Coxe's liussian Discoveries, p. 65. 1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAaE. 71 deeply affecting voyage may be given in the excellent abstract of Captain Burney :— " On November 4th, at eight in the morning, they once more saw land; but only the tops of the mountains at first appeared, and the shore was so distant, that although they stood towards it the - hole day, night came on before they could get near enough to look for anchorage. At noon that day they made their latitude by observation to be 56'' north. On the morning of the 5th, it was discovered that almost all the shrouds on the starboard side of the ship were broken, which happened from contraction and tenseness caused by the frost; for, without other mention made of the weather, it is 'com- plained that the cold was insupportable. In this distress, the commodore ordered the lieutenant to call all the officers together, to consult on their best mode of pro- ceeding; and the increased numbers of the sick, with the want of fresh water, determined them at all hazards to seek relief at this land. The wind was northerly, and they had soundings at the depth of thirty-seven fathoms, with a sandy bottom. They now steered in towards the land, west-south-west and south-west, and two hours after, at five in the evening, they anchored in twelve fathoms, the bottom sand, and veered out three-quarters of a cable. The sea now began to run high, and at six the cable gave way. Another anchor was let go, yet the sliip struck twice, though they found by the lead five fathoms depth of water. The cable quickly parted; and it was fortunate a third anchor was not ready, for whilst they were preparing it, a high wave threw the ship over a bank of rocks, where all at once she was in still water. They now dropt their anchor in four fathoms and a half, about six hundred yards from the land, and lay quiet during the rest of the night; but in the morning they found themselves surrounded with rocks and breakers. They were certain that the coast of Kamts- 41, 11 72 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : ri741. chatka was not far distant; but the condition of the ship and the crew, with the advanced season of the year, ren- dered it apparent that they must remain upon thi^< land all winter. Those who were able to work went on shore to prepare lodgings for the sick. This the; accomplished by digging pits or caverns between some sand-hills near a brook which ran from a mountain to the sea, using their sails as a temporary covering. There was no appearance of inhabitants; nor were any trees seen, although drift- wood was found along the shore. No grass nor anti- scor- butic herbs were discoverable; the island, indeed, was so deeply covered with snow, that even if it produced any antiseptic plants, the patients had not strength to lay .aem open; and at this time the Russians were little acquainted with the proper remedies for this dreadful disease. On the 8th of November they began to transport the sick to the miserable habitations which had been prepared for them; and it was remarkable that some who seemed the least re- duced expired the moment they were exposed to the fresh air, and others in making an attempt to stand iipou deck."* On the 9th of November, Behring him; ilf wm carried ashore by four men on a hand-barrow, cav^Ailly secured from the air. The ship had been cast on the east side of the island, and the coast yas examined both to the north and south; but no traces of inhabitants were found. Along the shores were many sea-otters, and the interior swarmed with blue and white foxes. " We saw," says Steller in his * " It must," says Captain Bumey, " be within the memory of many, the great care with which the apartments of the sick were guarded against the admission of fresh air, and in few instances more than in what was called the sick-berth on board a ship of war, where it was customary to keep a number of diseased persons labouring under different maladies eaelosod aud cfcvdcd together ; and fortunately, since the date of this expedition, the management of the sick with respect to air has undergone a very essential reform." 1741.] THEIE 8L JOND VOYAGE. 73 journal, "the most dismal and terrifying olyects: the foxes mangled the dead before they could be buried, and were even not afraid to approach the living md he'^^^'^ss who 1 y scattered here and there, aud smell at them i ice dogs, 11 '^ man exclaimed that he was penciling of cold; the other complained of hunger and thirst; and their mouths were so much affected by scurvy, that t'xir gums grew over their teeth like a sponge. The stone- foxes, which swarmed round our dwellings, became so bold and mischievous, that they carried away and destroyed different articles oi ^^rovi ^ion and clothing. Om took a shoe, another a boot, a tliird a glove, a fourth a coat, ul they even stole the iron implements; whilst all attempts lu drive them away wer(^ inel^ectual." * Lieutenant Wa- 4, o whom, since the illness of the commodore, the coi naud devolved, and Tytrow, the ship- master, continued hea thy at sea; and the aecessity for exer- tion, in seeing ev ry^^nng sent on shore, had a favourable effect in repelling the attacks of the disease. At last, how- ever, they too were laid up, and soon became so weak, that on the 21st of November they were carried ashore like the rest. During this dreadful residence on the island, the men lived chiefly on the flesh of the sea-otters, which was so hard and tough that it could scarcely be torn to pieces by the teeth. The intestines were mostly used for the sick ; and Steller, in his descriptions of the marine animals of these regions, reckons the flesh of the sea-otter as a specific against the scurvy. When not v/anted for food, they were killed for their fine skins, nine hundred being collected on the island, and equally divided among the crew. A dead whale, which was thrown upon the coast, they called their magazine, as it proved a resource when nothing better could * Coxe's Russian Discoveries, pp. 73, 74. i a; IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ |50 1^ Hi Hi IIM U IIIIII.6 JIM m V] <^ /2 "^ 7 Ss. y -P' Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 £?v fe U.i 74 DEATH OP BEHRING. [1741. be got. The flesh was cut into small pieces, which they boiled a long time, to separate the oil from it as much as possible, and the remainmg hard and sinewy parts they swallowed without chewing. In this miserable manner they continued to support life ; but some of the crew sunk daily under the disease, and on the 8th of December the commodore expired. Behring was an officer of extraordinary merit ; and, until reduced by the disease of which he became the victim, endowed with unshaken perseverance and energy. His voyage set a,t rest the disputed point regarding the separation of the two continents of Asia and America; and he has deservedly bequeathed his name to the strait which he was the first to explore, and the desolate island on which he died. It is melancholy to think, that after the exertions he had made in the cause of naval discovery, his life terminated so miser- ably; for it may almost be said that he was buried alive. The sand rolled down continually from the side of the cavern in which he lay, and at last covered his feet ; nor would he suffer it to be removed, saying he felt warmth from it, when he was cold in all other parts. It thus gra- dually increased upon him, till his body was more than half concealed ; so that, when he at last expired, it was found necessary to unearth him previously to his being interred. " Behring," says Steller, who was by no means disposed to exaggerate the good qualities of his commander, " displayed in his illness the most affecting resignation to the will of the Supreme Being, and enjoyed his understanding and speech to the last. He was convinced that the crew had been driven on an unknown land ; yet he would not terrify others by declaring his opinion, but cherished their hopes and encouraged their exertions. He was buried according to the Protestant ritual, and a cross was erected over his grave to mark the spot, and to serve also as an evi- 1742.] STATE OP THE EXPEDITION. 75 dence that the Russians had taken possession of the country/'* Soon after the death of the commodore, the whole crew were sheltered from the severity of the winter in subter- ranean dwellings contiguous to each other, and recovered so much strength by the use of sweet and excellent water, and the flesh of the sea-animals killed in hunting, that their existence became comparatively comfortable. Of the manner in which they passed their time during the dreary winter months, from December to May, Steller has left us in his journal a minute and interesting account. In March the sea-otters disappeared, either from ihe instinct of changing their abode at particular seasons of the year, or banished by continual persecution ; but their place was supplied by other marine animals, which, in their turn, also left them. "To supply ourselves with fuel," says Steller, " was like- wise a considerable labour : As the island produced nothing but willow-bushes, and the driftwood was often deeply buried in the snow till the end of March, we were compelled to bring it from a distance of even fifteen or sixteen versts ; and our load upon these expeditions amounted to from sixty to eighty pounds, besides our hatchets and kettles, with the necessaiy implements for mending our shoes and clothes. In April, however, we were relieved from this labour by the thaw and breaking up of the vessel. An anecdote of an escape made by them in hunting, as it is given by the same lively writer, presents us with a striking picture of their manner of life upon the island. "On the 5th of April," says he, " during a gleam of favourable weather, Steneser and myself, with my Cossack and a servant of Behring, went on a hunting expedition. Having killed as many sea-otters as we were able to carry, we made a fire * Coxe's Russian Discoveries, p. 79. 76 THEY BUILD A NEW VESSEL. [1742. in a cliff, where we proposed to pass the night. At mid- night a violent hurricane arose, and the snow fell in such quantities that we should have been buried had we not run continually backwards and forwards. In the morning, afte^ a long and fruitless search for shelter, we resigned ourselves to our fate ; but the Cossack fortunately discovered a large cavern, which seemed to have been formed by an earthquake, where we entered with our provision and wood. It afforded a secure retreat from the weather, contained a cavity in which we could hide our provisions from the depredations of the stone-foxes, and was provided with an aperture which served the purpose of a chimney. The cave and bay, which were named in compliment to me, were inhabited by numerous foxes, which retired on our approach through the chimney ; but the smoke from our fire caused such a spitting and sneezing amongst them, as gave no small diversion to the party. At night, however, they occasionally returned into the cavern, and amused them- seh es with taking away our caps, and playing other similar gambols. On the 4th we returned to our abode with a rich booty, and were received with great delight by our com- panions, who thought us lost."* On the 6th of May, such of the crew as were able to work began to build from the relics of the wreck a vessel, which was intended to carry the survivors to Kamtschatka. Their number was now reduced to forty-fi v e, thirty having died on the island, including the three carpenters; but a Siberian Cossack named Starodubzow, who had for some time worked as a shipwright at Ochotzk, superintended the building of the new ship. At first they were put to great inconvenience from a deficiency of tar; but by an Tiigenious contrivance it was extracted from the new cord- * We have availed ourselves of Coxe's translation of this passage, as |)ublished in his Russian Discoveries, pp. 85, 86. 1742.] RETURN TO KAMTSCHATKA. 77 age which they had to spare. After being cut and picked, they put it into a large copper kettle, having a cover fitting close, with a hole in the middle. They then took another vessel with a similar cover, which they fixed firm in the ground, and upon this set the copper kettle turned upside down, the apertures in the lids being placed exactly against each other. Part of this machinery was then buried in the earth, and a fire kindled round what was above ground, by which means the tar of the new cordage melted, and ran into the inferior vessel. This contrivance having removed their greatest difficulty, by the 10th of August the new vessel was launched, and on the 16th Lieutenant Waxel set sail with the melancholy remnant of his crew; but, owing to contrary winds, they did not make the coast of Kamtschatka till the 25th, although from Behring's Island the distance was not more than thirty German miles. On the 27th they anchored in Awatchka Bay; and the Cos- sack, Starodubzow, to whose efforts in conslracting the vessel the preservation of the crew was mainly owing, received the rank of sinbojarski, a degree of Siberian nobility. Such is an account of the celebrated and un- fortunate expedition of Commodore Behring, of which the results were highly important to geographical science, although dearly bought by the death of so many brave men. Although Lord Mulgrave had failed in his attempt to discover, by a northerly course, a communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,* the British Government did not abandon all hope; and in 1776, Captain James Cook, who had already established his reputation as the greatest of modern navigators, was selected by the Ad- miralty to conduct another expedition, reversing only the * Polar Seas and Eegions, Sd edit. p. 327-335. ^M 78 COOK AND CLERKE's VOYAGE. [1776. plan, and endeavouring to sail from the Pacific into the Atlantic, instead of from the Atlantic into the Pacific. In prosecution of this plan, on the 12th of July 1776, Cook sailed from Plymouth Sound in the Resolution,' leaving instructions for the Discovery, the command of which was intrusted to Captain Charles Clerke, to join him at the Cape. From that place the two ships proceeded, in a course marked by important discoveries, through the Southern Hemisphere, by Van Diemen's Land, New Zea- land, Otaheite, and the Sandwich Islands. They then steered north-eastward, and on the 7th of March, in lati- tude 44*0 north, came in sight of the American continent at the coast of New Albion. Owing to unfavourable winds, which forced the ships to the south, it was the 29th before Cook anchored in Nootka Sound, where he was soon visited by thirty boats of the natives, carrying each from three to seven or eight persons, both men and women. At first none of the Americans would venture within either ship; and from the circumstance of their boats remaining at a short distance all night, as if on watch, it was evident they regarded the arrival of the strangers with much suspicion. A friendly intercourse, however, was soon established; and although theft, particularly of any iron utensil, was un- scrupulously committed, they were pretty fair and honest m their mode of barter. " They were," says Cook, " docile, courteous, and good-natured; but quick in resenting what they looked upon as an injury, and, like most other pas- sionate people, as soon forgetting it. Their stature was rather below the common size of Europeans; and although at first, owing to the paint and grease which covered their skins, it was believed that they were of a copper com- plexion, it was afterwards discovered that they were in reality a white people. They were well armed with pikes some headed with bone, and many with iron; besides 1776.] INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES. 79 which they carried bows, slings, knives, and a short club, like the patow of the New Zealanders ; their arrows were barbed at the point, and the inner end feathered." A dis- pute occurred after the arrival of the English, between the inhabitants of the northern and southern coasts of the sound; but a pacific treaty was concluded, and the event celebrated by a species of music, in which they bore alter- nate parts. "Their songs," says Captain Burney, who was himself present, "were given in turn, the party sing- ing having their pikes erected. When the first finished, they laid down their pikes, and the other party reared theirs. What they sung was composed of few notes, and as wild as could have been expected; yet it was solemn and in unison, and what I thought most extraordinary, they were all well in tune with each other. The words were at times given out by one man, as a parish-clerk gives out the first line of a psalm."* It appeared evident to Captain Cook, that previous to this the inhabitants had never entertained any direct com- raunication with Europeans. "They were not startled," says he, "by the report of a musket, till one day, upon endeavouring to prove to us that arrows and spears would not penetrate their war-dresses, a gentleman of our com- pany shot a musket-ball through one of them folded six times. At this they were so much staggered, that their ignorance of fire-arms was plainly seen. This was after- wards confirmed when we used them to shoot birds, the manner of which confounded them." On the ships leaving Nootka Sound, the natives accompanied their farewell with a singular exhibition :—" When the anchor was heaving up," says Burney, "they assembled in their boats, which covered the cove, and began a song, in which they flour- * Burney 's North Eastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 213. 80 COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND. [1776. ished the swords, saws, hatchets, and other things, which they had obtained from us. In the midst of this valedic- tory chorus, one man, mounted on a stage of loose boards, which was supported by the people in the nearest canoes or boats, danced with a wooden mask on, which he occa- sionally changed, making himself resemble sometimes a man, sometimes a bird, and sometimes an animal. Of these masks they have great variety, and they parted with them willingly, except those of the human face ; if they sold any of these, it seemed to be with some repugnance, as if they were parting with the image of a friend or a relation, and were ashamed to be seen so doing."* From Nootka Sound Captain Cook made a survey of the coast by Mount Saint Elias, till he arrived at a cape which turned short to the north, to which he gave the name of Cape Hinchinbroke. Thence he proceeded to Prince Wil- liam's Sound ; after which he pursued the coast to the west, which was found to take a southerly direction, as described by Behring and Tchirikow. These navigators, however, as we have seen, had not made a very particular examination ; and although the tenor of (book's instructions did not permit him to devote much time tc the exploring rivers or inlets, till he reached the latitude of 65°, still that eminent officer deemed himself at liberty to complete an accurate survey of this hitherto undiscovered coast, from the arm of the sea afterwards denominated Cook's Inlet, round the great Peninsula of Alaska, terminating in Cape Oonamak. He thence proceeded along the shores of Bristol Bay, till he doubled Cape Newenham, from which he steered in a north-easterly direction, and anchored in Norton Sound. Leaving this, the ships entered Behring's Strait, and followed the coast to the north-west, till they * Burney's North- Eastern Voyages of Discovery, pp. 217, 218. 177G.] COOK CROSSES BEHRING's straits to ASIA. 81 doubled a proinontory situated in 65° 45" north latitude, which they named Prince of Wales' Cape, regarding it as the western extremity of all America hitherto known. Soon after, in the evening, they discerned the coast of Asia, and standing across the strait came to anchor in a bay of the Tschuktschi country, near a village, from which the natives crowded to the shore. Observing this, Cook landed with three boats well armed, and was received by the Tschuktschi with cautious courtesy. About forty men, armed each with a spontoon, besides bow and arrows, stood drawn up on a rising ground close by the village ; and as the English drew near, three of them came down towa ^t the shore, politely taking off their caps and making low bows. On seeing some of the English leap from their boats, they retired, and expressed by signs their desire that no more should land; but when Cook advanced alone, with some small presents in his hand, their confidence was re- stored, and they exchanged for them two fox-skins and two seahorse- teeth. All this time they never laid down their weapons, but held them in constant readiness, except for a short time, when four or five persons disarmed themselves to give the English a song and a dance; even then, how- ever, they placed them in such a manner that they could reach them in an instant, and evidently for greater security they desired their audience to sit down during the dance. This Asiatic people, although dwelling within fifty miles of the American coast, were evidently a different race from the inhabitants of the shores of Behring's Strait. All the Americans whom die English had seen since their arrival on the coast were low of stature, with round chubby faces and high cheek-bones. The Tschuktschi, on the contrary, had long visages, and were stout and well made. Several things which they had with them, and more particularly their clothing, showed a degree of ingenuity surpassing 82 RETURNS TO AMERICA. [1778. what one could expect among so northern a people. Their dress consisted of a cap, frock, breeches, boots, and gloves, all made of leather or skins extren.ely well dressed, some with the fur on, some without it, and the quivers which contained their arrows were made of red leather neatly embroidered, and extremely beautiful.* From this bay the ships again stood over to the north- east, and continuing their examination of the American coast. Cook soon found himself surrounded by the dreary features which mark the scenery of the Polar latitudes; a dark and gloomy sky, thick showers of snow and hail, and immense fields and mountains of ice, covered in some places by the huge forms of the walrus or seahorse, which lay in herds of many hundreds, huddling like swine one over the other. The flesh of these animals, when new killed, was preferred by the crew to their common fare of salt meat, but within four-and-twenty hours it became rancid and fishy. From a point of land, which was denominated Cape Mulgrave, they now explored the coast to the latitude of TO'' 29 , where their progress was arrested by an un- broken wall of ice apparently stretching from continent to continent.-|- At this time the nearest land was about a league distant, and the farthest eastern point seen a low headland much encumbered with ice, to which Cook gave the name of Icy Cape, and which, till the recent disco- veries of Captain Beechy, constituted the extreme limit of European discovery in that quarter of the globe. It was now the end of August; and as nothing farther could be attempted at that season on the American coast, the ships returned to the Sandwich Islands, with the intention of resuming in the succeeding summer the attempt for the discovery of a communication between the Pacific and the 5 I long 1 * Cook'o Vojages, vol. vi. pp. 409, 410, 411. f Ibid. pp. 415, 417. 1779.] MEARES' FIRST VOYAGE. 83 i ! Atlantic-an object which their great commander did not live to execute, having been killed in an unfortunate scufHe with the natives of Owhyhee, on the 11th of February 1779 Ihe ferther conduct of the expedition now fell to Gierke and King, and an attempt was made to penetrate beyond ley Cape; but the continued fields of ice rendered it utterlv abortive. The ships therefore, having repassed Behring's fetrait, came to anchor in the Bay of St. Peter and St. laul, in Kamtschatka. Here Captain Clerke, who had long been in a declining state, died; upon which, to the great satisfaction of the crews and officers of both ships who were sick of the dreary navigation in these inhospitable latitudes, they returned home. Subsequent to the voyages of Cook and Clerke, the north-west coast of America was visited at different periods by Meares, Vancouver, and Kotzebue; and though the limit of discovery was not extended beyond Icy Cape the shores were more minutely examined, and a beneficial commercial intercourse established with the natives. Of Captain Meares' voyages, the great object was to establish a trade between China and the north-west coast of America l^or this purpose an association of the leading mercantile men in Bengal fitted out two vessels-the Nootka, com- manded by Meares himself, and the Sea-otter, by Lieu- tenant Walter Tipping. The Sea-otter in the first instance took a cargo of opium to Malacca, thence she proceeded to America, and is known to have ma< s Prince William's bound; but after leaving that harbour, no accounts of her were ever received, and it appears certain that she and her crew perished at sea. The fate of Meares in the Nootka was scarcely more tolerable : After a tedious and perilous navigation in the China seas, they made their way through the straits between Oonainak and Oonaiaska against a cur- rent running seven knots an hour, from which they sailed 84 MEARES FIUST VOYAGE. [1788. across to America by the Schumagin Islands, and anchored under Cape Douglas.* Thence they proceeded to Prince William's Sound to winter ; and their residence here during October, November, and December, though dreary and tedious, was not without its comforts. Ihe natives were friendly, and brought them provisions ; they caught plenty of excellent salmon, and the large flocks of ducks and geese afforded constant sport to the officers, and a seasonable supply for the table. But the horrors of an Arctic winter began soon to gather round them. The ice closed in upon the ship ; the snow fell so thick that all exercise became impossible ; the ducks and geese collected into flocks, and passed away to the southward ; the fish totally deserted the creeks ; and the natives, a migratory race, imitating the instinct of these lower species, travelled oif in a body with their temporary wigwams to a more genial district. To add to these distresses, the scurvy made its appearance ; whilst the sun described weekly a smaller circle, and shed a sickly and melancholy light. Even at noon, through an atmosphere obscured by perpetual snows, " tremendous mountains forbade almost a sight of the sky, and cast their nocturnal shadows over the ship in the midst of day." The decks were incapable of resisting the intense freezing of the night, and the lower part of them was covered an inch thick with a hoar frost that had all the appearance of snow, notwithstanding fires were kept constantly burning twenty hours out of the twenty-four. 13etv/een the months of January and May, twenty-three men died of the scurvy, and the rest of the crew were so disabled as to be incapable of any labour ; but the sun's return and the commencement of more genial weather produced an instantaneous effect on the health and spirits of the crew. The natives returned, * Meares' Voyages, vol. i. p. 19. Introductory Voyage. 17S8.] NATIVES OP PRINCE WILLIAM's SOUND. $5 and assured the poor -ifferers that the cold must :.oon be gone, making them understand by signs that the summer would commence about the middle of May ; and the sun, which now began to make a larger circle over the hills* not only chased away the huge and gloomy shadows that like a funeral pall had covered the ship, but brought back the fish to the rivers, and the migratory birds to the shore ; so that they soon enjoyed an ample supply of fresh food! On the 17th of May, a general breaking up of the ice took place throughout the cove, and the feeling that they wc re once more in clear water, with the prospect of soon leaving a scene of so much distress and horror, cheered the minds of the crew with inexpressible comfort * These happy anticipations were soon realized by their sailing from Prince of Wales' Sound on the 21st June, and reaching the hospitable cluster of the Sandwich Isles, where such was the effect of the genial climate, that in ten days' resi- dence every complaint had disappeared. On the 2d of September they left the Sandwich Islands, and arrived on the 20th October at Macao in China. It may easily be imagined, that during so disastrous a sojourn on the American shore, little or no progress could be made in the survey of the coast, which was ruggec' ; and at no great distance were mountains, covered with thick Avoods for about two-thirds of their ascent, beyond which they terminated in immense masses of naked rock. The black pine grew in great plenty, and a few black currant bushes were noticed, but no other kind of fruit or vegetable. The number of savages seen by Meares did not exceed five or six hundred, and these had no fixed place of abode, but wandered up and down as fancy or necessity impelled them. They were strong and athletic, rather * Meares' Voyages, vol. i. Introductory Voyage, p. 47. 86 NATIVES OP PRINCE WILLIAm's SOUND. [1788. exceeding the common stature of Europeans, with promi- nent cheek bones, round flat faces, eyes small and black, and hair, which they cut short round the head, of the same jetty colour. A slit in the under lip, parallel to the mouth, and a perforation in the septum of the nose, in which was inserted a large quill or a piece of bark, gave them a hideous look ; whilst a singular practice of powdering their hair with the down of birds, allowing the frostwork and icicles to hang from the beard, and painting the neck and face with red ochre, increased the savage singularity of their appearance. Their clothing consisted of a single frock of the sea-otter skin reaching to their knees. When em- ployed in their canoes, they used a dress made of the entrails of the whale, which covered the head, and was so disposed that it could be tied round the hole in which they sat, so as to prevent the water from getting into the canoe, whilst it kept the lower part of the body warm and dry. Their hardihood and capacity of enduring pain astonished the English, and was remarkably evinced upon an occasion mentioned by Meares : — " In the course of the winter," says he, " among other rubbish, several broken glass bottles had been thrown out of the ship, and one of the natives, who was searching among them, cut his foot in a very severe manner. On seeing it bleed, we pointed out what had caused the wound, and applied a dressing to it, which he was made to understand was the remedy we ourselves applied on similar occasions; but he and his companions instantly turned the whole into ridicule, and at the same time taking some of the glass, they scarified their legs md arms in a most cruel and extraordinary manner, informing us that nothing of that kind eould ever hurt them."* * Mcarei.' Voyages, vol. i. Introductory Voyage, p. 66. 1789.] MEARES' SECOND VOYAGE. 87 ^ The disastrous result of this first expedition did not deter either Meares or his liberal employers from hazarding a second voyage to the same coast, which was attended with more important results. The Felice, of 230 tons burden, and the Iphigenia, of 200, were fitted out on this adventure ] the command being given to Captains Meares and Douglas. Both vessels were copper-bottomed and strongly built, and their crews consisted of Europeans and Chinese, among whom were some excellent smiths, shipwrights, and other artisans. The taking the Chinamen aboard was an experi- ment. Before this time they had never formed pai-t of the crew of an English merchant-ship ; and it is but justice to say that they proved hardy, good-humoured, and industrious. Two other very interesting passengers were on board of Captain Meares' ship— Teanna, a pri of Atooi, one of the Sandwich Isles, who had volunteered to leave his native country when Meares visited it during his former expedition, and Comekala, a native of King George's Sound, who had at the same time entreated to be earned to China. Of these two specimens of savage life, Teanna was by far the finest, both in moral and in physical qualities. He was about thirty-two years old, near six feet five inches in stature, and in strength almost Herculean. His carriage was dig- nified, and, in consequence of the respect paid to his superior rank in his own country, possessed an air of distinction, to which his familiarity with European manners had not communicated any stiffness or embarrassment. Comekala, on the other hand, though cunning and sagacious, was a stranger to the generous qualities which distinguished the prince of the Sandwich Isles. He was kind and honest when it suited his own interest ; but stole without scruple whatever he wished to have, and could not procure by fairer means. Brass and copper were metals which he might almost be said to worship. Copper halfpence, but- 88 KING GEORGE S SOUND. [1789. tons, saucepans — all possessed in his eyes the highest charms. It was evident that he coveted the brass buttons of the captain's uniform ; and his mode of fixing his eyes on the object of his desire, and the pangs of ungratified avarice, as exhibited in the contortions of his countenance, proved matter of much amusement to the crew. The cause of his insatiable thirst for copper became afterwards ap- parent. In the meantime, Captain Meares found it necessary to separate from his consort, whose slow sailing threatened to impc de his progress ; and, after a long and hazardous pas- sage, the ship anchored in Friendly Cove, in King George's Sound, abreast of the village of Nootka, on the morning of the 13th of May. Comekala, who for several days had been in a state of high excitation, now enjoyed the genuine delight of once more beholding his native shore ; and when his intention of landing was made known, the whole inha- bitants poured forth to give him welcome. The dress in which he chose to appear for the first time after so long an absence was very extraordinary. On a former occasion, when visited by Hannapa, a brother chief, he contented himself with an ordinary European suit ; but he now, says Meares, arrayed himself in all his glory. His scarlet coat was decorated with such quantities of brass buttons and copper appendages of one kind or other, that they could not fail to procure him profound respect from his country- men, and render him an object of unbounded admiration to the Nootka damsels. At least half a sheet of copper formed his breastplate ; from his ears copper ornaments were sus- pended ; and he contrived to hang from his hair, which was dressed with a long pig-tail, so many handles of copper saucepans, that their weight kept his head in a stiff upright position, which very much heightened the oddity of his appearance. For several of the ornaments with which h« as 1789.] RECEPTION OF COMEKALA. 89 was now so proudly decorated, Comekala had lived in a state of continual hos^ !] ^ with the cook, from whom he purloined them ; but thii. last and principal struggle was for an enormous spit, which the American prince had seized as a spear to swell the circumstances of that splendour with which he was preparing to dazzle the eyes of his countrymen. In such a state of accoutrement, and feeling greater delight than ever was experienced on the proudest European throne, the long boat rowed Comekala ashore, when a general and deafening shout from the crowd assured him of the universal joy felt on his return. The whole inhabitants moved to the beach, welcomed the traveller on shore, and afterwards conducted him to the king's house, which none but persons of rank were permitted to enter, and where a magnificent feast of whale blubber and oil was prepared. On the whole, Comekala's reception, and the impression made by his extraordinary costume, evinced his intimate knowledge of the character of his countrymen ; for though to the English the effect was irresistibly comic, the natives regarded him with a mixture of silent awe and wonder, which after a while broke forth into expressions of universal astonishment and delight. Not long after this exhibition, two Nootka princes,— Maquilla and Callicum, paid a visit to the English. Their little squadron, consisting of twelve canoes with eighteen men each, moved with stately parade round the ship. The men wore dresses of beautiful sea-otter skins, covering them from head to heel ; their hair was powdered with the white down of birds, and their faces bedaubed with red and black oehre, in the form of a shark's jaw and a kind of spiral line, which rendered their appearance extremely savage. Eight rowers sat on each side, and a single man at the bow; whilst the chiefs, distinguished by a high cap, pointed at the crown, and ornamented with a small tuft of feathers, 90 NOOTKA MUSIC. [1789. occupied a place in the middle. All this wag very striking ; but the most rf .narkable accompaniment was the air which they chanted, the effect of which is described by Meares as uncommonly pleasing. " We listened," says he, "to their song with an equal degree of surprise and pleasure. It was indeed impossible for any ear susceptible of delight from musical sounds, or any mind not insensible to the power of melody, to remain unmoved by this solemn un- expected concert. The chorus was in unison, and strictly correct as to time and tune ; nor did a dissonant note escape them. Sometimes they would make a sudden transition, from the high to the low tones, with such melancholy turns in their variations, that we could not reconcile to ourselves the manner in which they acquired or contrived this more than untaught melody of nature. There was also something for the eye as well as the ear, and the action that accom- panied their voices added very much to the impression which the chanting made upon us all. Every one beat time with undeviating regularity against the gunwale of the boat with their paddles ; and at the end of every verse they pointed with extended arms to the north and south, gradually sinking their voices in such a solemn manner as to produce an effect not often attained by the orchestras of European nations." This account of the impressive music of the people of Nootka Sound is, the reader may remember, corroborated by Captain Burney.* The c 'jremony, however, did not end with the song ; but after rowing twice round the ship, rising up each time as they passed the stern, and vociferating " Wacush ! Wacush I" (friends), they brought their canoes alongside, and the two chiefs came on board. Both were handsome men of the middle size, possessing a mild but manly expression of countenance. They accepted * Supra, p. 7 P. 1789.1 HUNTING THE SEA-OTTER. 91 a present of copper, iron, and other articles, with signs of great delight; and throwing off their sea-otter garments, laid them gracefully at the feet of the English, and stood on the deck quite naked. Each of them was presented with a blanket, which they threw over their shoulders with marks of high satisfaction, and descending into their canoes, were paddled to the shore. A brisk trade in furs now commenced, which, though interrupted occasionally by the petty thefts of the savages, was highly favourable to the commercial interests of the expedition. Skins of the sea-otter, beaver, martin, sable, and river-otter, of the ermine, black-fox, gray, white, and red wolf, wolverine, marmot, racoon, bear, and mountain- sheep, and in addition to all these, of the furred, speckled, and common seal, sea-cow, and sea-lion, were all procured, though some in greater abundance than others. Of these, by far the most beautiful and valuable was the skin of the sea-otter. The taking of this animal is attended with considerable hazard; but constant practice has taught the natives both skill and courage. "When it is determined to hunt the sea-otter," says Meares, " two very small canoes are prepared, in each of which are seated two expert hun- ters. The instruments they employ are bows and arrows, with a small harpoon, which differs somewhat from the in- strument of the same kind used in hunting the whale, the shaft being much the same, but the harpoon itself of greater length, and so notched and barbed that when it has once entered the flesh it is almost impossible to extricate it. It is attached to the shaft by several fathoms of sufficient strength to drag the otter to the boat. The arrows em- ployed are small, and pointed with bone formed into a single barb. Thus equipped, the hunters proceed among the rocks in search of their prey. Sometimes they sur- prise the animal when sleeping on his back on the surface 92 HUNTING THE WHALE. [1789. of the water; and if they can approach without awakening him, which requires infinite caution and skill, he is easily harpooned and dragged to the boat, when a fierce battle often ensues between the otter and the hunters, who are frequently severely wounded by his teeth and claws. The more usual manner of taking him, however, is by pursuit, and the chase is som.etimes continued for hours. As the animal cannot remain long under water, the skill is here chiefly exerted to direct the canoes in the same line which the otter takes when under water, at which time he swims with a celerity that greatly exceeds that of his pursuers. The moment he dives, therefore, the canoes separate, in order to have the better chance of wounding him with their arrows at the moment he rises, although it often happens that this wary and cunning animal escapes, and baffles the r.tmost skill of his persecutors. Should it happen that the otters are overtaken with their young ones, the instinct of parental affection comes out in its most deep and interest- ing shape; all sense of danger and of self-preservation is instantly lost, and both male and female defend their cubs with the most furious courage, tearing out with their teeth the arrows and harpoons fixed in them, and often attacking the canoes themselves. On such occasions, however, their utmost efforts are unavailing, and they and their offspring never fail of yielding to the power of the hunters."* The hunting the whale, however, is a still nobler sport; and nothing can exceed the skill and intrepidity with which the Americans of Nootka engage in it. When it is de- termined to proceed against this mighty creature, the chief prepares himself with great ceremony. He is clothed in the sea-otter's skin, his body besmeared with oil and painted with red ochre; the canoes selected for the service are of a * Meares, vol. ii. p. 56. 1789.] NOOTKA MECHANICAL ARTS. 98 size between those used in war and the ordinary kind, and contain eighteen or twenty men, the bravest and most active that can be found. When the whale is discovered, the chief himself throws the first harpoon; but all the people in the various attendant canoes are armed with the same instru- ment, to be employed as occasion may require. As soon as the huge fish feels the smirt of the first weapon, he dives, and carries the shaft with all its bladders along with him, on which the boats follow in his wake, and as he rises con- tinue to fix their weapons till he finds it impossible to sink, from the number of floating buoys attached to his body. The whale then drowns, and is towed on shore with great triumph and rejoicing.* He is immediately cut up, part being dedicated to the feast which concludes the day, and the remainder divided among those who shared the dangers and glory of the chase. The ingenuity of the Nootka savages in many mechanical arts was very remarkable. Their manufacture of harpoons, lines, fish-hooks, bows and arrows, their skill in tanning and preparing furs, their ingenious manner of forging the metals procured from the English into various ornaments for their wives or favourites, and above all, their art in constructing canoes, astonished the European and Chinese artisans. Of the iron received in exchange for furs they made tools; and it was seldom they could be prevailed on to use European utensils in preference to their own, with the exception of the saw, the utility of which in abridging labour was immediately perceived and made available. They formed of the same metal a species of tool for hollow- ing out large trees, which purpose it served far better than any instrument the carpenters of the Felice could give them. In this operation a flat stone was employed in place * Meares, vol. ii. pp. 62, 55. 91 NOOTKA ARCHITECTURE. [17S9. of an anvil, whilst a round one served for a hammer; and with these rude implements they shaped the red-hot iron into a tool resembling a cooper's adze, which they fastened to a wooden handle with cords made of sinews; it was then sharpened, and proved admirably adapted for the purposes for which it was intended.* After the English had been for some time in King George's Sound, the Americans began to make use of sails formed of mats, in imitation of Captain Meares' ship. Hannapa got the sailors to rig one of his war-canoes in the English style, of which he was extremely proud, never omitting the caremony of hoisting his pendant whenever he approached, to the great amusement of the crew. Not long after this, the English were waited upon by Wicananish, a prince of greater wealth and power than'any they had yet seen, who invited them to visit his kingdom, which lay at some distance to the southward, that a commercial inter- course might be established for the advantage of both par- ties. The invitation was accepted, and Wicananish himself met the Felice at some distance from the shore with a small fleet of canoes; and, coming on board, piloted them into the harbour. They found the capital to be at least three times the size of Nootka. The country round was covered with impenetrable woods of great extent, in which were trees of enormous size. After the king and his chiefs had been entertained on board, the English were in return in- vited to a feast by Wicananish; and it is not easy to con- ceive a more interesting picture of savage life than is given by Meares on this occasion:— "On entering the house," says he, " we were absolutely astonished at the vast area it enclosed. It contained a large square, boarded up close on all sides to the height of twenty feet, with planks of an un- men, * Meares, vol. ii. pp. 58, 59. r89.] PALACE OF WICANANISH. 95 common breadth and length. Three enormous trees, rudely carved and painted, formed the rafters, which were sup- ported at the ends and in the middle by gigantic images, carved out of huge blocks of timber. The same kind of broad planks covered the whole to keep out the rain; but they were so placed as to be removable at pleasure, either to receive the air and light, or to let out the smoke. In the middle of this spacious room were several fires, and beside them large wooden vessels filled with fish-soup. Large slices of whales' flesh lay in a state of preparation, to be put into similar machines filled with water, into which the women, with a kind of tongs, conveyed hot stones from very fierce fires, in order to make it boil. Heaps offish were strewed about; and in this central part of the square, which might properly be called the kitchen, stood large seal- skins filled with oil, from whence the guests were served with that delicious beverage. The trees that sup- ported the roof were of a size which would render the mast of a first rate man of- war diminutive on a comparison with them; indeed, our curiosity as well as our astonishment was at its utmost stretch, when we considered the strength which must have been required to raise these enormous beams to their present elevation, and how such strength could be commanded by a people wholly unacquainted, as we supposed, with the mechanic powers. The door by which we entered this extraordinary fabric was the mouth of one of these huge images, which, large as it may, from this circumstance, be supposed to have been, was not dis- proportioned to the other features of its colossal visage. We ascended by a few steps on the outside; and, after passing the portal, descended down the chin into the house, where we found new matter for wonder in the number of men, women, and children who composed the family of the chief, which consisted of at least eight hundred persons. 96 FEAST GIVEN TO THE ENGLISH. [1789. These were divided into groups according to their respec- tive offices, which had distinct places assigned them. The whole of the interior of the building was surrounded by a bench, about two feet from the ground, on which the various inhabitants sat, ate, and slept. The chief appeared at the upper end of the room surrounded by natives of rank, on a small raised platform, round which were placed several large chests, over which hung bladders of oil, large slices of whales' flesh, and proportionable gobbets of blubber. Festoons of human skulls, arranged with some attention to uniformity, were disposed in almost every part where they could be placed; and, however ghastly such orna- ments appeared to European eyes, they were evidently considered by the courtiers and people of Wicananish as a very splendid and appropriate decoration of the royal apart- ment." When the English appeared, the guests had made a considerable advance in their banquet. Before each per- son was placed a large slice of boiled whale, which, with small wooden dishes filled with oil and fish-soup, and a muscle-shell instead of a spoon, composed the economy of the table. The servants busily replenished the diches as they were emptied, and the women picked and opened some bark, which served the purpose of towels. The guests despatched their messes with astonishing rapidity and voracity, and even the children, some of them not above three years old, devoured the blubber and oil with a rapacity worthy of their fathers. Wicananish in the mean- time did the honours with an air of hospitable yet dignified courtesy, which might have graced a more cultivated society. At the conclusion of the feast, it was intimated to the English that the proper time had arrived to produce their presents. Tlnon this a p-rpat vnripfv f\f grfiolpu wco A\a. played; among which were several blankets and two copper 1789.] BRISK TRADE IN FURS, 97 tea-kettles. On these last, considered to be almost ines-, timable, the 8-38 of the whole assembly were instantly riveted; and a j,'uard was immediately mounted, who kept a jealous watch over them till curiosity was gratified; after which they were deposited in large chests, rudely carved and fancifully adorned with human teeth. About fifty men now advanced into the middle of the apartment, each hold- ing up a sea-otter skin nearly six feet in length; and while they remained in that position the prince delivered a speech, during which he gave his hand in token of friendship tJ the capcain, and informing him that these skins were the return he proposed to make for the present he had just received, concluded by ordering them to be immediately conveyed on board. The English now opened a brisk trade, procuring the finest furs, whilst they were supplied with excellent provi- sions. Salmon, cod, halibut, rock-fish, and herrings, were brought to them fresh from the water; and the women and children sold them berries, wild onions, salads, and other esculent plants. Wicananish, however, was anxious to establish a rigid monopoly, and evinced the utmost jealousy lest any neighbouring princes should be admitted to trade with the English. None were allowed to go on board without his license; and one unfortunate stranger was detected without a passport, hurried into the woods, and, as was strongly suspected, instantly put to death. At last two chiefs, who had already entered into some transactions with Captoin Meares, remonstrated against such iUiberal- ity; and Wicananish, rather than go to war, concluded a treaty, which had the effect of restoring a good understand- ing by mutual sacrifices. Hanna and Detooche agreed to resign to Wicananish all the otter-skins in their possession, on condition of rpceivino- fVip ♦""^ f»r>'^»v — ■«^at- v-^^^i^ i i i,-.i,ij^ MIC "/TTvLoppci ica-kciiiea already mentioned. These last articles, however ludicrous it may 98 NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. [1789. appear in thf ^ym of European diplomatists, formed the grand basis ( ' He caty, and the terms of exchange were not arrwHR^d '^i^in, it much difficulty. During these pro- ceedings rjje English had little opportnuity to examine tliM '•^•Uritry; but everything which they naw was inviting. An archipel j^o extended from King George's Sound to the harbour of Wicananish, most of the islands being covered with wood, with few clear spoK ' The soil was rich, producing berries and fruits in abundance, and the timber of uncommon size and beauty, consisting chiefly of red oak, large cedar, black and white spruce-fir. In their expeditions into the interior they met with frequent groves, where almost every second tree was fit for masts of any dimensions.* From Wicananish Captain Meares sailed southward along a coast not visited by Cook, of which the chart by Maurelle was so inaccurate, that it seemed almost certain he had never surveyed it in person. During this voyage f '^ey were visited by a small fleet of canoes, filled with people far more savage than those hitherto met wich. The face of the chief was bedaubed with black ochre, and pow- dered with a glittering sand, which communicated a singular fierceness of expression; whilst his manners were rude, and gave no encouragement to any more intimate intercourse. Meares continued his survey of the coast as far north as latitude 49° 37'; after which he retraced his progress, and on reaching the Strait of Juan de Fuca, took possession of it, with all the usual ceremonies, in the name of the King of Great Britain. The existence of this channel, which had been doubted since its discoverv in 1592, was now positively ascertained, and the long-boat was despatched up the strait under the command of Mr. Duffin, first officer -t"- Voyajccs, vol. i. p. 239. 1789. J STRAIT OP JI;aN DE FUCA. 99 of the Fchce. Her crew consisted of thirteen sailors well armed, and provisioned for a mo Mild and I * Meares' Voyages, vol. i. p. 283. too CANNIBALISM. [1789. amiable as were the general manners of the inhabitants of Nootka Sound, it was discovered, by their own confession, that they not only tortured captives with every refinement of cnielty, but feasted on human flesh. Callicum, a chief described by Meares as a model of kindness and even of delicacy in his intercourse with the English, acknowledged that he slept nightly on a pillow filled with human skulls, which he often exhibited as trophies of his valour. Maquilla betrayed his cannibal propensities in a manner still more decided : — " It so happened that the chief, in ascending the side oi the ship, by some untoward accident received a hurt in the leg. Orders were immediately given to the surgeon to attend, and when he was about to apply a plaster to the wound, Maquilla absolutely refused to submit, but sucked himself the blood which freely flowed from it ; and when we expressed our astonishment and disgust at such conduct, he replied by licking his lips, patting his belly, and exclaiming, ' Cloosh, cloosh !' or ' Good, good I' Nor did he now hesitate to confess that he ate human flesh, and to express the delight he took in banqueting upon his fellow- creatures ; not only avowing the practice, but informing the crew, as they stood shuddering at the story, that not long before this the ceremony of killing and eating a slave had taken place at Friendly Cove." * This acknowledgment was confirmed by Callicum and Hannapa, who, protesting they had never tasted the smallest bit of human flesh themselves, described Maquilla as peculiarly fond of it, and in the practice of killing a slave once a month to gratify his unnatural appetite. Perhaps there might be some exaggeration in this; but the ghastly ornaments of Wicananish's dining-room, the extraordinaiy pillow of Callicum, the exposure of men's heads and limbs for sale. * Meares' Voyages, vol. ii. p. 49. 1789.] SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NATIVES. 101 and the admission of the chief himself, sufficiently prove the existence of this atrocious custom, whatever might be the extent to which it was carried. For a long time the English thought the inhabitants had no religious belief whatever. To the huge misshapen images seen in their houses they address no homage; they had neither priests nor temples, nor did they offer any sacrifices ; but an accidental circumstance led to the dis- covery that, though devoid of all superstitious observances, and wholly ignorant of the true God, they were not without a certain species of mythology, including the belief of an existence after death. "This discovery," says Meares, " arose from our inquiries on a very different subject. On expressing our wish to be informed by what means they became acquainted with copper, and why it was such a peculiar object of their admiration, a son of Hannapa, one of the Nootkan chiefs, a youth of uncommon sagacity, info-med us of all he knew on the subject ; and we found, to our surprise, that his story involved a little sketch of their religion." When words were wanting, he supplied the deficiency by those expressive actions which nature or necessity seems to communicate to people whose language is imperfect ; and the young Nootkan conveyed his ideas by signs so skilfully as to render them perfectly intelli- gible. He related his story in the following manner :— " He first placed a certain number of sticks on the ground, at small distances from each other, to which he gave separate names. Thus, he called the first his father, and the next his grandfather: he then took what remained, and threw them all into confusion together, as much as to say that they were the general heap of his ancestors, whom he could not individually reckon. He then, pointing to this bundle,^ said, when they lived, an old man entered the Sound m a copper canoe, with copper paddles, and every- 102 SPECULATIONS ON A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. [1789. thing else in his possession of the same metal ; that he paddled along the shore, on which all the people were assembled to contemplate so strange a sight, and that, having thrown one of his copper paddles on shore, he himself landed. The extraordinary stranger then told the natives that he came from the sky, to which the boy pointed with his hand ; that their country would one day be destroyed, when they would all be killed, and rise again to live in the place froip whence he came. Our young interpreter explained this circumstance of his narra- tive by lying down as if he were dead, and then, rising up suddenly, he imitated the action as if he were soaring through the air. He continued to infonn us that the people killed the old man and took his canoe, from which event they derived their fondness for copper, and he added that the images in their houses were intended to represent the form, and perpetuate the mission, of this supernatural person who came from the sky." * As the objects of this voyage were principally of a com- mercial nature. Captain Meares had better opportunities to observe the character of the natives than to explore the coast or the interior of the country. The range of his navigation, extending only from Nootka Sound to the lati- tude of 49° 37' north, disclosed no regular continuity of land, but in every direction large islands, divided by deep sounds and channels. The time which this intelligent seaman could spare was not enough to complete the survey; but judging from what he did see, he was led to the belief that the entire space from St. George's Sound to Hudson's Bay and Davis' Strait, instead of a continent, was occupied by an immense archipelago, through which might reach a passage from the Pacific into the Atlantic Ocean. " The * ]\rcares' Voyages, vol. ii. pp. 70, 71. 1790.] VOYAGE OF VANCOUVER. 103 I channels of this archipelago," says he, in his memoir on the probable existence of a north-west passage, " were found to be wide and capacious, with near two hundred fathoms depth of water, and huge promontories stretching out into the sea, where whales and sea-otters were seen in an incredible abundance. In some of these channels there are islands of ice, which we may venture to say could never have been formed on the western side of America, which possesses a mild and moderate climate; so that their existence cannot be reconciled to any other idea, than that they received their formation in the Eastern Seas, and have been drifted by tides and currents through the passage for whose existence we are contending." * To determine this great question, and complete an accu- rate survey of the north-west coast of America, Captain Vancouver, an excellent officer, who had received his pro- fessional education under Cook, was despf,tched in 1790; and commencing his voyage at Cape Mendocino, in lati- tude 41°, he sailed northward two hundred and nineteen leagues to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, never losing sight of the surf which dashed against the shore, taking once or twice every day the meridional altitude, and minutely noting the position of the most conspicuous points. The whole coast presented an impenetrable barrier against approach from the sea, and no opening was found to afford his vessels the smallest shelter. He then explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca ; and having satisfied himself that no passage across America was to be discovered there, devoted his time to the survey of the labyrinth of islands, sounds, and inlets, between 50° and 60° of latitude. After a series of patient and scientific observations every way worthy of the school in which he had been bred, he ascer- * Meares' Voyages, vol. ii. p. 242. 104 KOTZEBUB. [1816. tained the grand fact that the coast was throughout con- tinuous, and thus dispelled all hope of a north-west passage m this quarter. It was his fate to encounter not a little unreasonable scepticism when the result was made public; and, like many other travellers and navigators, he found too much reason to complain of those lazy closet-philosophers who refuse to admit any testimony which happens to con- tradict their own preconceived theories. Time, however, has done him justice, and fully confirmed the accuracy of his report. After the disastrous result of the expedition of Behring, more than eighty years elapsed before Russia thought proper to pursue the career of discovery on the extreme coasts of North-western America. At length Count Romanzoff, a scientific and patriotic nobleman, determined to despatch Lieutenant Kotzebue on a voyage to the straits which bear the name of that great mariner. His equipment consisted of a single vessel, the Rurick, 100 tons burden, with twenty-two sailors, a surgeon, and a botanist. Having doubled Cape Horn, he arrived on the 19th June 1816 at Awatscha. Continuing his course, he passed the boundary explored by Behring, and on the 1st of August descried on his right, in latitude 68", a broad opening, which he trusted would prove the long- sought-for passage. Having entered, he landed on the beach, ascended a neighbouring hill, an.l saw nothing but water as far as the eye could reach. Full of ardent expec- tation, he employed a fortnight in examining this sound, making a complete circuit of its shores. No outlet, how- ever, was discovered, except one, which it appeared almost certam communicated with Norton Sound, and Kotzebue resumed his voyage, which, however, was attended with no new or important results. To this arm of the sea, the discovery of which forms the principal feature in 1816.] COLONIZATION OF CANADA. 105 his enterprise, he has very properly communicated his name. With Kotzebue terminates our account of the progress of discovery upon the north-western shores of America; for an outline of the survey made by Captain Beechey belongs to a future portion of this disquisition. It is a pleasing reflection, that almost exclusively to the British navy belongs the hard-earned praise of having explored nearly the whole of this coast, with an accuracy which leaves nothing to be desired by the most scientific navi- gator. CHAPTER III. Ilearne and Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Colonization of Canada — French Fur-Trade — Eise of Hudson's Bay Company — Hearne's Three Journeys — North-West Fur Company — First Journey of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1789 — His Second Expedition in 1792. Having completed a brief sketch of the progress of dis- covery along the wide extent of the eastern and western shores of North America, from the first expedition of Cabot to the latest attempts of Kotzebue, two important subjects present themselves — the rise of the fur-trade, and the great discoveries which were achieved by British subjects connected with this branch of commercial enterprise. The expedition of Cartier conferred on the French that title to the countries round the St. Lawrence which results from priority of discovery; and other circumstances combined to direct their efforts chiefly to the colonization of the more northern tracts of America. Amongst these causes may be reckoned the disastrous failure of their attempt to establish a settlement in Florida, the great power of the Spaniards 106 SIEUK DE LA ROCHE. [1698. m that quarter, and the pre-occupation of the middle regions of the continent by the English. In 1598, the Sieur de la Roche, a Breton gentleman of ancient family obtained from Henry IV. a patent, equally unlimited with that granted by Elizabeth to Gilbert and Raleigh. He was nominated Lieutenant- General of Canada, Hochelaga, Newfoundland, Labrador, and of the countries lying on the River of the great Bay of Norimbega (meanmg the St. Lawrence), and the supreme command, both civil and mili- tary, was concentrated in his single person. His prepara- tions were singularly disproportionate to these high-sound- ing titles, and the whole expedition was unfortunate. La Roche, with a small squadron, and crews consisting prin- cipally of convicted felons, landed on Sable Island, near the coast of Nova Scotia. From this barren spot, ill adapted for a settlement, he reached the opposite shore which he surveyed ; and having intrusted the temporary command of the colony to an inferior officer, he returned to France to procure additional supplies. On arriving in Brittany, a dispute arose between him and the Duke de Mercoeur, a nobleman enjoying the confidence of the French monarch, by whose influence the royal favour was wholly withdrawn from La Roche. That adventurer, deprived of all means of prosecuting his enterprise in the New World soon after died of a broken heart. ' Meantime the colony on Sable Island were exposed to famme and disease, and totally neglected by the king, amid the occupation and excitement of his vast political schemes. Their existence was at length accidentally recalled to the mind of Henry, who, in deep remorse for his forgetfulness, despatched a vessel, which on its arrival found only twelve survivors. They had formed a hovel of the planks of a shipwrecked Spanish vessel, supported them- selves by fishing, and replaced the ir worn-out Eur opean IfiOO.j CHAUVIN AND PONTGRAVE. 107 garmenta with the skins of the sea-wolf. On their return to France, the monarch was greatly moved by the account of their sufferings, corroborated as it was by their emaciated and haggard aspect, matted hair, beards which almost swept the ground, and singular dress. lie hastened to compen- sate for his neglect, by granting to such as were felons a free pardon, and presenting to each a sum of fifty crowns.* These disasters were followed soon after by an attempt of Chauvin and Pontgrave, two fur- merchants, to establish a colony at Tadoussack, on the mouth of the Saguenay, which proved abortive, and gave place to an expedition on a more enlarged scale, planned and conducted by De Monts, a gentleman of Saintonge, whose squadron consisted of forty vessels. His first settlement was on the Island of St. Croix, from which he removed to Port Royal, now known by the name of Annapolis, where he appears to have aban- doned his more pacific designs for the superior excitation and profits of piracy. The complaints of the merchants engaged in the Newfoundland fishery terminated in the recall and disgrace of De Monts; but Champlain, on whom the command devolved, showed himself every way worthy of the trust. From Tadoussack he removed the principal settlement to Quebec, where he built and fortified a town, reduced the surrounding territory into cultivation, and became the founder of the government of Canada, or New France. Leaving his infant settlement, he next deter- mined to penetrate into the interior ; and his emotions of wonder and astonishment may be easily conceived, when, ascending the St. Lawrence, the majestic forests of Canada first met his eye, encircling in their bosom the greatest lakes known to exist in the world. Surveying first the southern bank of the river, and of the Lakes Ontario and * Histoire General dcs Voyages, vol. xiv. pp. 589, 591. 108 CHAMPLAIN. [1763. Erie, he found that he had reached the very cradle of savage life, surrounded by nations whose manners, occupations, and superstitions, were as new as they were bold and terrific. To pursue the discoveries of the French into the interior of North America does not properly fall within the limits of this work ; and it is sufficient at present to observe, that after a long and sanguinary struggle between the arms of France and England, in the war which broke out in 1756, Canada was at last subdued by the English, and the possession of the province confirmed to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763. During the war between the United States and the mother country, Upper Canada once more became the theatre of an obstinate contest, which concluded, however, unfavourably for the American troops ; and the country has since remained an integral part of the British dominions. Under the French, the fur-trade, notwithstand- ing the restrictions with which commerce was oppressed, was carried to a great height, and embraced an immense extent of country. It was conducted by a set of hardy adventurers, who joined the savages in their hunting-par- ties, and thus collected large cargoes of furs, with which they supplied the merchants. Their distant inland expe- ditions sometimes occupied twelve or even eighteen months ; and during this period their uninterrupted familiarity with the natives almost transformed them into as wild and bar- barous a condition as that of the tribes with whom they associated. " It requires less time," says Sir Alexander Mackenzie, "for a civilized people to deviate into the man- ners and customs of savage life, than for savages to rise into a state of civilization. Such was the event with those who thus accompanied the natives on their hunting and trading excursions; for they became so attached to the Indian mode of life, that they lost all relish for their former FRENCH FUR TRADE. 109 1750.] habits and native homes. Hence they derived the title of Coureurs de Bois, becarae a kind of pedlars, and were extremely useful to the merchants engaged in the fur trade, who gave them the necessary credit to proceed on their commercial undertakings. Three or four of these people would join their stock, put their property into a birch-bark canoe, which they worked themselves, and would then either accompany the natives in their excursions, or penetrate at once into the country. At length these voyages extended to twelve or fifteen months, when they returned with rich cargoes of furs, and followed by great numbers of the natives. During the short time requisite to settle their accounts with the merchants, and procure fresh credit, they generally contrived to squander away all their gains, when they returned to renew their favourite mode of life, their views being answered, and their labour sufficiently rewarded, by indulging themselves in extravagance and dissipation during the short space of one month in twelve or fifteen. This indifferencp about amassing property, and the pleasure of living free from all restraint, soon brought on a licentiousness of manners, which could not long escape the vigilant observation of the missionaries, who had much reason to complain of their being a disgrace to the Chris- tian religion, by not only swerving from its duties them- selves, but bringing it into disrepute with those of the natives who had become converts to it, and consequently obstructing the great object to which these pious men had devoted their lives. They therefore exerted their influence to procure the suppression of these people ; and accordingly no one was allowed to go up the country to traffic with the Indians without a license from the French Government.'' * This change of system was not at first attended with the * Sir Alexander Mackenzie's History of the Fur Trade, prefixed to Ids Voyages, pp. 1-3. 110 COUREURS DE BOIS AND GROSSELIEZ. [1668. expected benefits ; for the licenses were sold in most in- stances to retired officers or their widows, who again dis- posed of them to the fur merchants, and they of necessity recalled to their service the Coureurs de Bois as their agents : thus matters assumed, though by a somewhat more circui- tous process, the same aspect as before. At last military posts were established at the confluence of the great lakes, which repressed the excesses of the wood-runners, and afforded protection to the trade; whilst under this new system, a body of respectable men, usually retired officers, introduced order and regularity in the traffic with the natives, co-operated with the efforts of the missionaries, and extended their intercourse with the various tribes to the distance of two thousand five hundred miles, from the most civilized portion of the colony to the banks of the Saskatchewine River in 53° north latitude, and longitude 102" west.* Of these trading commanders two individuals attempted to penetrate to the Pacific Ocean, but appear to have been unsuccessful. The discoveries of the English in Hudson's Bay, and the latest attempts of Fox and James to reach the Pa^'lic through some of its unexplored channels, have been suffi- ciently enlarged upon in a former volume ;-j- but though unsuccessful in their great design, the accounts brought home regarding the rich furs of these extreme northern shores excited the attention of Grosseli':;z, an enterprising individual, who undertook a voyage to survey the country, and laid before the French Government a proposal for a commercial settlement upon the coast. The minister, however, rejected it as visionary; and Grosseliez, having obtained an introduction to Mr. Montagu, the English resident at Paris, was introduced to Prince Rupert, who, * Mackenzie's Travels, Gen. ilist. of the Fur Trade, p. 6. f Polar Seas and Kegious, chap. vi. 16G8.] Hudson's hay company. Ill struck by the probable advantages of the project, eagerly patronized it. By his interest with the English king, he obtained the grant of a ship commanded by Captain Zachariali Gillam, who sailed with Grosseliez in 1668, and, penetrating to the top of James' Bay, erected Fort Charles on the bank of the Rupert River. In the succeeding year, Prince Rupert, with seventeen other persons, were incorpo- rated into a company, and obtained an exclusive right to establish settlements and carry on trade in Hudson's Bay. Their charter recites, that those adventurers having at their own great cost undertaken an expedition to Hudson's Bay, in order to discover a new passage into the South Sea, and to find a trade for furs, minerals, and other commodities, and having made such discoveries as encouraged them to proceed in their design, his Majesty granted to them and their heirs, under the name of " the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay," the power of holding and alienating lands, and the sole right of trade in Hudson's Strait, and with the territories upon the coasts of the same. Thev were authorized to fit out ships of war, to erect forts, make reprisals, and send home all English sub- jects entering the bay without their license, and to declare war and make peace with any prince or people not Christian.* Instituted with such ample powers, and at first placed under the management of enlightened men, this company soon arrived at considerable prosperity. They have, indeed, been severely censured, as exhibiting little zeal to promote discovery, and for uniformly opposing every attempt on the part of their servants to solve the long- agitated question of a north-west passage. There appears to have been much personal pique in these accusations ; and the expedition of Knight, in 1721, fitted out on the most liberal scale at the * Macplierson's Annals of Ci -Amerce, vol. ii. pp. 555, 556. 112 IIEAKNE. [1768. company's expense, and the tenor of their original instruc- tions to their governor, certainly prove that they were not enemies to the cause of discovery ; whilst the failure of the voyages of Middleton in 1742, and of Captains Moore and Smith in 1746, must at length have convinced the bitterest opponents of the company, that if they had not discovered the long-expected passage in some of the straits leading into Hudson's Bay, it was for the very sufficient reason that such did not exist. But the most remarkable refutation of these allegations is to be found in the important and interest- ing journey of Hearne, from Prince of Wales' Fort to the Northern Ocean, brought to a successful termination in 1772, which, in its origin and progress, merits our particular attention. The native Indians, who range over rather than inhabit the large tract of country north of Churchill River, having repeatedly brought specimens of copper ore to the company's factory, it was plausibly conjectured that these had been found not far from the British settlements; and as the savages affirmed that the mines were not very distant from a large river, it was imagined, most erroneously as was proved by the result, that this stream must empty itself into Hudson's Bay. In 1768, the Indians, who came to trade at Prince of Wales' Fort, brought farther accounts of this river, exhibiting at the same time samples of copper, which they affirmed to be the produce of a mine in its vicinity. The governor now resolved to despatch an intelligent person across the continent to obtain more precise informa- tion. Samuel Hearne was chosen for this service, a man of great hardihood and sagacity, bred in the employment of the company, and who, without pretensions to high scien- tific attainments, possessed sufficient knowledge to enable him to construct a chart of the country through which he travelled. His instructions directed him to proceed to the 1769.] iiearne's first jour:^ey. 113 borders of the country of the Athabasca Indians, where it was expected he would meet with a river represented by the Indians to abound with copper ere, and to be so far to the north that in the middle of summer the sun did not set. It was called by the natives Neetha-san-san Dazey, or the Far-off Metal River; and Mr. Ilearne was directed to explore its course to the mouth, where he was to determine the latitude and longitude, to ascertain whether it was navigable, and to judge of the practicability of a settlement. lie was enjoined also to examine the mines alleged to exist in that district, the nature of the soil and its productions, and to make every inquiry and observation towards dis- covering the north-west passage.* On the 6th of November 1769 he set out from Prince of Wales' Fort, Hudson's Bay, upon this perilous journey. He was accompanied by two Englishmen only — Ilbester, a sailor, and Merriman, a landsman ; by two of the Home- guard Southern Indians — a name given to those natives residing as servants on the company's plantation, and era- ployed in hunting ; and by eight Northern Indians, under the command of Captain Chawchinahaw and Lieutenant Nabyah. He was provided with ammunition for two years, some necessary iron implements, a few knives, tobacco, and other useful articles. As to his personal outfit, his stock consisted simply of the shirt and clothes he wore, one spare coat, a pair of draw^ers, as much cloth as would make two or three pairs of Indian stockings, and a blanket for his bed. "The nature of travelling long journeys," he observes, " in these countries will not admit of carrying even the most common article of clothing ; so that the traveller is obliged to depend on the district he traverses for his dress as well as his sustenance." The baseness and treachery of the H * Iloarne's Journey, Introduction, p. 40. 114 ITS FAILURE. [1769. i ll I I Indians, however, soon put a period to the first journey, and the desertion of Chawchinahaw, with his whole escort, rendered it absolutely necessary for the little party to make the best of their way back to the fort, where they arrived on the 8th of December, after penetrating only two hundred miles into the interior. It was now determined to resume the expedition with greater precautions against failure. The Indian women who accompanied their husbands in the firsl, journey were left behind, as were the two Englishmen, who had been of little service ; and instead of the treacherous Chawchinahaw, Hearne selected an Indian named Connequeesee, who affirmed he was acquainted with the country, having once been near the river, the discovery of which formed one great object of the journey. Attended by this man, along with three Northern Indians and two of the Home-guard natives, the traveller once more set out on the 23d February, whilst the snow was so deep on the top of the ramparts of the fort, that few of the cannon could be seen. After undergoing the severest extremities from hunger and fatigue, Mr. Hearne reached in August the River Doobaunt, in latitude 63'' 10' rorth. The progress thus far, however, had been painful beyond measure, owing to the difficulty of pushing forward through a wild unexplored country, intersected with rivers, lakes, and woods, at the outset thickly covered with snow ; and on the approach of the warmer months so flooded and marshy, as to render travelling on foot inex- pressibly fatiguing. To add to this, the voracity, improvi- dence, and indolence of the Indians, subjected the party to repeated distress. If from fishing or hunting a larger supply than usual was procured, instead of using it with moderation, and laying up a store for future necessities, all was devoured by the savages, who, like the boa after he iled themselves up, and remained has gorged his prey, 1770.] HIS SEVERE SUFFERINGS. 115 in a state of sleepy torpor till the call of hunger again roused them to activity. At first the party subsisted without difficulty on the fish which abounded in the lakes and rivers ; but in the begin- ning of April they entirely disappeared ; and as the " goose season," or period when the geese, swans, ducks, and other migratory birds, resort to these latitudes, waj yet distant, they began to suffer grievously from want of provisions. Occasionally they were relieved by killing a few deer or musk-oxen; but the ground and the brushwood were so saturated with moisture from the melting of the snow, that to kindle a fire was impossible. With their clothes drenched in rain, and their spirits depressed^ they were compelled to eat their meat raw— a necessity grievous at all times, but in the case of the flesh of the musk-ox, which is rank, tough, and strongly impregnated with the sickening sub- stance from which it derives its name, peculiarly repulsive and unwholesome.* The simple and modest manner in which these severe sufferings are described by Hearne is peculiarly striking. " To record," says he, " in detail each day's fare since the commencemant of this journey, would be little more than a dull repetition of the same occurences. A sufficient idea of it may be given in a few words, by observing that it may justly be said to have been either all feasting or all famine ; sometimes we had too much, seldom just enough, frequently too little, and often none at all. It will be only necessary to say, that we fasted many times two whole days and nights, twice upwards of three days, and once, while at Shenanhee, near seven days, during which we tasted not a mouthful of anything, except a few cranberries, water, scraps of old leather, i burnt bones." On the SP" ■nressiiio' * Heame's Journey, p. 3? 116 HIS SEVERE SUFFERINGS. [1771. occasions, Heame often saw the Indians examine their wardrobe, which consisted chiefly of skin clothing, consider- ing attentively what part could best be spared, when some- times a piece of half-rotten deer-skin, and at others a pair of old shoes, would be sacrificed to alleviate extreme hunger. " None of our natural wants," he observes, " if we except thirst, are so distressing or hard to endure as hunger, and in wandering situations like that which I now expenenced, the hardship is greatly aggravated by the uncertainty with regard to its duration, and the means most proper to be used to remove it, as well as by the labour and fatigue we must necessarily undergo for that pui-pose, and the disap- pointments which too frequently frustrated our best concerted plans and most strenuous exertions. It not only enfeebles the body, but depresses the spirits, in spite of every effort to prevent it. Besides which, for want of action, the sto- mach so far loses its digestive powers, that, after long fast- ing, it resumes its office with pain and reluctance. During this journey I have too frequently experienced the dreadful effects of this calamity, and more than once been reduced to so low a state by hunger and fatigue, that when Provi- dence threw anything in my way, my stomach has been scarcely able to retain more than two or three ounces without producing the most oppressive pain."* On 30th June they arrived at a small river called Caflia- whachaga, which empties itself into White Snow Lake, in 64« north latitude. Here, as the guide declared they could not that summer reach the Coppermine River, Hearne detemined to pass the winter, with the intention of pushmg on to his destination in 1771. They accordingly forsook their northward route, and taking a westerly course, were joined in a few days by many troops of wandering Indians ; I * Hearne's Journey, p. 33. mi.] RETURN FROM CA' lAWHACHAGA. 117 80 that by the 30th July they mustered about seventy tents, containing nearly six hundred souls, and on moving in the morning the whole ground seemed alive with men, women, children, and dogs. The deer were so plenty that, though lately five or six individuals had almost perished from hunger, this numerous body supported themselves with great ease, and often killed their game for the skins, leaving the carcass to be devoured by the foxes.* In this manner, engaged alternately in hunting and fishing, making obser- vations on the country, and studying the extraordinary manners of his associates, the English traveller was pre- paring for his winter sojourn, when an accident rendered his quadrant useless, and compelled him, on 13th August, to set out on his return to the fort. The hardships he endured on his route homeward were various and accumulated : He was plundered by the Nor- thern Indians, who, adding insult to injury, entered his tent, smoked a pipe which they filled with the white man's tobacco, asked to see his luggage, and without waiting for an answer, turned the bag inside out, and spread every article on the ground. The work of appropriation was equally rapid, and the empty bag was flung to the owner ; but a fit of compunction seizing them, they restored a knife, an awl, and a needle. On begging hard for his razors, they consented to give up one, and added enough of soap to shave him during the remainder of his journey, making him understand that the surrender of these articles called for his wannest gratitude. As the cold weather approached, the party thus plundered suffered grievously from want of that warm deer- skin clothing used by the Indians at this season. A dress of this kind is rather costlv, requirinp" the prime vavts of from --...J 5 * Hearne's Journey, p. 40. 118 HEARNE MEETS MATONABBEE. [1771. eight to eleven skins. These Heame at last managed to collect; but as the Indian women alone could prepare them, he was compelled to carry this load along with him from day to day, earnestly begging the natives at each suc- cessive resting-place to permit their wives to dress his skins. He met, however, with a surly and uniform refusal ; and at last, after bearing the burden for several weeks, was forced to throw it off, and sustain the cold as he best could, without either skin-clothing or snow-shoes. When con- tinuing their course in this forlorn condition to the south- east, they met with Captain Matonabbee, a powerful and intelligent chief, who was then on his way to Prince of Wales' Fort with furs and other articles of trade. It was this person who brought the accounts of the Coppermine River, which induced the company to fit out the expedi- tion, and he was naturally interested in its success. He evinced the utmost activity in relieving their wants, fur- nished them with a warm suit of otter and other skins ; und, not being able to provide them with snow-shoes, directed them to a small range of woods, where they found materials for both shoes and sledges. Matonabbee then treated the party to a feast, and took occasion, in his con- versation with Hearne, to explain the causes of his failure, and to offer his assistance in a third expedition. He attri- buted all their misfortunes to the misconduct of the guide^ and to their having no women with them. " In an expedi- tion of this kind," said he, " when all the men are so heavily laden that they neither can hunt nor travel to any consid- erable distance, in case they meet with success in hunting, who is to carry the produce of their labour? Women were made for labour; one of them can carry or haul as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and, in fact, there is no such thing as travelling any considerable dis- } k 1771-] HEARNE S THIRD JOURNEY. 119 tance, or for any length of time, in this country without them ; and yet though they do everything, they are main- tained at a trifling expense; for, as they always act the t*ook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is sufficient for their subsistence."* Assisted by this friendly chief, the English traveller again set forward, and after experiencing an intense degree of cold, by which the favourite dog in his sledge was frozen to death, he reached the fort on 25th November, having been absent eight months and twenty-two days. Matonabbee arrived a few days after. Though twice compelled to return, Hearne, whose spirit was not to be overcome by fatigue or disappointment, offered his services to proceed on a third journey, which was ultimately crowned with success. For this he engaged Matonabbee as guide, and declined taking any Home- guard Indians. Their place, however, was occupied accord- ing to the principles already laid down, by seven of Maton- abbee's wives, who. by the assistance they afforded, did no disparagement to the singular picture of female activity which he had drawn. They set out on the 7 th of Decem- ber, and notwithstanding frequent privations, want of food, and intense cold, their sufferings were not so aggravated as in the former attempts. The country through which they passed towards the west was wild and barren, occa- sionally covered with thick shrubby woods of stunted pine and dwarf juniper, studded with frequent lakes and swamps whose sides were fringed with willows. Through this ground they travelled in high spirits, but rather on short commons, owing to the scarcity of deer and the impro- vidence of the Indians, who consumed everything in the store during the first days of their march, trusting to find * Heame'8 Journey, p. 55. 120 CATCHIlsa DEER IN A POUND. [1772. a stock of provisions which they had hid in a certain spot on their way to the fort. On reaching the place, however, they discovered that the provisions had been carried off; and the equanimity with which the Indians bore the dis- appointment, and travelled fonvard under the conjoined miseries of hunger and fatigue, was very striking. At last they succeeded in killing a few deer, and halted to take some refreshment. For a whole day they never ceased eating, and an additional repast on two large buck-deer, which they killed a few days after, at last fairly overcame Captain Matonabbee, who, after devouring at one sitting as much as would have satisfied six moderate men, seemed somewhat unreasonably astonished to find himself indisposed. Having recovered from the effects of this surfeit, they proceeded from Island Lake towards the main branch of the Cathawhachaga, which they crossed, and directing their course by Partridge Lake and Snow Bird Lake, arrived on the 2d March at a large tent of Northern Indians, not far from, the Doobaunt Whole River. Although these people had remained in the same spot since the beginning of winter, they found a plentiful subsistence by catching deer in a pound. Their mode of accomplishing this is to select a well-frequented deer-path, and enclose with a strong fence of twisted trees and brushwood a space about a mile in circumference, and somethnes more. The entrance of the pound is not larger than a common gat»., and its inside is crowded with innumerable small hedges, in the openings of which are fixed snares of strong well-twisted thongs. One end is generally fastened to a growing tree; and as all the wood and jungle within the enclosure is left standing, its interior forms a complete labyrinth. On each side of the door, a line of small trees, stuck up in the snow fifteen or twenty yards apart, form two sides of an acute angle, widening gradually from the entrance, from which they 1 120 W a stock of on their w they disco and the ei appointrae miseries o they succ€ some refri eating, an which the Captain I as much i somewhat Having proceeded the Catha course by the 2d M from the had reraj winter, tl in a poun well-freqi of twistei eircumfei pound is crowded which an end is ge: wood and interior £• door, a li r ■f". i.' •tfijoinotl . .. -. At last. i halted to take •i '.rhnfo uey never ceased 1 ■ ■ ' . 1 InriTC buck-deer lav<5 f. : :Ir]v avorcr.m<" :; ■.■ ■• :, -iinf^ ■' met^. seemed -r'0<»pi?. :if!OTm hae'a, which tbt'verossgf . . . ' - i Snow Bird Lake, annved vy «^Ai.wxvy* twenty yarus apart, ivnu. twu oiuv^o k> widening gradually from the entrance, from which they I DEEK-HUNTINa. When all things are prepared, the Indians take their station on some eminence commanding a prospect of this path, and ihe moment any deer are seen going tliai way the whole encampment steal under cover of tlie woods till they get behind them. They then sliow themselves in the open ground, and drawing up in the form of a crescent advance. — Page 121. rM, ' 177S som of I all son the enc co\ Bb( th( fin th( tb gc "I ro tl] SI n ( / 1772.] THELEWEY-AZA-WETII. 121 sometimes extend two or three miles. Between these rows of brushwood runs the path frequented by the deer. When all things a^e prepared, the Indians take thdr station on some eminence commanding a prospect of this path and the moment any deer are seen going that way, the whole encampment-men, women, and children -steal under cover of the woods till they get behind them. They then show themselves in the open ground, and, drawing up m the foi-m of a crescent, advance with shouts. The deer finding themselves pursued, and at the same time imagining the rows of brushy poles to be people stationed to prevent their passing on either side, inin straight forward till they get into the pound. The Indians instantly close m, block up the entrance, and whilst the women and children run round the outside to prevent them from breaking or leapmg the fence, the men enter with their spears and bows, and speedily despatch such as are caught in the snares or art running loose.* . , M'Lean, a gentleman who spent twenty-five years in the Hudson's Bay territories, assures us that, on one occasion, he and a party of men entrapped and slaughtered in this way a herd of three hundred deer in two hours. On the 8th of April they reached an island m a small lake named Thelewey-aza-weth, and pitched their tent; and as the deer were numerous, and the party, which had been joined by various wandering Indians, now amounted to seventy persons, they determined to remain for some time, and make preparations for their enterprise m the ensuing summer. They were busily employed during their intervals from hunting, in providing staves of birch about one and a quarter inch square and seven or eight feet long, which served for tent-poles all the summer, and * Hearne's Journey, p. 78-80. 122 NORTHERN INDIAN WOMEN [1112. were converted into snow-shoes in winter. Birch-rind, with timbers and other wood for cano?.fl, formed also ob- jects of attention; and as Clowey, the place fixed upon for building their canoes, was still many miles distant, all the wood was reduced to its proper size, to make it light for carriage. At this place Matonabbee solaced himself by purchasing from some Northern Indians another wife, who for size and sinews might have shamed a grenadier. " Take them in a body," says Hearne, " and the Indian women are as destitute of real beauty as those of any nation I ever saw, although there are some few of them when young who are tolerable; but the care of a family, added to their constant hard labour, soon make the most beautiful amongst them look old and wrinkled, even before they are thirty, and several of the more ordinary ones at that age are perfect antidotes to the tender passion. Ask a Northern Indian what is beauty? he will answer, a broad flat face, small eyes, high cheek-bones, three or four broad black lines across each cheek, a low forehead, a large broad chin, a hook nose, and a tawny hide. These beauties are greatly heightened, or at least rendered more valuable, if the possessor is capable of dressing all kinds of skins, and able to carry eight or ten stone in summer, and to haul a far greater weight in winter. Such and similar accom- plishments are all that are sought after or expected in an Indian Northern woman. As to their temper, it is of little consequence ; for the men have a wonderful facility in making the most stubborn com ply with as much alacrity as could be expected from those of the mildest and most obliging turn of mind."* Before starting from this station, Matonabbee took the precaution of sending in advance a small party with the * Hearne'8 Journey, pp. 89, 90. 1772.] TREATED WITH CRUELTY. 123 wood and birch-rind ; they were directed to press forward to Clowey, a lake near the barren ground, and there build the boat, to be ready upon their arrival. When the journey was about to be resumed, one of the women was taken in labour. The moment the poor creature was delivered, " which," says Heame, " was not till she had suffered a severe labour of fifty-two hours," the signal was made for setting forward ; the mother took her infant on her back, and walked with the rest ; and though another person had the humanity to haul her sledge for one day only, she was obliged to carry a considerable load in ad- dition to her little one, and was compelled frequently to wade knee-deep in water and wet snow. Amidst all this, her looks, pale and emaciated, and the moans which burst from her, sufficiently proved the intolerable pain she en- dured, but produced no effect upon the hard hearts of her husband and his companions. When an Indian woman is taken in labour, a small tent is erected for her, at such a distance from the encampment that her cries cannot be heard, and the other women are her attends *, no male except children in arms ever offering to ap;j^'oach; and even in the most critical cases tio assistance is ever given — a conduct arising from ilm opinion that nature is sufficient to perform all that is necessary. When Hearne informed them of the assistance derived by European women from the skill and attention of regular practitioners, their answer was ironical and characteristic : " No doubt." said they, " the manv hump-backs, bandy legs, and oth(>r deformities so common amongst you English, are owing to the great skill of the persons who assisted in bringinir them into the world, and to the extraordinary care of their nurses after- wards."* * Heame's Journey, p. 93. 124 ARRIVAL AT CLOWEY. [1772. In eleven days they travelled a distance of eighty -five miles, and on 3d May arrived at Clowey, where they were j oined by some strange Indians, and commenced the im- portant business of building their canoes. The party sent ahead for this purpose arrived only two days before, and had made no progress in joining the timbers they had car- ried along with them. The whole tools used by an Indian in this operation, in making snow-shoes and all other kinds of wood-work, are a hatchet, a knife, a file, and an awl ; but in the use of these they are very dexterous. In shape, their canoes bear some resemblance to a weaver's shuttle, having flat-bottoms, with straight upright sides, and sharp at each end. The stern is the widest part, being con- structed for the reception of the baggage ; and occasionally it admits a second person, who lies at full length in the bottom of the little vessel, which seldom exceeds twelve or thirteen feet in length, and about twenty inches or two feet in breadth at the widest part. The forepart is un- necessarily long and narrow, and covered with birch -bark, v/hich adds to the weight without contributing to the burden of the canoe. The Indians, for the most part, employ a single paddle ; double ones like those of the Esquimaux are seldom used unless by hunters, who lie in ambush for the purpose of killing deer as they cross rivers and narrow lakes. Upon the whole, their vessels, though formed of the same materials as those of the Southern Indians, are much smaller and lighter; and, from the extreme simpli- city of build, are the best that could be contrived for the necessities of these poor savages, who are frequently obliged to carry them upon their back a hundred and sometimes one hundred and fifty miles, without having occasion to launch them. At Clowey the expedition was joined by nearly two hundred Indians from various quarters, most of whom 1772.] JOINED BY MANY INDIANS. 125 built canoes there ; and on the 23d May, Mr. Hearne and Matonabbee, whose character and consequence effectually protected the white man from plunder, proceeded north- ward. For some time they met with no distresses, except those occasioned by the intense cold, which had been pre- ceded by thunder-storms and torrents of rain. Misfortune, however, now attacked Matonabbee on the tender side of his eight wives, the handsomest of whom eloped in the night, accompanied by another woman. Both having been carried off by force, it was suspected they had fled to the eastward, with the plan of rejoining their former husbands. Scarce had the savage polygamist recovered from this blow, when he experienced a fresh mortification : An Indian of great strength, from whom Matonabbee a short time before had purchased a stout, and therefore valuable wife, insisted on taking her back, imless he instantly surrendered a cer- tain quantity of ammunition, a kettle, some pieces of iron, and other articles. The hardship of this case arose from an extraordinary custom, by which the men are permitted to wrestle for any woman to whom they are attached, the victorious party carrying off the prize. It is for this reason that the greatest emulation prevails in all athletic exercises among the young Indians; and the children are perpetually seen trying their powers in wrestling, under the idea that this is the ed^ication which will chiefly benefit them when they grow up. A weak man seldom long retains a wife whose services another wants ; for when the help-mates of an able-bodied savage are too heavily laden with furs or provisions, he makes no scruple of seizing the spouse of his weaker neighbour, and transferring part of the burden to her back; whilst, if the injured party cannot challenge the aggressor to a wrestling-match, he must not otherwise com- plain. The distress, therefore, of Matonabbee upon this occasion may be easily accounted for, as he was wounded 126 MATONABBEE'S PRIDE. [1772. I in his pride and in his property, if not in his affections. But a personal contest was out of the question, and he was obliged to purchase his favourite over again, by yielding up all that was demanded by his antagonist. This affair had nearly proved a serious obstacle to the expedition; for BO bitterly did the chief resent the affront, entertaining the highest ideas of his personal consequence, that he had re- solved, like a Coriolanus of the New World, to renounce all farther alliance with his countrymen, and join the Athabasca Indians, among whom he had formerly resided. But Hearne strenuously opposed this project, and at last suc- ceeded in dissuading him from it.* Having agreed to proceed, Matonabbee, for the better prosecution of the enterprise, determined to make some new arrangements : He selected his two youngest wives, who were unencumbered with children, as alone worthy to ac- company him, whilst the remainder, with all their luggage and a considerable number of the men, were commanded to await the return of the party from the Coppermine River. This change of plan, however, was not carried through without difficulty. When the hour of separation came, and Matonabbee and Hearne set out in the evening of 31st May, a low murmur of lamentation proceeded from the tents of the women who were left behind, which, run- ning through all the notes of increasing grief, at last burst into a loud yell. This continued as long ns the party were in sight ; nor was it without much angry expostulation that some of them were prevented from following their husbands. The Indians, however, regarded all this, which deeply affected their European associate, with indifference, walking forward without casting behind them a single look or word of. sympathy, and joyfully congratulating themselves on * Hearne 's Journey, pp. Ill, 112. 1772.] THE PARTY CROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. 127 getting rid of the women, dogs, children, and other encum- brances, which added so greatly to the toil of the journey. One article they all carried, although to Heame it appeared unnecessary, considering the expedition to be pacific : this was a target of thin boards two feet broad, and abo'at three feet long. On inquiring for what purpose these shields were to be used, he discovered that the main consideration which reconciled the Indians to this expedition was the hope of attacking and murdering the Esquimaux who fre- quented the Coppermine River, between whom and the other Indian tribes there had long existed a deadly enmity. All the arguments employed by Heame were insufficient to dissuade them from these hostile intentions. The party having crossed the Arctic circle, arrived at Cogead Lake, which they found frozen over ; so that they traversed its creeks and bays without the aid of their canoes. Thence they directed their course due north, till they me' --'i^-h a branch of the Congecathawhachaga River, where eoruc Copper Indians received them with great kind- ness, and readily sent all their canoes to their assistance — a piece of courtesy particularly seasonable, as the ice had now broken up. To these Indians Heame explained the object of his journey, and his guide being personally known to them, they treated the party, which consisted of one hundred and fifty persons, with distinguished honour. A feast was given, the English traveller smoked with them his calumet of peace, and their chiefs expressed the greatest anxiety that a European settlement should be established in the neighbourhood of the Coppermine River. They acknowledged they had never found the sea at the mouth of the river free from ice; but with singular simplicity seemed to consider this a very trifling objection, observing that the water was alvvavs so smooth between the ice and the ' hore that even small boats could sail there with great 128 VARIATIONS IN THE CLIMATE. [1772. ease; and inferring that what a canoe could do, a large ship must be sure to accomplish. As Hearne was the first white man they had seen, he was surrounded by numbers, who examined him with the utmost minuteness. The re- sult, however, was satisfactory ; for they at last pronounced him to be a perfect human being, except in the colour of his hair and eyes. The first, they insisted, was like the stained hair of a buffalo's tail, and the last, being light, were compared to those of a gull. The whiteness of his skin, also, was a circumstance on which they demurred a little, observing that it looked like meat which had been sodden in water till all the blood was extracted. He con- tinued, however, to be viewed with a mixture of curiosity and admiration, and at his toilet was generally attended by a body of the Indians, who, when he used his comb, asked for the hairs which came off. These they carefully wrapped up, saying, "When I see you again, you shall again see your hair."* On reaching Congecathawhachaga, in latitude 68® 46 north, Matonabbee deemed it expedient to leave all the women, taking the precaution to kill as many deer as were necessary for their support during his absence. The flesh was cut into thin slices and dried in the sun — a frequent mode of preserving it in these high northern latitudes, by which it is kept palatable and nourishing for a twelve- month. Having completed these arrangements, the party resumed their journey on the 1st of July, proceeding amidst dreadful storms of snow, and occasional torrents of rain, which drenched them to the skin, through a barren and desolate country, where it was impossible with the wet moss and green brushwood to kindle a fire. Compelled to take shelter in caves at night — for they had no tents — * Heame's Journey, p. 122. 1772.] INDIAN COOKERY. 129 obliged to eat their meat raw, with the enjoyment of no higher luxury than a pipe, they yet pushed forward with unshaken perseverance, and, after a week of great suffer- ing, had the comfort to observe a complete change in the weather, which first became moderate, and soon after so sultry that it was sometimes impossible to move at all. Early on the morning of the 13th July, the expedition crossed a long chain of hills, from the top of which they discerned a branch that joins the Coppermine, about forty miles from its influx into the sea. Here the Indians killed a few fine buck-deer, procured some excellent firewood, and, as it was not certain that so favourable an opportunity would soon occur again, they sat down with appetites sharpened by long privation, spirits raised by the recollec- tion of hardships overcome, and the almost certain prospect of ere long accomplishing the great object of their expedi- tion, to the most cheerful and comfortable meal they had enjoyed for a long period. The reader will be amused with Ilearne's description of this delicious repast, and of the mysteries of Indian cookery : — " As such favourable opportunities of indulging the appetite," says he, " happen but seldom, it is a general rule with the Indians, which we did not neglect, to exert every art in dressing their food which the most refined skill in Indian cooking has been able to invent, and which consists chiefly in boiling, broil- ing, and roasting ; but of all the dishes cooked by these people, a becatee, as it is called in their language, is cer- tainly the most delicious (at least for a change) which can be prepared from a deer only, without any other ingredient. It is a kind of Scotch ' haggis,' made with the blood, a good quantity of fat shred small, some of the tenderest of the flesh, together with the heart and lungs, cut, or more commonly torn, into small shivers— all which is put into the stomach and roasted, by being suspended over the fire I 130 THE COPPERMINE RIVER. [1772. by a string. Care must be taken that it does not get too much heat at first, as the bag would thereby be liable to be burnt, and the contents let out. When it is sufficiently done, it will emit a rich steam, in the same manner as a fowl or a joint of meat, which is as much as to say, * Come, eat me now !' and if it be taken in time, before the blood or the contents are too much done, it is certainly a most delicious morsel, even without pepper, salt, or any other seasoning."* Having regaled themselves in this sumptuous manner, and taken a few hours' rest, they once more set out, and, after a walk of nine or ten miles, at last arrived at the Coppermine. Scarcely had Hearne congratulated himself on reaching the great object of his mission, unpacked his surveying instruments, and prepared to follow its progress to the great Arctic Ocean, when one of those dark and terrible scenes occurred which are so strikingly character- istic of savage life. As soon as Matonabbee and his party gained the banks of the river, three spies were sent out to discover whether any Esquimaux were in the neighbour- hood. After a short absence, they returned with intelli- gence that they had seen five tents, about twelve miles distant, on the west side of the river. All was now warlike preparation : the guns, knives, and spears, were carefiiUy examined; and as they learned that the nature of the ground would render it easy to advance unperceived, it was deter- mined to steal upon their victims in this manner, and put them to death. This plan was executed with the most savage exactness; and nothing could present a more dread- ful view of human nature in its unenlightened state, than the perfect unanimity of purpose which pervaded the whole body of Indians upon this horrid occasion, although at otiicr tiiiics tiicy were in no rCopeet arnenaule to discipiinc. * Ilcarne's Journey, p. 144. 1772.] ATTACK ON THE ESQUIMAUX. 131 Each man first painted his target, some with a represen- tation of the sun, others of the moon, and several with the pictures of beasts and birds of prey, or of imaginary beings which they affirmed to be the inhabitants of the elements' upon whose assistance they relied for success in their enter-' prise. They then moved with the utmost stealth in the direc- tion of the tents, taking care not to cross any of the hills which concealed their approach. It was a miserable circum- stance that these poor creatures had taken up their abode m such ground that their enemies, without being observed formed an ambuscade not two hundred yards distant, and lay for some time watching the motions of the Esquimaux as If marking their victims. Here the last preparations for the attack were made: The Indians tied up their long black hair in a knot behind, lest it should be blown in their eyes ; painted their faces black and red, which gave them a hideous aspect ; deliberately tucked up the sleeves of their jackets close under the armpits, and pulled off their stockings ; whilst some, still more eager to render them- selves light for running, threw off their jackets, and stood with their weapons in their hands quite naked, except their breech-clothes and shoes. By the time all were ready it was near one o'clock in the morning; when, finding the Esquimaux quiet, they rushed from their concealment. In an instant, roused by the shouts of the savages, the unfor- tunate. wretches, men, women, and children, ran naked out of the tents, and attempted to escape ; but the Indians had surrounded them on the land side, and as none dared to leap into the river, all were murdered in cold blood; whilst Hearne, whom a regard for his personal safety had com- pelled to accompany the party, stood a short way off rooted to the ground in horror and agony. " The shrieks and groans of the poor expiring wretches," says he, iu his striking account of this dreadful episode in 132 DREADFUL MASSACRE. [1772. savage life, "were truly distressing ; and my horror wa.. much increased at seeing a young girl, about eighteen years of age, killed so near me that when the first spear was struck into her side she fell down at my feet and twisted round my legs, so that it was with difficulty that I could disengage myself from her dying grasp. As two Indian men pur- sued this unfortunate victim, I solicited very W ^r ^ler life • hut the murderers made no reply till they had stuck both their spears through her body, and transfixed her to the ground. They then looked me sternly in the face, and began to ridicule me by asking if I wanted an Esquimaux wife whilst they paid not the smallest regard to the shrieks and agony of the poor wretch, who was ti^ming round their spears like an eel. Indeed, after receiving from them much abusive language on the occasion, I was at length obliged to desire that they would be more expeditious in despatch- ing their victim out of her misery, otherwise I should be obliged out of pity to assist in the friendly office of puttmg an end to the existence of a fellow-creature who was so cruelly wounded. On this request being made, one of the Indians hastily drew his spear from the place where it was at first lodged, and pierced it through her breast near the heart The love of life, however, even in this most miser- able state, was so predominant, that though this might be justly called the most merciful act which could be done for the poor creature, it seemed to be unwelcome; for, though much exhausted by pain and loss of blood, she made several efforts to ward off the friendly blow. My situation and the terror of my mind at beholding this butchery cannot easily be conceived, much less described. Though I summoned all the fortitude I was master of on the occasion, it was with difficulty that I could refrain from tears ; and I am confi- dent that my features must have feelingly expressed how sincerely I was affected at the barbarous scene I then wit- 1772.] COPPEK MINES. 133 nessed. Even at this hour I cannot reflect on the transac- tions of that horrid day without shedding tears." * After making an accurate survey of the river till its junction with the sea, Hearne proceeded to one of the copper mines, which he found scarcely to deserve the name, it being nothing more than a chaotic mass of rocks and gravel, rent by an earthquake, or some other convulsion, into numerous fissures, through one of which flowed a small river. Although the Indians had talked in magnificent terms of this mine, after a search of four hours a solitary piece of ore was all that could be discovered ; and instead of pointing out the hills entirely composed of copper, and the quantities of rich ore with which they had affirmed it would be easy to freight a large vessel, they now told a ridiculous story of some insults offered to the goddess of the mine, who in revenge declared that she would sit upon it till she and it sunk together into the earth. In consequence of this threat, they next year found her sunk up to the waist, and the quantity of copper much decreased, whilst the fol- lowing summer she had entirely disappeared, and the whole mine along with her. In reaching the sea, Hearne had accomplished the great object of his journey, and his homeward route did not vary materially from his course to the Arctic Ocean. On 31st July they arrived at the place where the Indians had left their families, and on 9th August resumed their course to the south-west ; travelling, with frequent intervals of rest, till, on 24th November, they reached the northern shore of the great Athabasca Lake. In this latitude, at this season, the sun's course formed an extremely small segment of a circle above the horizon, scarcely rising half-way up the trees ; but the brilliancy of the stars, and the vivid and 134 BUFFALO HUNTING [1772. beautiful light emitted by the aurora borealis, even without the aid of the moon, amply compensated for the want of the sun, so that at midnight Hcarne could see to read very small print. In the deep stillness of the night, also, these northern meteors were distinctly heard to make a rushing and crackling noise, like the waving of a large flag in a fresh gale of wind.* According to the information of the natives, the Athabasca Lake is nearly one hundred and twenty leagues long from east to west, and twenty wide from north to south. It was beautifully studded with islands, covered with tall poplars, birch, and pines, which were plentifully stocked with deer, and abounded with pike, trout, and barbie, besides the species known by the Indians under the names of tittameg, methy, and shees. The country through which they had hitherto travelled had been extremely barren and hilly, covered with stunted firs and dwarf willows ; but it now subsided into a fine plain, occasionally varied with tall woods, and well stocked with buffalo and moose-deer. The party spent some days with much pleasure in hunting ; and as the flesh of the younger buffaloes was delicious, their exhausted stock of provisions was seasonably supplied. The bison or buffalo is, in appearance, one of the most terrific animals in America, and perhaps in the whole world. It roams the boundless prairies in immense herds, and its flesh forms the principal food of the Indian tribes who dwell there; while its hide, covered with long shaggy hair, supplies them with bedding and raiment. It is hunted on foot, but more frequently on horseback, and a more exciting species of chase can scarcely be imagined. Cat- lin, who spent several years among the Indians at the head- waters of the Missouri, gives many animated accounts * Heame's Journey, p. 224. 134 beautiful li| the aid of tl 8un, so the small print. northern m and crackli fresh gale < natives, th twenty leaj north to so ■ covered wi plentifully trout, and under the luuncs -u viiuiuii: The cou had been e firs and d plain, occa with buffa with mucl younger b provisions The Ui terrific an world. Il and its fl( who dwell hair, supp on foot, 1: exciting e lin, who head-wate u:CU fiian tribes? . liidlai! ::Hi * liearnes joiimey, p. ^^'*. ; . lie •{«■>" ?^?aV\.~ BUFFALO HUNTING. ^ 'at- The Bison or Buffalo is, in appearance, one of the most terrific animals in Amercia, and perhaps in the wliole world. . . . It is hunted on Coot, hut more frequently on hoi-seback ; and a more exciting species of chase can scarcely be imagineil. — I'age la4. Btaammm ^^J^^^W^"' -^#- 17 1 ■ of of m re an th M th he th *a us M y^ mi as so in we W th (a an ni! un in( bu th tri or of \ in let i 1772.] IN THE PRAIRIES. 135 of his rencontres with the buffalo. The following sketch of a hunting excursion made by him, with several gentle- men and Indians belonging to a trading company in these regions, will show how these huge monsters are destroyed, and what risks are encountered by those who destroy them : — "As we were mounted," says he, "and ready to start, M'Kenzie called up some four or five of his men, and told them to follow immediately on our trail, with as many one- horse carts, which they were to harness up, to bring home the meat : ' Ferry them across the river in the scow,' <^ lid he, ' and, following our trail through the bottom, you will find US on the plain yonder, between the Yellowstone and the Missouri Rivers, with meat enough to load you home.* * * * We all crossed the river, and galloped away couple of miles or so, when we mounted the bluff; and, to be sure, as was said, there was in full view of us a fine herd of some four or five hundred buffaloes, perfectly at rest, and in their own estimation (probably) perfectly secure. Some were grazing, and others were lying down and sleeping. We advanced within a mile or so of them in full view, and then came to a halt. Mons. Chardon ' tossed the feather * (a custom always observed, to try the course of the wind), and we commenced ' stripping,' as it is termed {t. e., every man strips himself and his horse of every extraneous and unnecessary appendage of dress, &c., that might be an incumbrance in running) : hats are laid off, and coats, and bullet-pouches ; sleeves are rolled up, a handkerchief tied tightly round the head, and another round the waist ; car- tridges are prepared, and placed in the waistcoat pocket, or half-a-dozen bullets ' throwed into the mouth,' &c.; all of which takes up some ten or fifteen minutes, and is not, in appearance or in effect, unlike a council of war. Our leader lays the whole plan of the chase ; and, preliminaries 136 BUFFALO HUNTING [1772. 'f being fixed, guns charged, and ramrods in our hands, we mount and start for the onset. The horses are all trained for this business, and seem to enter into it with as much enthusiasm, and with as restless a spirit, as the riders them''ylves. While ' stripping' and mounting, they exhibit the most restless impatience ; and when ' approaching' (which is all of us abreast, at a slow walk, and in a straight line towards the herd, until they discover us and run), they all seem to have caught entirely the spirit of the chase, for the laziest nag among them prances with an elasticity in his step — champing his bit, his ears erect, his eyes strained out of his head, and fixed upon the game before him, whilst he trembles under the saddle of his rider. In this way we carefully and silently marched, until within some forty or fifty rods, when the herd discovering us, wheeled and laid their course in a mass. At this instant we all started (and all must start, for no one could check the fury of those steeds at that moment of excitement), and away we sailed, and over the prairie flew, in a cloud of dust which was raised by their trampling hoofs. M'Kenzie was foremost in the throng, and soon dashed off amidst the dust, and was out of sight — he was after the fattest and fastest. I had discovered a huge bull, whose shoulders towered above the whole band, and I picked my way through the crowd to make my way alongside of him. I went not for ' meat,' but for a trophy : I wanted his head and horns. I dashed along through the thundering mass, as they swept away over the plain, scarcely able to tell whether I was on a buffalo's back or on m^'^ horse — hit, hooked, and jostled about, till at length I found myself alongside of my game, when I gave him a shot as I passed him. I saw guns flash in several directions about me, but I heard them not. Amidst the trampling throng, Mons. Chardon had wounded a stately bull, and at this moment was passing him again, 1772.] IN THE PRAIRIES. I 137 with his piece levelled for another shot; they were both at full speed— and I also— within the reach of the muzzle of my gun, when the bull instantly turned, receiving the horse upon his horns, and the ground received poor Char- don, who made a frog's leap of some twenty feet or more over the bull's back, and almost under my horse's heels. I wheeled my horse as soon as possible, and rode back to where Chardon lay, gasping to start his breath again ; and, within a few paces of him, his huge victim, with his heels high in the air, and his horse lying across him. I dismounted instantly; but Chardon was raising himself on his hands, with his eyes and mouth full of dirt, and feeling for his gun, which lay about thirty feet in advance of him!"* Dr. Richardson relates an anecdote which illustrates the danger sometimes encountered in hunting the buffalo on foot : " While I resiJed at Carlton House," says he, " Mr. Finnan M'Donald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's clerks, was descending the Saskatchewan in -t, and one evening, having pitched his tent for the nighc, he went out in the dusk to look for game. It had become nearly dark, when he fired at a bison-bull, which was galloping over a small eminence; and as he was hastening forward to see if his shot had taken effect, the wounded beast made a rush at him. He had presence of mind to seize the animal by the long hair on its forehead, as it struck him on the side with its horn; and being a remarkably tall and powerful man, a struggle ensued, which continued until his wrist was severely sprained, and his arm rendered powerless. He then fell, and after receiving two or three blows, became senseless. Shortly after, he was found by his companions lying bathed in blood, being gored iia * Catlin's North American Indians, vol. i. pp. 25, 26. 138 EXTRAORDINARY STORY [1772. several places; and the bison was couched beside him, apparently waiting to renew the attack had he shown any signs of life. Mr. M 'Donald recovered from the immediate eflfects of the injuries he had received, but died a few months afterwards." In one of their excursions an incident occurred strikingly characteristic of savage life. Hearne and his party came suddenly on the track of a strange snow-shoe, and follow- ing it to a wild part of the country, remote from any human habitation, they discovered a hut, in which a young Indian woman was sitting alone. She had lived for the last eight moons in absolute solitude, and recounted with affecting simplicity the circumstances by which she had been driven from her own people. She belonged, she said, to the tribe of the Dog-ribbed Indians, and in an inroad of the Atha- basca nation, in the summer of 1770, had been taken pri- soner. The savages, according to their invariable practice, stole upon the tents in the night, and murdered before her face her father, mother, and husband, whilst she and three other young women were reserved from the slaughter, and made captive. Her child, four or five months old, she contrived to carry with her, concealed among some cloth- ing; but on arriving at the place where the party had left their wives, her precious bundle was examined by the Athabasca women, one of whom tore the infant from its mother, and killed it on the spot. In Europe, an act so inhuman would, in all probability, have been instantly fol- lowed by the insanity of the parent; but in North America, though maternal affection is equally intense, the nerves are more sternly strung. So horrid a cruelty, however, deter- mined her, though the man whose property she had become was kind and careful of her, to take the first opportunity of * Fauna Boreali Americana, vol. i., p. 281. 1772.] OF AN INDIAN WOMAN. 139 escaping, with the intention of returning to her own nation- but the great distance, and the numerous winding rivers and creeks she had to pass, caused her to lose the wav, and winter coming on, she had built a hut in this secluded spot. When discovered, she was in good health, well fed, and, in the opinion of Heame, one of the finest Indian women he had ever seen. Five or six inches of hoop made into a knife, and the iron shank of an arrow-head which served as an awl, were the only implements she possessed; and with these she made snow-shoes and other useful articles. For subsistence she snared partridges, rabbits, and squirrels, and had killed two or three beavers and some porcupines. After the few deer- sinews she had brought with her were expended in making snares and sewing her clothing, she supplied their place with the sinews of rab- bits' legs, which she twisted together with great dexterity. Thus occupied, she not only became reconciled to her deso- late situation, but had found time to amuse herself by manufacturing little pieces of personal ornament. Her clothing was formed of rabbit-skins sewed together; the materials, though rude, being tastefully disposed, so as to make her garb assume a pleasing though desert-bred appearance. The singular circumstances under which she was found, her beauty and useful accomplishments, occa- sioned a contest among the Indians, as to who should have her for a wife; and the matter being decided, she accom- panied them in their journey. On 1 st March they left the level country of the Athabascas, and approached the stony hills bounding the territories of the Northern Indians, tra- versing which they arrived in safety at Prince of Wales' Fort on the 29th of June 1772, having been absent eighteen months and twenty-three days. The journey of Hearne must be regarded as forming an important era in the geography of America. For some 140 NORTH-WEST FUR COMPANY. [1772. time it liad been supposed that this vast continent extended in an almost unVdcen mass towards the Pole; and we find it thus depicted in the maps of that period. The cir- cumstance of Heame having reached the shore of the great Arctic Ocean at once demonstrated the fallacy of all such ideas. It threw a new and clear light upon the structure of this portion of the globe, and resting upon the results thus distinctly ascertained, the hunian mind, indefatigable in the pursuit of knowledge, started forward in a careei of still more enlarged and interesting discovery.* Whilst the Hudson's Bay Company, by the mission of Mr. Hearns, vindicated their character from the ciiarge of indifferenc';; to the oau?!e of geographical discovery, another institution had arisu". imder the title of the North- West Fur Company, which, thoagii ii did not rest on a royal charter, and had experk r; i c! in its earliest exertions many severe reverses, at la^i arri\ed, by the intelligence and perseverance of its partners and servants-, at a degree of prosperity which surpassed the chartered companies of France and England. In the counting-house of Mr. Gre- gory, a partner of this company, was bred a native of Inverness, named Alexander Mackenzie. In conducting the practical details of the fur trade, he had been settled at an early period of life in the country to the north-west of Lake Superior, and became animated with the ambition of penetrating across the continent. For this undertaking he was eminently qualified, possessing an inquisitive and en- terprising mind with a strong frame of body, and combin- ing the fervid and excursive genius which has been said to characterize the Scots in general, with that more cautious and enduring temperament which belongs to the northern Highlander. ! * Murray's Discoveries and Tra7'.j.l^ in North America, vol. ii. p. 149» 1789.] SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. 141 On 3d June 1789, Mackenzie set out from Fort Che- pewyan, at the head of the Athabasca Lake, a station nearly central between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific. He had resided here for eight years, and was familiar with the difficulties of the journey, as well as aware of the most likely methods of surmounting them. He took with him four canoes. In the first he embarked with a German and four Canadians, two of the latter being accompanied by their wives. A Northern Indian, called the English Chief, who had been a follower of Matonabbee, the guide of Mr. Hearne, occupied the second, with his two wives. The third was paddled by two stout young Indians, who acted in the double capacity of hunters and interpreters ; whilst the fourth was laden with provisions, clothing, ammunition, and A^arious articles intended as presents for the Indians. This last canoe was committed to the charge of Mr. le Roux, one of the company's clerks. On 4th June the party reached the Slave River, which connects the Athabasca and Slave Lakes, in a course of about one hundred and seventy miles ; and on the 9th of the same month they arrived at the Slave Lake, without experi- encing any other inconveniences than those arising from the attacks of the mosquitoes during the heat of the day, and the extreme cold in the morning and evening. In the river were frequent rapids, which obliged them to land and transport their canoes and luggage over the carrying-places — a toil- some process, but attended with no danger, as the path had been cleared by the Indians trading with the company. The banks were covered with various kinds of trees ; but owing to its inferior level and its rich black soil, the western side was more thickly wooded than the other. On the eastern bank, composed of a yellow clay mixed with gravel, the trees were smaller, but in full leaf, though the ground was not thawed above fourteen inches in depth. At a little 142 BEAVER HOUSES. [1789. distance from the river were extensive plains frequented by herds of buffaloes; the woods bordering its sides were tenanted by moose and rein-deer; and numerous colonies of beavers built their habitations on the small streams which fed the lake. The situation of beaver-houses is found to be various. When the animals are numerous, they inhabit lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as those narrow creeks which connect the lakes together. Generally, however, they prefer flow- ing waters, probably on account of the advantages presented by the current in transporting the materials of their dwell- ings. They also prefer deepish water, no doubt because it affords a better protection from the frost. It is when they build in small creeks or rivers, the waters of which are liable to dry or be drained off, that they manifest that beautiful instinct with which Providence has gifted them — the formation of dams. These differ in shape, according to their particular localities. When the water has little motion, the dam is almost straight; when the current is considerable, it is curved, with its convexity towards the stream. The materials made use of are drift-wood, green willows, birch, and poplars; also mud and stones inter- mixed in such a manner as must evidently contribute to the strength of the dam ; but there is no particular method observed except that the work is carried on with a regular sweep, and all the parts are made of equal strength. " In places," says Hearne, " which have been long frequented by beavers undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a solid bank, capable of resisting a groat force both of ice and water ; and as the willow, poplar, and birch, generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular planted hedge, which I have seen in some places 30 tall, that birds have built their nests among the branches." 1789.] BEAVER HOUSES. 143 The beaver-houses are built of the same materials as the (lams, and seldom contain more than four old, and six or eight young ones. There is little order or regularity in their structure. It frequently happens that some of the larger houses are found to have one or more partitions, but these are only parts of the main building left by the sagacity of the beavers to support the roof; and the apart- ments, as some are pleased to consider them, have usually no communication with each other, except by water. Those travellers who assert that the beavers have two doors to their dwellings, one on the land side, and the other next the water, manifest, according to Heame, even a greater ignorance of the habits oi* these animals, than those who assign to them an elegant suite of apartments — for such a construction would render their houses of little use, either as a protection from their enemies, or as a covering from the winter's cold. It is not true that beavers drive stakes into the ground when building their houses ; they lay the pieces crosswise and horizontal ; neither is it true that the wood- work is first finished and then plastered ; for both houses and dams consist from the foundation of a mingled mass of mud and wood, mixed with stones when these can be procured. They carry the mud and stones between their fore-paws, and the wood in their mouths. They always work in the night, and with great expedition. They cover their houses late every autumn with fresh mud, which freezes when the frosts set in, and becomes almost as hard and solid as stone ; and thus neither wolves nor wolverenes can disturb their repose. When walking over their work, and especially when about to plunge into the water, they sometimes give a peculiar flap with their tails, which has no doubt occasioned the errone- ous bp.lip.f that thev usp- thpsf nrcrang ex*"'tlv fl« n mason nspg his trowel. Now, a tame beaver will flap by the fireside, I 144 TAME BEAVERS. [1789. where there is nothing but dust and ashes ; and it therefore only uses the trowel in common with the water-wagtail ; in other words, the quadruped, as well as the bird, is char- acterized by a peculiar motion of its caudal extremity. The food of this animal consists chiefly of the root of the plant called Nuphar luteum, v^'lncu. - '^rs a resemblance to a cabbage-stalk, and gr .: it the bottom of lakes and rivers. It also gnaws tbc bark of birch, poplar, and willow trees. In summer, hov.ever, a more varied herbage, with the addition of berries, is consumed. When the ice breaks up in the spring, the beavers always lenvc ^\.^" houses and rove about until a little before the fall of the leaf, when tliey retuiTi again to their old habitations, and lay in their winter stock of i> ood. Hearne gives the following account of some tame beavers which belonged to him :— " In cold weather they v/ere kept in my own sitting room, where they were the constant companions of the Indian women and children, and were so fond of their company, that when the Indians were absent for any considerable time, the beavers discovered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return showed equal marks of pleasure, by fondling on them, crawling into their laps, lying on their backs, sitting erect like a squirrel, and behaving like children wlio see their parents but seldom. In general, during the winter ^hey lived on the same food as the women did, and were remark- ably fond of rice and plun -pudding; the} would eat part- ridges and fresh vension vc „ freely, but . =ever tvi d them with fish, though I have heard they will at times prey on them. In fact, there are f -vv graminivorrris animal . that may not be brought to be carnivorous." The lake was covered with ice, which '.iid not given way except in a small strip round o sh re, where the Ae,r^^l- «^^irT,or'^ .^^oppdiTio- t^irPft fftPl. ^ .3 ' fCclv Sufficiciit to float the canoes. Though now the 9th of June, there ^ ^ 1789.] WILD-FOWL — THE BALD-EAGLE. 145 was every appearance that the icr ouM detain the expe dition for a considerable time ; an. was thought neces- sary to pi(ch their tents. The ncs were now set- the Indians went off in different directions to hunt ; the women gathered berries . f various sorts, which abounded in the neighbouring woods; and their larder was soon supplied with plenty of geese, ducks, and beaver, excellent trout carp, and white fish, and some dozens of swan and duck eggs, which were picked up in an adjacent island. Their stay therefore, was far from unpleasant, combining the novelty of a residence in a strange country with the excita- tion and variety of a hunter's life; and on the 15th, after a rest of six days, as the ice had given way a little, they resumed their journey. " Numerous flocks of birds of - kinds flew around them and filled the air with their wild plaintive cries; while, far awuy, perched on a dead tree, might be seen here and there a solitary owl or an eagle, watching for prey. A large and very impudent bird of this kind which inhabits the American wilderness is the bald-eagle. Fish is its favourite food, and the way in which it obtains it is curious and mteiestmg > Elevated," says Wilson, " on the high dead limb r ' ^ome gigantic tree that commands a wide view of the ' .ighboi -ng ^ore and ocean, he seems calmly to con- template th ,ti(,u8 uf the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy . .cations below. The snow-white gulls slowb winnowing the air; the busy trtnffo^, coursing along the sands; trains of ducks, streaming over the surface- silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamuroui crows, and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the b(.unty of this rast liquid naga ine of nature;-high over all these hovers one whase action instantly arrr ts all his attention. Rtt lila -nriA^ ^ ^ _/• . -_. „. .... „iu-. ^„,,j.. ._y ^.j ^ng^ ^. ^ sudden suspension in the uxr, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, % K U6 RED-KNIFE INDIANS. [1789. settling over Bome devoted victim of the deep. His e>^^ kindles at the sight, and balancing himself, with ha - opened wings, on the branch, he watches the result Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the object of his attention; the roar of its wings reaching the ear a. it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour, and levelling his neck for flMit, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling wkh his prey, and mounting m the air with screams of exultation. These are the signal for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, and soon ains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his utmost to mount above the other, displaying in these ren- centres the most sublime aerial evolutions. The unencum- bered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point ot reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, pro- bably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish; the eagle, poising hmself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill- gotten booty silently away to the woods. ' * Since leaving Athabasca, the twilight had been so bright, owing to the short disappearance of the sun below the hori- zon, that even at midnight not a star was to be seen; but as they glided along the lake they were greeted by the moon, which rose beautifully above the woods, with her lower horn in a state of eclipse. The obscuration continued for about six minutes in a cloudless sky.f Coasting along the shore, they came to a lodge of Red Knife Indians so denominated from their using copper knives. One of these men engaged to conduct them to the mouth of the nver, which was the object of their search; but such were tlie * American Ornithology, vol. i. p. 23. f Mackenzie's Travels, p. U. 11 I I 1789.] MACKENZIE RIVER. 147 impediments encountered trom drift-ice, contrary winds and the ignorance of the guide, whom the English Chief threatened to murder for engaging in a service for which he was unfit, that it wag the 29th of the month before they embarked upon the river since known by the name of the traveller who now first ascended it. On leaving the lake, the Mackenzie River was found to run to the westward,* becoming gradually narrower for twenty-four miles, till it diminished into a stream not more than half a mile wide, with a strong current, and a depth of three and r. half fathoms. A stiff breeze from the eastward now drove them on at a great rate, and after a rapid run of ten miles, the channel gradually widened till it assumed the appearance of a small lake, which proved to be the utmost limit known to their guide. They now came in sight of the chain of the Horn Mountains, bearing north-west, and had some difficulty in recovering the channel of the river. Having resumed their course on 1st July, they met with no interruption for five days, when they observed several smokes on the northern bank. On landing they discovered an encampment of five families of Slave and Dog-ribbed Indians, who, on the first appearance of the party, fled into the woods in consternation. The entreaties of the English Chief, whose language they understood, at length dissipated their apprehensions; and the distribution of a few beads, rings, and knives, with a supply of grog, reconciled them entirely to the strangers. Their account of the difficulties in the farther navigation of the river was not a little appalling. They asserted that it would require several winters to reach the sea, and that old age would inevitably overtake the party before their return. Monsters of horrid shapes and malignant disposition were represented as having their abodes in the rocky caves on the banks, ready to devour the presumptuous traveller who approached; 148 SLAVE AND DOG-MBBED INDIANS. [1739. and the more substantial impediment of two impassable Ms las eaid to exist about thirty days' march from ^''^::7s:crtarwere treated with eon^mpt by M^ , r. Indians already tired of the voyage, drank ri:Hh"Sears,aLthey^dse^^^^^^^ Tat^e an'ie, and some other articles to accompany thl a a guide but when the time of embarkatioa l"his l^e of home came upon him with such violence, Tarhe used every artifice to escape from his agreement, IdaUa^wasZtuallyforced on hoard P-iousI»his departure, a singular ceremony took Pl-;- J^^ f^^^ solemnity he cut off a lock of his hair, and d" j-J '^-J" three parts, fastened one to the upper part of his wifes W uZL on it thrice with the utmost violence and head, Diowiiig" other two locks uttering certain words as a cnann. xuc tiel with the same ceremonies to the heads of his two ll^l These Indians were in general a mea^e ugly, and ill-favoured race, particularly lU-made in the legs. Sote of Tern wore ill hair ver^ long, others allowed a clothing consisted of dressed deer-skins. For winter wear tesT were prepared with the fur, and the shirts made of 7Z lecorLd with a neat embroidery, composed of porcu- . ;" ._. .V, !,„;. „f the moose-deer, coloured red, pme-quih» ».. J "- - i, shirts reached to the SiS::nsUh:^rppe's—s covered the whole 1789.] EFFECT OF ELOQUENCE ON BRUIN. 149 body, having a fringe round the bottom. Their leggins, which were embroidered rcund the ankle and sewed to their shoes, reached to mid-thigh. The dress of the women was nearly the same as that of the men. They wore gor- gets of horn or wood, and had bracelets of the same mate- rials. On their head was placed a fillet or bandeau, formed of strips of leather, embroidered richly with porcupine- quills, and stuck round with bears' claws or talons of wild fowl. Their belis and garters were neatly constructed of the sinews of wild animals and porcupine-quills. From these belts descended a long fringe composed of strings of leather, and worked round with hair of various colours, and their mittens hung from their neck in a position convenient for the reception of their hands.* Their arms and weapons for the chase were bows and arrows, spears, daggers, and a large club formed of the rein-deer horn, called a pogamagan. The bows were about five or six feet long, with strings of sinews; and flint, iron, or copper, supplied barbs to the arrows. Their spears, nearly six feet long, were pointed with bone, whilst their stone-axes were fastened with cords of green skin to a wooden handle. Their canoes were light, and so small as to carry only one person. Some of the men wore collars made of the claws of the baiTen-ground bear, an r.rnam.ent much coveted and gloried in by them, as being incontestible proof of their courage and prowess in slaying an animal of which Indians gene- rally are exceedingly afraid. It is narrated, that as Kes- karrah, an old Indian, was one day seated at the door of his tent near Fort Enterprise, a large bear suddenly made its appearance on the opposite bank of a small stream, and remained stationary for some time, curiously eyeing the old gentleman, and apparently deliberating whether to eat * Mackenzie's Travels, i*. 35-37. w 150 GREAT BEAR LAKE RIVER. [1789. him up at tliat moment or wait till supper-time. Keskar- rah, thinking hunself in great jeopardy, and having no one to assist him but a wife as old as himself, immediately gave utterance to the following oration :-" Oh, bear I I never did you any harm ; I have always had the highest respect for you and your relations, and never killed any of them except through necessity : go away, good bear, and let me alone, and I promise not to molest you." Bruin mstantly took his departure ; and the orator, never doubting that he owed hi* saf^y to his eloquence, on his arrival at the fort frequently faw^red the company with his speech at full length. In the stomach of one of these animals which Dr Richardson directed, he found the remains of a seal, a marmot, a large quantity of the long sweet roots of some Astragali and Hed^jsam, with some wild berries and a little grass. . . On 5th July the party re-embarked. Contmumg their course west- south-west, they passed the Great Bear Lake River ; and steering through numerous islands, came^ m sight of a ridge of snowy mountains, frequented, according to their guide, by herds of bears and smaU white buffaloes. The banks of the river appeared to be pretty thickly peo- pled- and though at fii-st the natives uniformly attempted to escape, the offer of presents generally brought them back, and procured a seasonable supply of hares, partridges, fish or rein-deer. The same stories of spirits or manitous which haunted the stream, and of fearful rapids that would dash the canoee to pieces, were repeated by these tribes; and the guide, upon whom such representations had a power- ful effect, decamped in the night during a storm of thundei- and lightning. His place, however, was soon supplied; ^r.A oftpr « short sail, thev approa<'hed an encampment of Indians, whose brawny figures, healthy appearance, and great cleanliness, showed them to be a superior race to 1789.] QCARRELLER INDIANS. 151 those lately passed. From them Mackenzie learnt that he must sleep ten nights before arriving at the sea, and in three nights would meet the Esquimaux, with whom they had been formerly at war, but were now in a state of peace. One of these people, whose language was most intelligible to the interpreter, agreed to accompany the party, but be- came dreadfully alarmed when some of the men discharged their fowling-pieces. It was evident none of this race had ever heard the report of fire-arms. To reconcile him to his departure, his two brothers followed in their canoes, and diverted him with native songs, and other airs said to be imitations of those of the Esquimaux. The triumph of ro^ .-, was never more strikingly exhibited; from deep dejection the Indian at once passed into a state of the highest and most ludicrous excitement, keeping time to the songs by a variety of grotesque gesticulations, performed with such unceasing rapidity, and so little regard to the fllenderness of the barf<:, which quivered under his weight, that they expected every moment to see it upset. In one of his paroxysms, shooting- his canoe alongside of Mac- kenzie's, he leaped into it, and commenced an Esquimaux dance. At last he was restored to some degree of com- posure, which became complete on their p&ssing a hill, where he informed them that three winters ago the Esquimaux had slain his grandfather.* Mackenzie soon after reached the tents of a tribe namgt Deguthee-Dinees, or Quarrellers, who justified their name by the menacing gestures with which they rf>ceived the strangers' approach. A few presents, however, reconciled them to the intrusion ; and they communicated the gratify- ing intelligence that the distance overland to the sea, either by an easterly or westerly route, was inconsiderable. The Mackenzie's Travels, p. 61. 152 ESQUIMAUX HOUSES. [1789. party now pushed on with renewed hopes ; and the nver soon after separating into several streams, they chose the middle and largest, which ran north. This shortly brought in sight a range of snowy mountains, stretching far to the northward; and, by an observation, Mackenzie found the latitude to be 67« 47', which convinced him that the waters on which their frail barks were then gliding must flow into the great Hyperborean Ocean.* At this moment, when within a few days of accomplishing the gre.. object of their journey, the Indians sunk into a fit of despondency, and hesitated to pro-eed. The guide pleaded his ignorance of .he country, as he had never before penetrated to the shores of the BenahuUa Toe, or White Man's Lake. Mac- kenzie assured them he would return if they did not reach it in seven days, and prevailed on them to continue their course. .3 . -ux It was now the Uth of July, and the sun at midmght w-s still considerably above the horizon, whilst every- thing denoted the proximity of the sea. On landmg at a deserted encampment, still marked by the ashes of some Esquimaux fires, they observed several pieces of whale- bone, and a place where train-oil had been spilt. Soon after they came to three, houses recently left by the natives. The ground-plot of these habitations was val, about fifteen feet long, ten feet wide in the middle, and eight feet at either end; the whole was dug about twelve inches below the surface, one-half being covered with willow-branches, and probably forming the bed of the whole family. In the middle of the other half, a space four feet wide, which had been hollowed to the depth of twelve inches, was Oie only spot where a grown person could stand upright. One side of If. wa« covered with willow-branches, and the other * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 54. 1789.] DISAPPEARANCE OF VEGETATION. 153 formed the hearth. The door, in one end of the house was about two feet and a half high by two feet wide, and was reached through a covered way about five feet long; so that the only access to this curious dwelling was by creeping on all fours. On the top was an orifice about eighteen inches square, which served the triple purpose of a window, a chimney, and an occasional door. The under ground part of the floor was lined with split wood, whilst cross pieces of timber, laid on six or eight upright stakes, supported an oblong square roof ; the whole being formed of drift-wood, and covered with branches and dry grass, over which was spread earth a foot thick. On either side of these houses were a few square holes, about two feet deep, covered -. ith split wood and earth, excepting one small place in aig middle, which appeared to be contrived for the preservation of the winter stock of provisions. In and about the houses lay sledge-runners, and bones, pieces jf whalebone, and poplar-bark cut in circles, used evidently to buoy the nets ; and before each habitation a great num- ber of stumps of trees wtre driven into the ground, upon which its late possessors had probably hung their nets and fish to dry in the sun. The signs of vegetation were by this time scarcely per- ceptible; the trees had dwindled into a few dwarf willows, not more than three feet high; and though the foot-marka on the sandy beach of some of the islands showed that the natives had recently been there, all attempts to obtain a sight of them proved unavailing. The discontent of the guide and of the Indian hunters was now renewed; but their assertion that on the morrow they were to reach a large lake in which the Esquimaux killed a huge fish, and whose shores were inhabited by white bears, convinced Mackenzie that thi > description referred to the Arctic Sea, with its mighty denizen, the whale. He accordingly pressed f 154 MACKENZIE REACHES THE ARCTIC SEA. [1789. forward with fresh ardour, and the canoes were soon car- ried by the current to the entrance of the lake, which, from all the accompanying circumstances, appears to have been an arm of the Arctic Ocean. It was quite open to the westward, and by an observation the latitude was found to be 69°. From the spot where this survey was taken, they now continued their course to the westernmost point of a high island, which they reaxihed after a run of fifteen miles, and around it the utmost depth of water was only five feet. The lake appeared to be covered with ice for about two leagues' distance, no land was seen ahead, and it was found impossible to proceed farther. Happily, when they had thus reached the farthest point of their progress northward, and were about to return in great disappoint- ment, two circumstances occurred which rendered it certain that they had penetrated to the sea: The first was the appearance of many large floating substances in the water, believed at first to be masses of ice, which, on being ap- proached, turned out to be whales ; and the second, the rise and fall of the tide, observed both at the eastern and western end of the island, which they named Whale Island.* Having, in company with the English Chief, ascended to its highest ground, Mackenzie saw the solid ice extending to the eastward; and to the west, as far as the eye could reach, they dimly discerned a chain of moun- tains apparently about twenty leagues' distance, stretching t» the northward. Many islands were seen to the eastward ; but though they came to a grave, on which lay a bow, a paddle, and a spear, they met no living human beings in these arctic solitudes. The red-fox and the rein-deer, flocks of beautiful plovers, some venerable white owls, and seve- ral large white gulls, were the only natives. Previous to * Maekenae. pp. 64, GT). 1789.] Mackenzie's return. 155 setting out on their return, a post was erected close to the tents, upon which the traveller engraved the latitude of the place, his own name, the number of persons by whom ho was accompanied, and the time they had spent on the island. It was now the 16th of July, and they re-embarked on their homeward voyage. On the 21st the sun, which for some time had never set, descended below the horizon, and the same day eleven of the natives joined them. They re presented their tribe as numerous, and perpetually at war with the Esquimaux, who had broken a treaty into which they had inveigled the Indians, and butchered many of them. Occasionally a strong body ascended the river in large canoes, in search of flints to point their spears and arrows. At present they were on the banks of a lake to the eastward, hunting rein-deer, and would soon begin to catch big fish (whales) for their winter stock. They had been informed that the samd Esquimaux, eight or ten winters ago, saw to the westward, on White Man's Lake, several large canoes full of white men, who gave iron in exchange for leather. On landing at a lodge of natives farther down the river, the English Chief obtained some other particulars from a Dog-ribbed Ind'an, who had been driven by some private quarrel from his own nation, and lived among the Hare Indians. According to his informaiion, there was a much larger river to the south ivtsf, of *he mountains, which fell into White Man's Lake The people on its banks were a gigantic and wicked race, who could kill common men with their eyes, and sailed in huge canoes. There was, he added, no known communication by water with this great river; but those who had seen it went over the mountains, and it flowed towards the mid-day sun. This description proceeded, he acknowledged, not from tW.rsmnnI r«V»anr«^7-Ql-i/-kr> Kii<- nrnr, 4■r.^^^^ C il-- J i> •r ' •") ~-"t.- Vf&a tan.cii iiXJUl LiiU rcpUIX OI Others who inhabited the opposite mountains. Mackenzie 15G NEW TRIBE OF INDIANS. [1789. having fallen in with one of these strangers, by a bribe of some beads prevailed upon him to delineate the circum- jacent country and the course of the unknown river upon the sand. The map proved a very rude production. He traced out a long point of land between the rivers without paying the least attention to the courses. This isthmus he represented as running into the great lake, at the extre- mity of which, as he had been told by Indians of other nations, there was built a BenahuUa Couin, or White Man's Fort. " This," says Mackenzie, " I took to be Oonalaska Fort, and consequently the river to the west to be Cook's River, and that the body of water or sea into which the river discharges itself at Whale Island communi- cated with Norton Sound." Mackenzie now endeavoured to procure a guide across the mountains, but the natives steadily refused ; and any additional intelligence which they communicated regarding the country only consisted of legends concerning the super- natural power and ferocity of its inhabitants. They were represented as a sort of monsters with wings, who fed on huge birds which, though killed by them with ease, no other mortal would venture to assail. Having gravely stated this, they began, both young and old, to jump and dance with astonishing violence and perseverance, imitating the cries of the rein-deer, bear, and wolf, in the hope of intimidating Mackenzie ; but when ho threatened with an angry aspect to force one of them along with him across the mountains, a sudden fit of sickness seized the whole party, and in a faint tone, which formed a ludicrous con- trast to their former vociferation, they declared they would expire the instant they were taken from their homes. In the end, the tra- eller was compelled to leave them without Ayuu%n; 159 sl< nder vessel they not only stowed away their provisions, presents, arms, ammunition, and baggage, to th. ight of three thousand p. -i ds, but found room for seven Rii 13 two Indians, and me lead> himself On embju g, the winter interpretc ^eft in charge of the fort eould n refrain from ' oars when he anticipated the dangers they were about to encounter, whilst the;-' themselves fervently offered up their prayers to Almighty God for a sufe return. The commencement of their vo} age was pi apitious ; and under a serene sky, with a keen but healthy air, the bark glided through some beautiful scenery. On tbe -tk , side of the river the ground rose in a gently- nsr lawn, broken at inlc/val' by abrupt precipices, a ending in a rich woodland perspective as far as the ;ould reach. This magnificent amphitheatre presented groves of poplar in every direction, whose openings were enlivened with herds of elks ' buffaloes ; the former choosing the steeps and uplands, i ue latter preferring the plains. At this time the buffaloes were attended by tiicir young ones, which frisked about, whilst the female elks were great uiiu young. The whole country displayed an exuberant verdure; the trees which bore blossoms were rapidly bursting into flower, and the soft velvet rind of the branches reflected the oblique rays of a rising or a setting sun, imparting a cheerfulness and brilliancy to the scene, which gladdened the heart with the buoyant influences of the season.* " The transition," says Dr. Richardson, "is so sudde- from ne perfect repose, the deathlike silence of an Arctic wi^ ler, to the animated bustle of summer ; the trees spreai' iieir foliage with such magical rapidity, and every succeeding morning opens with such agreeal d accessions of feathered songsters to swell the chorus — their plumage as gay and unimpaired as when * Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 154, 155. k>'.?!^ '■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {./ 1.0 I.I 1.25 9- illM ||2.5 iiiii,i= 11^^ i^lM Z2 '" ■-'6 It ■"0 2.0 tki^i. M 1.4 1.6 V] l 0%. ^;> ^^^^<^''^' >•'' # — — ^oc — J: / Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ ,v 4?- \ \ ^9) V O'^ rv /% "'*' f/i 160 GRIZZLY BEARS. [1793. they enlivened the deep green forests of tropical climes— that the return of a northern spring excites in the mind a deep feeling of the beauties of the season, a sense of the bounty and providence of the Supreme Being, which is cheaply purchased by the tedium of nine months of winter. The most verdant lawns and cultivated glades of Europe, the most beautiful productions of art, fail in producing that exhilaration and joyous buoyancy of mind which we have experienced in treading the wilds of Arctic America, when their snowy covering has been just replaced by an infant but vigorous vegetation. It is impossible for the traveller to refrain, at such moments, from joining his aspirations to the song which every creature around is pouring forth to the Great Creator." After a few days the air became colder, the country more desolate, and the weather was occasionally broken by storms of thunder and lightning. The track of a large grizzly bear was discerned on the banks. The Indians treat this monster of the woods with con- siderably more respect than they do most other animals, owing to his great ferocity, and the readiness with which he resents an insult, or accepts a challenge. An amusing adventure occurred to Catlin one morning after he had passed the night on the banks of the Missouri. " In the morning," says he, "before sunrise, as usual, Bogard(who was a Yankee, and a wide-awake feV.ow, just retiring from a ten years' siege of hunting and trapping in the Rocky Mountains) thrust his head out from under the robe, rubbed his eyes open, and exclaimed as he grasped for his gun, *By darn, look at old Cale, will you I' Ba'tiste, who was fonder of his dreams, snored away, muttering some- thing that I could not understand, when Bogard seized him with a grip that instantly shook off his iron slumbers. I rose at the same time, and all eyes were turned at once upon Caleb (as the grizzly bear is familiarly called by the 1793.] OKIZZiy BEAKS. 161 trappers ,„ the Eocky Mounfains-or more often 'Cale' for brevty's sake). She was sitting „p i„ the dignity td fary of her se., within a few rods, and gating 'p"r„s w,th her two httle cubs at her side I Here was a Tand a subject for the painter; but I had no tin.e to AeSh "t I turned my eyes to the canoe, which had been fastened to the shore a few paces from „s, and saw that eve^hingt^d been pawed out of it, and all eatables had been wUhom ceremony devoured. My packages of dresses and Ind^L unosmes had been drawn out upon the banks, ar.d T^ hberately opened and inspected. Everything Lad been scraped and pawed out to the bottom oTthe canoe 7nd even the raw.hid_e thong with which it was tied to a tie had been chewed, and, no doubt, swallowed, as there tl no trace of it remaining. Nor was this peep into The secrets of our luggage enough for her insatiable curiosity fr^r^'sm! , . P^'^bnlating our humble mat- tresses, smellmg at our toes and noses, without choosing to molest US-verifying a trito saying of the country, "thai man lying down ,s «,edicine (i. e., mystery) to the ii.zlv bear,' though it is a well-known fact that man and^ealf path of th. monster, which is the terror of all the country ofton gmwing to the enormous size of eight hund:^ or on^ thousand iK-unds. Whilst we sat in the dilemma which I have just described, each one was hastily preparing his weapons for defence, when I proposed the m^e'f atLk by wh.ch naeans 1 was in hopes to destroy her, capture the young ones, and bring her skin home I a trophy. My plans, however entirely failed, though we were well armed; for Bogard and Ba'tiste both remonstrated with a vehe- mence that was irresistible <.-■.,:«» fi,-t '!,„ --a- , . , , ^^ — J "'5 ^"«t liie sianding rule m the mountains was ' never to fight Caleb except in self- I 162 THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. [1793. defence.' I was almost induced, however, to attack her alone, with ray rifle in hand and a pair of heavy pistols, and a tomahawk and scalping-knife in my belt, when Ba'tiate suddenly thrust his arm over my shoulder, and, pointing in another direction, exclaimed in an emphatic tone, ' voila I voila ! un corps de reserve, Monsr. Cataline, voila sa mari I ' to which Bogard added, ' These darned animals are too much for us, we had better be off! ' at which my courage cooled, and we packed up and re-embarked as fast as possible, giving each one of them the contents ot our rifles as we drifted off in the current."* From this time till the 21st of May, the passage was attended with difficulties that would have disheartened a less energetic leader. The river being broken by frequent cascades and dangerous rapids, it was necessary to carry the canoe and luggage till they could resume their voyage in safety. On their nearer approach to the Rocky Moun- tains, the stream, hemmed in between stupendous rocks, presented a continuance of frightful torrents and imprac- ticable cataracts. The dangers to which they had already been exposed had greatly disheartened the men, and they began to murmur audibly, so that no alternative was left but to return. Indeed, there was some reason for this irresolution : by water farther progress was impossible, and they could only advance over a mountain whose sides were broken by sharp jagged rocks, and thickly covered with wood. Mackenzie despatched a reconnoitring party, with orders to ascend the mountain, and proceed in a straight course from its summit, keeping the line of the river till they ascertained that it was navigable. During their absence his people repaired the canoe, whilst he took an altitude which ascertained the latitude to be 56® 8'. At * Catlin'a North American Indians, vol. i. pp. 71, Ti. 1793. J i'ERILS OP THE JOURNEY. 163 JIDO -unset the scouts returned by different routes Tl,.v i, a penetrated through thiek woods, ascended wis Id ^: 1 ta^k appeared, their spirits hJril ^Te"'"^ " *■"" were forgotten; so that a kettle 0^1™ • """™"" «ugar, with the usual elinfrelre 5 '"^'«»«^-«' courage; and after a nigh wTi ' ""'""^ *^''' of aay on their laborio^Sl^'' ""^^ "'"'^^^'''^ «* '"«'"' In the first place, the men cut a road un tl. where the trees were smallest, felU J X I t" manner as to make them fall parallel "f T . "* * separating them entirely from fte . "^^ "'"'»'" forming a kind of railing reiser ^e'' T^h 'T ™^ and the eanoe were then bfonght fr!m it' . ^^'^^ encampment-an undertak "f efTd'^t'T'" *" *'' sin*?le false sten mncf i, 1 ^^ccedmgly perilous, as a into' tCiTi^^^r. r '*"^' '^ ^™'--- i« nver, which flowed here with furiou- rftT>iri;f,r Hav:gThtutr„rt;:w:t:r^d ^"' *^ -"-• nr,^ f * J ^ ^ ^'^^^^ ^* was drawn up doublpri and fastened successively to the stumps left for iW ' then despatched to cut the road on™rd3°dtI. "" labourofanothcrdaycouldonlypenr^IeaWtl^^^^^^^^ Whilst mountains much more elevated rai.P^ *i, • ' J— around in evc^y direction;' ThSo^TeZ at a distance; and another day's exertion hr...^J :^. through a wood of tall pine, to the bankTof tl ' f"" the ranJd. P...«. ^- _:. ? ^^"^' ^^ ^^^« "^er above .1^ .- _ i^ ^ ^ "^- ""^ "uiiKs 01 the river the rap.ds. Before again embarking, Maclenti ^e left assui 164 THE VOYAGE RESUMED. [1793. attached to a pole a knife, a steel, flint, beads, and other trifles, as a token of amity to the natives; and one of his Indians added a small round stick of green wood, chewed at one end in the form of a brush, used to pick marrow out of bones-an instrument which he explained to be intended as an emblem to the people of a country aboundmg in animals.* n 'j They now resumed their voyage, enclosed on all sides by mountains whose summits were covered with snow, and one of which to the south rose to a majestic height. The air became chill; the water, through which they frequently waded towing or pushing their bark, was intensely cold ; and on 31st May they reached a point minutely descnbed to them before setting out by an old Indian warrior. Here the river separated into two streams, one runmng west- north-west, and the other south- south-east. The first of these they had been warned to avoid, as it soon lost itself in various smaller currents among the mountains; and the steersman accordingly proceeded into the eastern branch, which, though not so broad as the other, was far more rapid. The\'-ourse of their journey now led them through many populous beaver settlements. In some places these animals had cut down several acres of large poplars; and they saw multitudes busy from sunrise to sunset erecting houses, procuring food, superintending their dykes, and going diligently through all the labours of their little com- monwealth. Perceiving soon afl;er a smoke in the forest which lined the banks, and hearing the sounds of human voices in great confusion, they became aware that they were near an Indian encampment, from which the inhabit- ants were retreating. Accordingly, on approaching the ihore, two ferocious-looking men sprung from the woods, * Mackenzie, p* ISL 1793.] DESPONDENCY, 165 and took the,r station on a rising ground, brandishing their spears w.th loud vociferations. A few words of explana- t.on from the interpreter, and some presents, paeified them, and Ma«ken..e made anxious inquiries regarding the Z'^W , *\°™""^' "^^ *<' ^«" ri™' "tich formed tne objeet of h,3 search. To his mortification, he found that they were unacquainted with any river to the west- ward; they had just arrived over a carrying-place of eleven days from another stream, which was nothing else than a large branch of the one the expedition was then nav.gat.ng. The.r iron, they said, was procured in ex- change for beaver and dress moose-skins from the people here, who travelled during a moon to the countiy of other tnbes hvmg m houses, and these in their turn extended Z rrT '" ?" """""' "■■' *» ™« *<>'' disparaging epithet, the Great Stinking Lake, where they traded with white people, who came in canoes as large as islands. Their knowledge of the country, however, appeared so vague, that all hope of procuring a guide wa^ vain, and the heart of the traveller sunk within him as he felt that his favourite project was on the point of being utterly dis- concerted. "^ Amidst this despondency, a faint hope remained that the natives, under the influence of suspicion, timidity, or from imperfectly understanding the interpreter, had not com- munieated all they knewj and after a night sleepless from anxiety, the traveller rose with the sun to repeat his in- qmries At first nothing satisfactory could be elicited; but suddenly Mackenzie, who stood beside the interpreters, understood, from the few words he knew of their language that one person mentioned a great river, whilst he pointed significantly to that which lay before them. On a strict inquiry, the interpreter, who had been tired of the voyage, and of whose fidelity some suspicion was entertained, ac- 166 MANNERS OF THE INDIANS. [1793. knowledged that the Indian spoke of a large river whose course was towards the mid-day sun, a branch of which flowed near the source of the stream they were now navi- gating. This branch, he added, it would not be difficult tc reach, there being only three small lakes and as many carrying-places on the way to it; but he also insisted that the grea; river did not discharge itself into the sea.* This last assertion was imputed to his ignorance of the country, whilst a rude map, which he delineated with a piece of coal on a strip of bark, convinced them that his information, so far as it went, was to be relied on. A new ray of hope now arose; and having induced an Indian to go forward as a guide to the borders of the small lakes, Mackenzie resumed his journey on 10th June, promising, if successful in his object, to revisit these friendly Indians in two moons. These people were of low stature and meagre frame, owing probably to the difficulty of procuring subsistence ; round faces, high cheek-bones, black hair hanging in elf- locks over their shoulders, and a swarthy yellow cDmplexion, combined to give them a forbidding aspect; whilst their garments of beaver, rein-deer, and ground-hog skms, dressed with the hair outside, having the tail of this last animal hanging down the back, might, when seen at a distance, occasion some doubt whether they belonged to the hum?n race. Their women were extremely ugly, lustier and taller than the men, but much inferior in cleanliness. Their warlike weapons were cedar bows, six feet long, with a short iron spike at one end, so that they might also be used as spears. The arrows were barbed with iron, flint, stone, or bone, from two to two feet and a half long, and feathered with great neatness. They had two kinds of « Mackenzie, pp. 203, 204. 1793.] CANOE WRECKED. 167 spears, both double-edged, of well-polished iron, and with shafts from eight to six feet long. Their knives were of iron worked by themselves, and their axes resembled a cai^enter's adze. They used snares of green skin, nets. and fishing-lines of willow-bark, hooks of small bones, and kettles of watape so closely woven as not to leak. Besides these they had various dishes of wood and bark, horn and wooden spoons and buckets, and leathern and net-work bags. Their canoes, of spruce-bark, calculated to hold from two to five persons, were propelled by paddles six f-* long, with the blade shaped like a heart.* Pursuing their journey under the direction of the new guide, they reached a small lake in latitude 54° 24' which Mackenzie considered as the highest or southernmost source of the Ungigah, or Peace River. They passed two other lakes, and again entered the river, the navigation of which from Its rapidity and the trees and rocks in its channel now became dangerous. The canoe struck on a sharp rock, which shattered the stem, and drove her to the other side, where the bow met the same fate. To complete the disaster, she passed at this moment over a cascade, which broke several holes in her bottom, and reduced her to a complete wreck, lying flat upon the water. All hands now lumped out, and clinging desperately to the sides, were hurried several hundred yards through a foaming torrent beset with sharp rocks, upon which they were every instant m danger of being dashed to pieces. Being carried, how- ever, mto shallow water, where the canoe rested on the stones, they were relieved from their perilous situation by their companions on shore. After this escape, a consultation was held regarding their future proceedings. Benumbed with cold, and intimidated * Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 205, 206. sess siiMsmimmmtimimmm 168 MACKENZIE REACHES THE GREAT RIVER. [1793. by their recent dangers, the Indians proposed an immediate return ; but the remonstrances of their leader, enforced by the usual arguments of a hearty meal and an allowance of rum, banished their fears. It was next proposed to aban- don the wreck, to carry the baggage to the river, which the guide aflSrmed to be at no great distance, and there to construct a new vessel. But as it was suspected that this representation was not to be relied on, a party was de- spatched to reconnoitre, and brought back a very confused and unpromising account of the country. It was therefore detennined to repair the canoe, and proceed as before. For this purpose bark was collected, which, with a few pieces of oil-cloth and plenty of gum, restored their shattered boat to something like a sea- worthy condition. Her frail state, however, rendered it necessary to carry part of the lading on men's shoulders along the banks ; and as a road had to be opened with hatchets, their progress was extremely slow. On 16th June, Mr. Mackay and two Indians were de- spatched with orders to penetrate if possible to the great river in the direction indicated by the guide. They suc- ceeded ; but returned with a discouraging account of the interminable woods and deep morasses which intervened. These gloomy prospects were increased by the desertion of their guide ; but nothing could repress Mackenzie's ardour. Cutting a passage through the woods, carrying the canoe round the rapids and cascades, they held on their slow and toilsome way, till at last, after passing a swamp, in many places wading to mid-thigh, they enjoyed the satisfaction of reaching the bank of the great river, which had been the object of so much anxious expectation and protracted hope.* Embarking anew, they were borne along by a strong * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 228. 1793.] nosTiLirv OF the natives. 169 current, which, slackening after a short time, allowed them to glide gently between banks of high white cliffs, sur- mounted with grotesque and singularly-shaped pinnacles. After some progress, the party were alarmed by a loud whoop from the thick woods ; at the same moment a canoe, gmded by a single savage, shot out from the mouth of a small tributary stream, and a number of natives, armed with bows and arrows, appeared on an adjacent rising ground, uttering loud cries, and manifesting by their ges- tures that instant death would be inflicted on anv one who landed. Every attempt to conciliate them proved unavail- mg; and a canoe was observed to steal swiftly down the river, with the evident design of communicating the alarm and procuring assistance. At this critical moment the courage and prudence of Mackenzie providentially saved his party.^ He landed alone, with two pistols stuck in his belt; having first, however, given orders to one of his Indians to steal into the woods with a couple of guns, and to keep near him in case of attack. « I had not been long " Hays he, " in my station on the bank, with my Indian in ambush behind me, when two of the natives came off in a canoe, but stopped when they got within a hundred yards of me I made signs for them to land, and as an induce- ment displayed looking-glasses, beads, and other alluring trinkets, At length, but with every mark of extreme apprehension, they approached the sh re, taking care to turn their canoe stern foremost, and still not venturing to land I now made them a present of some beads, with which they were going to push off, when I renewed my entreaties, and after some time prevailed on them to come ashore and sit down by me. My Indian hunter now thought it right to join me, and created some alarm in my new acquaintance. It wa«, however, soon removed, and I had the satisfaction to find that he and these people IHI 170 THEY ARE CONCILIATED BY MACKENZIE. [1793. perfectly understood each other. 1 instructed him to say everything to them which might tend to soothe their fears and win their confidence. I expressed my wish to con- duct them to our canoe ; but they declined this offer ; and when they observed some of my people coming towards us, they requested me to let them return, and I was so well satisfied with the progress which I had made in my inter- course with them, that I did not hesitate a moment in com- plying with their desire. During their short stay, they observed us, and everything about us, with a mixture of admiration and astonishment. We could plainly perceive that their friends received them with great joy on their return, and that the articles which they carried back with them were examined with a general and eager curiosity. They also appeared to hold a consultation which lasted about a quarter of an hour, and the result was an invita- tion to come over to them, which we cheerfully accepted. Nevertheless, on our landing they betrayed evident signs of confusion, which arose probably from the quickness of our movements, as the prospect of a friendly communica- tion had so cheered the spirits of the people that they paddled across the river with the utmost expedition. The two men who had been with us appeared very naturally to possess the greatest share of courage on the occasion, and were ready to receive us on our landing ; but our demean- our soon dispelled their apprehensions, and the most fami- liar communication took place between us. When I had secured their confidence by the distribution of trinkets among them, and had treated the children with sugar, I instructed my interpreters to collect every necessary infor- mation in their power to afford me."* The intelligence procured from this tribe was discourag- * Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 244, 245. 1793.] AMERICAN COSMOGUAPHY. 171 ing They stated, indeed, that the river ran towards the mid-day sun, and that at its mouth white people were building houses; but that the navigation was dangerous and in three places absolutely impassable, owing to the falls and rapids. The nations through whose territories the rout^ lay, they represented as ferocious and malignant especially their immediate neighbours, who dwelt in sub- terranean houses. Unappalled by this description, Mac- kenzie re-embarked, and he was accompanied by a small canoe, with two persons who consented to act as guides. Coming to a place where some savage-looking people were seen on a high ground, it was thought expedient to land, and an amicable interview took place, which led to im- portant consequences. On explaining the object of the journey, one of the natives, of superior rank and intelligence drew a sketch of the country on a piece of bark, appealing during his labour to his companions, and accompanying the rude but perfectly intelligible map by details as to their future voyage. He described the river as running to the east of south, receiving in its course many tributary streams, and broken every six or eight leagues by dangerous falls and rapids, six of which were altogether impracticable, me carrymg-places he represented as of great length across mountains. He depicted the lands of three tribes in succession, who spoke different languages; and con- eluded by .saying that beyond them he knew nothing ot the country, except that it was still a great way to the sea and that there was a lake of which the natives did not drink.* ^ Whilst the route by water was thus said to be imprac- ticable, they asserted that the road across the country to the ocean was short in comparison, and lay along a valley * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 253. HUM 172 OVERLAND JOURNEY. [1793. free from wood, and frequently travelled. Other consi- derations combined to recommend this latter course to Mackenzie :— Only thirty days' provisions were left, and the supply procured by hunting was very precarious. The ammunition was nearly spent; and if the prosecution of the voyage appeared perilous, a return would have been equally so. Under these circumstances, it was resolved to abandon the canoe, and to penetrate overland to the Western Ocean, To arrive at the spot where they were to strike off across the country, it was necessary to return a considerable way up the river — a service of great danger, owing to the shat- tered condition of the boat and the hostile dispositions of the natives, who were apt to change in an instant from the greatest friendliness to unmitigated rage and suspicion. The guides deserted them, and it became absolutely neces- sary to build a new canoe. She proved better than the old one, and they at last reached the point whence they were to start overland. " We carried on our back," says Mac- kenzie, " four bags and a half of p ammican, weighing from eighty-five to ninety-five pounds each, a case with the instruments, a parcel of goods for presents, weighing ninety pounds, and a parcel containing ammunition of the same weight; each of the Canadians had a burden of about ninety pounds, with a gun and ammunition, whilst the Indians had about forty-five pounds' weight of pem- mican, besides their gun— an obligation with which, owing to their having been treated with too much indulgence, they expressed themselves much dissatisfied. My own load and that of Mr. Mackay consisted of twenty-two pounds of pemmican, some rice, sugar, and other small articles, amounting to about seventy pounds, besides our arms and ammunition. The tube of my telescope was also slung across my shoulder; and owing to the low state of our 1793.] FRIENDLY INDIANS. 173 provisions, it was determined that we should content our- selves with two meals a-day."* Thus laden, they struck into the woods, and travelling along a tolerably beaten path, arrived before night at some Indian tents, where they were joined by an elderly man and three other natives. The old man held in his hand a spear of European manufacture, like a Serjeant's halberd, which he stated he had lately received from some people on the sea-coast, to whom it had been given by white men. He added, that those heavily laden did not take more than SIX days to reach the tribes with whom he and his friends bartered their furs and skins for iron, and that thence it was scarcely two days' march to the sea- He recommended also that, whilst they retired to sleep, tT young Indians should be sent forward to warn the diflferent tribes whose territories they were approaxjhing— a precaution which had the best effects. Another pleasing distinction between their present hosts and the other savages whom they had passed soon presented itself. When the weary travellers lay down to rest, the Indians took their station at a little distance, and began a song in a sweet plaintive tone, un- accompanied by any instrument, but with a modulation exceedingly pleasing and solemn, not unlike that of church music. The circumstance may remind the reader of the descriptions of American music given by Mr. Meares and Captain Burney, whom it strikingly corroborates. Having procured two guides, they now proceeded through an open country sprinkled with cypresses, and joined a family of the natives. The father, on hearing their inten- tion of penetrating to the ocean, pointed to one of his wives who was a native of the sea-coast; her appearance differed from the females they had hitherto seen. She was of low * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 285. 174 THE GUIDES DESERT. [1793 Stature, inclined to corpulency, with an oblong face, gray- eyes, and a flattish nose. Her garments consisted of a tunic covered with a robe of matted bark, fringed round the bottom with the beautiful fur of the sea-otter. She wore bracelets of brass, copper, and horn, whilst her hair was braided with large blue beads, and her ears and neck adorned with the same. With these people age seemed to be an object of great veneration : they carried an old woman by turns upon their backs, who was quite blind and infirm. The country appeared well peopled, and the natives, though at first alarmed, were soon conciliated by the guides. In some places they observed chains of small lakes, the val- leys were verdant and watered with pleasant rivulets, and the scenerj'' varied by groves of cypress and poplar, in which they were surprised to see no animals. The inha- bitants indeed seemed to live exclusively on fish ; and the people of one small settlement containing thirteen families were denominated, in the language of the country, Sloa- cuss-Dinais or Red Fish Men. They were healthy looking, and more provident, cleanly, and comfortable, than the neighbouring tribes. One of Mackenzie's greatest and most frequent perplexi- ties arose out of the sudden fits of caprice and change of purpose which characterize most savages, but none more than the Americans. An example of this now occurred. The guides, upon whose fidelity the success of the expedi- tion mainly depended, were advancing apparently in the most contented and friendly manner, when, in a moment, without uttering a worJ, they sprang forward, and dis- appeared in the woods, leaving the party, who were utterly unacquainted with the route, in a state bordering on de- spair.* Pushing forward, however, at a hazard, they per- * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 302. 17.93. J TERROR OF THE NATIVES. 375 ceived a house situated on ^ •. ,en spot by the edge of a wood the smoke of which cnr, od above the trees, intimat- ing that it was inhabited. Mackenzie advanced alone, as his party were too much alarmed to second his intrepidity • and 80 intent were the inhabitants upon their household labours, that he approached unperceived. Nothing could exceed the terror and confusion occasioned by his sudd-n appearance. The women and children uttered piercing shrieks, and the only man about the place sprung out of a back-door with the rapidity of a wild-cat, and fled into the woods. Their dismay arose from the belief that they were surprised by enemies, and would be instantly put to death- an atrocity too common among the Indian tribes. The con- duct of the man who had fled was amusing. By degrees he crept sufficiently near to watch the party ; and on ob- serving the kindness with which the women and children were treated, came cautiously within speaking distance. His eyes were still staring in his head. No assurances of the interpreters or the women could persuade him to return • no beads, knives, or presents of any kind, had the effect of restoring his confidence. On being approached, he kept dodging about behind large trees, brandishing his bow and arrows, grinning hideously, and displaying a variety of strange antics, till at last, in one of his paroxysms, he dived into a thicket and disappeared. As suddenly he emer-ed m an opposite quarter, and becoming pacified, after a sue- cession of parieys, agreed to accompany them as a guide. On advancing from this station they travelled over an elevated tract, and at length gained the summit of a hill, affording a view of a range of mountains covered with snow, which, according to the guide, terminated in the ocean. Passing along the borders of several small lakes, through a swampy country, they arrived at a lodge of natives, who received them with hospitality, and minutely 176 BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. [1793. Bcrutinized their appearance. The haiv of the women was tied in large loose knots over the ears, and plaited with great neatness from the division of the head, so as to be included in the knots. Some had their tresses adorned with beads, producing a very graceful effect ; whilst the men were clothed in leather, their hair nicely combed, their complexion fair, and their skin cleanly. One young man was at least six feet four inches in height, with a prepos- sessing countenance, and affable and dignified manners. All, not excepting the children, carried a burden proportioned to their strength, consisting of beaver-coating and parch- ment, skins of the otter, marten, bear, and lynx, besides dressed moose-skins. These last they procured from the Rocky Mountain Indians ; and for the purposes of trade the people of the sea- coast preferred them to any others. They now continued their journey through a beautiful valley, watered by a gentle rivulet, to a range of hills which they ascended till surrounded by snow so firm and compact that it crunched under their feet. Before them lay a stupendous mountain, whose summit, clad with the same spotless coronet, was partly lost in the clouds. Be- tween it and the route they were to follow flowed a broad river; and descending from their present elevated ground, they plunged into woods of lofty and umbrageous cedars and alder trees.* As they got lower into these primeval forests, they were sensible of an entire change of climate. The guides pointed out to them, through the openings in the dark foliage, the river which flowed in the distance, and a village on its banks, whilst beneath their feet the ground was covered with berries of an excellent flavour, and com- pletely ripe. The effect of sunset upon this noble scenery was strikingly beautiful; but their admiration was inter- f""-W " -— ■— ■ — ■ ... i_ ■ I .1. I ■— . . I -III I -I. .1. M. ^ .» I I.I !■ > ■■! ■ * Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 316, 317. i793.] VILLAGE IN THE FOREST. 177 rupted by the decampment of their guides wT,. -hades of evenin, began to fall, p.heri^ ; T^l pace that the party were soon left without Jd^et^ a ;„ darkness and uncertainty. The men, who we"e m' h fet,g„ed now proposed to take up the r qvlrtlfor t e night; but their indefetigable leader groped Uswatfl ahutwhe.^hep:^:rei;:d"'L^:;!:L— rdiir!::r;r;t::^^^^^^^^^^^^ by sign, that he shol^g" to r ^ ."" "'"''""'°'' ..Pright posts at some ItZZrllZ ^Z^ Zt 1 several people seated on a wide board JZ J Macken.ie took his pUce beside olwhl ^7^: ^ mfied look, he took to be the chief. Soon 4erThe restof whichTTf' """ ''^'^ ^^■"^*- -rhL;i^ which the cbef arose and brought a quantity of lasted lore them. When the meal was concluded, their host made s.gns whxch they supposed to convey a desi,^ tha they should sleep under the same roof with himselT- b^ ^ h.s meaning was not sufficiently plain, the;™ to bivouac without. Everything was done to rende^ThS -poseagreeable:-A fire was kindled, boards placed tha^ they m.ght not sleep on the bare ground, and two deu! dishes of salmon-roes beat im fr.fi, • "«"cato cream, and mixed wilh glllldTr"' 1 *"* l,roue-hf '- „ J""**^"*™*' and wood-sorrel, were tZfJl '^^"■- "" "^"'''"S •" *« "■o^ing they found all their wanta anticipated in the same hospWbll 178 SALMON FISHERY. [1793. manner: a fire was already blazing, a plentiful breakfast of roasted sabnon and dried roes was provided, and a regale of raspberries, whortleberries, and gooseberries, finished the meal.* Salmon vas so abundant in this river that the people had a constant supply. They had formed across the stream an embankment for placing fishing-machines, which were disposed both above and below it. For some reason, how- ever they would permit no near inspection of the weir ; but it appeared to be four feet above the water, and was constructed of alternate layers of gravel and small trees, fixed in a slanting position. Beneath it were placed machines into which the salmon fell in attempting to leap over ; and on either side was a large timber frame six feet above the water, in which passages were left leading directly into the machines, whilst at the foot of the fall dipping-nets were successfully employed. These people were observed to indulge an extreme superstition regard- ing their fish, refusing to taste flesh, and appearing to con- sider such an act as a pollution. One of their dogs having swallowed a bone which the travellers left, was beaten by his master till he disgorged it; and a bone of a deer being thrown into the river, a native dived, brought it up, con- signed it to the fire, and carefully washed his hands. They would not lend their canoes for the use of the party, having observed some venison which they concluded was to be stowed on board; and they alleged that the fish would immediately smell it and leave them. Although generous in furnishing the strangers with as much roasted fish as they could consume, they would part with none in a raw state: — ^They believed salmon to have an invincible anti- pathy to iron, and were afraid that, if given raw to the * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 318-320. 1793.] INDIAN MECHANICAL ARTS. 179 a vessel ot this ominous metjil T« ^+u «^g could cceed their «;,,• Ld rr^"- ing village belonging to the sZe trit! ,f """^''.'^™- Macien^ie w. i/p„f.„e smZVl^,. \7Z7^ exl ' d the „, . "™/ *" *"''"'"''^' ""'^ «"« &*» expressed the utmost satisfaction in bein^ nre«.„teJ ,Ji. * pair of scissors to clip his heanl 7 P'«'«n'«l with wa. as tCa;:^;sr:d::rdr„^,^vT he «»njectu^ to rte^r, tT '"''^^'' "■""" ever, were far greater than those of an orfinarv dwelHn! the ground-plot being fifty feet bv f^rHr R ""f""?' formed by four stout Jj T a ^'"^^^"^ ^^ end earth ThpT ^ *'""' P^-rendicularly i„ the earth The comer posts were unomamented, and sun ported a beam of the whole length, having L" inter med^to props on each side. Two ce^re poste iT^h end" STu::: t:^:ti^ri "^'^ --^ ^ .e.s,theha„dsle:;irne"i^^^^^ diffi^lty m sustaining the weight, whilst the figured on Th.'t -T '" "" ™^^ ""''""'^ -«■ *''^"«°'» rc.,.mg „„ ,heir hips. The posts, poles, and figures were painted red and black, and the caning ;«« exef^ted with 180 MACKENZIE REACHES THE SEA. [1793. 1^1 H 1 a truth and boldness which bespoke no little advancement in sculpture * In the mechanical arts they had arrived at considerable perfection. The chief's canoe was of cedar, forty-five feet long, four wide, and three feet and a half deep. It was painted black, and ornamented with draw- ings of various kinds of fish in white upon the dark ground, and the gunwale, both fore and aft, was neatly inlaid with the teeth of the sea-otter. In this vessel, according to the old chiefs account, he undertook, about ten winters before, a voyage towards the mid-day sun, having with him forty of his subjects; on which occasion he met with two large vessels full of white men, the first he had seen, by whom he was kindly received. Mackenzie very plausibly con- jectured that these might be the ships of Captain Cook. It was now the 18th of July, and, surrounded by friendly natives, with plenty of provisio^is, pleasant weather, and the anticipation of speedily reaching the great object of their wishes, they resumed their voyage in a large canoe, accompanied by four of the Indians. The navigation of the river, as they approached the ocean, was interrupted by rapids and cascades; but their skill in surmounting these impediments was now considerable, and on the 20th, after a passage of thirty-six miles, they arrived at the mouth of the river, which discharges itself by various smaller channels into an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the expedition was now completed, and its in- defatigable leader painted in large characters, upon the face of the rock under whose shelter they had slept, this simple memorial: — "Alexander Mackenzie from Canada by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." The inscription was only written in vermilion, and has probably long ago been * Mackenzie's Trarels, p. 331. 1820.] i hianklin's first journey. 181 washed away by the fury of the elements ; but the name of Mackenzie is enduringly consecrated in the annals of discovery, as the first person who penetrated from sea to sea across the immense continent of North America. His return by the same route it is unnecessary to pursue CHAPTER IV. Discoveries along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean. First and Second Expeditions of FrankhWVo,age of Captain iseechey. great fact that there .s a northern coast in America, washed by heArcUc Ocean, which f„™s, i„ ^11 p^bablitr^ con muous boundary; and they demonstrated the pracfe! b.l.ty of reaching this limit by passing over the vast plains wh.ch stretch northward f,.,m Canada and Hudson's Bay The voyages of Captain Parry, also, which have been already detaJed,* Mly corroborated this opinion; and ^ appeared evident that another expedition, p^periy con- ducted, m.ght reach this shore, and more fully examine its wholeextent. Such an expedition, accordingly, 8ailedfa,m England on the 23d of May 1820, its command being entrusted to Lieutenant, now Sir John Franklin, assisted by Dr. Eichardson, an able mineralogist and natural his- tonan Dunng the first portion of their journey, they followed the chain of the great lakes, instead of the more eastern track pursued by Hearne; and having descended the Coppermme River, arrived, on 21st July, at the shore of the Arctic Ocean, where they commenced their career of • Polar Seas and Kf^om, 3d edit. p. 2C3— 323. i il m 182 VOYAGE ALONG THE ARCTIC SHORES. [1820. disoovery. Important as were the particulars of their sur- vey, when considered in relation to the furtherance of geographical science, a minute detail is here unnecessary, and we shall attempt only a general sketch. Paddling along the coast to the eastward, on the inside of a crowded range of islands, they encamped on snore after a run of thirty-seven miles, in which they experienced Uttle interruption, and saw only a small iceberg in the distance, though that beautiful luminous effulgence emitted from the congregated ices, and distinguished by the name of the ice-blink, was distinctly visible to the northward. The coast was found of moderate height, easy of access, and covered with vegetation; but the islands were rocky and barren, presenting high cliffs of a columnar structure. In continuing their voyage, the dangers which beset a navi- gator in these dreadful polar solitudes thickened gloomily around them. The coast became broken and sterile, and at length rose into a high and rugged promontory, against which some large masses of ice had drifted, threatening- destruction to their slender canoes. In attempting to rounr J. this cape the wind rose, an awful gloom involved the sky, and the thunder burst over their heads, compelling them to encamp till the storm subsided. They then, at the immi- nent risk of having the canoes crushed by the floating ice, doubled the dreary promontory, which they denominated Cape Barrow, and entered Detention Harbour, where they landed. Around them the land consisted of mountains of granite, rising abruptly from the water's edge, destitute of vegetation, and attaining an elevation of fourteen or fifteen hundred feet; seals and small deer were the only animals seen, and the former were so shy that all attempts to approach within shot were unsuccessful. With the deer the hunters were more fortunate, but these were not numerous; and whilst the ice closed gradually around 1820.] CAPE KATEE AND BANFES' PENINSULA. 183 them, and their little -lock of provisions, consisting of pemmican and cured bcof, every day diminished, it was impossible not to regard their situation with uneasiness. Rounding Cape Kater, they entered Arctic Sound, and sent a party to explore a river upon the banks of v.hich they expected to find an Esquimaux encampment. All, how- ever, was silent, desolate, and deserted; even these hardy natives, bred amidst the polar ices, had removed from so barren a spot, and the hunters returned with two small deer and a brown bear, the latter animal so lean and sickly looking, that the men declined eating it; but the officers boiled its paws, and found them excellent. Proceeding along the eastern shore of Arctic Sound, to which they gave the name of Bankes' Peninsula, the expedition made its painful way along a coast indented by bays, and in many places studded with islands, till, on 10th August, they reached the open sea; and sailing, as they imagined, between the continent and a large island, found to their deep disappointment that, instead of an open chan- nel, they were in the centre of a vast bay. The state of the expedition now called for the most serious consideration upon the part of their commander. So much time had already been spent in exploring the sounds and inlets, that all hope of reaching Repulse Bay was vain; both canoes had sustained material injury; the fuel was expended; their provisions were sufficient only for three days; the appear- ances of the setting in of the arctic winter were too unequi- vocal to be mistaken; the deer, which had hitherto suppHed tt3m with fresh meat, would, it was well known, soon disappear; the geese and other aquatic birds were already seen winging their way to the southward; while the men, who had up to this moment displayed the utmost courage,' began to look disheartened, and to entertain serious appre- hensions for their safety. Under these circumstances, 184 LAND JOURNEY. [1820. Franklin, with the Fort Enterpri(»«. Fraiil^lin's researches, as far as prosecuted at this time, favfi^red the opinion of tho.^c who contended for the practicabiliry of t nortli-west passage. /^ appeared probable that the coast ran east and west in tiie latitude assigned to Mackenzie's River, and little doubt could, in his opinion, be entertained regarding the existence of a continued sea in that direction. The portion over which they passed was navigable for vessels of any size; and the ice met with after quitting Detention Harbour would not have arrested a strong boat, whilst the chain of islands afforded shelter from all heavy seas, and there were good harbours at convenient distances. Having, with much severe privation, completed their course, from *#>«)int ^tirnagain in Melville Bay to the entrance of Hood's liiver, they ascended as high as the first rapid, and encamped, terminating here their voyage on the Arctic Sea, during which they had gone over six hundred and fifty geographical miles. On the prospect of commencing their land journey, the Canadians could not conceal their satisfaction; and the evening previous to their departure was passed in talking over their past adventures, and congratulating each other in having at length turned their backs upon the sea, little anticipating that the most painful and hazardous portion of the expedition was yet to come. Before setting off, an assortment of iron materials, beads, looking-glasses, and other articles, was put up in a conspicuous situation for the Esquimaux, and th\i English union was planted on the loftiest sand-hill, whc. r>:, niig-ht be seen by any ships passing in the offing. Ht ''■ ulso v/as deposited in a tin box, 1820.] EXTREME COLD. 185 a letter containing an outline of the pro. ^edings of the expedition, the latitude and longitude of the principal places and the course intended te uc pursued toward. Slave Lake' Ihey now proceeded up the river in their cf. noes, and ll ough upon a short allowance of provisions, the produce of their nets and fowling-pieces furnished for a few days e. .ugh to ward off absolute want; but they were often on the very onnk of It. Their progress was much interrupted by shoals and rapids, and on., evening they encamped at the lower end of a navr^ow char m, the walls of which were upwards of two hundred feet high, and in some places only a few yards apart. Tnte this the river precipitates itself, forming two Wilberforce Falls. On taking a survey of its farther eourse from a neighbouring hill, it was discovered te be so rapid and shallow, that all progress in the large canoes seemed impossible. Two smaller boats were therefore constructed, and on 1st September they set off, with the intention of proceeding in as direct a line as possible te the part of Point Lake opposite their spring encampment~a distance which appeared comparatively trifling, being only one hundred and forty-nine miles. Their luggage consisted of ammunition, nets, hatehes, ice-chisels, astronomical in- struments, clothing-blankets, three kettles, and the two canoes, each so light as to be carried easily by a single man. But disaster attacked them in their very first stage A storm of snow came on, accompanied by a high wind against which it was difficult 1o carry the canoes, that were damag :a by the falls of those who bore them. The ground was covered by smaU stones, and much pain was endured by the carriers, whose soft moose-skin shoes were soon cut through. The cold was intense; and on encamping they looked in yai.i fr>f nrr^nA . „ c .f ,. . ° -^ " — ' ""^^> " '"~ 01 inoss was all they could procure, which served them to cook their supper, but gave ^ J 186 FAILURE OF PROVISIONS. [1820. SO little heat that they were glad to creep under their blankets.* Having ascended next morning one of the highest hills, they ascertained that the river took a westerly course, and Franklin, thinking that to follow it farther would lead to a more tedious journey than their exhausted strength could endure, determined to quit its banks and make directly for Point Lake. Emerging, therefore, from the valley, they crossed a barren country, varied only by marshy levels and small lakes. The weather was fine, but unfortunately no berry-bearing plants were found, the surface being covered in the more humid spots with a few grasses, and in other places with some gray melancholy lichens. On encamping, the last piece of pemmican, or pounded flesh, was distri- buted, with a little arrow-root, for supper. The evening was warm ; but dark clouds overspread the sky, and they experienced those sudden alternations of climate which occur in the polar latitudes at this season. At midnight it rained in torrents ; but towards morning a snow-storm arose, accompanied by a violent gale. During the whole day the storm continued, and not having the comfort of a fire the men remained in bed, but the tents were frozen ; around them the snow had drifted to the depth of three feet, and even within lay several inches thick on their blankets. Though the storm had not abated, any longer delay was impossible, for they knew every hour would increase the intensity of an arctic winter ; and though faint from fasting, and with their clothes stiffened by frost, it was absolutely necessary to push forward. They suffered much in packing the frozen tents and bedclothes, and could hardly keep their hands out of their fur mittens. On attempting to move, Franklin was seized with a fainting * Franklin's Journey, p. 399. 1820.] CRACROFT'a RIVEB. 187 fit, occasioned by hunger and exhaustion, and on recoverinff refused to eat a morsel of portable soup, which was imme- diately prepared for him, as it had to be drawn from the only remaining meal of the party. The people, however ^ndly crowded round, and overcame his reluctance. The effect of eating was his rapid recovery; and the expedition moved on. '^ Disaster now crowded on disaster. The wind rose so high, that those who carried the canoes were frequently blown down, and one of the boats was so much shattered as to be rendered unserviceable. The ground was covered with snow; and though the swamps were frozen, yet the ice was often not sufficiently strong; so that they plunged in knee-deep. A fire, however, was made of the bark and timbers of the broken canoe ; and, after having fasted three days, their last meal of porteble soup and arrow-root was cooked. Each man's allowance at this melancholy dinner was exceedingly scanty ; but it allayed the pangs of hunger and encom-aged them to press forward at a quicker rate! Ihey had now reached a more hilly country, strewed with large stones, and covered with gray lichen, well known to the Canadians by its name tripe de roche. In casea of extremity, it is boiled and eaten; but its taste is nauseous, Its quality purgative, and it sometimes produces an intoler- able griping and loathing. The party not being aware of this, gathered a considerable quantity. A few partridges also had been shot; and at night some willows were dug up from under the snow, with which they lighted a fire and cooked their supper. Next day they came to Cra^roft'a River, flowing to the westward over a channel of large stones, that rendered it impossible to cross in the canoe. No alfprn«f,Va «,o. i.f. but to attempt a precarious passage over some rocks at a rapid; and in effecting this, some of the men, losing their ! 188 CONGECATHAWHACIIAGA. [1820. balance, slipt into the water. They were instantly rescued by their companions; but so intense was the frost, that their drenched clothes became caked with ice, and they suffered much during the remainder of the day's march. The hunters had fallen in with some partridges, which they shot, and they found enough of roots to make a fire ; so that their supper, though scanty, was comparatively com- fortable. Next morning they pushed forward with ardour, and passed the River Congecathawhachaga of Mr Hearne. The country which lay before them was hilly, and covered with snow to a great depth. The sides of the hills were traversed by sharp angular rocks, where the drifted snow, filling up the interstices, presented a smooth but fallacious surface, which often gave way and precipitated them into the chasms with their heavy loads. In this painful and arduous manner they struggled forward several days, feed- ing on the tripe de roche, which was so frozen to the rocks, that their hands were benumbed before a meal could be collected, and so destitute of nutritive juices, that it allayed hunger only for a very short time. At length reaching the summit of a hill, they, to their great delight, beheld a herd of musk-oxen feeding in the valley below ; an instant halt was made, the best hunters were called out, and whilst they proceeded with extreme caution in a circuitous route, their companions watched their proceedings with intense anxiety. When near enough to open their fire, the report reverbe- rated through the hills, and one of the largest cows was seen to fall. " This success," says Franklin, in that simple and beautiful account of his journey which any change of language would only weaken, " infused spirit into our starv- ing party. The contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot ; and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, were pronounced by the most delicate of the party to be excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen peeping 1820.] PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY. 189 through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly grubbed, the tents pitched, and supper cooked and devoured with avidity. It was the sixth day since we had had a good meal. I do not think that we witnessed, through the course of our journey, a more striking proof of the wise dispensa- tion of the Ahnighty, and of the weakness of our own judg- ment, than on this day. We had considered the dense fog which prevailed throughout the morning as almost the greatest inconvenience which could have befaUen us, since It rendered the air extremely cold, and prevented us from distinguishing any distant object towards which oui- course could be directed. Yet this very darkness enabled the party to get to the top of the hill, which bounded the valley wherein the musk-oxen were grazing, without being per- ceivi; 1. Had the herd discovered us and taken alarm, our banters, in their present state of debility, would in all pro- bability have failed in approaching them." * On the following day a strong southerly wind blowing with a snow-drift, they took a day's rest, and as only enough remained of the musk-ox to serve for two days, they con- tented themselves with a single meal. Next morning, though the gale had not diminished, they pushed forward' and notwithstanding their rest and recent supply of animal food, the whole party felfc greater weakness than they had hitherto experienced. The weather was hazy, but after an hour's march the sky cleared, and they found themselves on the borders of a lake, of which they could not discern the termination in either direction. In these circumstances they travelled along its banks to the westward, in search of a crossing-place. Credit, one of the Canadians, left the party in hopes of falling in with deer, but did not return ; and on encamping in the evening, hungry and fatigued. « Franklin's Journey, vol. iv. p. 13, small edition of 1829. Il 190 SUFFERINGS FROM FAMINE. [1820. they had to divide for supper a single partridge and some tripe de roche. This weed from the first had been unpala- table, but now became insupportably nauseous, and began in many to produce severe pains and bowel-complaints, especially in Mr. Hood, one of the young officers attached to the expedition. This solitary partridge was the last morsel of animal food that remained; and they turned with deep anxiety to the hope of catching some fish in the lake, but discovered that the persons intrusted with them had improvidently thrown away three of the nets and burnt the floats on leaving Hood's River. Things now began to look very gloomy ; and as the men were daily getting weaker, it was judged expedient to lighten their burdens of everything except ammunition, clothing, and the instruments necessary to guide them on their way. The dipping-needle, the azimuth compass, the magnet, a large thermometer, and the few books they carried, were therefore deposited at this encampment, after they had torn out from these last the tables necessary for working the latitude and longitude. Rewards also were promised by Franklin to such of the party as should kill any animals, and in the morning they prepared to go forward. At this moment a fine trait of disinterestedness occurred : As the officers assembled nmnd a small fire, enduring an intense degree of hunger which they had no means of satis- fying, Perrault, one of the Canadians, presented each of them with a piece of meat out of a little store which he had saved from his allowance. " It was received," says Frank- lin, " with great thankfulness, and such an instance of self- denial and kindness filled our eyes with tears." Pressing forward to a river issuing from the lake, they met their comrade. Credit, and received the joyful intelligence that he had killed tvip deer. One of these was immediately cut up and prepared for breakfast; and having sent some of m 1820.J OANOE SWAMPED. 191 the party for the other, the re,t proceeded down the river which was abont three hundred yard, broad, in search of a place to cross. Haring chosen a spot where the current was smooth, mimediately above a rapid, Franklin and two Canaian boatmen, St. Germain and Behmger, pushed from the shore. The breeze waa fi^sh, and the current stronger than they ,mag.„ed, so that they approached the verr edge .rfthe rap.d; and Bebnger employing his paddle to stealy the canoe, lost his balance, and overset the bark in the m,ddle of .t The party clung to its side, and reaching a rock where the stream was but waist-deep, kept their footL hit rr ™^f™P"^ "f ™'«'', after which Belanger he d ,t Steady wh,le St. Germain replaced Franklin in it, tTon I^TT:^ "'"'' ^^ '"^''- «»* -- *eir situa- ton, that ,f the man who stood on the rock had raised his fo^, they would have been lost. His friends therefore were compeUed to leave him, and after a second disaster, in which he canoe struck and was as expeditiously righted as before, they reached the opposite bank. Meanwhile Belange; suffered e^remely, immersed to his middle, and end Jng mtense cold He called piteously for relief, and St. Ger mam re-embarking, attempted to reach him, but was hurried down the rapid, and on coming ashore was so benumbed as to be mcapable of farther exertion. A second effort, but equaUy unsuccessful, was made by Adam : they then tried to cany out a line formed of the slings of the men's loads, but .t broke, and was carried down the stream. At last when he was almost exhausted, the canoe reached him with a «mallcordof oneof theremainingnets, and he was dragged 1,1,1? "T ""'™""'- •^" "^'"S stripped, rolled in Wanket^andputtobed between two men, he ..covered. Durmg these operations Franklin was left alone upon the bank and .t seemed a matter of the utmost doubt whether he should be ever rejoined by his companions. « It is im 192 DESOLATE SITUATION. [1820. possible," says he, " to describe my sensations as I witnessed the various unsuccessful attempts to relieve Belanger. The distance prevented my seeing distinctly what was going on, and I continued pacing up and down the rock on which I stood, regardless of the coldness of my drenched and stiffening garments. The canoe, in every attempt to reach him, was hurried down the rapid, and was lost to view amongst the rocky islets, with a fury which seemed to threaten instant destruction; once, indeed, I fancied that I saw it overwhelmed in the waves : such an event would have been fatal to the whole party. Separated as I was from my companions, without gun, ammunition, hatchet, or the means of making a fire, and in wet clothes, my doom would have been speedily sealed. My companions, too, driven to the necessity of coasting the lake, must have sunk under the fatigue of rounding its innumerable arms and bays, which, as we learned afterwards from the Indians, are extensive. By the goodness of Providence, however, we were spared at that time, and some of us have been permitted to offer up our thanksgiving in a civilized land for the signal dehverance we then and afterwards ex- perienced."* On setting out next morning, Perrault brought m a fine male deer, which raised the spirits of the party, as it secured them in provisions for two days; and they trusted to support themselves for a third or. the skin which they carried with them. Having ascended the Willingham Mountains, they entered upon a rugged country, intersected by deep ravines, the passage of which was so difficult, that they could only make ten miles with great fatigue. The deer was now picked to the last morsel, and they ate pieces of the singed hide with a little tripe de roche. At other 1820.] TRIPE DE ROCHE FAILS. 193 times this meal might have sufficed; but, exhausted by slender food and continued toil, their appetites had become ravenous. Hitherto events had been so mercifully ordered that in their utmost need some little supply in the tripe de roche had never failed them; but it was the will of God that their confidence should be yet more strongly tried- lor they now entered upon a level country covered with snow, where even this miserable lichen was no longer to be found; and a bed of Iceland moss, which was boiled for supper, proved so bitter that none of the party, though enduring the extremities of hunger, could taste more than a few spoonfuls. Another distress now attacked them- the intensity of the cold increased, while they became less fit to endure it. Their blankets did not suffice to keep them warm and the slightest breeze pierced through their debilitated frames, "The reader," says Franklin, "will probably be desirous to know how we passed our time in such a comfortless situation. The first operation after encamping was to thaw our frozen shoes, if a sufficient fire could be made; dry ones were then put on. Each person then wrote his notes of the daily occurrences, and evening prayers were read. As soon as supper was prepared it was eaten, generally in the dark, and we went to bed, and kept up a cheerful conversation until our blankets were thawed by the heat of our bodies, and we had gathered sufficient warmth to enable us to fall asleep. On many nights we had not even the luxury of going to bed in dry clothes; for, when the fire was insufficient to dry our shoes, we dared not venture to pull them oif, lest they should freeze so hard as to be unfit to put on in the morning, and there- lore inconvenient to carry." * Hunger, fatigue, and disappointment, began now to have N * Franklin's Journey, p. 414. 194 INSUBORDINATION. [1820. a calamitous effect upon the tempers of the men. One, who carried the canoe, after several severe falls, threw down his burden, and obstinately refused to resume it. It was accordingly given to another, who proved stronger, and pushed forward at so rapid a rate that Mr. Hood, whose weakness was now extreme, could not keep up with them; and as Franklin attempted to pursue and stop them, the whole party were separated. Dr. Richardson, who had remained behind to gather tripe de roche, joined him, and on advancing they found the men encamped among some willows, where they had found some pieces of skin and a few bones of deer which had been devoured by the wolves. On these they had made a meal, having burnt and pounded the bones, boiled the skin, and added their old shoes to the mess. With this no fault could be found; but on questioning the person to whom the canoe had been intrusted, it was dis- covered that he had left the boat behind, it having, as he said, been broken by a fall, and rendered entirely useless. To the infatuated obstinacy of the men in refusing to retrace their steps and fetch it, even in its shattered state, is to be ascribed much of the distress of their subsequent journey. Every argument and entreaty seemed entirely thrown away; and they had apparently lost all hope of being preserved. When the hunters, who had been out for some time, did not make their appearance, they became furious at the idea of having been deserted, and throwing down their bundles, declared they would follow them at ''11 hazards, and leave the weakest to keep up as they best could. The remonstrances of the officers at length opened their minds to the madness of such a scheme; and on en- camping in the evening, they found some pines seven or eight feet high, which furnished a comfortable fire, when they made their supper on tripe de roche. Next morning a herd of deer came in wight, and they killed five — a [1820. . One, , threw 5 it. It tronger, 1, whose h them; lem, the irho had lim, and Qg some in and a wolves, pounded es to the jstioning was dis- ig, as he useless, iusing to ed state, bsequent entirely hope of been out f became throwing em at ^U they best h opened id on en- seven or ire, when morning I five — a 1820.] THE COPPEKMINE HIVEK. 195 supply which, considering the extremity of hnnger and despair to which they were reduced, was' «peci^^" "f denfal. I waa evident that He, without whom Tt' sparrow Ms to the gromid, was with them in theTr ZL m.ty of distress, and, casting themselves upon Z^ every heart expanded with hope and gratitudl ^ Ihe Canadians now earnestly petitioned for a day's rest ment of two substantial meals, after eight days' &JZ wodd enable them to press forward more'vigorTusly^'he flesh, he skins, and even the stomachs of .he dee^ were accordingly equally divided among the party, and someTf t":trT'''r ^^ ^— »4enceTthe use of this food after so long an abstinence. Next momine- ZoL Z, V ^°PP*™™ Ri™^- Its current was tr»g , but with a canoe there would have been no diffi- culty m crossing; and the reckless folly „f the men m abandoning their only means of trans^rt was 72 covered, and the plan was suggested of framing a vessel of -Hows, covered with the canvass of the tent; bu the Nothing remamed but to resume their march along the borders of the lake, and looking out eagerly, but in vl for some fordable place, they encamped at Ae east end Anxious to adopt every possible means for preserving the party, Franklin sent Mr. Back forward with the IZf^. ^rs to hunt. He was directed to halt at the first p n^ uffiZr ' '-' '".' '"'^ """'^^^ "-' ^^'^ ^■^■»=j' nd send I Tr '™ *'""' ^' ™' '" ''°'' immediately, nd send the Indians with supplies of meat to the party 196 A RAFT CONSTRUCTED. [1820. At this time it was discovered that two of the men had stolen pai-t of the officers' provision, though it had been doled out with the strictest impartiality, and they saw their leaders suffering more acutely than themselves lo punish this was impossible, except by the threat that they should forfeit their wages, which produced little effect. Despondency had deeply seized upon the party and m the morning strict orders could not prevent them from strag- gling in search of the remains of animals; in co«scquence of which much time was lost in halting, and ammunition in firing guns to collect them. The snow, however, h.d disappeared, and pressing forward with more alacrity, they came to an arm of the lake running north-east. Ihe idea of making the long circuit round it was distressmg; and having halted to consult what was to be done, some one discovered in a cliff the carcass of a deer which had fallen into a chasm. It was quite putrid, but even in that state appeared delicious, and a fire being kindled, a large portion was rapidly devoured; whilst the men, cheered by this unexpected breakfast, regained their confidence, and requested leave to return to the rapid, insisting on the practicability of making a sufficiently strong raft of willows, though they had formerly pronounced it impossible. 1 heir advice was followed; and having sent off Augustus, one of the interpreters, to inform Mr. Back of this change of plan, they commenced their retrograde movement, and encamped at night in a deep valley among some large willows, where they supped on the remains of the putrid (\ PPT* Next day they regained the rapids, commenced cutting willows for the raft, and a reward of three hundred livres was promised by Franklin to the person who should convey a line acrnss the river strong enough to manage the raft Lnd transport the party. The willows when cut were 1820.] Richardson's generosity, 107 bound into fagots, and the work completed; but the ^reen ness of the wood rendered it heavy, and incapable of sup- porting more than one man at a time. Still they hoped to be able to cross; but all depended on getting a line carried to the opposite bank, through a current one hun- ared and thirty yards wide, strong, deep, and intensely cold. Belanger and Benoit, the two strongest men of the party, repeatedly attempted to take the raft over, but for want of oars were driven back. The tent-staves were then tied together and formed a strong pole; but it was not ong enough to reach the bottom even at a short distance from the shore. Dr. Richardson next produced a paddle he had brought from the coast, but which was found not powerful enough to impel the raft against a strong breeze. The failure of every attempt occasioned a deep despondency which threatened to have the most fatal effects, when Dr Richardson, with a disinterested courage that made him forget his own weakness, threw off his upper garments, and attempted to swim with a rope to the opposite bank. Plunging m with a line round his middle, he at first made some way, but the extreme cold was too much for him, and m a few moments his arms became powerless; still, beinjr an expert swimmer, he not only kept himself afloat, but made way by turning on his back and using his legs, so that he had nearly reached the other side, when, to the in- expressible anguish of those who watched his progress h'"s limbs became benumbed, and he sank. AH hands Low hauled on the line, and drew him ashore almost lifeless- but placed before afire of willows and stript of his wet clothes, he gradually revived enough to give directions as to the mode of treating him. His thin and emaciated limbs which were now exposed to view, produced an mvohmt^ri exclamation of compassion and surprise:-'' Ah, que nous «ommes maigresi" said the French Canadians; but it is 198 ACCUMULATED SUFFERINGS. [1820, probable that few of them would have presented so gaunt and attenuated an appearance as the brave and excellent man who had thus nearly fallen a sacrifice to his humanity, for it was discovered about this time that the hunters were in the practice of withholding the game which they shot, and devouring it in secret.* Soon after this the party were joined by Mr. Back, who had traced the lake about fifteen miles farther up without discovering any place where it was possible to get across; and towards evening, Credit, who had been out hunting, returned without any game of his own killing, but brought the antlers and backbone of a deer shot during the summer. These relics had been already picked clean by the wolves and birds of prey, but the marrow remained in the spine; and though completely putrid, and so acrid as to excoriate the lips, it was not the less acceptable. The bones were rendered friable by burning, and the whole eagerly de- voured. St. Germain, one of the voyagers, now suggested that a canoe might be made of the painted canvass used to wrap up the bedding, and offered to construct it upon a framework of willows. For this purpose he and Adam removed to a clump of willows, whilst another party pro- ceeded to the spot where they had encamped on the 25th, to collect pitch amongst the small pines to pay over the seams. A snow-storm at this moment came on, and the sufferings of the men hourly increasing, a deep gloom settled upon their spirits. Mr. Hood was by this time re- duced to a perfect shadov,-; Mr. Back required the support of a stick; Dr. Richardson was lame; and Franklin so feeble, that, after a struggle of three hours, he found him- seK utterly unable to reach the spot where St. Germain was at work, a distance of only three quarters of a mile, and * Franklin's Journej, pp. 423, 424. 1820.1 THE RIVER CROSSED. 199 returned completely exhausted. The Canadian voyagers had now fallen into a state of despondency i^^^a bordered on despair, and, indifferent to their fate, refused to make the slightest exertion. The officers were unable to undergo the labour of gathering the tripe de roche, and Samandre the cook, sullenly declined coiuinuing his labours. At this miserable crisis the conduct of John Hepburn, a:. En-lish sailor, was especially admirable, presenting a striking con- trast to the gloomy selfishness of the Canadians. His firm reliance on the watchful goodness of God, and a cheerful resignation to his will, never for a moment forsook him- and, animated by this blessed principle, his strength ap- peared to be preserved as the means of saving the party He collected the tripe de roche for the officers' mess, cooked and served it out, and showed the most indefatigable zeal m his efforts to alleviate their sufferings. A gleam of hope at length arose, when St. Germain completed the canoe. It was impossible not to feel that their last chance of escape seemed to hang upon this little bark; would it prove sufficient for its purpose? or, con- structed of such wretched materials, would it not at once sink to the bottom? Amid this conflict of contending emotions it was launched on the river, and every heart bounded with exultation when it floated and St. Germain transported himself to the opposite side. It was drawn back, and, one by one, the whole party were ferried over though, from the leaky state of the little bark, their gar- ments and bedding were completely drenched. Franklin immediately despatched Mr. Back and three men to push on to Fort Enterprise in search of the Indians, whilst he himself followed with the rest. Nothing could exceed the joy of the Canadian voyagers at this unlooked-for deliverance. Their spirits rose from the deepest despondency into tumultuous exultation. They 20O SLOW PKOGRESS. [1820. shook the officers by the hand, cried out that their worst difficulties were at an end, and expressed a confident hope of being able to reach Fort Enterprise in the course of a few days — a boisterous and sudden confidence, to which the silent gratitude and quiet resolution of the pious Hepburn presented a striking contrast. Their tents and bedclothes were so much frozen, and the men, who had kindled a small fire, so weary, that it was eight in the morning before the bundles were packed, and the party set forward. They travelled in single files, each at a small distance from his neighbour. Mr. Hood, who was now nearly exhausted, was obliged to walk at a gentle pace in the rear, Dr. Richardson kindly keeping beside him ; whilst Franklin led the foremost men, that he might make them halt occasionally till the stragglers came up. Credit, hitherto one of their most active hunters, became lamentably weak from the effects of tripe de roche on his constitution, and Vaillant, from the same cause, was getting daily more emaciated. They only advanced six miles during the day, and at night satisfied the cravings of hunger by a small quantity of tripe de roche mixed up with some scraps of roasted leather. During the night the wind increased to a strong gale, which continuing next day, besides being piercingly cold, filled the atmosphere with a thick snow- drift. Having boiled and eaten the remains of their old shoes, and every shred of leather which could be pickea up, they set forward at nine over bleak hills separated by equally barren valleys. In this manner they journeyed till noon, not without much straggling and frequent halts, at which time Samandr^ came up with the melancholy news that Credit and Vaillant had dropt down and were utterly unable to proceed. Dr. Richardson went back, and discovering Vaillant about a mile and a half in the rear, assured him a fire was kindled 1820.] TWO MEN LEFT IN THE SNOW. 201 a little way on, and that he would recover if he could but reach it; the poor fellow struggled up on his feet, and feebly tried to advance, but fell down every step in the deep snow. Leaving him, Dr. Richardson retraced his steps about a mile fartlier in a fruitless search for Credit In returning he passed Vaillant, who had fallen do-/n' utterly unable to renew his efforts to rejoin the party' Belanger went back to cany his burden and assist him to the fire J but the cold had produced such a numbness that he could not speak or make the slightest exertion. The stoutest of the party were now implored to make a last effort to transport him to the fire, but declared themselves utterly unable for the task. They eagerly requested leave to throw down their loads, and proceed with the utmost speed to Fort Enterprise-a scheme projected in the de- spair of the moment, and which must have brought destruc- tion upon the whole. Matters had now reached a dreadful crisis; it was necessary to come to an immediate decision regarding their ultimate measures, and a plan proposed by Mr. Hood and Dr. Richardson was adopted. These gentlemen consented to remain with a single attendant at the first spot where there were sufficient firewood and tripe de roche for ten days' consumption, whilst Franklin and the rest were to proceed with all expedition to Fort Enterprise, and to send immediate assistance. This scheme promised to relieve them of a considerable portion of their burdens— for one of the tents and various other articles were to be left ; and it gave poor Credit and Vaillant a fairer opportunity, should they revive, of regaining their companions. On the resolution bemg communicated to the men, they were cheered with the Orosnect r.f an nllpviafior rvf *l>c: ,•_ J , ^ !,.iiun v/x meii misury, and pressed forward in search of a convenient spot for the proposed separation. Near nightfall they encamped under the lee 202 RICHARDSON AND HOOD REMAIN. [1820. I of a hill amongst some willow«5, which furnished a small fire, but not sufficiently strong to ihaw their frozen clothes ; and no tripe de roche having been found during the day, they lay down hungry, cold, and full of the gloomiest apprehen- sions, whilst sleep fled from their eyelids, and the images of their dying companions rose before their imagination in colours which made them shudder for a fate that might so soon become their own * Next morning the weather pro- videntially was mild, and setting out at nine they arrived towards noon at a thicket of willows, in the neighbourhood of some rocks bearing a pretty full supply of tripe de roche. Here Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood determined to remain. The tent was pitched, a barrel of ammunition and other articles were deposited, and Hepburn, who volunteered the service, was appointed to continue with them. The rest of the party now had only to carry a single tent, the ammu- nition, and the officers' journals, in addition to their own clothes and a single blanket for Captain Franklin. When all was ready, the whole party united in thanksgiving and prayers to Almighty God for their mutual preser\'ation, and separated with the melancholy reflection, that it might in all probability be the last time they should ever again meet in this world. On leaving their friends. Captain Franklin and his party descended into a more level country ; but the snow lay so deep, that they were so little able to wade through it that they encamped, after a painful march of only four miles and a half, in which Belanger, and Michel, an Iroquois, were left; far behind, yet still struggling forward. In the evening they came in dreadfully exhausted, and Belanger, till now one of the strongest of the party, could not refrain from tears as he declared he was totally unable to proceed, * Franklin's Journey, pp. 431, 432. [1820. lall fire, js ; and ly, they prehen- iraages ation in light so her pro- arrived ourhood le roche. remain, id other ered the e rest of I ammu- leir own When dng and jrvation, it might er again lis party w lay so h it that ar miles [roquois, In the lelanger, t refrain proceed, 1820.] FRANKLIN PUSHES FORWAED. 203 and implored permission to return to Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood. Michel made the same request, and it was agreed that they should do so. The cold of the night was exces- sive, and the men were so weak that they could not raise the tent ; from its weight it was impossible to transport it from place to place, and it was cut up, the canvass serving them for a covering; but though they lay close together, the intense frost deprived them of sleep. Having no tripe de roche, they had supped upon an infusion of the Labrador tea-plant, with a few morsels of burnt leather. Michel and Belanger, being apparently more exhausted in the morning than over night, were left, whilst the rest moved forward. After a very short progress, Perrault was attacked with a fit of dizziness; but on halting a Httle, again proposed to proceed. In ten minutes, however, he sunk down, and weeping aloud, declared his total inability to go on. He was accordingly advised to rejoin Michel and Belanger— a proposal in which he acquiesced. These examples of the total failure of the strongest in the party had a very un- favourable efiect on the spirits of the rest, and the exertion of wading through the snow and crosi.ing a lake on the ice, wnere they were frequently blown down, was so severe, that Fontano, after having repeatedly fallen, piteously com- plained that he was utterly unable to go farther. Being not two miles from the others, it was thought best that he also should attempt to rejoin them;* and as he was much beloved, the parting was very distressing. They watched him for some time, "nd were comforted by seeing that, though his progress was very slow, he kept his feet better than before. The whole party was now reduced to five persons, Captain Franklin, Adam, Peltier, Benoit, and Samandr^^ Mh£m^9^ 204 AURIVAL AT FORT ENTERPRISE, [1820. the interpreter Augustus having pressed forward by himself during the late frequent halts. They made that day only four miles and a half, and encamped for the night under a rock, supping again on an infusion of the Labrador tea- plant and some shreds of boiled leather. The evening was comparatively mild, the breeze light, and having the com- fort of a fire, they enjoyed some sleep. This was of infinite advantage; it gave them new spirits, which were farther invigorated by a breakfast of tripe de roche, this being the fourth day since they had a regular meal. On reaching Marten Lake they found it frozen over— a circumstance which they knew would enable them to walk upon the ice straight to Fort Enterprise. It may be easily imagined what were the sensations of the party in approaching the spot which they trusted would be the end of all their toils and privations. From the arrangements previously made, it was judged certain that they would here find relief, and be able to send assistance to their unfortunate companions. It was a spot where they had enjoyed at a former period of the expedition the greatest comfort; but it was possible, though they scarcely permitted themselves to contemplate so dreadful an idea, that circumstances might have occurred to defeat their present expectations. On approaching the house- their minds were strongly agitated betwixt hope and fear, and contrary to their usual custom, they advanced in silence. At length they reached it, and their worst apprehensions were realized. It was completely desolate. No provisions had been deposited— no trace of Indians could be discovered —no letter lay there from Mr. Wentzel to inform them whei the Indians might be found. On entering, a mute J !_. ^' J i-Ur. ^r,^^r TViP'O' offlizp.d OH thc cold hcarth, aespair Sciz,cu t^c j^tUij. - ••«v o — ^ -- - comfortless walls, and broken sashes, through which the wind and snow penetrated, and awakening to a full sense SikSSasiSJilii: 1820.] WHICH IS FOUND DESERTED. 205 of the horrors of their situation, burst into tears.* On re- covering a little, and looking round with more attention, a note was found from Mr. Back, stating that having two days before this reached the house, he had proceeded in search of the Indians; but described his party as so debilitated that it was doubtful whether f hey would be able to reach Fort Providence. The sufferings endured by this meritorious officer and his little party, one of whom was frozen to death, were equally dreadful with those which fell to the share of his excellent commander.f The poor sufferers thus grievously disappointed, now examined the deserted habitation for the means of sub- sistence, and found several deer-skins thrown away during their former residence at the fort. The heaps of ashes were carefully raked, and a considerable collection of bones discovered, which were hoarded up for the purpose of being pounded and manufactured into soup. The parchment originally employed instead of glass had been torn from the windows, and the place was exposed to all the inclem- ency of an arctic wmter; but they succeeded in filling the sashes with loose boards, and as the temperature of the outer air was now from 15° to 20° below zero, this precaution was especially necessary. To procure water, they melted the frozen lumps of snow, and the flooring of the neighbour- ing apartment was broken up for fuel. Having completed these arrangements, they assembled round the fire, and were busy singeing the hair off a deer- skin, when they were cheered by the entrance of the inter- preter, who had made his way to the fort by a different route, through a country he had never traversed before. Though by far the strongest of the party, he was now so enfeebled by famine that he could not follow two deer * Franklin's Journey, pp. 438, 439. t See Mr. Back's interesting Narrative, Franklin's Journey, p. 477. 206 NOTE FROM MR. BACK. [1820. which he had seen on his way. Next morning there was a heavy gale from the south-east, and the snow drifted so thick that no one ventured abroad. On the evening of the succeeding day, a figure covered with ice, benumbed with cold, and almost speechless, staggered into the house. It was one of the Canadians, who had been despatched with a note by Mr. Back, and having fallen into a rapid narrowly escaped being drowned.* To change his dress, wrap him in warm blankets, and pour some soup over his throat, was their first care ; and after a little he revived enough to answer the anxious questions with which he was assailed. From his replies but little comfort was derived. Mr. Back had seen no trace of the Indians, and the messenger's re- collection appeared confused with regard to the part of the country where he had left his officer, who, as he stated, intended to proceed to the spot where the Indian chief Akaitcho had encamped last summer — a distance of about thirty miles. Thither he proposed to follow wLen he was a little recruited ; and, though dissuaded from the attempt, persisted that as the track was beaten he would be able to make it out, and to convey intelligence of the situation of Captain Franklin's party. Accordingly, the fifth day after his arrival, he departed from the fort with a small supply of singed hide. Not long after, Adam, one of the five men who now re- mained with Captain Franklin, became so ill that he was utterly incapable of moving, and it was discovered that he had been for some time afflicted with oedematous swellings in various parts of his body, which he had hitherto gener- ously concealed, from a wish not to impede the movements of his companions. As it was impossible for this poor man to travel, it was necessary to abandon the original intention * Franklin's Journey, pp. 440, 441. 1820.] PEANKLIN ATTEMPTS TO PROCEED. 207 1 elher and Samandrg, who were in almost as weak a state FrXXn l?' "" """"'" "■*" ^^™' Captain ^ranfclm along wjth Augustus and Benoit, determined to press on to Fort Providence, and to send relief to their compamons by the first party of Indians they should meet. Havmg accordingly given directions regarding the jour- nal and charts which were left in their custody, and the test mode of forwarding succour to Mr. Hood and Dr l^lTl lt"° "' '"^''^ *■* h'^ *- attendants nH shed ^^ *'"'' •'"«""'• *^* «■" ''•^'ance accom- pushed ,n S.X hours was only four miles. They encamped any tnpe de r«=he, made their supper upon fried dcer-skin. The n.ght proved intensely cold, and although they cl hmb and the wmd p.erced through their famished frames3> -^cKt mommg was mild, and they set out early, but had two rocks, and bi^ke his snow-shoes, an accident which mcapactated him from keeping up with Benoit and Au gustus In a very short time his attempt to press forward completely exhausted him, and as the only'hope of^^ servmg the Uves of the party appeared to'^resf on thJr speeddy reaching Fort Providence, he determined, rather than retard them, to .«tra«e his steps to the house whilst they proceeded for assistance. Calling a moment's halt, he addressed one note to Mr. Back, requesting an imme- diate supply of meat from Rein Deer Lake, and another to he commandant at Port Providence, with urgent entreaties r assistance. This done, Augustus and Benoit resumed their journey, and Franklin returned to the house * Franklin's Journey, p, 444. iiHlil'~~"^" 208 FRANKLIN JOINED BY HIS FRIENDS, [1S20. On arriving, he found Adam, Samandr^, and Peltier still alive ; but the two first, whose minds seemed quite enfeebled, could not be prevailed on to leave their bed, and their nervous weakness was so great that they scarcely ceased shedding tears all day. It was even with difficulty that they were prevailed on to take any nourishment ; and the labour of cutting and carrying fuel, gathering the tripe de roche, and cooking, fell entirely upon Franklin and Peltier. The frost was now so severe, that it was evident this lichen would soon be bound up in ice, and as their strength daily declined, every exertion became irksome. When once seated, it required a painful effort to rise up, and not unfrequently they had to lift each other from their chairs. This miserable condition could not last long. Pel- tier soon became almost incapable of holding the hatchet ; the bone-soup had become so acrid as to cor 'ode the inside of their mouths; the tripe de roche, covered with ice, defied all efforts to detach it from the rock ; and though the rein- deer sported on the banks of the river, no one had strength to go after them, or to hold a gun so steadily as to secure an aim. Still the hopes and cheerfulness of Franklin did not de- sert him. From his knowledge of the places mostly fre- quented at that season by the Indians, he was sanguine as to the likelihood of their being found ; and their speedy arrival formed a constant subject of conversation. At length, on the evening of the 29th, when talking of his long-looked-for relief, and sitting round the fire, Peltier suddenly leapt up and uttered a joyful exclamation, ima- gining he heard the bustle of the Indians in the adjoining room. It was not the Indians, however, but Dr. Richard- son and Hepburn, who came in, each carrying his bundle. The meeting was one of mingled joy and sorrow. Poor Hood's absence was instantly perceived, and their saddest 1820.] DR. RICHARDSON ANL» HEPBURN. 209 anticipations were confirmed by Dr. Richardson declarinff that this young officer and Michel were dead, and that neither Perrault nor JA ntano had reached the tent, or been heard of. Such news could not fail to create despondency All were shocked at the emaciated countenances and hollow voices of Dr Richardson and his companion, while Captain Franklin and his fellow-sufferers, having become gradually accustomed to the dreadful effects of famine upon each other were not aware that, to the eyes of their friends who had JUS arnved, the alteration upon themselves was equally melancholy "The doctor," says Franklin, "particularly remarked the sepulchral tone of our voices, which he re- quested us to make more cheerful if possible, not aware that his own partook of the same key "* The arrival of these friends, however, was soon attended with a favourable change. Though greatly reduced, they were still m a better condition than their unfortunate com- panions, and It was not long till Hepburn shot a partridge. l)r Richardson speedily tore off the feathers, and having held It for a few minutes at the fire, divided it into six pieces: Franklin and his companions ravenously devoured heir portions, "being the first morsel of flesh that any of them had tasted for thirty-one days;" and Dr. Richardson cheered them with the prospect that Hepburn might pos- sibly bring in a deer in his next expedition. The counsels and example of this pious and intelligent man produced the best effects on the spirits of the party. He had brought with him his Testament and Prayer-book, and by reading portions of Scripture appropriate to their situation, and en- couraging them to join in prayer and thanksgiving, he led them to the only source whence, under the awful circum- stances in which they were placed, they could derive hope 210 HAPPY EFFECTS OF HEPBURN's COUNSELS. [1820. or consolation. He taught them the necessity of exertion, whatever pain it might at first cost; roused them to pay some attention to the cleanliness of their apartment and insisted particularly, that during the day they should roll up their blankets, which they had been in the practice of leaving beside the fire where they slept. Their several tasks were now allotted to each : Hepburn and Richardson went out in search of deer; while Franklin, being unable to walk far, remained nearer the house, and digged under the snow for skins, which, during their former happy winter residence at this station, when they killed and ate abun- dance of game, were thrown away as useless, but now m their ahnost putrid state formed their principal support. The cutting of firewood was intrusted to Peltier and Sa- mandrS ; but both were so weak and dispirited, that It was generally performed by Hepburn on his return from hunt- in- • as for Adam, his legs were still so severely swollen thit he kept his bed, though an operation performed by Dr Richardson gave him some ease. In the midst of these necessary cares, all seemed for a while to dread ap- proaching the subject of Hood and Miehel's death; but at length one evening, on the return of the doctor from hunt- ing, and after having despatched their usual supper of singed skin and bone-soup, they requested him to relate the particulars, and a more afflicting, or, in some respects, a more terrific story, as it appears in his published narra- tive, could not well be conceived. He stated, that after being left by Captain Franklin, they remained beside the fire as long as it lasted. Having no tripe de roche, they supped on an infusion of the country tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth, but afforded no nourishment, and retired to rest. Next day proved stormy, and the snow being so deep that a fire could not be kindled with the green willows, they lay in bed reading 1820.] eichardson's narrative. 211 some religious books with which the party had been fur- nished before leaving England by the affectionate and pious care of a lady. '-^ They proved," says Richardson, " of in- calculable benefit to us. We read portions of them to each other as we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service, and found that they inspired us on each perusal with so strong a sense of the omnipresence of a beneficent God, that our situation in these wilds appeared no longer destitute; and we conversed not onlv with calm- ness, but with cheerfulness, detailing with unrestrained con- fidence the past events of our lives, and dwelling with hope upon our future prospects."* The weather clearing up. Dr. Richardson went out in search of tripe de roche, leaving Mr. Hood in bed, and Hepburn cutting willows for a fire; but the rocks were covered with ice and snow, and he was unsuccessful. On his return he found Michel, the Iroquois, who delivered the note from Franklin.f All were surprised to see him alone; but he stated that Belanger had separated from him, and, as he supposed, lost his way, he himself having wan- dered far from the straight road. They had afterwards good reason to suspect the truth of this story, but believed It at that moment, and were rejoiced to see him produce a hare and a partridge— an unlooked-for supply, which they received with humble thankfulness to the Giver of all good. Franklin's note advised them to advance to a little wood of pines which would afford better fuel ; and to this they re- moved under the guidance of Michel, who led them straight to the spot. As he had declared him-.elf so little acquainted Avith the country as to lose his way, it seemed strange that he should at once conduct them to the thicket. This roused their * Franklin's Journey, p. 449. t Ibid. p. 449. 212 Michel's suspicious conduct. [1820. attention, and made them feel rather uneasy as to his honesty; and various circumstances occurred to increase their suspicions. He requested the loan of a hatchet, when any other himter would have taken only his knife. He remained abroad all day without any definite employment. He brought them some raw meat, saying it was part of the carcass of a wolf, but which they had afterwards rea- son to believe was a portion of the bodies of Belanger and Perrault, whom they suspected him to have murdered. He shunned the society of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, refusing to sleep in the tent, and preferring to lie alone at the fire. On going out with the purpose of remaining a whole day, he often returned abruptly, and when questioned gave vague answers. In a few days he began to regret that he had left Captain Franklin's party, refused to take any share in the labour of cutting wood, talked in a surly and insolent manner, and could scarcely be prevailed upon to go out and hunt at all. These symptoms of gloomy dissatisfaction increased; he resisted all entreaties, and when Mr. Hood, who was now reduced by famine to the last extremity, remonstrated with him, he flew into a vio- lent passion, and exclaimed, " It is of no use hunting ; there are no animals; you had better kill and eat me." He afterwards, however, consented to go out, but returned upon ome frivolous pretence; and on the succeeding day that dreadful catastrophe took pls'^e, which will be best given in the words of Dr. Richardson's Journal. "In the morning," says he, "being Sunday, October 20th, we again urged Michel to go a-hunting, that he might, if possible, leave us some provision, to-morrow being the day appointed for his quitting us; but he showed great unwillingness to go out, and lingered about the fire under ' " ffun. After we had read the IllO morning service, I went about noon to gather some tripe 1820.] MURDER OF MR. HOOD. 213 de roche, leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent at the fireside arguing with Michel. Hepburn wa. employed cutting down a tree at a small distance from the tent, being desirous of accumulating a quantity of firewood. A short time after I went out, I heard the report of a gun, and about ten minutes afterwards Hepburn called to me in a voice of great alarm to come directly. When I arrived, I found poor Hood lying lifeless at the firecide, a ball having apparently entered his forehead. I was at first horror- struck with the idea that in a fit of despondency he had hurried himself into the presence of his Almighty Judge by an act of his own hand; but the conduct of Michel soon gave rise to other thoughts, and excited suspicions which were confirmed, when, upon examining the body, I found that the shot had entered the back part of the head and had passed out at the forehead, whilst the muzzle of the gun had been applied so close as to set fire to the nightcap behind. The gun, which was of the longest kind supplied to the Indians, could not have been placed in the positior to inflict such a wound except by a second person. Upoi- inquiring of Michel h .w it happened, he replied that Mr. Hood had sent him into the tent for the short gun, and that during his absence the long gun had gone ofi', he did not know whether by accident or not. He held the short gun in his hand at the time lie was speaking. Hepburn afterwards asserted, that previous to the report of the gun, Mr. Hood and Michel were speaking to each other in an elevated, angry tone; -he added, that Mr. Hood being seated at the fireside, was hid from him by intervening willows ; but that on hearing the report he looked up, and saw Michel rising up from before the tent-door, or jast behind where Mr. Hood was seated, and then going into the tent. Thinking that the gun had been discharged for the purpc-. of cleaning it, he did not go to the fire at first: 214 MURDER OF MR. HOOD [1820. and when Michel called to him that Mr. Hood was dead, a considerabletimehad elapsed. * * * Bickersteth'sScnp ure Help was lying open beside the body, as if it had fal en from his hand, and it is probable he was readmg it at the instant of his death."* Such was the melancholy fate of Mr. Hood, a young officer of the highest promise, who, by his conduct, had endeared himself to every member of the expedition, and whose sufferings, as they were more intense from the peculiarity of his constitution, were borne with a placid and unpretending fortitude, which it was impossible to contemplate without emotion. Both Dr. Richardson and Hepburn were convinced he had met his death from the hands of Michel ; but to have accused him at that moment would have been the extremity of rashness. They were so reduced by famine that he could easily have overpowered both. His appearance showed that he possessed secret supplies of food ; he was of great bodily strength, and was armed to the teeth, carrying, besides his gun, a brace of pistols, an Indian bayonet, and a knife. To have hinted a suspicion, therefore, might have been instantly fatal, and they affected to consider the death of their companion entirely accidental. As his weakness had been the chief cause of delaying their journey, they now set out for the fort, having first paid the last rites to the dead m the only way which their situation would permit. The ground was 80 hard, and their strength so exhausted, that to dig a grave was impossible; so they carried the body into the willow grove behind the tent, and returning to the fire, read the funeral service in addition to their evening devotions. In the morning, having singed the hair off a portion of ■^r.. TT-.4'„ i..,ffaio r.r.he thpv hoilcd aud ate it for break- « Franklin's Journey, vol. iv. 12mo ed. p. 109-112. 1820.J BY MICHEL THE IROQUOIS. 215 fast. Meanwhile, the conduct of Michel was so extraordi- nary, that had they not been already convinced of his guilt, no doubt of it could have remained. Though not a breath of their suspicions reached his ears, he repeatedly protested that he was incapable of committing such an aci; he kept constantly on his guard, appeared fearful of leaving Dr. Richardson and Hepburn alone even for the shortest time, and when Hepburn spoke he listened anxiously, though very imperfectly acquainted with the English lan- guage, fixed his eyes keenly upon him, and asked fiercely if he accused him of the murder. He evinced great un- willingness to set out for the fort, and wished Dr. Richard- son to proceed to the Coppermine River, where he said the woods would supply plenty of deer. On finding this advice disregarded, his conduct became more and more alarming; he muttered to himself, fell into sullen fits of abstraction, and used those convulsive and abrupt gestures often involun- tarily exhibited by a person whose mind is full of some dreadful purpose. Suddenly awakening from this reverie, he again expressed his unwillingness to return to the fort, and renewed his solicitations to Dr. Richardson to repair to the southern woods, where they would find ample subsist- ence. On being requested to pursue his own plan alone, and leave them to continue their journey, he broke into an ungovernable fury, accused Hepburn of having told stories against him, and assumed such airs of superiority as showed that he knew they were both in his power, at the same time giving vent to expressions of hatred against the white people, calling them deadly enemies, and affirming they had killed and eaten his uncle and two of his relations. None of these menaces were lost upon Richardson and Hepburn; both felt they were not safe in this man's com- pany ; and these dreadful surmises rose into certainty when he threw out hints that he would free himself from all ■umiWi^^ta^t^UkUimmiliktUd^ 216 Michel's death. [1820. restraint on the morrow. Being now convinced that, as he had cruelly murdered Hood, he was resolved also to sacri- fice them, they ascribed his not having already done so to the circumstance of his not knowing the way to the fort, and requiring their guidance. They came to this conclu- sion without any communication vv^ith each other; for their fierce companion would not leave them a moment, watching them with a malignant look, and frequently muttering threats against Hepburn. Towards evening, as they ap- proached the spot where it would be necessary to stop for the night, Michel halted to gather tripe de roche, and to their surprise bade them walk on, and he would soon over- take them. Hepburn and Dr. Richardson, now left alone together for the first time since Mr. Hood's death, rapidly opened their minds to each other. In addition to the facts already mentioned, others came to light, which left not the slightest doubt as to Michel's guilt; and so convinced was Hepburn of there being no safety for them but in his death, that, though a man of extreme benevolence and deep reli- gious principle, he offered to be the instrument of it him- self. " Had my own life," says Dr. Richardson, " alone been threatened, I would not have purchased it by such a measure; but I considered myself as intrusted also with the protection of Hepburn's, a man who by his humane atten- tions and devotedness had so endeared himself to me, that I felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own." Ani- mated by such feelings, and convinced that Michel's death was necessary to self-preservation, he determined that it ought to be by his own and not by Hepburn's hand, and on his coming up shot him through the head with a pistol. It appeared that he had gathered no tripe de roche, and had halted to put his gun in order, no doubt with the intention of attacking them when in the act of encamping.^ * Fraiiklm's Journey, pp. 457, 458. 1820.] DEATH OF PELTIER AND SAMANDRE. 217 Dr. Richardson and Hepburn now pursued their way to the fort; but fatigue, and want of food and fuel, had nearly proved fatal to them. They remarked, however, that re- peatedly when death seemed inevitable, an unexpected sup- ply of provisions again restored them; and the confidence that, when no human help was nigh, they were supported by a merciful God, inspired them with renewed hope. At last they had the delight of beholding from an eminence the smoke issuing from the chimney of the fort, and imme- diately after, embracing those friends for whose fate they had entertained so many melancholy forebodings. So ended this interesting narrative. ^ The whole party were now once more united, but under circumstances of the most distressing privation; all ema- ciated to such a degree as to look like living skeletons; their hands shook from weakness, so that to take an aim was impossible; ar ;i,o rein-deer, partridges, and other game, flew or bodnded past in joyousness and security, whilst the unhappy beings who beheld them were gaunt with hunger. The winter was closing in with all its hor- rors; it became daily more difficult to procure fuel, the labour of cutting and carrying the logs being so grievous that only Dr. Richardson and Hepburn could undertake it; and to scrape the ground for bones, and to cook this miser- able meal, was all Captain Franklin could accomplish. On Ist November the doctor obtained some tripe de roche; and as Peltier and Samandre were in the last stage of exhaustion, it was hoped a little of the soup might revive them. All was in vain; they tasted a few spoonfuls, but soon complained of a soreness in their throats, and both died in the course of the night, apparently without pain. To inter the bodies, or even carry them to the river, was a task for which !ie united strength of the survivors was inadequate; all they could do was to remove them into an »««a>a»8ninaaMri«»jii»-.« 218 COURAGEOUS ENDURANCE. [1820. opposite part of the house; and the living and the dead remained in awful contiguity under the same roof. The party was now reduced to four — Franklin, Richard- son, Hepburn, and Adam. The last had become dreadfully low since the death of his companions, and could not bear to be left alone for a moment. Their stock of bones was exhausted, and in a short time it was evident that the severity of the frost must render the gathering of the tripe de roche impossible. Under these circumstances, with death by famine approaching every hour, this little band of pious and brave men were supported by an unwavering reliance on the mercy of God. " We read prayers," says Captain Franklin, " and a portion of the New Testament in the morning and evening, as had been our practice since Dr. Richardson's arrival; and I may remark, that the performance of these duties always afforded us the greatest consolation, serving to reanimate our hope in the mercy of the Omnipotent, who alone could save and deliver us." * It seemed as if it were the mysterious design of the Almighty to permit them to be reduced to the lowest depth of suffering, that his power might be magnified at the very moment when every human effort appeared utterly impotent. Hitherto Dr. Richardson and Hepburn had been the healthiest of the party, but they had overwrought themselves, and both sunk rapidly. Owing to their loss of flesh, the hardness of the floor, from which they were only protected by a single blanket, rendered the whole surface of their bodies sore ; yet the labour of turning from one side to the other was too much for them. As their strength sunk, their mental faculties partook of the weakness of their frame; and, to employ the candid and simple expres- sions of the excellent leader, " an unreasonable pettishness * Franklin's Journej, p. 464. 1820.] UNEXPECTED RELIEF. 219 with each other began to manifest itself, each believing the other weaker in intellect than himself, and more in need of advice and assistance." During this gloomy period, after the first acute pains of hunger, which lasted but three or four days, had subsided, they generally enjoyed the re- freshment of sleep, accompanied by dreams which for the most part partook of a pleasant character, and very often related to the pleasures of feasting.* Help, however, was now near at hand, and we shall not impair the affecting description of their deliverance by giving it in any other than Captain Franklin's own words: — " On November 7th, Adam had passed a restless night, being disquieted by gloomy apprehensions of approaching death, which they tried in vain to dispel. He was so low in the morning as scarcely to be able to speak, and Captain Franklin remained by his bedside to cheer him as much as possible, whilst the doctor and Hepburn went out to cut wood. They had hardly begun their labour when they were amazed at hearing the report of a musket, and could scarcely believe that there was any one near till they heard a shout, and espied three Indians close to the house. Adam and Franklin heard the latter noise, and were fearful that some part of the house had fallen upon one of their com- panions— a disaster which had been thought not unlikely. The alarm was only momentary; for Dr. Richardson came in to communicate the joyful intelligence that relief had arrived. He and Captain Franklin immediately addressed their thanksgivings to the Throne of Mercy for this de- liverance; but poor Adam was in so low a state that he oould scarcely comprehend the information. When the Indians entered, he attempted to rise, but immediately sank down again. But for this seasonable interposition * Franklin's Journey, pp. 465, 466. 220 ARRIVAL OF THE INDIANS. [1820. of Providence, his existence must have terminated in a few hours, and that of the rest probably in not many days."* The Indians who had been despatched by Mr. Back had travelled with great expedition, and brought a small supply of provisions. They imprudently presented too much food at first; and though aware of the effects which might arise from a surfeit, and warned by Dr. Richardson to eat very sparingly, the sight of the venison was irresis- tible; and it was devoured by them all, not excluding the doctor himself, with an avidity that soon produced the most acute pains, which during the night deprived them of rest. Adam, whose weakness rendered him unable to feed himself, was not subjected to the same inconvenience, and taking moderate meals revived hourly. All now was thankfulness and cheerful activity. Boudel-kell, the youngest Indian, after an hour's rest, returned to the encampment of Akaitcho, the Dog-rib chief, carrying a note from Captain Franklin, and a request for another supply of provisions. The two others, named in their familiar manner Crooked Foot and the Rat, remained to nurse the white men. Under their care the apartment lately so desolate, and something between a sepulchre and a lazar-house, assumed a gladdened look, which had the best effect. The dead bodies were removed, the room cleaned of its filth and fragments of pounded bones, and large cheerful fires produced a sensation of comfort to which they had long been strangers. The poor sufferers had often cast a wishful eye on a pile of dried wood near the river, but were utterly unable to carry it up the bank. When pointed out to the Indians, they fetched it home with a rapidity which astonished their feeble friends. " They set about everything," says Franklin, " with an * Franklin's Journey, p. 467. [1820. 1 in a few days."* tfr. Back t a small anted too icts which ichardson as irresis- uding the luced the d them of ►le to feed ence, and now was kell, the id to the irrying a r another . in their nained to ipartment Ichre and had the the room ones, and amfort to • sufferers v^ood near the bank. it home i friends. ' with an 1820.] GREAT KINDNESS OF THE INDIANS. 221 activity which amazed us. Indeed, contrasted with our emaciated figures and extreme debility, their frames ap- peared to us gigantic, and their strength supernatural." Under the care of the Indians, and the blessing of wholesome and regular meals, the strength of the party was so far restored, that, although still feeble, on the 16th, after having united in prayer and thanksgiving to God for their deliverance, they left Fort Enterprise—a spot where, as they had formerly enjoyed much comfort if not happi' ness, they had latterly experienced a degree of misery scarcely to be paralleled.* The Indians treated them with unremitting kindness, gave them their own snow-shoes, and walked at their side to be ready to lift them up when they fpll. In this manner they pushed forward to the abode of Akaitcho, the Indian chief, who welcomed them with the utmost hospitality. Soon after they received letters from their friends at Fort Providence, and the mes- senger alsr brought two trains of dogs, a package of spirits and tobacco for the Indians, and a supply of shirts and clothes for Captain Franklin and his companions. The gratification of changing their linen, which had been un- interruptedly worn ever since their departure from the sea-coast, is described as conveying an intensity of comfort to which no words can do justice. From this spot their progress to Fort Providence and thence to Montreal was prosperous and easy ; and thus terminated their long, fa- tiguing, and disastrous travels in North America, having journeyed by water and by land, including their navigation of the Polar Sea, 5550 miles. So disastrous had been the result of his first expedition, and so appalling the sufferings with which it was accom- panied, that nothing assuredly can convey a more honour- * Franklin's Journey, p. 470. 222 franklin's second journey. [1823. able testimony to the enthusiastic zeal and unshaken per- severance of Captain Franklin, than the statement of the simple fact, that towards the close of 1823, having learnt the determination of government to make another attempt to effect a northern passage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, he, to use his own words, " ventured to lay before his Majesty's government a plan for an ex- pedition overland to the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and thence by sea to the north-western extremity of America, with the combined object also of surveying the coast between the Mackenzie and the Coppermine Rivers." It was the opinion of this able officer that, in the course he now proposed to follow, reverses similar to those which had surrounded his first journey were scarcely to be ap- prehended ; and his views having met the approbation of government, he received directions for the equipment of the expedition, and was nominated its commander. He had the satisfaction also of being once more accompanied by his valued friend Dr. Richardson, who, unappalled by his former dreadful sufferings, again offered his services as naturalist and surgeon, and volunteered to undertake the survey of the coast between the Mackenzie and Copper- mine Rivers, while Captain Franklin was occupied in an attempt to reach Icy C ipe.* Previous to the departure of the ships, a correspondeixce was opened with the governor and directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, who trans- mitted injunctions to their officers in the fur-countries, to provide depots of provisions at the stations pointed out by Franklin. The building of proper boats for the navigation of the Arctic Sea, as well as the passage of the rapids between York Factory and Mackenzie River, formed the next * Franklin's Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea. Introductory Chapter, p. 10. 1825.] HIS PREPARATIONS. 223 •vices as object of attention. It was evident that the canoes o. birch-bark employed by Sir A. Mackenzie, and by Cap- tain Franklin in his first journey, though excellently adapted for the American rivers, uniting lightness and Jacihty of repair with speed, were yet, from the tenderness of the bark, little fitted to resist the force of the arctic waves, or the collision of the sharp-pointed masses of ice. Captain Franklin accordingly obtained the Admiralty's permission to have three boats constructed at Woolwich under his own superintendence. " They were built," says he "of mahogany, with timbers of ash, both ends exactly alike, and fitted to be steered either with a ship-oar or a rudder. The largest, being twenty-six feet long and five ieet four inches broad, was adapted for six rowers, a steers- man, and an officer ; it was found to be capable of carrying three tons weight in addition to the crew, and could be transported with ease on the shoulders of six men. The two other boats were twenty-four feet in length, four feet ten inches broad, and held a crew of five men, besides a steersman and an officer, with an extra weight of two and a half tons. In addition to these, another little vessel was constructed at Woolwich, which reflected great credit upon its inventor, Lieutenant- Colonel Pasley of the Royal En- gineers. Its shape was exactly that of one of the valves of a walnut-shell, and it was framed of well-seasoned planks of ash, fastened together with thongs, and covered with Mackintosh's prepared canvass. It weighed only eighty-five pounds, and when taken to pieces could be made up in five or six parcels, and again put together in less than twenty minutes, although it was nine feet long by four feet four inches in breadth."* Each person on board was provided with two suits of waterproof dresses, > * Franklin's Second Journey, Intro. Chap. pp. 15, 18 224 DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION. [1826. prepared lay Mr. Mackintosh of Glasgow ; the guns, which were of the same bore as the fowling-pieces furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company to the Indian hunters, had their locks tempered to resist the cold— each being fitted with a broad Indian dagger similar to a bayonet, which, on being disjoined, could be used as a knife. Ammunition of the best quality, and a store of provisions sufficient for two years, were also supplied. The expedition sailed from Liverpool on 16th February 1825, and after a favourable passage to New York, pro- ceeded to Albany, travelled through Utica, Rochester, and Geneva, crossed the Niagara and Lake Oniario, coasted the northern shore of Lake Superior, and thence pushed forward through Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, Lake Winipeg, Saskatchawan River, and arrived at Cumberland House on 15th June. From this station, proceeding north- ward to Isle a la Crosse, and passing through Deep River and Clear and Buffalo Lakes, they overtook their boats in Methye River on the morning of 29th June. The advanced period of the season rendered it impossible to embark on the Mackenzie before the middle of August, so that it be- came necessary to postpone the great expedition till the en- suing summer. They accordingly established their winter quarters on the banks, erecting a habitation and store, which they named Fort Franklin. The superintendence of these buildings was committed to Lieutenant Back, while Captain Franklin determined to descend the river, take a view of the state of the Polar Sea, and return to winter quarters before the extreme cold should set in. In this voyage there occurred nothing worthy of particular notice till the arrival at Whale Island, where, though Mackenzie had the strongest reasons to conclude that he had reached the sea, he appears not to have been comT^letely satisfied on that point. Probably his doubts arose from the fresh taste of 1826] AKRIVAL AT WHALE ISLAND. 225 the waiter. Franklin, however, proceeded beyond Whale Island, and reached the shore of the great Arctic Ocean. " Embarking," says he, " at eleven a.m., we continued our course along the shore of EUice Island, until we found its coast trending southward of east. There we landed, and were rejoiced at the sea-like appearance to the northward. An island was now discovered to the north-east, looking blue from its distance, towards which the boat was im- mediately directed. The water, which for the last eight miles had been very shallow, became gradually deeper, and of a more green colour, though still fresh, even when we had entirely lost sight of the eastern land. In the middle of the traverse we were caught by a strong contrary wind, against which our crews cheerfully contended for five hours. Unwilling to return without attaining the object of our search, when the strength of the rowers was nearly exhausted the sails were set double-reefed, and our excellent boat mounted over the waves in a most buoyant manner, whilst an r/pportune alteration of the wind enabled us in the course of another hour to fetch into smoother water under the shelter of the island. We then pulled across a line of strong ripple, which marked the termination of the fresh water, that on the seaward side being brackish ; and in the farther progress of three miles to the island, we had the indescribable pleasure of finding the water decidedly salt. The sun was setting as the boat touched the beach ; we hastened to the most elevated part of the island, about two hundred and fifty feet high, to look around ; and never was a prospect more gratifying than that which lay open to us. The Rocky Mountains were seen fi-om S.W. to W.^N., and from the latter point, round by the north, the sea appeared in all its majesty, entirely free from ice, and without any visible obstruction to its navigation. Many seals and black and white whales were seen sporting on its waves, and the ti 226 ACCURACY OF MACKENZIE. [1825. whole scene was calculated to excite in our minds the most flattering expectations of our own success and that of our friends in the Hecla and the Fury." * Franklin pronounces a high encomium on the accuracy of Mackenzie, and con- siders him as completely entitled to the praise of having reached the Arctic Sea, although, owing to the frail con- struction of the Indian canoes, it was impossible for him to sail to the point where the water became salt. Having &c )mplished his design in this preliminary journey, Franklin returned on 5th September to his winter quarters on Great Bear Lake. About the same time Dr. Richardson arrived from his excursion to the north-eastern shorea of the same extensive sheet of water, having com- pleted hi survey as far as the influx of Dease's River, and ascertained that the first rapid was the best point to which the eastern detachment of the expedition should direct its course on their return from the Coppermine in the follow- ing season. Meantime the people were so busily employed that time never hung heavy on their hands, and the shortcBt day came almost unexpectedly upon them. The Canadians and Indians were engaged in fishing and hunting for the support of the whole party, and during the autumn the nets yielded daily eight hundred fish of the kind called herring- salmon. Four Dog-nb Indians, along with the two interpreters, Augustus and Ooligbuck, were employed in hunting rein-deer, and the sailors were divided into different parties, to whom separate duties were allotted ; such as attending on the nets, bringing home the venison killed by the hunters, felling, carrying, and splitting wood, and exercising themselves in running as letter-carriers on snow-shoes between Fort Franklin and two other small posts established on the Mackenzie and Slave Lake. A * Franklin's Secoud Jouruey, i». 34-30. 1825.] APPROACH OF ePBINO. 227 school also was opened, in which, durine th« In„» • . -ni„,, .,e office™ instated' theTlt "i:!.!:? wntmg, and anthmetic ; and during the hour, of re wL ' IZJ. ^T "'*' "" "'■'«'' «««««;»"» they were mTml / "'"''' P^^y "*'«'«'«' <«""e service morning and evening. Besides this, the officers had amok employment in noting down the then^ometricaJmaS and amosphencal observations, in writing their S^ fim^hmg their charts and drawino-s «J JournaJs, ohjccts of naturalhisto-ywhichTXntuLZnhe: were amused by occasional visits of th- D.^Xln^ and vanous other tribes; and Christa.-d.; , Ming oTa fuTif whtr" ""^ ™"r"^ ^™""^ -- " • - -a supper, which was attended by sixtv n. nv= • i j- :pr:-o::rr"^»-^™"^'''"-^-S 1 hr: 1: zz: Tr '"-''^' °^i«--. c a greater variety of character, or greater con fts,o„ o tongues. The party consisted of E^g hren" Highlanders who mostly conversed with each'otrerS Gaehc), Canadians (who spoke French), Esqmmaux Ch pewyans Dog-ribs, Hare Indians, Cree women and ^Idi^! "11 mmgled together in perfect harmony, whilst themu^ ments we., varied by English, Gaelic, and P.nlh sonT't The spnng now approached, and the migratory animals which observe with beautiful exactness their IXds of departure and arrival, began to appear, gladdeni„7the ye ZlZ t T ""'r *'° '"■ '''''"'^' ^he last swan /^ passed to the southward, and on the 11th the last brown duck was not ced. On 6th M».„ ti,„ .■ . and on tl,„ 8,1. /u V ^ ""^ '"■'" ^"^"n "as seen, and^on the 8th the brown ducks reappeared on the lake! » Pranklia's S«ond Journey, p. H-6S, Um~^^ 228 EMBARKATION ON THE MACKENZIE. [1826. The mosses began to sprout, and various singing birds and orioles, along with some s^-ifts and white geese, arrived soon after. It is remarked by Dr. Richardson, tnat the singmg birds, which were silent on the banks of the Bear Lake during the day, serenaded their mates at midnight; at which time, however, it was quite light. On 20th May the little stream which flowed past the fort burst its icy chains, and the laughing geese arrived to give renewed cheerfulness to the lake. Soon after this the winter green began to push forth its flowers ; and under the increasing warmth of the sun's rays the whole face of nature under- went a delightful change. The snow gradually melted, the ice broke up from the shores of the lake, the northern sky became red and luminous at midnight, the dwarf-birch and willows expanded their leaves, and by the 3d June the anemones, the tussilago, the Lapland rose, and other early plants, were in full flower.* Admonished by these pleasing changes, Captain Frank- lin prepared to set out, and on 15th June the equipments for the boats were completed. Fourteen men, including Augustus, the Esquimaux interpreter, accompanied the commander-in-chief and Lieutenant Back in the two larger boats, the Lion and the Reliance; whilst nine men, and Ooligbuck, another interpreter, attended Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendall in the Dolphin and the Union. Spare blankets, and all that could be useful for the voyage, or as presents to the Esquimaux, were divided between the eastern and western parties. On the Sunday before their - departure, the officers and men assembled at divine wor- ship, and, in addition to the usual service, the special pro- tection of the Almighty was implored tor the enterprise upon which they were about to be engaged. All was now * Kicliardson's Meteorological Tables. 1826.] MOUTH OP THE MACKENZIE. 229 ready, and on Tuesday, 28th June, they embarked upon the Mackenzie, with the navigation of which the reader is already familiar. On the 4th July they reached that part where the river divides into various channels, and the two parties had determined to pursue different directions. The expedition which was to follow the western branch, commanded by Captain Franklin, embarked first, at Dr. Richardson's desire, with a salute of three hearty cheers from their companions ; and as they dropt down the river and passed round a point of land, they perceived thei^ friends who were to follow the eastern branch employed in the bustle of embarkation. All were in high spirits, and it was impossible not to contrast their present complete state of equipment with the circumstances of their ^irst disastrous journey. On reaching the mouth of the Mackenzie, the western expedition came almost immediately into contact with the Esquimaux. Captain Franklin observed an encampment upon a neighbouring island, and instantly proceeded to open a communication. A selection of presents was made, and at the same time every man was directed to have his gun ready for use. Having adopted these precautions, they steered direct for the island with their ensigns flying. The boats touched ground when about a mile from the beach. Signs were made to the Esquimaux to come off, and the English pulled back a little to await their arrival in deeper water. Three canoes, each carrying only a single person, pushed off, and these were followed rapidly by others; so that in a few minutes the whole space between the boats and the shore was alive with those little vessels which they name kayaks. An attempt was at first made to count them, and the sailors ^ot the length of seventv? bnf tbpv increased in such quick succession as to baffle their farther I 230 ESQUIMAUX. [1826. At first everything proceeded in a friendly manner. Augustus, after delivering a present, informed them, that if the English succeeded in finding a navigable channel for large ships, an advantageous trade would be opened. This intimation was received with a deafening shout, and the Bight of the presents which had been carried away by the three foremost kayaks inflamed the cupidity of their com- panions; so that the boats were in a moment surrounded by nearly three hundred persons, offering for sale their bows, arrows, and spears, with a violence and perseverance which became at last exceedingly troublesome, and Captain Franklin directed the boats to be put to seaward. At this moment a kayak was upset by one of the oars of the Lion, and its unhappy possessor was stuck by the accident with his head in the mud, and his heels in the air. He was instantly extricated, wrapt in a warm great-coat, and placed in the boat, where, although at first excessively frightened and angry, he soon became reconciled to his situation, and looking about, discovered many bales and other articles which had hitherto been carefully concealed. His first impulse was to ask for everything he saw, his next to be indignant that his requests were not granted; and on joining his companions, as they afterwards learned, he harangued on the inexhaustible riches of the Lion, and proposed a plan for a general attack and pillage of both the boats. This scheme was immediately carried into execu- tion; and although the plunderers at first affected to be partly in sport, matters soon assumed a serious complexion. Two of the most powerful m^d, leaping on board, seized Captain Franklin, forced him to sit between them, and when he shook them off, a third took his station in front to cat^h his arm whenever he attempted to raise his gun or lay his hand on the broad dagger which hung by his side. During this assault the two boats were violently dragged to 1826.] VIOLENT CONDUCT OF THE ESQUIMAUX. 231 the shore, and a numerous party, stripping to the waist and brandishing their long sharp knives, ran to the Reliance, and commenced a regular pillage, handing the articles to the women, who, ranged in a row behind, quickly conveyed them out of sight. No sooner was the bow cleared of one set of marauders, than another party commenced their operations at the stem. The Lion was beset by smaller numbers, and her crew, by firmly keeping their seats on the canvass cover spread over the cargo, and beating off the natives with the butt-end of their muskets, succeeded in preventing any article of importance from being carried away. Irritated, at length, by their frequent failure, the Esquimaux made a simultaneous charge, and, leaping on board, began to wrest the daggers and shot-belts from the sailors, and to strike with their knives. In the midst of this attack, when the crew in the Lion were nearly over- powered, and their commander disarmed, all at once the natives took to their heels, and concealed themselves behind the drift timber and canoes on the beach. Thir sudden panic was occasioned by Captain Back, whose boat at this time had been got afloat, commanding his crew to level their muskets— a proceeding which was immediately observed by the Esquimaux, though not noticed by Captain Franklin's men, who were wholly occupied in defending themselves. The Lion happily floated soon after; and as both boats pulled off, Captain Franklin desired Augustus to inform some of the Esquimaux, who manifested a dispo- sition to follow and renew the attack, that he would shoot the first man who ventured to approach within musket- range.* In the evening, Augustus anxiously entreated pennission to attend a conference of his countrymen on the shore, to * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 101-107. 232 SPEECH OF AUGUSTUS. [1826. which he had been formally invited. The courage and fidelity of this person had much endeared him to the English, and it was not without hesitation that Captain Franklin agreed to his request, as he stated his determina- tion to reprove the natives for their disgraceful conduct. He was at length allowed to go, and by the time he reached the shore the number of Esquimaux amounted to forty, all of them armed. On landing, he walked un- dauntedly into the middle of the assembly, and addressed them in the following animated speech, which he afterwards repeated to his English friends: — "Your conduct," said he, " has been very bad, and unlike all other Esquimaux. Some of you even stole from me, your countryman; but that I do not mind. I only regret that you should have treated in this violent manner the white people, who came solely to do you kindness. My tribe were in the same unhappy state in which you now are before the white people came to Churchill; but at present they are supplied with everything they need; and you see that I am well clothed, I get everything I want, and am very comfortable. You cannot expect, after the transactions of this day, that these people will ever bring any articles to your country again, unless you show your contrition by returning the stolen goods. The white people love the Esquimaux, and wish to show them the same kindness that they bestow upon the Indians. Do not deceive yourselves, and suppose that they are afraid of you; I tell you they are not, and that it is entirely owing to their humanity that many of you were not killed to-day, for they have all guns with which they can destroy you either near or at a distance. I also have a gun, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen, I would have been the first to have revenged his death." During this speech, which was delivered, as they perceived from the boats, with much energy and spirited gesticula- 1826.] CONTINUANCE OF THE VOYAGE. 233 tion, the Esquimaux expressed their approbation by frequent shouts, and on its conclusion made a very penitent, though somewhat singular apology: " They had never seen white men before," they said, " and really all the things in the boats were so beautiful and desirable that it was impossible not to steal them. As they were very anxious, however, for the friendship and trade of the white men, they solemnly promised never to repeat such conduct, and, at the request of Augustus, sent back the large kettle, the tent, and some pairs of shoes which they had carried oif."* The interpreter was afterwards invited to a dance, and a friendly understanding seemed to be established; but Cap- tain Franklin soon discovered that the professions of the natives were hollow and treacherous, and nothing but his jealous precautions saved him and his companions from massacre, in which it had been resolved to include the faithful Augustus. Their voyage along the coast in the direction of west- north-west, after a progress of twelve miles, was impeded by the ice stretching from the shore far to seaward. The boats were in consequence hauled up; and as the frozen masses were piled round to the height of thirty feet, it became necessary to await the breaking up of this formid- able barrier. Having gone to sleep, the officers were startled at midnight by the guard calling to arms : Three Esqui- maux, belonging to a larger party encamped at some dis- tance, had btoloii forward, and been only discovered when close at hand. Alarmed at the appearance of the men, who stood to their arms, the strangers were on the point of discharging their arrows, when they were arrested by the loud voice of Augustus, who explained the object of the expedition, and dilated upon the advantages which they * Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 108, 109. i^JHMWilKi9Nfc«itMWJ&f, 234 FRIEN^^LY ESQUIMAUX : [1826. would derive from it. A present confirmed his statement, and an amicable intercourse was opentd — a line, however, being first drawn at 3 '"eitain distance f * om the tents, across which no Esquimaux was to pass, under the penalty of being instantly shot. Against this they made no remon- strance, only remarking, when infornn^id of the treacherous conduct of the natives at the mouth of Mackenzie River, that " these were bad men, altogether diiferent from then, and never failed either to steal or quarrel whenever an opportunity was offered." The delight exhibited by these people, including the most elderly among iLem, on receiving any little present, was exactly similar to that of children when they get hold of toys. Thuf ran from one thing to another; examined with xcstless curiosity every part of Augustus' dress, who, to ^'ratii y lus vanity, had put on his gayest apparel ; and, ignorrait of the uses of the articles presented to them, they wfjilici about with cod-fish hooks and c.A^ls dangling from the nose, and copper thimbles Btrung to their trousers or rein-deer jackets. The men were robust, and taller than those seen on the east coast by Captain Parry, though their manner of life appeared to be nearly the same. With the broad nose and small eyes, which peculiarly distinguish the whole Esquimaux tribes, they had th(> cheekbones less projecting than those of the eastern coast. From a constant exposure to the glare of the ice. and snow, the whole party were afflicted with sore eyes, and two of the old men seemed nearly blind. They wore the hair on the upper lip and chin, and every man had pieces of bone or shells thrust through the septum of the nose, whilst holes were pierced on each side of the under lip, in which were placed circular pieces of ivory with a large blue bead in the centre— ornaments which they valued hiffhlv. and declined aellins'. Thp.ir clothes con- sisted of a jacket of rein-deer skin, with a skirt behind and ■«?i 1826.J THEIR DRESS AND MANNERS. 235 before, and a small hood; breeches of the same material, and large seal-skin boots. The dress of the females differed from that of the men only in their wearing wide trousers, and in the size of their hoods, which did not fit close to the head, but were made large for the purpose of receiving their chiJoren : these were ornamented with stripes of different colinred skins, and round the top was fastened a band of woif ':! hair, made to stand erect. The women wore from four feet and a half to four feet three quarters high, and some of the younger, though too corpulent, were pretty; their black hair was tastefully turned up from behind to the top of the head, and braided with strings of white and blue boads and cords of white deer-skin. Both men and women were much pleased by having their portraits sketched by Captain Back; and one yoimg lady, who sat for a full- length, and chose the extraordinary attitude of stuffing both hands into her breeches-pockets, interrupted the labours of the draughtsman by repeatedly jumping into the air, and smiling in a very ludicrous and irresistible manner. The men were armed with bows and arrows, long knives, which they concealed in the shirt-sleeve, and spears tipped with bone.* The Esquimaux had predicted, that as soon as a strong wind began to blow from the land it would loosen the ice ; and on 12th July a heavy rain with a pretty high gale set in, and opened up a passage. The boats accordingly were launched; and, passing a wide bay named by the com- mander after his friends Captains Sabine and King, they were suddenly arrested by a compact body of ice, and en- veloped at the same time in a dense fog. On attempting to pull back for the purpose of landing, they discovered that the ice had closed between them and the shore. In this * Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 118, 119. 236 POINTS SABINE AND KAY. [1826. situation only one alternative was left, which was to pull to seaward and trace the outer border of the ice. This they at last effected ; though a sudden change of wind brought on a heavy swell, and surrounded them with floating masses of ice, which threatened to crush the boats to pieces. They succeeded, however, after five hours employed in pulling in and out between these floating icebergs, in reaching the shore and landing a little to the west of Point Sabine. After a detention of two days they proceeded as far as Point Kay; but being here again impeded by a compact body of ice, which extended to seaward as far as the eye could reach, thej were obliged to encamp and wait patiently for the first Btrong breeze from the land. The time of their sojourn in these arctic solitudes was pleasantly occupied in making astronomical observations, collecting specimens of the plants in flower, sketching scenery, and completing charts of the coast. Augustus went in search of his countrymen, and returned at night with a young Esquimaux and his wife, who, after a few presents, became loquacious, and informed them that the ice would soon break up. Symptoms of this desirable change were accordingly observed next day, and with great labour they reached Herschel Island. At the moment they made the shore a herd of rein-deer came bounding down to the beach, pursued by three Esquimaux hunters, and imme- diately took the water, whilst the natives, startled at sight of the strangers, gazed for a moment, consulted amongst themselves, changed the heads of their arrows, and prepared their bows. Their hostile intentions, however, were laid aside when they were addressed by Augustus ; and in the evening a large part}'' arrived, bringing dried meat, fish, and game, for which they received presents in exchange, wiiicii sot tucni Singing and dancing round the cucanipment for the greater part of the night. 1826.] HERSCHEL ISLAND. 237 From these people was collected some curious informa- tion. Tliey stated that they procured beads, knives, and iron, principally from Esquimaux residing far away to the west, and also from Indians who came annually from the interior by a river directly opposite the encampment, to which Captain Franklin gave the name of Mountain Indian River.* Whence the Indians or the Esquimaux obtained these goods they could not tell, but supposed it was from Kabloonacht or white luen, at a great distance to the west. The articles were not of British manufacture, from which Captain Franklin concluded that the Kabloonacht must be the Russian fur-traders. It was with great difficulty that the boats made even a short distance from Herschel Island. The ice repeatedly closed in upon them, leaving only a narrow channel, often too shallow to float the boats ; and dense fogs now became frequent, rendering their navigation peculiarly hazardous. These dreary curtains hanging over the ice gave it the appearance of water, and exposed them to the danger of being shut in by an impenetrable barrier when they ex- pected an open sea. They continued their course, however, till tiiey came abreast of Mount Conybeare, when they encamped, and crossing a swampy level, ascended to the summit, from which they enjoyed a striking view into the interior. Three noble ranges of mountains were seen parallel to the Buckland chain, but of less altitude, whilst the prospect was bounded by a fourth range, mingling their pyramidal summits with the clouds, and covered with snow. From this last encampment their advance was extremely slow. The boats were pushed forward through small lanes, the utmost vigilance being necessary to prevent their being entirely shut in, as a few hours often made essential * Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 130, 131. 'it *^ti 238 DENSE rOGS. [1826. changes, and their frail craft could only be saved by being frequently hauled upon the beach. The calm weather also retarded them, and they earnestly longed for a strong gale to break up the compacted fields of ice, and permit them to continue their voyage. After a detention of some days thoh wbhes seemed about to be gratified. At midnight, oii tim 25th July, a strong south-westerly breeze sprung up, accompanied by thunder and lightning; but in the morning an impenetrable fog hung over the sea. On the land side the prospect was equally dreary; an extensive swamp, in which ihoj <,'ink ankle-deep at every step, prevented any excursions into the interior, and the clouds of mosquitoes which for ever buzzed around them kept tlicm in a perpetual irritation. At length, however, the fog di ipersed, disclosing an open lane of water about half a mile from shore; following its course for eight miles, they came to the mouth of a wide river, which had its rise in the British range of mountains. Its course approached near the line of demarcation between the American dominions of Great Britain and Bussia, and Cap- tain Franklin named it the Clarence River, after his present Majesty, then Lord High Admiral. On the most elevated part of the coast near its mouth they erected a pile of drift wood, under which was deposited a tin box, containing a royal silver medal, and an account of the proceedings of the expedition; after which the Union flag v is hoisted with three hearty cheers. They now continued their voyage, though often beset by ice and interrupted by fogs; and p'sfing the boundary be- tween Russian and British America, descried an encamp- ment of natives on a low island, surrounded !•-. many oomiaks and kayaks guarded by Esquimaii dogs whilst their masters were fast asleep in the teni "} >, inter- preter being despatched to rouse them, a . iiguiar scene 1826.] MOUNT COPLESTOy. 239 took place. At his first call a little squabby oman rushed out in a state of perfect nudity, uttered a d yell and instantly ran back again to rouse her hu8ban( who, shout- ing out that strangers were at hand, awoke the whole band. In a moment all seized th ir arms, and without waiting to put on their deer-skin breeches or jackets, swarmed out upon the beach, which in an instant was covered with fifty- four grown-up persons, completely naked, very outrageous, dirty, and ugly. A short parley quieted their fears, an interchange of presents took place, and the boats crossed Camden Bay, having in view the noble range of the Koman- zoff Mountains, whose peaks were covered with snow. Soon after they arrived at the mouth of a river, which discharged into the sea so great a volume of water, that even three miles from land the taste m^^ perfectly fresh; and having reached latitude 70° 7', faniier progress was prevented by ice closely packed on the outer border of a reef, and they discovered that the great chain of the Rocky Mountains either terminated abreast of their present situa- tion, or 1 ceded so far to the southward as to f..de away in the distance. During their detention, Captain Back, to whose penci. ve ar. indebted for many admirable drawings ot arctic scener . made a sketch of the most western moun- tain, which - aey na) ad ^fount Copleston.* Various cir- cumstances now wa ^ them that much farther progress along this inhospitable coti was impracticable. The fogs became more frequent and perilous, the water was often to shallow that even at two miles from shore the boats grounded, and on getting into deep . soimdings, the re- peated shocks received from masses of ^icating ice severely mjured their timbers, especially those >f the Lion, wLIch was very leaky. Still they sti ig-led on irom Flaxman * Franklin's Si ond Journey, p. 150. 240 ILLUSIONS OF THE FOG. [1826. Island along a low desolate shore, rendered more dreary by the stormy weather, till on the lOth a gale brought along with it a thick fog, and they hauled up the boats, encamping on a low spot, which they named Foggy Island. Here they kindled fires, dried their clothes, which were completely wet with the moisture of the atmosphere, and amused themselves in their murky ison by proceedmg in search of rein-deer. The fog caused frequent and some- times ludicrous mistakes; and on one occasion, after the men had spent a long time in stealing upon some deer, and were congratulating the nselves on coming within shot, to their amazement the animals^ook wing and disappeared in the fog, with a scream and cackle which at once declared their genus, and seemed to deride the credulity of their pursuers. " We witnessed with regret," says Captain Franklin, " in these short rambles, tlie havoc which this drnary wither made among the .lowers. Many which had been blooming upon our arrival were now lying prostrate and withered, and these symptoms of decay could not fail painfully to remind us that the term of our opeiations was fast approaching. Often at this time did every one express a wish that we had some decked vessel, in which the pro- visions could be secured from the injury of salt water, and the crew sheltered when they required rest, that we might quit this shallow coast and steer at once towards Icy Cape."* So frequently did they attempt to fulfil this desire, and so perpetually were they driven back by the fog closmg in upon them, that the sailors declared theisland was enchanted. Indeed, to a superstitious mind, the appearances famished some ground for believing it. The fog would often dis- perse, and permit a short glimpse of a point about three miles distant, bearing north-west by west; in a moment * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 154. 182G.] DlFFICULTIEi. 241 every hand was at work, the boats wore launched, the crews embarked ; but before they could be dragged into deep water, the spirit of the mist once iviore drew his impene- trable curtain round them, and after resting a while on their oars, they were compelled to pull back to their old quar- ters, arcely had they kindled a fire and begun to dry their clothes, soaked with wading over the flats, when the fog again opened, the boats were launched, and the desired point almost gained; but their tormentor once more enve- loped earth and ocean in a thicker gloom than before. "Fog is, of all others," says Captain Franklin, "the most hazardous state of the atmosphere for navigation in an icy sea, especially where it is accompanied by strong breezes; but particularly so for boats where the shore is unapproach' able. If caught by a gale, a heavy swell, or drifting ice, the result must be their wreck, or the throwing their provi- sions overboard, to lighten them so as to proceed in shoal water. Many large pieces of ice were seen on the border of the shallow water, and from the lowness of the tempera- ture we concluded that the main body was at no great dis- tance.' '* The nights were now lengthening ; the grasses and the whole aspect of the vegetation was autumnal; their stores of drift- wuud had been so much drawn upon, that though the teniH were wet through, and they were for warmth obliged to wrap their feet in blankets, no fire was allowed except to cook the victuals. The provisions were barely sufficient for the support of the party on their return, whilst the frequency of the fogs, the shallowness which prevented the boats from floating, the heavy swell, that, as the wind freshened, rose upon the flats, compelled them to haul farther from land; and the danger which 'a doing so they * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 156. 242 APPROACH OF WINTER. [1826. necessarily incurred from the drift-ice, formed an accmnu- lation of difficulties which rendered their progress from Point Anxiety across Prudhoe Bay to Return Reef the most discouraging and painful part of the v/hole voyage. It was now the 16th of August, and the boats, though the exertions of the crews had been unwearied, were only half- way between the mouth of Mackenzie River and Icy Cape. The young ice had already begun to form at night on the pools of fresh water, and the mind of the commander re- curred naturally and wisely to his former experience. He recollected that only one day later, and in a latitude two degrees more southerly, he had in his first voyage encoun- tered severe storms of wind and snow, and that in another fortnight the winter would set in with all its horrors. Already the sun began to sink below the horizon, and with this change the mean temperature of the atmosphere rapidly decreased; the deer werp. hastening from the coast; the Esquimaux had ceased to appear; no winter houses gave indications that this remote coast was inhabited; and the autumnal parties of geese hourly winging their flight to the westward, indicated that winter had already surprised them in their polar solitudes. It had been Franklin's great object to double Icy Cape, and meet the expedition under Captain Beechy in Kotzebue's Inlet; but from the distance and the advanced season this was now impracticable. On the other hand, his instructions directed him, "if, in con- sequence of slow progress, or other unforeseen accident, it should remain doubtful whether the expedition should be able to reach Kotzebue's Inlet the same season, to com- mence their return on the 15th or 20th of August." ^ To relinquish the great object of his ambition, and +,o disap- point the confidence reposed in his exertions, waa a sacri- lice whicii cost mm no ummaij pain, «iia s.-t — then aware of the fact (with which the reader will be 1826.] EASTERN EXPEDITION. 243 immediately acquainted) that the barge of the Blossom was at that moment only one hundred and forty-six miles dis- tant, we have his own authority for stating that no difficul- ties or dangers would have prevailed on him to return; but imder the circumstances in which he was placed, to mate any farther effort in advance was incompatible with the higher duties which he owed to his officers and crew. After a mature consideration of everything, he formed the reluc- tant conclusion that they had reached the point where per- severance would have been rashness, and their best efforts must have only led to a more calamitous failure.* It was resolved therefore to return; and on the morning of the 18th August they began their retreat to the Mackenzie Eiver, which, without any material danger, with the excep- tion of a severe gale encountered off Point Kay, they re- gamed on the 4th of September. Thence they proceeded to Fort Franklin, where they met Dr. Richardson, Mr. Ken- dall, and their friends of the eastern expedition, who, aftei- a prosperous and interesting voyage to the mouth of the Coppermine, had returned to the Fort on the 1st September. Of this interesting journey our limits will only permit a very cursory glance. Fortunpiely for the eastern expe- dition, the coast between the mouths of the Mackenzie and the Coppermine Rivers presented none of those serious obstacles which at every step were starting up in the dreary and protracted route of the western party; and they con- sequently accomplished a voyage of about five hundred miles between the 4th of July and 8th of August. It was eminently successful in the accurate survey of this hitherto unexplored coast, but unvaried by any remarkable incidents. The Esquimaux on various parts of the coast were more numerous, pacific, comfortable, and wealthy, than the * Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 161, 162, 165. 244 ESQUIMAUX TOWN. [1826. western tribes; but their civilization had not eradicated the propensities for thieving. On one occasion the boatw were surrounded by a fleet of about fifty kayaks, and an attack was made exactly similar to that upon Franklin; but though the object was the same, it was pursued with less vigour, and the moment the sailors levelled their muskets the whole party dispersed with precipitation. On arriving at Atkinson Island they discovered, under shelter of a chain of sand-hills drifted by the wind to the height of thirty feet, a small Esquimaux town, consisting of seventeen winter houses, besides a larger building, which Dr. Richardson at first conjectured to be a house of assembly for the tribe. Ooligbuck the interpreter, however, whose ideas were more gross and commonplace, pronounced it to be a general eating-room. "This large building," says Dr. Richardson, " was in the interior a square of twenty- seven feet, having the log roof supported on two strong ridge-poles two feet apart, and resting on four upright posts. The floor in the centre formed of split logs, dressed and laid with great care, was surrounded by a raised border about three feet wide, which was no doubt meant for seats. The walls, three feet high, were inclined outwards, for the convenience of leaning the back against them, and the ascent to the door, which was on the south side, was formed of logs. The outside, which was covered with earth, had nearly a hemispherical form, arid round its base were ranged the skulls of twenty-one whales. There was a square hole in the roof, and the central log of the floor had a basin- shaped cavity one foot in diameter, which was perhaps intended for a lamp. The general attention to comfcrt in the construction of the village, and the erection of a building of such magnitude, requiring a union of purpose in a con- siderable number of people, were evidences of a more advanced progress towards civile ation than had yet been 1826.] DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES.) 245 found amongst theEsqniniaux. Whale-skulls were confined wh !h f f „ ""^^ "^ '" ""^ "' "«> dwelling-houses, which had three or four placed round it. Many wooden rays and hand-harrows for carrying whale-blubber were lying on the ground, most of them in a state of decay ". On making the traverse of Harrowby Bay, land was seen ro„„d the bottom, and on nearing shore Live tents were distinguished on an adjoining eminence. When the boats appeared, a woman who was walking along the beach gave the alarm, and the men rushed out, brandishing their knives, and , ploying the most fiirious expressions. I„ vam Ooligbuck endeavoured to calm their apprehensions, explaining that the strangers were friends, they oni; rephed_ by shouts, leaps, or hideous grimaces, intended to inspire terror and displayed great agility, frequently standing on one foot and throwing the other nearly L high as their head. Dr. Richardson, nofliing intimidated by these gesticulations, bethought himself o' enouncing, at the highest key he could reach, the word '• Noowoerlawgo " meaning, "I wish to barter," and the sound operates like a spell The savages instantly became quiet; one of them ran to his kayak, paddled off to the boats, and was followed by crowds, who fearlessly came alongside, readily exchang. ing bows, arrows, spears, and dressed seal-skins, for bits of old u-on-hoop, files, and beads. "The females," says Richardson, " unlike those of the Indian tribes, had much handsomer features than the men; and one young woman of the party would have been deemed pretty even in Europe. Our presents seemed to render them perfectly happy, and they danced with such ecstacy in their slender boats as to mcur more than once great hazard of being overset. A bundle of strings of beads being thrown into an oomiak. it 'i * Freaklin's Second Journey, p. 217. 246 THE COPPERMINE RIVER. [1826. was caught by an old woman, who hugged the treasure to her breast with the strongest expression of rapture; while another elderly dame, who had stretched out her arms in vain, became the very picture of despair. On its being explained, however, that the present was intended for the whole party, an amicable division took place; and to show their gratitude, they sang a song to a pleasing air, keeping time with their oars. They gave us many pressing invita- tions to pass the night at their tents, in which they were joined by the men; and to dxcite our liberality, the mothers drew their children out of their wide boots, where they are accustomed to carry them naked, and holding them up, begged beads for them. For a time their entreaties were successful; but being desirous of getting clear of our visiters before breakfast-time, we at length told them the stock was exhausted, and they took leave."* The voyage, owing to the clear atmosphere, the unen- cumbered state of the coast, and the abundant supply of provisions, was pursued with ease and comfort; and on 8th August having made a bold cape, rising precipitously from the sea to the hei. lit of three hundred and fifty feet, Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendall climbed the promontory, and descried in the distance the gap in the hills at Bloody Fall, through which the Coppermine hold^ its course. Delighted with the prospect of so near a termination of their labours, they communicated the intelligence to the crew, who re- ^ ceived it with expressions of profound gratitude to the * Divine Being for his protection during the voyage. On reaching the river the men were in excellent condition, fresh and vigorous for the march across the barren grounds on their return to Fort Franklin, which, as already men- tioned, thev reached in safety on the 1st of September, * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 226. 1826.] RETURN TO FORT FRANKLIN. 247 On approaching within a few days' journey of the fort, a pleasant adventure occurred, characteristic of Indian grati- tude and friendship. The party had supped, and most of the men were retired to rest, when Mr. Kendall, in sweep- ing the horizon with his telescope, descried three Indians coming down a hill towards the encampment. More moss was thrown on the fire, and the St. George's ensign hoisted on the end of a musket, to show the comers that they were approaching friends; but they hid the youngest of their number in a ravine, and approached slowly and with sus- picion. Mr. Kendall and Dr. Richardson immediately went unarmed to n- ' ' them, and as they came up one held his bow and arrows ready in his hand, and the other cocked his gun; but as soon as they recognised the doctor's dress, the same he had worn the preceding autumn in his voyage round Bear Lake, and which was familiar to most of the Hare Indians, they shouted in an ecstacy of joy, shook hands most cordially, and called loudly for the young lad whom they had hid to come up. " The meeting," f \ys Dr. Richardson, " was highly gratifying to ourselves as well as to the kind natives ; for they seemed to be friends come to rejoice with us on the happy termination of our voyage."* It had naturally occurred to government, that if the expeditions under Captains Parry and Franklin should be successful, their stores would be exhausted by the time they reached Behring's Strait. It was certain also that Franklin would be destitute of any means of conveyance to Europe; and to supply these wants, government resolved that a vessel should be sent out to await their arrival in Behring's Strait. For this pajpose, accordingly, Captain F. W. Beechey sailed in the Blossom from Spithead on the 19th May 1825. Tlte vessel was a twenty-six gun * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 274. 248 beechey's voyage. [1825. ship; but on this occasion mounted only sixteen. She was partially strengthened, and adapted to this peculiar service by increasing her stowage. A boat was also sup- plied to be used as a tender, built as large as the space on deck would allow, schooner -rigged, decked, and fitted up in the most complete manner. Cloth, beads, cutlery, and various other articles of traffic, were put on board, and a variety of anti- scorbutics were added to the usual allowance of provision. Aware that he must traverse a large portion of the globe hitherto little explored, and that a consider- able period would elapse before his presence was required on the coast of America, Captain Beechey was instructed to survey the parts of the Pacific within his reach, of which it was important to navigators that a more correct delinea- tion should be laid down. These observations were not, however, to retard his arrival at the appointed rendezvous later than the 10th of July 1826; and he was directed to remain at Behring's Strait to the end of October, or to as late a period as the season would admit, without incurring the risk of spending the winter there. During this inten-al he was to navigate from Kotzebue's Sound northward, and afl;erward8 to continue in an easterly course along the main shore as far as the ice would allow. Captain Beeclit;y's survey of various portions of the Pacific does not fall within the plan of this work. On the 2d of June, having left the Sandwich Isles, he shaped his course for Kamtschatka, and on the 27th was becalmed within six miles of Petropalauski. The best guides to this harbour are a range of high mountains, on one of which, upwards of eleven thousand feet in height, a volcano is in constant action. It was a serene and beau- tiful evening when they approached this remote quarter of tiiC ".oiiu, una ;iil were struck with ilie magnificence of the mountains capped with perennial snow, and rising in solemn 1826.] STILL NIGHT IN THE ARCTIC PKGIONS. 249 grandeur one above the other. At intervals the volcano emitted dark columns of smoke ; and from a sprinkling of black spots upon the snow to the leeward it was conjectured there had been a recent eruption. From Petropalauski Captain Beechy sailed ca the 1st of July for Kotzebue's Sound. "We approached," says he, "the strait which separates the two great continents of Asia and America, on one of those beautiful still nights well known to all who have visited the arctic regions, when the sky is without a cloud, and when the midnight sun, scarcely his own dia- meter below the horizon, tinges with a bright hue all the northern circle. Our ship, propelled by an increasing breeze, glided rapidly along a smooth sea, startling from her path flocks of aquatic birds, whose flight, in the deep silence of the scene, could be traced by the ear to a great distance." Having closed in with the American shore some miles northward of Cape Prince of Wales, they were visited by a little Esquimaux squadron belonging to a vil- lage situated on a low san-; y island. The natives readily sold everything they possessed, and were cheerful and good-humoured, though exceedingly noisy and energetic. Their bows were more slender than those of ilio islanders to the southward, but made on the sain< j^ dnciple, with drift-pine, assisted with thongs of hide, or pit p- of whale- bone placed at the back, and neatly bound witu small cord. The points of their arrows were of bone, flint, or iron, and their spears headed with the same materials. Their dress was similar to that of the other tribes on the coast. It con- sistijd of a shirt, which reached half-way down the thigh, with long sleeves, and a hood of rein-deer skin, and edged with gray or white fox fur. Besides this they had a jacket of eider-drake skins sewed together, which, when engaged in war, they wore below their other dress, reckoning it a tolerably efficient protection against an arrow or a spear- 250 LUDICROUS APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. [1826. thrust. In wet weather they threw over the fur dress a shirt made of the entrails of the whale, which, being well saturated with oil and grease, was water-tight ; and they also used breeches of deer's hide, and seal-skin boots, to the upper end of which were fixed strings of sea-horse hide. It was their fashion to tie one of these strings round the waist, and attach to it a long tuft of hair, the wing of a bird, or sometimes a fox's tail, which, dangling behind as they walked, gave them a ridiculous appearance, and may probably have occasioned the report of the Tschuktschi re- corded in MuUer, that the people of this country have tails like dogs.* On the 22d July the ship anchored in Kotzebue's Sound, and after exploring a deep inlet on its northern shore, which they named Hotham Inlet, proceeded to Chamisso Island, where the Blossom was to await Captain Franklin. A dis- cretionary power had, however, been permitted to Captain Beechey, of employing the period of his stay in surveying the coast, provided this could be done without the risk ot missing Captain Franklin. Having accordingly directed the barge to keep in-shore on the look-out for the land- party, he sailed to the northward, and doubling Cape Kru- senstern, completed an examination of the coast by Cape Thomson, Point Hope, Cape Lisborn, Cape Beaufort, and Icy Cape, the farthest point reacheti by Captain Cook. As there were here wtroug indications of the ice closing in, and his instructions were positive to keep in open water if pos- sible, he determined to return to Kotzebue's Sound, whilst he despatched the barge under Mr. Elson and Mr. Smyth, to trace the coast to the north-eastward, as far as they could Mv\'}|^te. (m this interes^ting service the barge set out on 17th * Beechey'a Voyage, vol. i. p. 341. m^" 1826.] AURORA BOREALIS. 251 August, whilst Beechey returned towards Kotzebue's Sound. On the night of the 25th they beheld, for the first time in these northern latitudes, a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis. " It first ar^rteared," says Captain Beechey, " in an arch extending fiom west by north to north-east ; but the arch, shortly after its first appearance, broke up and entirely disappeared. Soon after this, how- ever, a new display began in the direction of the western foot of the first arch, preceded by a bright flame from which emanated coruscations of a pale straw colour. An almost simultaneous movement occurred at both extremities of the arch, until a complete segment was formed of wavering perpendicular radii. As soon as the arch was complete, the light became greatly increased, and the prismatic colours, which had before been faint, now shone forth in a very brilliant manner. The strongest colours, which were also the outside ones, were pink and green, on the green side purple and pink, all of which were as imperceptibly blended as in the rainbow. The green was the colour nearest the zenith. This magnificent display lasted a few minutes ; and the light had nearly vanished, when the north-east quarter sent forth a vigorous display, and nearly at the same time a corresponding coruscation emanated from the opposite extremity. The western foot of the arch then disengaged itself from the horizon, crooked to the northward, and the whole retired to the north-east quarter, where a bright spot blazed for a moment, and all was darkness. There was no noise audible during any part of our observations, nor were the compasses perceptibly affected."* During the voyage back to Chamisso Island, where they arrived on 27th August, they had repeated in- terviews with the Esquimaux, whose habits and disposition * Becchey's Voyage, vol. i. p. 387. 252 ESQUIMAUX CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS. [1826. were in no respect diffe ont from those of the natives already described. They found them uniformly friendly, sociable, devotedly fond of tobacco, eager to engage in traffic, and upon the whole honest, though disposed to drive a hard bargain. On some occasions they attempted to impose upon their customers, by skins artfully put together, so as to represent an entire fish ; but it was difficult to determine whether they intended a serious fraud or only a piece of humour, for they laughed heartily when detected, and ap- peared to consider it a good joke. Their persons, houses, and cookery, were all exceedingly dirty, and their mode of salutation was by a mutual contact of noses ; sometimes licking their hands, and stroking first their own faces, and afterwards those of the strangers.* The rapidity with which these people migrated from place to place was re- markable. On one occasion the motions of two baidars under sail were watched by the crew of the Blossom. The people landed at a spot near Choris Peninsula, drew up the boats on the beach, turning ihv.m bottom upwards, pit? Led tents, and in an incredibly hhoTt time transferred to them the whole contents of their Yiiilv, vessels. On visiting the encampment an hour after, r jrything was found in as complete order as if they had been domiciliated on the spot for months ; and the surprise of the sailors was raised to the highest by the variety of articles which, in almost endless succession, they produced from their little boats. " From the two baidars they landed fourteen persons, eight tent-poles, forty deer-skins, two kayaks, many hundred- weight of fish, numerous skins of oil, earthen jars for cook- ing, two living foxes, ten large dogs, bundles of lances, harpoons, bows and arrows, a quantity of whalebone, skins full of clothing, some immense nets made of hide, for taking * Jieechey's Voyage, vol. i. pp. 345, yyi. 1826.] elsom's expedition. 253 small ""vhales and porpoises, eight broad planks, mastf sails, paddles, &c., besides sea-horse hides and teeth, ai a variety of nameless arti( es alwvs to be found amoi) the Esquimaux."" In the meantime, Mr. Elson in the barge proceeded along the shore for seventy miles, as far as a promontory, denominated by Beechcy Cupe jJarrow, which was after- wards discovered to be only distant one hundred and forty- six miles from the extreme point of Franklin's di ^^ eries. Upon this new line of coast posts were erected at various distances with directions for Captain Franklin, sb' ^'^ ^ succeed in pushing far to the westward. A it communication was openea with the inhabitants, W' ere found to resemble the other Esquimaux, with tht ^)lea- !'.ant fTerence that their manners were more rude and boisterous, and their induct in some instances decidedly bo.tile. Point Barro v, the most northerly part of Ame- ri* yet discovered, formed the termii 'on to a spit of land jutting out several miles irom the more regular '^'t line. The width of the neck did not exceed a mile and a half; or the extremity were several small lakes, and on its eastern side a village. The danger of being shut in by the ice was now great, and Mr. Elson determined to land, obtain the necessary observations, erect a post, and de- posite instructions for Franklin. This plan, however, was fruslrated by the violent conduct of the nati^ s, who as- sembled in formidable numbers, and i'..eatrned to attack the crew of the barge, which consisted ov^ of eight men. It was therefore judged prudent to proc« ed as speedily as possible to the rendezvous at Chamisso Island, which they reached on the 9th of September, not without considerable difficulty, having been obliged to track the barge round * Beechey's Voyage, vol. i. p. '105. hJ^-^K"'. ^a: w ^. .^# IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I |5 0 '""==• xl ilM 112.8 IM 1: 1^ M 1.8 1.25 1.4 iiA ^ 6" ► V] ;,* %^ 6^ 254 EETURN OF BEECHEY. [1827. Cape Smyth, through a sea thickly beset with ice, that threatened every moment to close with its impenetrable walls, and cut off their return. The result of Captain Beechey's voyage, and of the expedition undertaken under his orders by Mr. Elson and Mr. Smyth, was the addition of a new and extensive line of coast to the geography of the polar regions. The actual distance between the ex- treme points reached by Captain Franklin and Mr. Elson being so small, there is every reason to believe that the navigation of this remaining portion will not be attended with any very formidable or insurmountable obstacles. In the following year, Beechey, in obedience to his instructions, returned to Kotzebue's Sound, and recom- menced his examination of the coast in the hope of ex- tending his survey beyond Cape Barrow, and either joining Franklin or collecting some certain intelligence regarding his enterprise. In both objects he had the mortification to fail. He found the posts erected the preceding year and the buried bottles remaining untouched, and the state of the weather rendered it necessary to put about before reaching Icy Cape. It had been previously arranged, that the signal to be used by Franklin, if he arrived on an unknown coast during the night, should be a beacon kindled on the cliffs ; and on passing Cape Krusenstern after dark, their attention was arrested by a large fire blazing on an eminence. Every eye on board was fixed on the welcome light, and every bosom beat with the delightful expectation of soon seeing their friends. The ship was brought to, and hope almost passed into certainty, as a boat was seen pull- ing from the shore. On examining her through the teles- cope by the light of the Aurora Borealis, some sanguine spirits declared they could discern that she was propelled by oars instead of paddles, and it needed only a slight additional exertion of the fancy to be assured that the dress 1827.] ARSIVAL IN ENGLAND. 255 of the crew waa European. In the midst of these excited and enthusiastic feelings, the harsh and boisterous voices of the natives suddenly broke on their ear, and the pleasing picture which their imagination had been so busy in con- structing faded away in a moment, leaving nothing before them but two sorry Esquimaux baidars and their unlovely occupants. From this point Captain Beechey'a voyage presented few features of new or striking interest. In Behring's Strait they were visited by a splendid exhibition of the Aurora Borealis, and under its coruscations of pink, purple, and green rays, which shot up to the zenith in the shape of a gigantic cone, they anchored oflf Chamisso Island. After the discovery of two capacious harbours, which they named Port Clarence and Grantlej Harbour, they took their final departure from the Polar Sea on the 6th October 1827. On the 29th, a flight of large white pelicans ap- prized them of their approach to the coast of California; and aftei touching at Monterey and San Bias, they arrived at Valparaiso on the 29th April 1828. On the 30th June they passed the meridian of Cape Horn in a gloomy snow- storm, and made Rio on the 2l8t July. Their voyage from Rio to England was completed in forty-nine days, and they arrived at Spithead on the 12th October 1828. He found that the expedition of Franklin had preceded him in his return by more than a year, having reached Liverpool on the 26th September 1827 ; its transactions occupied two years and nearly eight months, whilst Beechey had been absent on his voyage three years and a half. 256 EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTHERN COASTS. [1832, CHAPTER V. Recent Discoveries. Captain Back's Overland Journey to the Arctic Sea, 1833-35. While Captain Franklin, with that persevering energy which forms one of the prominent features in his character, was struggling against innumerable difficulties in surveying the northern coasts of America by land, as narrated in the last chapter, two expeditions, in addition to the one under the command of Captain Beechey, were fitted out and despatched from England to aim at the accomplishment of the same object by sea. The first, commanded by Captain Parry, sailed in 1824, with the view of exploring the bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet, through which, it was hoped, a passage might be found leading into the Polar Sea. It consisted of two ships, the Hecla and Fury — the first being commanded by Captain Parry, the second by Commander Hoppner. After spending a long, dreary winter in the arctic seas, they returned to England in the autumn of 1825, having abandoned the Fury, which was so severely damaged by the ice as to be quite unfit for sea. The second expedition referred to was that of Captain Lyon, who sailed in the "Griper," in June 1825, and after a voyage, in which he and his gallant crew experienced the most dreadful sufferings and danger, returned to Eng- land the same year. As these attempts, however, were made by sea, and Rre described in another volume of this series, we pass them over without further detail, and hasten to notice the overland journeys which form more specially the object of the present volume. From the year 1826 to 1833, no attempt had been made by land to continue the survey of the northern coasts of America. But about 1832 great anxiety began to be felt 1833.] TREPAR^^TIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 257 about the fate of Sir John Ross, who sailed from England in th. year 1829, and had not been heard of since. He commanded a small vessel called the Victory, which was fitted out entirely at the expense of himself and the late Sir Felix Booth, for the purpose of continuing his northern discoveries, and enabling him to vindicate his reputation as an able and enterprising navigator, which latter had been somewhat doubted in consequence of the ill success of a previous voyage to Baffin's Bay. It was accordingly resolved by the friends of Captain Ross to send an expedition overland to the shores of the Arctic Sea in search of him, and a fitting leader for it was found in the well-tried and experienced Captain Back who no sooner heard of such a project being contemplated, than he hastened from Italy, where he happened to be at the time, and offered his services. Mr. Ross, the brother of Sir John, and father of Captain James Rop^, drew up a petition to the king, " praying his Majesty's gracious sanction to the immediate despatch of an expedi- tion for rescuing or at least ascertaining the fate of hia son and brother;" and Captain Back's name being in- serted as a leader, the petition was forwarded, and shortly after received the royal assent. A grant of £2000 was also made by government, while a public subscription soon placed at the disposal of Captain Ross's friends a sum that was more than sufficient to defray all the ex- penses of the undertaking. So great was the anxiety felt by the public and private friends of the Arctic explorer, that everything was done that could be devised for the furtherance of the searching expedition. The Hudson's Bay Company, besides supply, ing a large quantity of provisions, two boats, and two canoes, gratis, took the expedition under their special pro- tection, by issuing a commission under their seal to Captain B 258 INSTRUCTIONS. rPBu. Lisas. Back as its commander, thereby securing to him the effec- tual co-operation of all parties throughout their extensive tbi x-itories. It was also deemed expedient on many accounts, but more especially to give Captain Back additional autho- rity over the men under his command, that the mission should be taken under the direction of his Majesty's govern- ment; and accordingly he received the following instruc- tions from the Colonial Office: — "The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having been pleased to lend your services to this office, that you may conduct an expedition now preparing to proceed to the Polar Sea in search of Captain Boss, you are hereby required and directed to undertake this service, placing yourself for the purpose at the disposi- tion of the governor and committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who have undertaken to furnish you with the requisite resources and supplies. You are to leave Liver- pool early in the present month [February 1833], and proceed with your party by way of New York to Montreal, and thence along the usual route pursued by the N( rth- west traders to Great Slave Lake. * * * You are then to strike off to the north-eastward, or in such other direction as yo i may ascertain to be most expedient, in order to gain the Thlew-ee-choh-desseth, or Great Fish River, which is believed either to issue from Slave Lake, or to rise in its vicinity, and thence to flow with a navigable course to the northward, till it reaches the sea. On arriving on the banks of this river, you are to select a convenient situation for a winter lesidence, and immediately appoint a portion of your force to erect a house thereon ; but, if pos- sible, you are to proceed yourself, with an adequate party, and explore the river to the coast the same season, erecting a conspicuous landmark at its mouth, and leaving notice of your intention to return the ensuing spring, in case Cap- tain Ross should be making progress along thlf* part of the. Frb. t 1833.J THE EXPEDITION SAILS. 259 shore." After directing him to construct two boats, with which to proceed to the sea, and explore the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and especially to examine the coast around Cape Garry, where the Fury was wrecked, and on the stores of which it was known that Captain Ross in some measure relied, the instructions go on to say : " Devoting the summer, then, to the interesting search in contempla- tion, it is unnecessary to recommend to you to make it as effectual as possible, consistently with a due regard for the health and preservation of your party." * * * " Subordinate to your object of finding Captain Ross, or any survivors or survivor of his party, you are to direct your attention to mapping what yet remains unknown of the coasts which you will visit, and making such other scientific observations as your leisure will admit, for which purposes the requisite instruments will be supplied to * * you ^ Armed with this authority, as well as by that given to him by the Hudson's Bay Company, Captain Back, Mr. King (surgeon and naturalist to the expedition), and three men, two of whom had served in a former expedition under Captain Franklin, embarked in the packet-ship Hibernia, Captain Maxwell, from Liverpool, and on the 17th Feb- ruary 1833 sailed for America. Eight months after their departure. Captain Ross and the survivors of his party, whom a merciful God had brought in safety through dangers and privations unparalleled in arctic story, arrived in England after an absence of four years and five months. During this protracted period they had made very important geographical discoveries; fixed the position of the northern magnetic pole, and experienced hardships and privations, and encountered dangers, that * Back's Joiu-nal, pj. 13, 16. 260 REACHES CANADA. rMAncH L 1833. fill US with admiration and wonder at the endurance and fortitude of the men who dared and overcame them all. Their little vessel, the Victory, having become unfit for use, had been abandoned, and the wanderers were at last providentially discovered by a whaler, the Isalella of Hull, which conveyed them from the icy regions, where they had been so long immured, to the sunny shores of their native land. Although the principal object of the expedition under Captain Back was thus obviated, yet the despatches containing the intelligence did not overtake him until after he had reached his winter quarters in the sterile and romantic regions of the north; so that, even had it been desirable, he could not have returned home. As it was, however, he received the intelligence early enough.to pre- vent his wasting time in the now unnecessary search; and he accordingly turned his undivided attention to the second object of the expedition. Following, then, in the wake of our enterprising ex- plorer, let us wing our way over the heaving surges of the wide Atlantic; let us track him and his gallant companions as they thread their way through the forests of Canada, and dive fearlessly into the wild unpeopled solitudes of the far north, casting a glance to the right and left as we go, and noting the wonders of a land, thaii which there is not another on this fair earth more fraught with interest, or more prolific of strange and wild adventure. After spending a few days in Montreal, where he en- gaged three artillerymen for the service. Captain Back and his party went to Lachinc, a small village on the banks of the Ottawa, a short distance below the confluence of that noble river and the St. Lawrence. Here they found that the Hudson's Bay Company's agent had made every pre- paration for their voyage; and here they were iutroduced to the first tangible bit of north-west life, in the sha of AmiLT 18U3. J CANOES LEAVE LACHTNE. 2C1 their two bark canoes, manned by Canadians and Iroquois. Into these the travellers stepped. After bidding adieu to their friends at Lachine, who, along with a number of the officers of the garrison at Montreal, and a large concourse of the villagers assembled to see them depart, " we embarked," says Back, " amidst the most enthusiastic cheers and firing of musketry. The two canoes shot rapidly through the smooth water of the canal, and were followed by the dense crowd on the banks. A few minutes brought us to the St. Lawrence, and, as we turned the stems of our little vessels up that noble stream, one long loud huzza bade us farewelll" One of the canoes in which they commenced their Journey was of the kind used by the fur traders while travelling on the great lakes of Canada. They are much larger than those afterwards used in ascending and de- scending the innumerable lakes and rivers of the interior, and are capable of carrying fourteen or sixteen men as a crew, besides their provisions for many weeks; yet can be carried, when necessary, on the shoulders of four men. At the head of Lake Superior, the last of the great Cana- dian chain, these large canoes are usually changed for "north canoes," which, being much smaller, are more manageable in shallow and intricate waters; taking only eight men as a crew, two of whom are capable of carrying them many miles overland. They are made of birch bark, cut into oblongs, and sewed over a framework of exceed- ingly thin timbers, the seams being covered over and -endered water-tight by a coating of gum. The bow and stern are nearly alike, being sharp and turned up at the ends, which ends are fancifully, and sometimes tastefully painted by the voyageurs^ and, combined with the bright yellow colour of the bark, give to the fragile boat a light and pleasing, though somewhat gaudy appearance. They are very elegant and rapid when in motion, and it is quite 2G2 INDIAN CANOES. tMat 1333. imposBible to give an adequate idea of the fairy-like buoy- ancy of the north canoe aa it bounds upon the surging rapids, or skims over the lovely lakes, urged forward by the vemilion-coloured paddles of eight stalwart voyageurs, whose swart countenances, wild locks, glittering eyes, and gaudy habiliments, harmonize in character with the rapid yet mellodious and peculiarly plaintive songs with which they fill the air and awaken the echoes of the wilderness. Canoes are very haky machines, however, and are easily upset or broken, especially those used Ly the Indians, which are much smaller than north canoes, being often made so small as to be capable of carrying but two persons, and sometimes only one. The following description of a paddle over an American lake will convey some idea of the buoyancy and portability of the Indian canoe. The writer, who had been spending the afternoon with some friends who lived on the shores of a small lake in the woods, says :— « In the evening I began to think of returning to the fort, but no boat or canoe could be found small enough to be paddled by one man, and as no one seemed inclined to go with me, I began to fear that I should have to remain all night. At last, a young Indian told me that he had a hunting canoe, which I might have, if I chose to venture across the lake in it, but it was very small. I instantly accepted his offer, and, bidding adieu to my friends at the parsonage, followed him down to a small creek overshaded by trees, where, concealed among the reeds and bushes, lay the canoe. It could not, I should think, have measured more than three yards in length, by eighteen inches in breadth at the middle, whence it tapered at either end to a thin edge. It was made of birch bark, scarcely a quarter of an inch thick, and its weight may be imagined, when I say that the Indian lifted it from the ground with one hand and placed it in the water, at the same time handing 18J3. ] ROMANTIC PADDLE, 963 mo a small light paddle. I stepped in with great care, and the frail bark trembled with my weight as I seated myself, and pushed out into the lake. The sun had just set, and his expiring rays cast a glare upon the overhang- ing clouds in the west, whilst the shades of night gathered thickly over the eastern horizon. Not a breath of wind disturbed the glassy smoothness of the water, in which every golden-tinted cloud was mirrored with a fidelity that rendered it difficult to say which was image and which reality. The little bark darted through the water with the greatest ease, and as 1 passed among the deepening sha- dows of the lofty pines, and across the gilded waters of the bay, a wild enthusiasm seized me ; I strained with all my strength upon the paddle, and the sparkling drops flew in showers behind me, as the little canoe flew over the water, more like a phantom than reality; when, suddenly, I missed my stroke ; my whole weight was thrown on one side ; the water gurgled over the gunwale of the canoe, and my heart Teapt to my mouth, as I looked for an instant into the dark water. It was only for a moment; in another instant the canoe righted, and I paddled the remainder of the way in a much more gentle manner — enthusiasm gone, and a most wholesome degree of timidity pervading my entire frame. It was dark when I reached the fort, and upon landing I took the canoe under my arm, and carried it up the bank with nearly as much ease as if it had been a camp-stool!" The canoe here spoken of is a hunting c< u a, and is only used by the native of these regions when away from his wigwam on a hunting expedition. Those generally used are somewhat larger, and, when the natives are changing their place of residence, and travelling by water in search of another, are so stuffed with men, women, children, furs, frims, kettles, blankets, and dne-s, as to leave little more than two or three inches out of the water. Nevertheless, 264 SCENERY ON THE LAKES AND JUViiliSJ. TMat L18J3. they rarely upset, their owners being accustomed to them from the tenderest years of infancy. Many a good duck- ing, however, have these same canoes given to the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, especially during their first year's sojourn in the countiy ; and oftentimes have bragging young fellows— just landed, fresh from the re- straints of the old country, and big with thoughts of daring deeds and wild adventure— ventured into these unsteady conveyances ; and, after galvanically heaving about their arms and jerking their bodies to and fro, in the vain attempt to recover their equilibrium, have been obliged to souse into the water, and splutter ingloriously to the shore. The scenery through which Captain Back and his com- panions here passed was varied and beautiful. Sometimes the canoes were glancing over the calm waters of a little lake, whose unruffled bosom reflected, with softened out- line, the luxuriant verdure on its shore. At other times the picturesque voyageurs were slowly stemming the current of a brawling rapid, or, when a foaming cascade intercepted them, carrying canoe and baggage on their shoulders; tearing through break and over plain, sometimes on good ground, and often over the ankles in mud or swamp, with the light-hearted indifference peculiar to Canadian voyageurs. Now, they were crossing a traverse in one of the great lakes, whose boundless horizon, rolling waves, and pebbly shore, gave it all the appearance of the ocean; and anon they were driven to seek shelter from the thunder- stonn or the tempest in some bay or inlet, where, under the canopy of the forest trees, their tents were pitched, their fires kin- dled, and soon crackling and blazing up into the heavens; their kettles bubbling ; their tobacco pipes smoking, and themselves reclining on their blankets, the very picture of terrestrial happiness, in spite of wind and weather! They were not exempt from real discomforts, however. Occa- Matt ibaa.J LAKE SUPERIOR — FORT WIIXIAM. 265 sionally they were detained byh-ad winds, and, during tho first part of the journey, Captain Back was much annoyed by the tendency of hi« men to desert ; the fickle Canadians being much addicted to change their minds, especially when the voyage on which they enter is likely to prove long or arduous. They proceeded up the Ottawa, passing several of the Hudson's Bay Company's establishments, at which they were always most hospitably entertained, and the detached, thinly scattered dwellings of the bush farmers and wood- cutters, who may be looked upon as the pioneers of civili- zation. Leaving the Ottawa, they diverged to the left, up a deep black stream, so overhung by sombre rocks and trees, and so bleak and lifeless, that it seemed the very home of melancholy and despair. It took them to Lake Nipising, whence they descended by the Riviere des Fran- cais into Lake Huron, where their progress was so impeded by fogs and head winds, that it was not until the 11th of May that they reached the Sault de Ste Marie, at the head of the lake, and the extreme point to which civilization has yet extended. Here they purchased a third canoe to carry additional provisions, and commenced coasting along the northern shores of Lake Superior— a distance of upwards of three hundred miles— and arrived on the 20th May at the Hud- son's Bay Company's establishment. Fort William. It was here that the large canoes were to be exchanged for the smaller, and a short delay took place in consequence of the difficulty the men had in dividing the lading among them. " An entire day," says Back, " was now devoted to the examining and repacking of our various stores and instru- ments. Our * north canoe/ brought from Montreal was also repaired ; for, lumbered as we were with provisions, it 266 ARRANGING CARGOES. [ I8ad. waa found impracticable to ascend the shallow waters of the Kamenistaquoia without taking her, in addition to the two new ones ; and I did this the less reluctantly as no extra expense was thus incurred, and there were hands enough to manage the three. " The Canadian voyageur is, in all respects, a peculiar character ; and on no point is he more sensitive, or rather, to use an expressive term, more touchy, than in the just distribution of * pieces' * among the several canoes forming a party. It must be admitted, at the same time, that he has very substantial reasons for being particular in this matter, for he well knows that, supposing the canoes to be in other respects equally matched, a very jmall inequality of weight will make a considerable difference in their rela- tive speed, and will occasion, moreover, a longer detention at the portages. The usual mode is for the guide to sepa- rate the pieces, and then to distribute or portion them out by lots, holding in his hand little sticks of different lengths, which the leading men draw. From the decision so made there is no appeal, and the parties go away laughing or grumbling at their different fortunes."! Having settled these preliminaries to the satisfaction of those concerned, they bade farewell to their host at Fort William, and began the ascent of the Kamenistaquoia River, encamping at night near the Kakabeka or Mountain Fall. This fall is as high, if not a few feet higher, than the Falls of Niagara, and surpasses them in picturesque effect, although it is a much smaller body of water. Passing the height of land which separates the waters which flow into Lake Superior from those which enter Hud- * All packages or bales, whether of provisions or goods, in these countries, are made as nearly as possible 90 lbs. weight, and each pack- age of this kind, whatever be its contents, is called a "i»ece." t Back's Journal, p. 38. May 1U33. 3.J DANGERS OF CANOE TRAVELLING. 267 son's Bay, the three canoes proceeded rapidlj on their ever-changing and romantic route, sometimes careering down the rapids, or hurrying over the portages — crossing the small lakes, and not unfrequently sticking or making but slow progress in numberless small and shallow rivers. While descending one of the latter, called the Savannah, which is rendered almost impassable by the great number of fallen trees which bridge it across, William Malley, one of the artillerymen, slipped off a floating tree, as he was attempting to open a passage for the canoes, and narrowly escaped being drowned ; but he bore the accident with so much indifference and good-humour as to call forth the admiration of Paul, the Iroquois guide, who at once predicted that he would make a good voyageur. Accidents of 's kind are of frequent occurrence among these dangerous rapids — some- times of a ludicrous, and sometimes of a more serious nature. On one occasion, not many years ago, a north canoe was pursuing its way quietly down one of the streams through which the arctic exploring party was now passing. It was approaching one of the many portages with which these streams abound, and the bow and steersmen were standing erect at stem and stem, casting quick glances ahead and on either side as they neared the waterfall which obstructed their progress. The approach to the landing-place was somewhat difficult, owing to a point of rocks which projected into the stream in the direction of the fall, and round which point it was necessary to steer with some dexterity in order to avoid being drawn into the strong current. The fearless guides, however, had often passed the place in former years in safety, and, accordingly, dashed at the point with reckless indifference, their paddles flinging a circle of spray over their heads as thev chan^'ed them from side to side with graceful but vigorous rapidity. The swift stream carried them quickly round the point of danger, and they 268 DANGERS OF CANOE TRAVELLING. [ Mat 1833. had almost reached the quiet eddy near the landing-place, when the stem of the canoe was caught by the stream, which in an instant whirled them out from the shore, and carried them downwards with fearful rapidity. Another moment, and the gushing waters dragged them, despite their most frantic efforts, to the verge of the waterfall, which thundered and foamed among frightful chasms and rocks many feet below. The stem of the canoe overhung the abyss, and now the voyageurs plied their paddles with the desperation of men who felt that their lives depended on the exertions of that terrible minute. For a second or two the canoe remained stationary, and seemed to tremble on the brink of destruction, and then, inch by inch, it began slowly to ascend the stream. The danger was past ! A few more nervous strokes, and the trembling bark shot like an arrow out of the current, and floated in safety on the still water under the point. The whole thing, from begin- ning to end, was the work of a few seconds ; yet who can describe or comprehend the tumultuous gush of feelings created, during these short seconds, in the bosoms of the careless voyageurs! The sudden, electric change from tranquil safety to the verge of almost certain destruction and then— deliverance ! It was one of those thrilling inci- dents which frequently occur to those who tread the wilder- nesses of this world, and was little recked of, by those to whom it occurred, beyond the moment of danger ; yet it was one of those solemn seasons, more or less numerous in the history of all men, when the Almighty speaks to his careless, reckless creatures, in a way that cannot be mistaken, however much it may be slighted, awakening them, with a rough grasp, to behold the slender cord which suspends them over the abyss of etemitv. There are lights as well as shadows in every picture. The rippling streams and the waving trees have their spots '"Ah ■^ 268 DANfirns! nv r U.« had almost r when the st» which in an carried thein moment, am their most i which thund< rocks many i the ahyss, an the desperati* on the exerti( two the canoe on the brink c slowly to asc( few more ner an arrow out still water um ning to end, ^ describe or c< created, durin careless voi/a tranquil safety and then — del dents which fr nesses of this whom it occuf was one of th in the history his careless, i mistaken, ho\^ them, with a r suspends them There are 1 The rippling s anoe • tiwssir Ufci Cu; S) *^0' ■yet who caii ^iii'} 'ajLnJl~X sUUUf ,^f iiUiXI caiimoi .«?>'-.. VOYAGEUR8. For a second or two the canoe remained stationary, and seemed to tremble on the brink ot destruotion, and then incli by inch, it began slowly to ascend the stream. The danger was past I — Page 2tiH. rer "» p Matt 1883. J Matt 183a. J ANECDOTES OF CANOE TRAVELLING. 269 of shadow and their checkered gleams of light; and, as it is in the physical aspect of nature, so it is in the every-day history of men, more especially of those men who travel in the wilds of North America, where grave succeeds to gay, and rain to sunshine, with a violence and frequency that renders a life in the woods at once captivating and instruc- tive. The preceding anecdote illustrates one of the dangers to which the traveller is sometimes exposed ; the following extract from the journal of one who resided in these soli- tudes, will exhibit one of the many ludicrous incidents that tend to enliven the voyage and furnish food for agreeable reminiscence in after years : — " One cold frosty morning," says he, " (for the weather had now become cold from the elevation of the country through which we passed), while the canoe was going quietly over a small, reedy lake or ford, I was awakened out of a comfortable nap and told that the canoe was aground, and that I must get out and walk a little way to lighten her. Hastily pulling up my trousers (for I always travelled barefoot), I sprang over the side into the water, and the canoe left me. Now, all this happened so quickly that I was scarcely awake; but the bitterly cold water, which nearly reached my knees, cleared up my faculties most effectually, and I then found that I was fifty yards from the shore, with an unknown depth of water around me, the canoe out of sight ahead of me, and my companion (who had been turned out while half asleep also), standing with a rueful expression of countenance beside me. After feeling our way cautiously — for the bottom was soft and muddy — we reached the shore; and then, thinking that all was right, proceeded to walk round to join the canoe. Alas I we found the bushes so thick that they were nearly impenetrable; and, worse than all, that they, as well as the ground, were covered with thorns, which scratched and 270 LAKE WINIPEG. [ Jmn 18S3. lacerated our feet most fearfully at every step. There was nothing for it, however, but to persevere; and, after a pain- ful walk of a quarter of a mile, we overtook the canoe, vow- ing never to leap before we looked upon any other occasion whatsoever." On the 6th of June the canoes arrived at Fort Alexander — situated at tie southern extremity of Lake Winipeg. Here Captain Back found it necessary to remain a few days, to await the arrival of Governor Simpson, who was expected daily. During this period he and Mr. King employed themselves in making a set of observations for the dip of the needle, while the men busied themselves in unpacking and drying the provision and packages, which had got slightly damp during the voyage. Any spare time they had, one would almost suppose, had been devoted to the destruction of mosquitoes ; which tormentors Captv in Back speaks of as being awfully numerous. This voracious little insect is fully two-eighths of an inch long, exclusive of the proboscis, or trunk, with which its head is armed; and it would be highly amusing, were it not tremendously irritating, to watch the vigorous way in which it goes to work. Alight- ing, it may be, on the hand, it applies its trunk instantly to the skin, and with surprising rapidity finds out the tender points which occur where the lines of the skin intersect each other. For an instant the villain's head remains ominously still, as if collecting all its energies for the plunge, and then down goes the probe, full quarter of an inch, up to the very butt. Having performed this feat, it retracts the weapon a little, and begins to suck, which it continues doing till quite surfeited. On close inspection the proboscis is found to be enclosed in a sheath, which is split all the way up on one side, and does not penetrate into the wound, but doubles conveniently away to one side when the probing is going on. So numerous and tormenting are f5i71 Nj'QUITOES. 271 these insects, that they drive the deer into ponds of water for shelter, where the agonized animals remain for hours, with their noses alone out of the water; and it is said that bisons are not unfrequently suffocated by the swellings in their nostrils and mouths caused by the unremitting assaults of mosquitoes. Poor Back speaks feelingly on the subject. The men had been making a portage. "The laborious duty," says he, "which had been thus satisfactorily performed, was rendered doubly severe by the combined attacks of myriads of sand-flies and mosquitoes, which made our faces stream with blood. There is cer- tainly no form of wretchedness, among those to which the checkered life of a voyageur is exposed, at once so great and so humiliating, as the torture inflicted by these puny blood- suckers. To avoid them is impossible; and as for defend- ing himself, though for a time he may go on crushing thou- sands, he cannot long maintain the unequal conflict; so that at last, subdued by pain and fatigue, he throws him- self in despair with his face io the earth, and, half 8ufi*ocated in his blanket, groans away a few hours of sleepless rest."* On the 10th of June the governor arrived, and communi- cated the measures which had been taken for the furtherance of the object of the expedition. Letters were given to Captain Back, addressed to various experienced gentlemen who resided near to the remote scene of intended operations, urging them to lend all the assistance in their power to the exploring party, and, if required, to accompany it. Provisions were laid up at several stations on the route for their use, and all that could possibly be accomplished was done by the agents of the company, with a zeal and alacrity which called forth Captain Back's warmest expressions of gratitude. * Captain Back's Journal, p. 117. 2Ti ENOAOINO MEN FOU THE EXPEDITION. [ As the most of tho men for the expedition were yet to be engaged, it was necessary that they should proceed to Nor- way House — a depot of the company near the opposite ex- tremity of Lake Winipcg — where the brigades of boats from the distant regions of the interior converge on their way to the sea; and, as they have all to repass this l. ^ab- lishment on theli return, there is a constant succession of arrivals and departures. From these brigades Captain Back hoped to engage men for his arduous undertaking ; and accordingly left Fort Alexander on the 11th of June, and coasted Lake Winlpeg towards Norway House, at which place he arrived on the 17th, and met with a cordial recep- tion from the gentlemen who were staying there at the time. Engaging men, however, was not so easy a matter as had been anticipated. " The bulk of the people from the more remote stations had already passed the depot, and those who remained were either reluctant to expose themselves to the hazard of what was justly considered an enterprize of dan- ger, or, influenced by the strong desire of gain, demanded the same privileges and emoluments which had been granted to the men employed on the two government expeditions under Sir John Franklin." Difficulties of another kind also arose. Two Canadians who had engaged to go, on returning to their tents were met by their wives, who re- sorted to different, though, as it turned out, equally efficacious methods of diverting their husbands from their purpose. The one, a good strapping dame, cuffed her husband's ears with such dexterity and good will that he was fain to cry pecavi, and seek shelter in a friendly tent; the other, an in- teresting girl of seventeen, burst into tears, and with piteous sobs clung to the husband of her love as if she would hold him prisoner in her arms! At length, however, the requi- site number of able and experienced hands were engaged (eighteen in all), part of whom were sent off in advance with 1833. J LEAVE NORWAY n0U?E. 273 Dr. King, while Captain Bacl-, retaining sufficient to man his canoe, remained a few da>3 longer; and then, on the 28th Juno 1838. started for Cumberland House, where two boats and a large supply of stores and provisions awaited him. *' This," says he, " was a happy day for me ; and as tho canoe pushed from the bank, my heart swelled with hope and joy. Now, for the first time, I saw myself in a con- dition to verify the kind anticipations of my friends. The preliminary difficulties had been overcome. I was fairly on my way to the accomplishment of tho benevolent errand on which I had been commissioned ; and the contemplation of an object so worthy of all exertion, in which I thought myself at length free to indulge, raised my spirits to a more than ordinary pitch of excitement." " We paddled along with little respite, until 5 p.m., when a small speck was seen under the steep sandy cliffs round Mossy Point, on the northern boundary of Lake Winipeg. It was coming towards us, and was at first taken for an Indian canoe ; but as we approached, I had the satisfaction to find that it was the company's light canoe from Athabasca, with Messrs. Smith and Charles, two gentlemen whom I had long wished to see. From the latter I now learnt that he had made every endeavour to obtain, by inquiries from the Indians, a tolerably con-ect notion of the situation of the River Thlew-ee-choh ; the result of which was an opinion that it ran somewhere to tho north-east of Great Slave Lake, in a position not far from .hat which had been speculatively assigned to it by my friend Dr. Richardson and myself. Mr. Charles had further been informed by an Indian chief, called tho * Grand Jeune Homme,' whose hunting grounds were in the neighbourhood of Great Slave Lake, that the Thlew- eo-choh was so full of rapids, as to make it doubtful if 274 DISCOMFORTS OP VOYAGING F Jin»» L 1883. boatfl, or indeed lar^o ' oea -aid descend it ; but that by pursuing a d' ft rent cov rs( , a large river, called Teh-Ion, buch difficulties -^uiild be avu. ^'^d; whilst the distunce be- tween tho mouths of the two rivers waa so trifling, that the smoke of t)n\ fire made at one was distinctly visible at the other. * ♦ # The waters were uc scribed as abound- ing in fish, and ihtc «OY/n^ry in animals ; and, whaif was not less gratifying, the chief ar tl some others were wilLng and desirous to accompany me."* The voyage thus auspiciously commenced was not des- tined to continue long, however, without evolving some of those ills to which the flesh is heir ; and the joyous exulta- tion with which Captain Back and his party set out, was changed into chagrin on the second day, when a breeze sprang up, and, freshening into a gale with that peculiar pertinacity with which breezes do freshen when particularly wanted not to blow, obliged them to run the canoe into shr ', wat'^' in order to prevent their being swamped in deep ; ano .hen getting out, they waded to the shore with the bagg: je on their shoulders. Now, this is one of the severest species of annoyance to which arctic travellers are subjected. To bear the discomforts of wet feet and pained muscles while tracking the boats or canoes up muddy streams, which appear to have no end, or across rivulets which have no bottom (or at least not till the cooling ele- ment embraces the waist or armpits), is nothing. To scramble through busixos that interlace with almost impene- trable firmness, and when forced through, give way with a crash that pitches the traveller forward on his head, and recoil with a sharp switch on his face as he staggers to his feet again, is less than nothing, so long as under these, or any other imaginable species of disagreeable circumstances, * Back's J A,., Tn"[»ririv •rNTn«r. he. j^ialli' r! .;■ ■■■' M A i 1. Uh«pewya ./ shoe;.- Hhicli , ^hin sight of the i otuided nimal, and thrn rlaaheii >uiL Fc- , ;• .,, ■• k..pt wei} ^It lcn«^th they t. , . t,^]^^, it; bur nd di>' received intel tracks of a m forth, accomf fatiguing wa six feet long, young man i forward in pu ahead of then when they w( ro aboul: I appeared, senlln^' iip a ciui ing that it hal sunk .jj^j jn^^.y 1^^^. lows which w re formed • ;>nnmd' the young ma i rushed headicng I. ,vn;33. On the 29th of August, while the men were out scouring the country in search of the Thlew-ee-choh, which, it was supposed, must be in the neighbourhood of the spot where their tent was pitched, Captain Back sallied forth with his gun. " Becoming anxious," says he, " about the men, I took my gun, and following a N.N.W. direction, went out to look for them. Having passed a small sheet of water, * * * I ascended a hill, from the top of which I discerned, to my great delight, a rapid, evidently connected with the stream which flowed through the narrow channel from the lake. With a quickened step I proceeded to trace its course, and, in doing so, was farther gratified at being obliged to wade through the sedgy waters of springs. Crossing two rivulets whose lively ripples ran due north into the rapid, the thought occurred to me that these feeders might be tributaries of the Thlew-ee-choh ; and, yielding to that pleasing emotion which discoverers, in the first bound of their transport, may be pardoned for indulging, I threw myself down on the bank, and drank a hearty draught of the limpid water." That this was actually the source of the river of which they were in search, was speedily confirmed by the men, who returned soon aftervN'^ards saying that they had dis- covered it on the second day, and described it as being large enough for boats. Proceeding across some small lakes and portages, they travelled towards the river until their canoe, which had been showing unraistakeable symp- toms of a broken constitution, became at last so rickety as to render it advisable to return. From the appearance of the country, and especially of some blue hills in the dis- tance, it was conjectured that the river was full of rapids, and that their work of next summerwould not be child's play. The observations gave the latitude 64° 40' 51" Is. ; longitude 108° 08' 10" W. ; variation 44" 24' E. SlTT.T 1833. J RETURN TO WINTER QUARTERS, 289 Their route back to winter quarters was even more harassing than their advance. The rickety canoe having nearly gone to pieces in several rapids, was finally aban- doned, and her cargo strapped to the backs of the men, who set off to walk back over land. The account of this journey, as given by the indefatigable leader, is particularly interesting, but our limits forbid our entering upon it in detail. Over hill and dale, through swamp, jungle, and morass, they pursued their toilsome march ; now crashing with their heavy loads down the tangled and bushy banks of a small creek, and then slowly clambering up the craggy sides of the opposite bank ; sometimes plodding through a quaking swamp, at other times driving through a wood of stunted trees; and all the while assailed by a host of sand-flies and mosquitoes, in a way that mortal combatants never did and never will assail their foes I Talk of hero- ism ! no band of Spartans ever left their black soup to rush tumultuously on certain death — no forlorn hope ever dashed up the crashing ruins of a blazing breach, with half the determination, or half the obstinacy, with which these same sanJ flies and mosquitoes rushed upon destruction I Thou- sands flew, with ready darts, straight in the eyes, noses, and ears, of the frantic voyageurs — thousands fell under the withering force of one tremendous slap of their ever-moving hands — down they go, millions at a sweep, while millions more supply their places, coolly, calmly, but decidedly, with as much indifference to death as if it were a mere joke — nny, they even came on with a merry hum and buzz, as if they revelled in the wholesale slaughter of themselves, while their luckless foes rolled their heads in the very dust in agony. At last, however, their sorrows, for a time, came to an end. " We had now," says Back, " reached the lake where, in my letter of the 1 9th of August, I had directed Mr. M'Leod to build an establishment. Proceed- 290 A HOME IN THE WOODS. r SkW. L 1833. ing onward, over the even and mossy surface of the sand- banks, we were one day gladdened by the sound of the woodman's stroke ; and, guided by the branchless trunks that lay stretched along the earth, we soon came to a bay, where, in agreeable relief against the dark green foliage, stood the newly-erected framework of a house. Mr. M'Leod was walking under the shade of the trees with La Prise, aid did not hear us till we were within a few yards of him. We w^ere ranged in single file, the men having, of their own accord, fallen into that order; and, with swollen faces, dressed and laden as we were, some carrying guns, others tent poles, &c., we must have presented a strangely wild appearance, not unlike a group of robbers on the stage."* Captain Back and his hardy companions had now reached their wini er quarters. In the cold heart of the wilderness, thousands and thousands of miles from the dwellings of civilized raen, between whom and them lay the almost impassable barriers of broad foaming rivers and sea-like lakes, whose waters were becoming crusted with the fine intersecting needles of ice, which, ere long, would solidify them nnarly to the bottom — ^high, broken, rugged mountains, dreary morasses, boundless prairies, and dense, dark, inter- minable forests. In the cold heart of the northern wilder- ness they built their little huts, and took up their abode for nine dreary months — surrounded by a few scattered, starving families of Indians, and solitude ; depending for food upon the success of their Indian hunters and the pro- duce of their nets, both of which often fail, and neither of which were likely to do more than furnish a meagre sub- sistence for the party. There is something truly grand in the courage and energy of men who thus, with the humane motive of delivering their fellow-men from impending * Back, p. 181. Srpt. -i 1»33. J ARRIVAL OF MR. KING. 291 destruction, or for the purpose of adding to the geographical knowledge of the human race, leave friends, and home, and country, to face the rigours and overcome the difficulties of a hyperborean winter — rigours and difficulties compre- hended in their full extent and terrible reality only by those who have endured them. And our admiration deepens into respect, when we see the heroic leader of the band, whose stern courage and unflinching resolution endured and conquered all, recording his gratitude and trust in God in the following simple, humble language : — "The following day," says he, "being Sunday, divine service was read, and our imperfect thanks were humbly offered to Almighty God for the mercies which had already been vouchsafed to us ; and though in this imperious cli- mate, with everything to do, time was certainly precious, yet, feeling that the first opening of the sacred volume in this distant wilderness ought not to be profaned by any mixture of common labour, I made it a day of real quiet and repose." Mr. King, who, as has been previously mentioned, was left behind with the two boats, rejoined the party on the 16th September, having incurred not a little difficulty in consequence of his want of experience in these climes, and had been occasionally imposed upon by the voyageurs. The whole party now set briskly to work to complete their buildings. Trees were soon felled, branched, squared, and put together, with a celerity peculiar to Canadians and half-breeds, who, being all but born with the axe in their hands, become very expert in the use of it. Though the trees were small, a sufficient number for their purpose were speedily procured; slabs and planks were sawn, stones chipped, mud and grass collected for mortar; and, in a few days, as if by magic, a dwelling-house was raised, sufficiently weather-tight to shelter the whole party during I 1 1 I 292 FORT RELIANCE — THE OBSERVATORY. rSKpT. L 1B33. a winter that was to last fully eight months. All estab- lishments in the Indian country, however lowly and inno- cent in appearance, being dignified with the title of Foi% Captain Back thought proper to call this one Fort Reliance. Its exact position was in latitude 62'* 46' 29" N., longitude 109" 0' 38-9" W. It consisted of a house fifty feet long by thirty broad, having four separate rooms, with a spa- cious hall in the centre for the reception and accommoda- tion of Indians. Each of the rooms had a fireplace and a rude chimney. A miserable apology for a room, with many a yawning crevice inviting the entrance of the cold elements, was, out of courtesy, called a kitchen; and another house, standing at right angles to this one on the western side, formed a dwelling for the men. An observatory was also constructed at a short distance from the establishment, wherein certain mysterious and complicated instruments were fixed and erected ; iron in all forms being carefully excluded, and a fence run round it to guard it more efiec- tually from the men, as they walked about with their guns, ice chisels, and axes. Here Captain Back and Mr. King used to sit in solemn conclave for many an hour during the winter, closely observing the various and interesting phenomena of earth and sky ; and awfully mysteiious did this building appear to the simple Indians and voyageurs. They would approach as near as they dared, and with their arms folded, brows knit, and heads down, would stand for hours wondering at the dead silence of its occupants, broken only at long intervals by such exclamations as "now" — « stop"— insomuch that they at last, after very mature and grave deliberation, came to the conclusion that they were " raising the devil!" The site of the establishment was a level bank of gravel and sand, covered with rein-deer moss, shrubs, and trees, looking more like a park than an American forest. It Oct. TO Jan. T 1833-34. J PROSPECT OF STAEVATION. 293 formed the northern extremity of a bay, from twelve to fifteen miles long, and from three to five miles broad, which was named after Mr. M'Leod. The Ah-hel-dessy fell into it from the westward, and another small river from the east. Granitic mountains of gray and flesh-coloured felspar, quartz, and in some places large plates of mica, surrounded the bay, and rose from five to fifteen hundred feet in height. These hills, however, instead of proving a shelter, acted as conductors to the wind, which occasionally blew from E.S.E. and W.S.W. with great violence. Here they took up their abode, and the miseries through which they were doomed to pass during that dreary winter began even at this time. Fish, upon which they depended in a great measure, began to fail at the very commencement of the season. From one place to another the nets were shifted, with the hope of finding a larger supply ; but, so far from succeeding in this, the men who were sent found that there was scarce sufficient to maintain themselves from day to day, and on more than one o-^casion returned to the Ibrt, being unable to support themselves. Deer also failed them ; for, although there were plenty of these animals in the country, they kept so far away from the fort, and con- tinued so long among the barren grounds, where it was exceedingly difficult to approach them, that very few were obtained, and these at long intervals. The bags of pem- mican which Mr. King had brought in his boats were intended for the expedition of the following summer ; and as it could not be carried on without that article of food, nothing but the utmost extremity would induce Captain Back to break upon it. During all this period, and for months afterwards, the fort was besieged by starving Indians, who flocked to it in the vain hope of obtaining assistance from its almost equally unfortunate inmates. As this, however, was a disposition which it would have been I [Oct to ^Ta*^ 1833-34." ruinous to the expedition to encourage, Captain Back posi- tively refused any assistance in the shape of food, except to those of them who, from infirmity or sickness, were abso- lutely incapable of going forth to hunt. One of this class was picked up in the woods and brought to the fort. A miserable old woman, " clad," says Back, " in deer-skin, her eyes all but closed, her hair matted and filthy, her skin shrivelled, and feebly supporting, with the aid of a stick held by both hands, a trunk which was literally horizontal, she presented, if such an expression may be pardoned, the shocking and unnatural appearance of a human brate. It was a humiliating spectacle, and one which I would not willingly see again. Poor wretch ! Her tale was soon told : old and decrepit, she had come to be considered as a burden even by her own sex. Past services and toils wero forgotten, and, in their figurative style, they coldly lold her, that 'though she appeared to live, she was already dead,' and must be abandoned to her fate. ' There is a new fort,' said they, ' go there ; the whites are great medicine men, and may have power to save you.' This was a month before ; since which time she had crawled and hobbled along the rocks, the scanty supply of berries which she found upon them just enabling her to live." This pitiable object was brought to the fort, fed and taken care of— being permitted to live in the hall, where she crawled about on all fours at will, moaning over the fire, or creeping into Mr. King's room, whom she found to be the only one who could alle- viate her sufferings. These, however, had been greater than she could bear. Notwithstanding all their care, she sank from day to day, until she appeared a living skeleton, and was found dead at last in a tent, beside the ashes of a small fire. O ! there is something that thrills to the very soul in this picture of misery and cruelty. The feeling of affectionate pity with which one usually regards these poor \ Oct. Til J Av. iua3-a4. ] MISERIES FROM SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 295 Indians, is turned to bitter indignation as we read of the unnatural, cold-hearted rvuelty of those who would thus torsake their feeble, help ess mother in her old age ; — the mother who had borne them in her arms over many and many a weary mile of that waste howling wilderness — whose breasts had once sustained them with the stream of life, and, though all withered and shrunken now, still covered the poor, trembling, timid old heart, which often- times had beat more v/armly and powerfully with love for those whom she watched departing, as they left her to her fate, than it beat for fear as she gazed upon the cold wintry woods, and slowly realized her desolation. It is past now, and she's at rest. How many more such scenes shall occur to raise a wail of indignation, a burning tear of sympathy, and prompt the earnest prayer that the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ may soon shine upon the dark places of the earth ? God knows I Famine in its worst form now began to stare them in the face. Day after day brought fresh intelligence from the various fisheries of their ill success, w^hile parties of starving natives arrived from the hunting grounds, in the hope of getting a few scraps of food at the fort. Captain Back, with characteristic benevolence, imparted to them as much as could be spared from his own little stock, endeavouring to revive their drooping spirits and urge them on to action. It was in vain, however. The scourge was too heavy, and their exertions were completely paralyzed. No sooner had one party been prevailed on to leave the fort, than another, still more languid ' and distressed, feebly entered, and con- finned, by their half-famished looks and sunken eyes, their heart-rending tale of suffering. They spoke little, but crowded in silence round the fire, as if eager to enjoy the only comfort remaining to them. And, truly, fire was a comfort of no ordinary kind, when it is remembered that 296 INTENSE COLD. rFuB- Ll8o4. Ill I I! the temperature during that terrible winter fell to 70° below zero of Fahrenheit I It is difficult for those who hare not experienced it, to comprehend the intensity of this degree of cold. Captain Back and his friend Mr. King made a few experiments during their long dreary winter, which will serve to convey some idea of it. A bottle of sulphuric ether was placed on the snow when the temperature was 62° below zero. In fifteen minutes the interior upper surface of the bottle was coated with ice, while the ether became viscous and opaque. A small bottle of pyroligneous acid froze in less than thirty minutes at a temperature of 57° minus ; and a surface of four inches of mercury exposed in a saucer became solid in two hours, at the same temperature. On the 4th of February so intensely cold was it, that a higher temperature than 12° above zero could not be obtained in the house, even although there were eight large logs of wood blazing in the chimney of a small room. As might be imagined, cold, of such a peculiarly sharp nature, used to prove inconvenient in more ways than one, and Captain Back tells us that his ink froze, and that in making an attempt to finish a water-colour sketch he signally failed — the material becoming frozen even while he sat so close to a huge fire as considerably to endanger the legs of his trousers I All metal implements, on being brought into the house in such weather, become instantly covered with a species of hoar frost; and often- times have the eyes of a novice on returning from a day's shooting been opened to their utmost width in undisguised astonishment at beholding his gun, which a few minutes before he had placed on his table glittering in all its pristine freshness, gradually become dim and then pure white with a coat of hoar-frost I At an establishment near the shores of Hudson's Bay, a very curious phenomenon occurred which further illustrates the intensity of the cold in these regions. Ibai!'] ^'APT. back's kindness news from ENGLAND. 297 A ball was given to the Indians about the place — being New Year's day — and, during its progress, the heal of the room, and violent e, -ercise of the guests, besides the steam from a pan of water placed on the stove, so moistened the atmosphere as to cause moisture to run in streams down the vralls and hang in drops from the ceiling. During the night the fires were allowed to die out, and in the morning the whole room was covered with white crystals of icel During this period of suffering, that which tried Captain Back's benevolent nature most severely, was the longing looks of the poor little Indian children, as they stood watching him and his men eating their small daily allowance of pem- mican. '* Often," says he, " did I share my own plate with the children, whose helpless state and piteous cries were peculiarly distressing. Compassion for the full-grown may or may not be felt; but that heart must be cased in steel which is insensible to the cry of a child for food. I have no reserve in declaring the pleasure which it gave me to watch the emotions of these unfortunate little ones, as each received its spoonful of pemmican from my hand." On the 25th of April 1 834, while the snow still lay deep on the ground, and everything wore the same unchanging, and seemingly unchangeable, aspect that it had worn ever since October, the winter packet arrived, bringing intelli- gence of the safe arrival of Sir J. Ross and his crew in England. To those who were to have devoted the ensuing summer to the search, this was a subject of unmixed plea- sure, both as assuring them of the safety of their enterpris- ing countrymen, and as setting them free to devote them- selves entirely to the secondary object of the expedition ; and that night. Captain Back, resolving to devote himself to the enjoyments of social intercourse, invited all the world within his reach [i. e. Mr. King) to sup with him, and in- dulged in a generous bowl of punch. The men were treated 298 PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. tAphil L 1834. M to an additional allowance of food, wherewith to warm the cockles of their half- starved hearts. Part of the men were now sent to the only clump of pines which afforded trees of a sufficient size to saw up into planks for building a boat — this conveyance being deemed better than a canoe for the summer journey. The famine still continued to press heavily upon them. Many of the natives died, while some of them tried to allay the cravings of hunger by eating parts of their deer-skin shoes and coats. At the fisheries little or nothing was caught, and at the fort they were obliged reluctantly to break upon the supply of pemmlcan. The solitude and desolation of the establish- ment was extreme, and perhaps no better idea of it could be conveyed than by the quotation of a paragraph from Back's journal in which he speaks of the death of two tame ravens. " For the last fifteen days," says he, "our habita- tion had been rendered more cheerfal by the presence of two ravens, which having, by my express direction, been left unmolested, had become so tame as scarcely to move ten paces when any one passed them ; they were the only living things that held communion with us, and it was a pleasure to see them gambol in their glossy plumage on the white snow. A party of men had arrived overnight, and amongst them an Iroquois, who, perceiving the birds together, and being ip-norant of my wishes, could not resist the temptation of a double shot, and so killed them both. In any other situation such an event would, perhaps, have seemed too trifling to be noticed ; but in our case the ravens were the only link between us and the dreary solitude without, and their loss therefore was painfully felt. * * * When they were gone, I felt more lonely, and the moaning wind seemed as if complaining of the barbarity." Towards the end of winter one of the men, called William- son, was lost. He had been an invalid during greater Mat- JuNB-l SPRING — EXPEDITION SETS OUT. 299 part of tlio winter, and had been discharged from the ser^nce in consequence ; but while travelling to the next establish- ment, he separated from his companions, lost himself m the woods, and was found long after dead upon the snow. Winter, with its cold, dreary, deathlike stillness, at last began to give way and melt beneath the warm touch of spring. The lumps of snow and bits of ice, which had lain so long around the fort as to have acquired all the famili- arity of household objects, at last began to diminish in size and change in appearance. The door, which it had been customary to keep closed with jealous care, was allowed occasionally to stand open, and soon a few pools of water formed on the ice, and the unusual sound of tinkling rills was heard as the great fields of snow began to melt and send forth the first few tiny threads of water, which, ere long, were to gush in volumes throughout the land, and help to burst the icy barriers of lake and stream. On the 13th May the first goose of the season was seen. On the 18th Mr. M'Leod arrived; and on the 7th of June, things being considered in a sufficiently advanced state to permit of operations beinp- commenced, Captain Back and his party set out once more upon their travel The boat, which was thirty feet lo was placed upon runners, and dragged over the yet uianelted ice of the lakes and swamps, across many of which they had to pass ere they could launch upon the Thlew-ee-choh. The men had each a small sled, or runner, on which to drag a certain amount of the baggage and provisions— averaging about one hundred pounds— and away they went with great merriment at the grotesque appearance they cut as they stumbled and slipped over the jagged surface of the ice. In a very short time this work began to tell upon the run- ners of the sledges, which peeled up, and otherwise evinced symptoms ^f very speedy dissolution. In this dilemma 300 HAULTXa THE BOATS OVER THE ICE. fJtTNB Ll«34. the captain bethought himself of two pitsaws which they had with them. These were got out, cut into stripes, nailed to the runners, and in a few hours away they went again with increased speed, and very much diminished tear and wear. Mr. M'Leod, with a party of Indians, was sent on ahead of the main body to hunt, and make caches of the meat, to be picked up as the party behind came up to them. An encamping place of this advance guard was fallen upon by Captain Back while he was straying a little from his party. As he stood looking at it, he observed a tin kettle half buried in the snow, which on examination was found to contain thirty-four balls, a file broken in three pieces, an awl, a fire- steel, and a crooked knife. This, the most valuable portion of an Indian's possessions, had been thrown away, according to a custom prevailing among that people, either as an expiatory sacrifice for some calamity, or as a token of extreme affliction for the loss of a wife or child. The captain usually kept ahead of his party, being desirous of finding the caches, and laying the meat on an exposed place in his track, so as to avoid waste of time in collecting it. In this way they continued their route for many days, over every sort of lake, pond, river, swamp, creek, or pool that can or cannot be imagined ; sometimes comfortably, and sometimes miserably. The want of fire was their chief discomfort. " The thermometer," saj's Back, " stood at SS**, with snow, and a raw cold wind that pierced through us in spite of cloaks and blankets. It was two o'clock in the morning ; and as I had not yet dined, certain internal gnawings began to intimate the propriety of supplying the organs of digestion with some occupation which might keep them from nuarrellino" amono' themselves. 0 ! thought T for a cheerful fire and a warm, comfortable meal I Accord- ingly, having managed to collect a beggarly account of JnLT lb31 ] STRANGE SUMMER WEATHER. 301 wet branches, W3 applied ourselves with laudable zeal to ignite and blow them into a flame. The moss and shrubs were saturated, and would not bum; but it was fondly imagined that, by dint of perseverance, and relieving each other quickly, the dwarf birch might be importuned into a blaze. We puffed, and it smoked — again, and it lighted — still more, and it went out : the puffing was renewed — it looked cheerful, and wanted only a little more coaxing. 'The least thing in the world,' said one, blowing gently, though at the distance of a yard. * Mind what you're about,' cried another — ' there 1 it will go out — it's all over' — '01 get out of the way, let me come,' bawled a third; and thrusting himself forward, applied himself to the work with such vigour and force of lungs, that the few embers yet living flew scattered about like the sparks of an exploded cracker." That day, and on many others, the captain dined on " some pemmican and a little cold water." Towards the middle of June the weather became very cold and boisterous, especially Midsummer's-day, which was the coldest, blackest, and most wintry day they had. On the 22d of June, being Sunday, divine service was read in the tent, where, to the credit of the men, be it mentioned, they all came clean and shaved, notwithstanding the dis- comforts to which they were exposed. On the 28th they arrived near the banks of the Thlew- ee-choh, and on the afternoon of the same day were fairly launched upon its head waters. These, however, were full of ice, and it was not until several days afterwards that Captain Back felt it safe to dismiss his extra hands, and the Indians who had accompanied him thus far to caiTy provisions. On the 3d of July, however, having assembled them on the banks of the river, he relieved them of their burdens, and arranged the party which was to accompany him to the Polar Sea. And greatly did it surprise the 302 EMBARK ON THE THLEW-EE-CHOH. fJtTlT Ll884. Indians to see a boat manned by Europeans, and stored with the provision of the southern country, after having been hauled, carried, and dragged over every imaginable kind of obstacle for full two hundred miles, at last fairly launched on the clear waters of the barren lands. Mr. M'Leod was dismissed at this point, with instructions to collect provisions against their return, and to meet them again in September on the banks of the Thlew-ee-choh. While he and his party were debating as to which part of the country would be best to return by, provisions being somewhat scarce, the fog cleared away, and discovered the branching antlers of twenty rein-deer spread over the sum- mits of the adjacent hills. " To see and pursue was the work of a moment, and in a few minutes not an active hunter remained in the encampment. It was a beautiful and interesting sight ; for the sun shone out, and lighting up some parts, cast others into deeper shade ; the white ice reflected millions of dazzling rays ; the rapid leapt and chafed in little ripples, which melted away into the un- ruffled surface of the slumbering lake ; abrupt and craggy rocks frowned on the right, and, on the left, the brown land- scape receded until it was lost in the distant blue mountains. The foreground was filled up with the ochre-coloured lodges of the Indians, contrasting with our own pale tents ; and to the whole scene animation was given by the graceful motions of the unstartled deer, and the treacherous crawl- ing of the wary hunters." The very first day introduced them to the perils which they were to encounter in that rugged river. Coming up to a strong rapid and fall, down which the boat could only be run in a light state, all the baggage was carried over the rocks- and four e-ood hands left in the boat. They pushed off into the stream, and ran the first fall in safety ; but having steered too much to the left, they were drawn Jm-TT 1834J DANGERS AMONG RAPIDS. 303 on to a ledge of rock, forming part of the second ; this brought the boat up with a crash which threatened imme- diate destruction, and called forth a shriek from the pros- trate crew. The steersman jumped out on the rock and tried to lift her off, but without success. Another moment, and the fierce current swung her stern round, and it seemed as if nothing could save her from descending in a gush of green water straight on to a sharp rock below, against which a wave of five feet high was breaking. Happily the steering oar had been left projecting out astern, and, as the boat swung, it caught a rock, which pitched her out broadside to the current, when she was carried down in safety. The party now consisted of eight boatmen, Mr. King, and the commander, and seldom has so small a band of adventurers experienco-^. ^nch a hazardous, comfortless, and truly rough-and-tum^ . oiirney as they did. The weather, which had been all along boisterous and cold, became worse and worse as they went on, so that they were fre- quently wet all day, and, owing to the want of firewood, they were of necessity wet all night. Nevertheless, they kept up their spirits — not 'by pouring spirits down' — ^for- tunately for them they had but little " fire-water," and cared little for it — ^but by being contented and cheerful under all circumstances. Captain Back, too, in the midst of discomforts which might have damped the ardour of most men, cheered up his party by word and action — keeping ever before their minds, that, however well man may order his plans, the disposal of all is in the hands of God. The river expanded sometimes into immense lakes, which often detained, and sometimes threatened to arrest them altogether; at ol.er places it narrowed into a deep and rapid stream, which gushed in a black boiling mass through 304 RUNNING THE RAPIDS. rJCLT Li8a4. between high cliffd, or foamed over a rugged bed of broken rocks and boulder- stones — terminating not unfrequently in a stupendous fall. Obstacles of this kind, however they may interrupt the progress of ordinaiy men, are no barriers in the way of nor'- westers ; so they swept through the gorges, manoeuvred skilfully do\.n the rapids, and made portages to avoid the falls, with a degree of facility and safety that was little short of miraculous. In one place they had a narrow escape, which is but a specimen of what was of daily occurrence. "A little sheet of water," says Back, " bounded to the right by mounds and hills of white sand, with patches of rich herbage, where numerous deer were feeding, brought us to a long and appalling rapid, full of rocks and large boulders ; the sides hemmed in by a wall of ice, and the current flying with the velocity and force of a torrent. The boat was lightened of her cargo, and I stood on a high rock, with an anxious heart, to see her run it. I had every hope which confidence in the judgment and dexterity of my principal men could inspire; but it was impossible not to feel that one crash would be fatal to the expedition. Away they went, with the speed of an arrow, and, in a moment, the foam and rocks hid them from my view. I heard what sounded in my ear like a wild shriek, and saw Mr. King, who was a hundred yards before me, make a sign with his gun, and then run forward. I followed, with an agitation which may be conceived; and, to my inexpressible joy, found that the shriek was the triumphant whoop of the crew, who had landed safely in a small bay below. This was called Malley's Rapid, in con- sequence of one of the party, so called, having lost him- self in the adjacent willows for some time." On the 13th July, a glimpse of sunshine tempted the captain to halt for the purpose of taking observations, and, while he was thus engaged, the men were permitted to JU17-] 1834.J GEESE WITHOUT FEATHERS. 305 scour the country in pursuit of deer and musk-oxen, which literally swarmed in the barren grounds, and infused life and animation into many a wild picturesque scene. The hunters soon returned with four fine bucks, which aflforded them an agreeable change from the customary meal of pemmican. The latitude was 65" 38' 21" N., and longitude 106'' 35' 23" W. At this place the river began to take an easterly bend, which perplexed and annoyed them much ; causing great anxiety as to whether it would ultimately lead them to the frozen sea, or terminate in Hudson's Bay. In any case, they had nothing for it but to push on, and their labours were rewarded afterwards by their finding that the river trended again in a northerly direction, and their hopes were further increased by the discovery, on the 16th July, of some old Esquimaux encampments. Once, indeed, they thought they saw tents of the Esquimaux ahead, but on a nearer approach they turned out to be some luxuriant clumps of willows, which were inhabited by thousands of geese. They had selected the spot as being a convenient one for the operation of casting their feathers. Geese, while in this condition, are most superb runners, and put the hunters to their utmost metal sometimes to catch them; leading them through bog, pool, and swamp, with a dexterity that often brings their pursuers into many an awkward and watery predicament, leaving it often- times a point in dispute whether the chasers or the chased were the greatest geese I They observed thousands upon thousands of the most excellent quills scattered over the sand. A curious feature in this part of the country was the number of huge boulder-stones scattered around, not only in the river, but on the very pinnacles of the highest hills. On the 28th July they met the first Esquimaux, who, mmm 30G MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. K ■J0LT 834. as usual on their first seeing Europeans, exhibited at once their consternation and astonishment, by shouts, yells, antics, and gesticulations of the most inhuman sort; labour- ing under the impression, apparently, that by so doing they would frighten their new visiters away. As is also usual on such occasions, of course they found themselves mis- taken, for the boat continued to approach the shore despite the brandishing of spears and other belligerent demon- strations ; whereupon the whole nation formed in a semi- circle round the spot where the boat grounded, and stood on the defensive. Captain Back, however, soon established friendly relations with them, by walking boldly up, unarmed and alone, at the same time calling out T/ma— peace— with great emphasis, tossing up his arms in true Esquimaux style, and, finally, shaking hands all round. This quieted them, and they soon mingled with the men, from whom they received a few buttons with great delight. They evidently had not souls above buttons ; indeed, were one to judge from the joy occasioned on receipt of these ornaments, it might be doubted whether their souls had yet attained to such a height of savage felicity as ever to have come up to buttons before I A portage had to be made at this place; so, to divert the attention of the poor natives, and prevent their being tempted to steal. Captain Back went up to their tents and sketched them. He describes them as being neat and well- made, not so cunning as those further to the west, and altogether a harmless, inoffensive race. The crew of the boats pronounced the girls to be "bonnie creatures;" but really, upon turning to an engraving from the captain's portrait of one of these ladies, one can only come to the conclusion that the crew's notion of bonnie creatures was, to say the least of it, peculiar I His description of the taking of this portrait is so humorous that we give it in his 1 JOLTT 1834. J BACK TAKES A PORTRAIT. 307 own words : " The only lady," says he, " whose portrait was sketched, was so flattered at being selected for the distinction, that, in her fear lest I should not sufficiently see every grace of her good-tempered countenance, she intently watched my eye; and, according to her notion of the part I was pencilling, protruded it or turned it, so as to leave me no excuse for not delineating it in the full proportion of its beauty. Thus, seeing me look at her head, she immediately bent it down, stared portentously when I sketched her eyes; puffed out her cheeks wht;a their turn arrived; and, finally, perceiving that I was touching in the mouth, opened it to the full extent of her jaws, and thrust out the whole length of her tongue l" From these fx '.endly natives they received assistance in carrying the boat over a very bad portage— a task to which the men were quite unequal; so that to them Captain Back was indebted for aid, without which he would not have reached the sea at all. Leaving these interesting denizens of the north, the party pursued their way, and, on the 29th July, were gladdened with a sight of the first headland in the Polar Sea, which was named Victoria Headland. This, then, was the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh, which, after a violent and tortuous course of five hundred and thirty geographical miles, running through an iron-ribbed country, without a single tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding into fine large lakes with clear horizons, most embarrassing to the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and rapids, to the number of no less than eighty-three in the whole, pours its waters into the Polar Sea in latitude 67*' 1 1' 00" N. and longitude 94° 30' O" W. The mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh opened into a broad firth, the western shore of which was so beset by ice, that they resolved on coasting to the eastward, which was more 308 THE MOUTU OF THE THLEW-EE-CHOH. rAco. L1834. open, till some favourable opportunity offered for crossing over. So stormy was the weather, however, that they succeeded in this at length with great difficulty, after having been detained several days on an island which they mistook for the main. This they called Montreal Island. By slow degrees they proceeded along the ice-girt shore, sometimes advancing a few miles, when a favouring breeze opened a lane in the ice, but more frequently detained in their dreary encampments, in which they suffered much from cold and rain. In reading the graphic account of the journey by Captain Back, one cannot fail to be struck by the constant repetition of such sentences as the following : "The morning set in with rain, for which, custom had now taught us to look as a thing of course; but a faint hope was excited by the view of a narrow lane of water, which had opened, how or from what cause we knew not, outside, between the grounded ice and the main body ; and prepara- tions were already making for a start at high water, when the wind suddenly chopped round from S.E. to N.W., and fixed us once more to the spot;" and, again: " A wet fog ushered in the morning of the 14th August, and left every object dark and indefinable at eighty or ninety paces distant. The breeze increased, and was fast packing the seaward body of ice, wh! ch now came with considerable velocity towards the shore, and threatened to lengthen our tedious and most annoying detention." To render their position even more deplorable, scarcely any fuel was to be found, and they experienced the greatest difficulty in procuring sufficient to cook their food, often being obliged to breakfast, dine, and sup on a morsel of dry pemmican and a cup of cold water. One day three deer came within oliof «n^ wPrA tillpd- No savourv steaks, however, tickled their olfactoiy nerves with pleasant fumes, or gratified their palates with an unaccustomed meal;— they could not Aro.-| 1834. J FARTHER PROGRESS ARRESTED. 309 be cooked for want of dry fuel I" The low flat country, too, was the picture of desolation. " It was one irregular plain of sand and stones; and had it not been for a rill of water, the meandering of which relieved the monotony of the sterile scene, one might have fancied one's self in one of the parched plains of the East, rather than on the shores of the Arctic Sea." Nevertheless, with unflinching ardour did Captain Back and his gallant crew push forward, in the hope of reaching a more open sea, and connecting their discoveries with those of Captain Franklin at Point Tumagain. Indeed a spirit of endurance and cheerfulness distinguished the whole party, which nothing seemed capable of damping. On the 7th of August they reached the extreme point of land, which terminates the wide mouth of the river, and whence the coast trends to the westward. This was named Point Ogle, and another cape, seen far to the west, was named Point Richardson. Several portions of the coast of Boothia Felix were also seen in the distance to the northward. Here they were completely baffled in every attempt made to advance. The ice became more firmly wedged every day; one of the men fell sick; the season was far advanced, and any further attempts to proceed would have been fool- hardy; so, under these untoward circumstances, Captain Back resolved to retrace his steps. Before doing so, how- ever, the British flag was unfurled, and the land taken possession of, with three enthusiastic cheers, in the name of His Most Gracious Majesty William IV. The latitude of the place was 68'' 13' 57" N., longitude 94*' 58' 1" W., and variation, as well as the sluggishness of the instru- ments would allow it to be determined, 1° 46' W. Our limits do not nermit ns in fnllnw ihp aAvt^r^i^^r'r^^ya voyageurs as they retrace their route up the foaming cata- racts of the Thlew-ee-choh. In the middle of August they 310 CONCLUSION OF THE EXPEDITION. [•Mat Llb35. left the cold precincts of the Arctic Sea, and on the 17 th September met Mr. M'Leod, according to appointment, at Sand-IIill Bay. He had long been expecting them, and had spent many an anxious hour in watching the distant objects in the direction of their route. With this gentleman they returned to Fort Reliance, " after an absence of nearly four months; tired, indeed, but well in health, and truly grate- ful for the manifold mercies we had experienced in the course of our long and perilous journey." Preparations were soon set on foot to spend another winter in the wilderness. Once more the woods resounded with the woodman's axe, and the little rooms glowed with the blazing fires of wood. Again the nets were set and the guns loaded, and the white man and the red ranged the woods in company; while Captain Back and Mr. King found ample and interesting occupation in mapping their discoveries and writing their journals. On the 28th of May 1835, Captain Back bade adieu to the polar regions, and returned to England, where he arrived on the 8th September, after an absence of two years and seven months. The remainder of the party returned by the Hudson's Bay Company's ship in October. CHAPTER VI. Recent Discoveries. Dease and Simpson's Overland Journey to the Polar Sea, 1837-38-39. The joyous whoop and plaintive song of Captain Back's retreating party had hardly ceased to reverberate among tliU Illiis Uiiu. vaiicva ui tiiu Ucnivxi givUnT.i;r - viiv v^.iiUco had scarce rolled their last faint murmur across the clear waters of the far north, and the startled deer had scarcely \*^' JoLr" 1)F \^v .1. f- >n's( EXPEDITION — INSTRUCTIONS. 311 venti^^ to ifM^ilgo in a feeling of security, or ceased to gaze around in bewildered astonishment at the unexpected intrusion on their sterile domain, when the echoes were re-awakened, and the antlercd monarchs of the waste re- disturbed, by another adventurous party of white men, whose restless curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge led them once more to attempt the completion of the sur- vey of the northern coasts of America. On this occasion the expedition was conducted by two gentlemen in the ser- vice of the Hudson's Bay Company — Messrs. Dease and Simpson, men eminently qualified for the arduous task given to them to accomplish — the one from his long acquaintance with the nature and resources of the country to be explored, and his thorough experience in arctic tra- velling; the other from his scientific attainments, super- added to an experience of nor'-west life of some years* standing; his youth, and energetic resolution in encounter- ing and 0 /ercoming difficulties. The Instructions lor the guidance of these gentlemen were conveyed to them in a letter from Sir George Simpson, the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, dat« d Norway House, 2d July 1836, the substance of which was as follows : The expedition, which was to consist of twelve men, was to be conducted to Fort Chepewyan or Great Slave Lake, as might be considered expedient, where they were to pass the winter of 1836-7. On the opening of the navigation in June, they were to proceed by boat down the Macken 7.ie River to Fort Norman, and there leave four men, with directions to proceed to Great Bear Lake, and, on the most convenient position, erect buildings, establish fisheries, and collect provisions for the maintenance of the party tl iring the winter of 1837-8. In the meantime, Messrs. Dease and Simpson were to continue their journey down the Mac- kenzie to the sea, along the shores of which they were to 312 INSTRUCTIONS. JCI,T rJci,T LlB36. explore, as far as to the most easterly point reached by- Captain Beechey's barge in 1826. Returning to their winter quarters on Great Bear Lake, they were to make preparations for another voyage of discovery in the summer of 1838. The object of that voyage was to trace the coast, from Franklin's Point Turnagain, eastward to the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh, or as much farther as the nature of the ground, their resources, and the advanced state of the season, would aumit. The necessary outfit of provisions, clothing, astronomical instrmnents, «S;c., being completed, Mr. Dease and his voyageurs took their departure for the far north, in the Athabasca brigade, on the 21st July — reaching Fort Chepewyan, where they were to winter, on the 28th of September ; while Mr. Simpson proceeded to the colony of Red River, there to spend as much time as he had to spare in brushing up his scientific knowledge, (which, amid the care and bustle of a trader's life, had got somewhat rusty,) and in making preparations for his journey. As the long summer journey performed by Mr. Dease to Fort Chepewyan has been, at least in its principal features and characteristics, described in the similar jour- ney accomplished by Captain Back, we shall leave him for the present, and follow the fortunes of Mr. Simpson- accompanying him to the Red River settlement, and thence, in a winter journey, to Fort Chepewyan. It were foreign to our purpose to enter into a minute account of Red River settlement, yet we think that a cur- soiy glance in passing at this oasis in the desert, may not be uninteresting to the reader. Red River settlement is situated on the banks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, both of which unite their streams at a point about the centre of the colony, and nearly opposite Fort Garry, the principal establishment of .Totri 1830.J BED RIVER SETTLEMENTS. 818 the Hudson's Bay Company. From this pomt they roll their united waters into Lake Winipeg, watering, in their course, the wooded slopes, covered with luxuriant vegeta- tion, amid which the wooden cottages of the settlers are picturesquely embedded. The colony is well supplied with schools and churches, is salubrious and productive, and were it not for the fact that there is no market beyond that which is furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company, it would be a flourishing settlement. As it is, the company, of course, can purchase but a comparatively small quantity of the produce; so that the remainder, if not consumed at home, must either be lost, or conveyed, at great risk and expense, over the prairies some hundreds of .-'les, to the American town of St. Peter's, through t^ e -arlet or parti-coloured worsted sashes. Ve».y broad and conspicuous belts of the same colour, ornamented sometimes wi'li white beads, cross their breasts and backs, to which thej append powder-horns and shot-pouches. Leggins of variously coloured cloths, all moie or less ornamented by the women, with beads or silk thread according to taste, clothe their legs. Moccasins, garnished with porcupine quills, dyed red, blue, and yellow, defend their feet, while their heads are decked with hats, caps, bonnets, and nightcaps, or nature's own covering, all of which are covered profusely with tinsel bat-cords, gold and silver tinsel tassels, ribbons of every hue in the rainbow, and a good many more that the rainbow never displayed. Imagine some fifty or sixty of these fellows dashing over the prairies with their black hair streaming; dark eves flashing: swart fnce.a P-littprins"! loud voi«p,s fihnntinp'r guns glancing in the sun and dust flying in clouds from the hoofs of their buffalo runners, as they prance, rear, 183G.] HUNTING BUFFALOES ON THE PRAlFvIES. 315 gallop, and curvette in a species of frenzy — ^imagine it, we say, and if you think that you have realized it, we assure you that you are mistaken I Let us join them in a hunt. Far away over the undulating prairies the line of march extends, carts, waggons, horsemen, and pedestrians. locking from a distance like the great sea-serpent, coiling its lazy length over the waves of a petrified ocean. The carts are taken for the purpose of conveying the pemmican home, and the women and children are taken for the purpose of com- pounding it. Arrived at a little clump of trees, near which a herd of buffalo have been observed, the women begin to unharness their cattle and pitch their camp; while the men, having mounted their buffalo runners, trot off in a band, with the design of surrounding their prey; now de- scending and now rising on the swells of the prairie. The buffalo runners are usually good, fleet nags, well trained to the work; so that, when they see the buffalo, it is un- necessary to use whip, spur, or rein, as they set off at full speed of their own accord, apparently as much interested in the chase as their riders; a propensity of no small ad- vantage to the hunters, who have both hands fully occupied in loading and firing their guns. As they cautiously ascend the brow of a swell, a sudden halt among the fore- most apprizes those in the rear that game is at hand; and as they press eagerly forward, they behold an immense herd of buffalo browsing quietly down in a hollow. A few hurried exclamations take place. Priming is examined, and away they go, down the slope like a legion of demons. Soon the unsuspecting herds toss their ponderous heads in the air; and, beholding this host of rushing monsters, away they go with a heavy lumbering gait, which, however, soon increases to a sharp run, as a fihot or two from the more impatient spirits helps to quicken their perceptions. Soon the pursuers gain on the animals, every fibre of whose bulky «>:.J 316 BUFFALO HUNTING. [1836. frames quiver as they strain to distance them; but in vain. A few minutes more, and the hunters are up with them. Shots begin to fly in quick succession, and here and there a black spot on the prairie tells that the work of destruc- tion has be^-un. That big fellow with the red nightcap is an old hand at the work. Already he has dropt two fat cows, on each of which as he passed her he threw a mitten to mark it his. He now nears another. The terrified animal, with starting eye-balls, spurns the earth behind it at a rate that makes the hunter's nag stretch to its utmost, and gain but slowly even then. He is within ten yards; and, pointing the gun without placing it to his shoulder, he lets fly. The buffalo staggers, falls; one last struggle of its vast frame, and it falls dead — shot clean through the heart — while the hunter, reloading his gun, dashes past at fall speed, pitching his red nightcap at the dead animal as he bounds away. All around, the same scene, with slight modifications, is being enacted. Horsemen and buffalo, mingled together, dash wildly over the ground, while shouts and yells, the bellowing of animab^ incessant rat- tling of shots, and thunder of hoofs, combined with clouds of dust and smoke, make up a confusion of sights and sounds absolutely bewildering; while the great number of black spots that cover the whole land give promise of rich, marrow-bone suppers, and lots of greasy occupation to the squaws, who follow in the rear for some days to come. The pemmican compounded from the meat thus obtained is very well adapted for travelling provision, being compact and nutritious, and will keep good for years. It has proved invaluable to all arctic explorers in their long, perilous journeys. At this settlement, then, Mr. Simpson remained till the commencement of winter; and then bethinking himself that it was time to set out for Fort Chepewyan, that post \. ^"•^1 MR. SIMPSON STARTS FOR FORT CHEPEWYAN. 317 being distant about 1277 miles, all of wLich had to be traversed on foot, he prepared for the journey. In the afternoon of the 1st December 1836, he left Red River on horseback, the ground being still free from snow and not well adapted for the use of sleighs, three of which and a cariole were therefore left to follow, drawn light by the dogs, until their arrival at a frozen lake, or a fall of snow, should render them available. Several young friends from the colony conveyed him to his first encampment, and on their way fell in with a wolf, after which they had a spirited hunt. It was unsuccessful, however, as might have been expected, on hard frozen ground. Wolf-hunting is a favourite pastime with some of the settlers, and is practised in spring when the first thaws begin. These soften the surface of the snow, so that the wolves can no longer bound rapidly over it, as they did in winter, but sink deep at every step, while the long legs of the pursuing horse enables him to plunge rapidly through it, and so gain upon the wolf, which may be easily shot with gun or pistoL At the first encampment Mr. Simpson and his friends spent a few hours together, and then the latter, bidding him adieu, returned to Fort Garry, while he and his party laid their heads on their saddles and sank into repose under the starry canopy of the winter sky. The waning moon shone brilliantly when they awoke; and taking an early breakfast, they all started on foot. The morning was cold, but exhilarating: the sun, rising in cloudless splendour, threw his horizontal rays across the wide plain, and, illuminating the hoar-frost upon the long dry grass, gave to the expanse around them the appearance of a silver-spangled sea. At noon they halted for a short time at a cluster of trees, in whose shade they obtained sufficient snow for their horses and dogs, in lieu of water, a 318 FIRES IN THE PRAIRIES. TDrc. iH|i luxury not to be found in these arid plains. The country over which they passed was studded with a few copses of poplar and dwarf oak; but a great part of it haying^ been swept by the running fires, so frequent and terrible in the prairies, presented a blackened and dir^mal aspect. These fires are often occasioned by the carelessness of Indians, who sometimes leave the lighted embers of their camp- fires burning, and the first breeze of wind that springs up sets the surrounding grass in a blaze. Lightning occa- sionally ignites the dry grass in summer, and sometimes the warring tribes that infest the prairies set them on fire for the purpose of driving away the buffalo from the hunt- ing grounds of their enemies. In any case, whether kindled by the flashing flames of heaven, or set on fire by the hands of savage men, the results are most terrific; especially in those places where the grass is long and luxuriant, affording food of the most inflammable nature to the fire, and which burns with a fierce rapidity that bids defiance to the utmost efforts that human power can make for its extinction, as it rolls its smoke-capped volumes along the undulating ground, with a speed that soon over- takes the fleetest courser in the land. Well does the savage know this, and when the distant roar of the devouring ele- ment is borne faintly to his oar upon the breeze, the sudden start of alarm, the distended nostril, the glaring eye-ball, and the deeply attentive ear, tell eloquently of the terrible character of the dreaded enemy that approaches; while the bound on to his horse, and the burst away across the prairie, show that life and death are pending on the race. An ingenious method is often resorted to by the natives on occasions of this kind, if they happen to have the materials for producing fire along with them. Hastily tearing up the grass around them, they clear a space as well as they can, and, getting into the middle of it, set fire to the grass •K% their blankets were m a Diaze. i? ortu: uteij' tney ---i.,- uus. --, 322 CURIOUS VARIETIES OF BEDS. rnne. Ll836. with characteristic indifference to all things sublunary, they bundled up their Kcorched blankets on the following morn- ing, and resumed their march. During the journey they saw numbers of grouse of various kinds as also a great many white hares, which afforded them some sport as they walked over hill and dale, and proved an agreeable addition to their evening meals, as they encamped, night after ni^ht, under the trees, and made their beds upon the snow. Beds, in this world, are of various, and not unfrequently of curious kinds ; and, in the Hudson's Bay territories, more, perhaps, than in any other part of this woria, beds are uncommonly various, and particularly curious. There is first the bed of moss ; which, adapting itself to the various outlines of the human figure, approximates more nearly than any other to the feather bed, and many a good sleep have weary voyageurs had upon such a couch. Then there is the bed of pine branches, which is a very excellent one, full of spring, and if care- fully spread, so as to prevent the ends of the branches from boring into the ribs, is quite luxurious. Sometimes, how- ever, pine branches are not to be had, and moss is not; in which case a flat rock forms a pretty good, though un- doubtedly a hard bed. If, however, as is sometimes the case, the only spot of level ground on which the luckless traveller can prostrate his exhausted limbs, be a bank of sand, or a place covered with rounded stones, varying in size from a marble to a cannon shot, the case is very de- plorable. The latter may be somewhat improved by care- fully removing the largest stones, but in any case it will be found to be unmitigated misery ; and, whether the sand or the stones be preferred, the inevitable result will be, that the traveller will sincerely wish he had preferred the other. There is also a species of hydraulic bed very much used in these parts. This, however, is not so much a bed of choice, Dbct 1836. J PRAIRIE WOLVES. 323 as a bed of necessity, being oftentimes unavoidable in con- sequence of frequent showers of rain rendering a dry spot of ground unattainable. Besides these, there are infinite varieties of what may with propriety be called composite beds, partaking, in part, of all the different kinds; but among es, though their tracks, and those of the moose and bears, were numerous; but they consoled themselves by making a terrific assault on the swan??, geese, and ducks, which were attracted thitheV in great numbers by the briny waters- They did not search long for salt. A single mound on the plain furnished them with thirty bags of the finest quality, and seemed undiminished by the removal of a quantity sufficient for their own wants, and for the supply of the Athabasca and Mackenzie River districts! A mountain, which terminates the plain at the distance of four or five miles, glistened as if incrusted with the same pure white substance, and yet, although the whole land seemed to be 328 FORT RESOLUTION — MIDNIGHT AMUSEMENTS. rJuNB Ll887. 1 saturated with salt, delicious springs of fresh water gushed from the mountain sides. Having finished their work, they bivouacked and feasted under as lovely an evening sky as fancy could paint. A Budden gust of wind, which bent the tall poplars like wands, cleared off the mosquitoes, and permitted them to enjoy a few hours of refreshing rest in the soft twilight; for there was no longer any night in these regions. On the morning of the 10th they reached Great Slave Lake, and every eye was eagerly bent upon the horizon of that great inland sea, but to their chagrin they saw an unbroken line of ice barring their further progress. On advancing to its edge, it was found to be firm and solid, and likely to remain so for some time. There was nothing for it, however, but patience; so, calling as much of this virtue as they possessed to their assistance, they made their way to Fort Resolution that evening, by the help of canoes, and dragging the boat light over the shallows. From the 10th to the 21st of June they were kept prisoners at this establishment, and amused themselv<-s as they best could with dances and games. Wherever we go in this wjild we shall find something or other which will tenJ to elevate our eyebrows ! and we doubt not that it will surprise our readers a little to learn, that the men of the expedition chose the hour of w/i^mV//*^ for their out-door sports and games; this being the coolest and most agreeable part of the day! The dances were conducted in the most approved Indian style; venison and fish being the food, and tea the only beverage — the remnants of the supper being carried off by the ladies, at least by such of them as bad an atom of mus- cular energy left in their dusky frames. Mr. Dease took the opportunity of vaccinating all the young people at the place; half-breeds and Indians, all underwent the operation, and ielt the benefit of it in atler years, when the smallpox Jutri 1837. J MACKENZIE RIVER DOG-RIBS. 329 swept off the North American Indians by hundreds. The same benefit had been previously conferred upon the whole concourse of natives at Fort Chepewyan. The ice at length opened sufficiently on the 21st to enable them to advance; and accordingly they set off once more, having embarked a cargo of twenty-one dogs in the Goliah. This was deemed a sufficient number of dogs for seven sledges. At midnight on the 24th they reached the head of the great Mackenzie River, and encamped upon its banks. The travelling here became pretty easy. The noble stream, on whose broad and rapid bosom they now floated, was so deep as to permit of their drifting down the current at night, instead of going on shore to encamp as heretofore, so that they made much more rapid progress ; travelling, on one occasion, two hundred and fifty miles in forty-eight hours. Numerous camps of Dog-rib Indians were passed on the route, all of whom were exceedingly friendly, and testified the utmost delight at beholding white men. On the 1st of July they arrived at Fort Norman. Here the Goliah was despatched to the north-eastern extremity of Great Bear Lake, where winter quarters were to be estab- lished, in charge of John Ritch, a boat-builder, who took with him John Morquay, Lawrent Cartier, and Francois Framond, besides three Dog-ribs to guide them and com- plete the crew. The exploring party then made their final arrangements, before leaving Fort Nonxian, in the way of laying in provisions and a few trifles as presents to the Esquimaux on the coast. Three pounds of pemmiean was the allowance to each nan per day, and it was afterwards found that, although the provisions were used without any restriction, the average daily consumption had been exactly two pounds per man. The crrm i>f the two boats consisted of twelve men, thre« of whuiu had accompanied Captain Back in 1834, and one had been with Franklin in 1826. 330 TERRIFIC POWER OF THE ICE. rJur.T At sunset they left the fort, and descended the rapid stream, travelling, as usual, all night. On either hand rose the rocky mountains and the eastern hills, from whose snowy peaks the dazzling sunshine was brilliantly reflected. A few Hare Indians were seen fishing in the eddies along a part of the shore called the Ramparts. As soon as they observed the boats, they embarked in their small canoes, and followed them down the stream till they arrived at Fort Good Hope, where they were welcomed by a son- in-law of Mr. Dease. This establishment was entirely destroyed in June 1836, at the disruption of the ice, " which rushed down with such overwhelming force as to sweep almost comp.'etely over the island, though several miles in extent, cutting down the timber like grass before the scythe, and burying the place under two fathoms' water. The terrified residents took to their boat, and escaped, almost miraculously, into a small lake in the centre of the island. There the ruins of the overthrown wood averted the fury of the inundation, and in this place of refuge they remained, with ice ^ossed up iu huge fragments, forming a gigantic wall around them, till the danger was past."* It is difficult to conceive of a positioi) more terrible than that in which these men were placed ; especially when we consider that the river in which the island stood was the deep, broad Mackenzie, whose rapid stream was at that time swelkd into a roaring torrent by the melting snows of spring, which poured iato it from every creek and crevice in its banks, while the masses of ice that rolled impetuously down the swollen current with irresistible force were nearly six feet thick i There are few things in nature more awfully grand than the disruption of the ice near the mouths of the great * Simpson's Journal, p. 99. rJniT LlSuT. JrLTl 1831 J ESQUIMAUX LADIE8. 331 North American rivers that flow into the arctic seas. The rapidity with which the spring sets in converts the deep snows of winter so quickly into water, that the icy covering of the rivers, notwithstanding its great strength and thick- ness, is unable to withstand the tremendous pressure, and bursts at last with a crash that equals the thunder of the artillery of heaven and earth combined ; and, carrying all before it, rushes towards the sea, tearing up the banks, sweeping completely over the smaller islands, grinding itself to atoms, and throwing up piles which seem as if they v/ould rival the hills in height ; till, becoming top-heavy, and being pressed upon by the accumulating masses, they fall, with a fearful crash, into the boiling water. Sometimes the mouths of the rivers become choked with the ice, which then remains at rest, in all its broken, jagged, and fantastic shapes, even for two or three days, till the ever-increasing flood again asserts its superiority ; and, once more bursting the frozen barriers, sweeps it with irresistible violence into the ocean. After taking some observatioi-c, r.hich gave the latitude 66° 16' N., they took their final di^^jarture for the sea, and soon crossed the arctic circle. They were now approach- ing the Esquimaux country, and as these people have fve- quently proved to be a treacherous race, gun, snA amr u- nition were given to the men. On passing th ; ere sporting ; one of wh'ch would every now and then follow in our wake, rising breast-high to gratify his curiosity, and then giving place to another." In the afternoon the ice blocked up tho passage altogether, and they were under the unpleasant necessity of encamping on the bleak s^iores ; and there, while masticating their pemmican beside the fire, ruminated on the possibility of being detained until the season was far advanced. To add to their annoyance, a band of Esqui- maux found them out. They proved, however, to be much less troublesome than were their predecessors, and took their departure quietly in the evening, after they had twisted their greasy countenances into every variety of contortion, indicative of the quintessence of joy upon receiving a few presents. It is truly amusing to read of the delight of these poor creatures on receiving a gift of the most insig- nificant description. A f' vv beads produce raptures; a knife or an axe, unspeakeiu! fi-iiicity! While detained here^ tbey made long excursions over the green hills, which were clu^ led with innumerable flowers, whose brilliant tints enriched the scene and furnished specimens for their botanical boxes. Their guns, too, were not silent on these occasions ; and oftentimes the echoes awoke to the unwonted sound, as the water-fowl flew past, unsuspecting, doubtless, the vicinity of blood-thirsty man in these cold, icy regions. A row of marks was observed extending across a point, evidently designed to lead the rein-deer to the edge of a steep bank ; over which, pursued by one party of hunters, they dash into the sea, where they fall an easy prey to another party stationed in canoes bclov/. Beset by ice and tossed by storms, the party pursued their "▼ 9 Juvtl 18:i7,J BOATS BESET BY ICV., toilsome way along the coast. Sometimes they were detained uy wind and weather — sometimes proceeded slowly, and at much hazard, +!• ough lanes of water in the ice; often in the cold water al, day, o« ionally all night, and suffering all the time froi^ severe coids brought on by their being so constantly wet ; but always in good spirits and determined to advance in spite of all difficulties. Indeed, it were vain to havo attempted a voyage of discovery in such a lanl, unless the men composing the i irty were f that stamp who set lifficulties at defiance, and rejoice in the midst of danger. In reading the interesting narratives of such men as Hearne, Mackenzie, and Franklin, we < not but be struck by the idomitable energy, the unti perseverance, which characterized not only the leaders, ;. ihe men who acted uiuler them, in the face of difficulties app 'en+\ Insurmountable. Dease and Simpson ^ ^ not less resolute than those who had preceded them ^ arctic discovery. They pushed energc ically through and overall obstructi^ is. On one occasion, while beset by ice, they were tempted by th. partial clearing away of the fog, which revealed some lanes of open water, to try once more to push forward ; but hardly had they advanced a few miles, when the wind rose, and blowing the ice together, placed them in great jeopardy. "The boats were repeatedly squeezed," says Simpson, " and mine, which was foremost, was only saved from entire destruction by throwing out everj'-thinfr it cc lained upon the floating masses. By means of porta' es made from one fragment to another, the oars forminf^ le perilous bridges, and after repeated risks of boats, men, and baggage being separated by the motion of the ice, we at length succeeded, with infinite labour, in collecting our whole equi- page upon a small floe, which being partially covered with water, formed a sort of wet dock. There we hauled up our i ' ,! m .' . I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 'Q>.< 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIM 1.8 U nil 1.6 ;?: M V/ <^ /^ ^^# ^#> 7 ^ f c? / Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 336 RETURN REEF — BEGIN DISCOVERIES. rJctT Ll837. little vessels, and momentarily liable as we were to be overwhelmed by the overturning of our icy support, trusted to a gracious Providence for the event. We were three miles from land; the fog again settled round us, and the night was very inclement." On shore the Esquimaux continued to give them annoy- ance, keeping them constantly on the alert to guard against their unconquerable propensity to appropriate their neighbours' goods. On Sunday, the 23d of July, they reached the Return Reef of Franklin, from which point their discoveries began; and as they encamped on the shore, and looked anxiously out upjn the unknown land before them, they offered their humble thanks to the Omnipotent Being whose arm had guarded them so far, and fervently implored a continuance of his gracious pro- tection. Simpson attributes their early arrival at this point to inflexible perseverance in doubling the great icy packs, any of which might have detained them a fbrtnight on the beach, had they waited for their breaking up. Their progress after this was somewhat more rapid. The land was generally very low, consisting of mud and gravel; but it is a curious fact, that not a rock or boulder- stone was seen during the whole journey, except one near an inlet not far from Point Barrow. A glimpse was ob- tained of a magnificent range of mountains, about fifty miles from Point Milne, which they named the Pelly Moun- tains—after the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. No chronometers had been furnished to the party by the company, but fortunately they obtained an excellent watch from one of the chief factors in the country, which answered their purpose almost equally well. Running along the coast, and naming the several bays and headlands as they nassed, they arrived on the 24th at Point Comfort; called in consequence of the satisfaction with which t so JULTT 1837.J WINTRY SUMMER I 337 partook of a warm supper round a cheerful fire aftci' hav- ing fasted for twenty-five hours; during which thoy had run nearly half-way between Return Reef and Point Bar- row. This was ascertained hy an observation which a short glimpse of sunshine enabled them to take, and showed the latitude to be 70*^ 43' K, longitude 152° U' W., variation 43° 8J' E. The country here, between the Pelly Mountains and the shore, consists of plains clothed with a very short grass and moss, the favourite pasture of rein-deer, of which large herds were frequently seen. The immediate coast-line 13 formed of frozen mud-banks, from ten to fifteen feet high. Several large rivers were passed, and named; and one of these, called after Nicholas Garry, Esq., is one mile wide at its mouth, the banks of which were thickly covered with drift timber, brought down the stream; and, though the tide was full, the water tasted fresh for several miles. Notwithstanding that it was the height of summer, the weather was bitterly cold. The spray froze on the 'oars and rigging, and the earth was impenetrably frozen at the depth of four inches, so that the tent pegs could not be driven home. Yet, even here, a few flowers raised their modest heads; with the frozen earth below, the bleak ocean and the cold icebergs around, and the bitter blasts, laden with the withering frost of these hyperborean climes, sweeping over them, they struggled for existence; their only comfort being an occasional ray of sunshine, which pierced the leaden clouds, and bathed their drooping petals in a cheering glow. Not unlike were they to many tender flowsrs of the human family, who struggle for a bare exist- ence in this frigid earth of ours, surrounded by the chilling atmosphere of apathy; swept by the bitter winds of adver- sity, but gladdened sometimes by the Sun of Righteousness, 338 PEDESTRIAN PARTY SETS OUT. pAdo. Ll837. whose warm beams, piercing through the surrounding gloom, reminds them that the winter is passing and the summer drawing nigh; that the earth shall yet be bathed in light from pole to pole; that the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Dense fogs delayed the expedition very much during the whole voyage; and, in the middle of one of these, they reached a cape which appeared to be covered over with white tents. These turned out to be the points of a great many icebergs which towered over the land on the northern side of the point, which was named Cape George Simpson, after the resident-governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is situated in latitude 70° 59' N., longitude 154° 21' W. The rise of the tide here was ten inches, which, small though it was, enabled them to advance some distance; but on the 31st they found that their progress was so slow, and the ice in such great quantities, that it was resolved to give up the attempt to penetrate farther with the boats, and per- form the remainder of the journey to Point Barrow on foot. For this service Mr. Simpson volunteered, while Mr. Dease agreed to remain with some of the men in charge of the boat. As Point Barrow was now distant about two de- grees of longitude, ten or twelve days were considered sufficient to accomplish the distance and return. Five of the best men of the party were therefore selected for the journey; and at 8 a.m., on the 1st of August, they left the encampment. " My little party," says Simpson, " quitted Boat Ex- treme on foot at 8 a.m. Our provisions consisted of pemmicau and flour ; besides which each man carried his blanket, spare shoes, gun, and ammunition. A single kettle and a couple of axes sufficed for us all; and a few trinkets were added for the natives. I carried a sextant and artificial horizon; and one man was charged with a Auo.T 1837. J MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. 339 canvas«-canoe stretched on its wooden frame, which proved not the least important part of our arrangements. The whole amounted to forty or fifty pounds per man. * * * The day was dark and dismal in the extreme; a cutting north wind bearing on its wings a fog that hid every ob- ject at the distance of a hundred yards. We were therefore under the necessity of closely following the coast-line, which much increased the distance and fatigue." ^ Slowly and with difficulty they pursued their way, wmding out and in with every curvature of the coast, and crossing rivers and streams in their canvass-canoe-the water, through which they often waded, at the freezing point— the ground, on which they slept, hard and damp, and the dark sky their curtain. One evening, as they were slowly pushing their way over the muddy shore, the land turned oflP to the eastward of south, and a boundless inU lay before them. At the same moment, to their inexpres- sible joy, their eyes fell upon four Esquimaux tents, round which the natives were moving; but no sooner did they observe the white men approaching them, than they rushed incontinently into their canoes, and shoved out from the shore. A few conciliatory words, however, soon brought them back. They were chiefly women and children, the men being out hunting. From a sketch made by one of the most intelligent females, Mr. Simpson concluded that Point Barrow lay on the other side of the inlet; so, borrowing from the Esqui- maux one of their oomiaks, or women's boats, they em- barked in it and rowed out to sea. No sooner had they done so, than the east wind rose and brought back the fog, obliging them to direct their course by compass. The waves ran high, but the light boat surmounted them with Vr'ondefful buoyancy. On the opposite shore they en- camped, and spent the night under the oomiak, sleeping 84Q REACH POINT BARROW. [ Auo. 1837. on ground whicli was frozen to within two inches of the surface. The inlet was named after Mr. Dease. On the morning of the 4th August, about one o'clock, they reached Elson Bay. The sun, which had shone but little upon them during the greater part of their journey, now broke forth in full splendour, and revealed to the delighted gaze of Mr. Simpson and his men. Point Barrow, stretching out to the northward. The goal that was to crown the enterprise was nearly won. Step by step the way had been traced between Retuni Reef and Elson Bay, and a few hours more would complete the survey. "We had now only to pass Elson Bay," says Simpson, " which is for the most part shallow. It was covered with a tough coat of young ice, through which we broke a passage, and then forced our way amid a heavy pack, nearly half a mile broad, that rested upon the shore. On reaching it, and seeing the ocean spreading far nnd wide to the south-west, we unfurled our flag, and, with three enthusiastic cheers, took possession of our discoveries in his Majesty's name." The first object that met their gaze here was an immense Esquimaux cemetery, where great numbers of dead bodies, covered with the seal-skin dresses which had clothed them when alive, lay exposed to the voracity of dogs and wild animals. So fresh were many of them, that the party were alarmed, lest the cholera or some other dire disease was raging among the natives. A village of Esquimaux was also observed not far from this place; and the loud huzzas that greeted the planting of the British standard on their inhospitable shores, brought them out of their tents in a state of great trepidation and amazement. Like their countrymen to the west, they were scon reassured, by Q'_«-,a^„ »;i,rnn/iinni """^h fniii* nf Hia Tnp.Ti KT»d callinfiT out jSimpSuli OU.T d,Iitjl"g TTiiSi *.-." -- £3 - that their visit was a friendly one. One man was left with Ana."! lb37.J RENCONTRE WITH NATIVES. 341 the canoe to guard it. After a little animated barter, the party returned to the canoe, followed by the whole village; and after the bartering was concluded, and a large supply of seal-skin boots, jackets, &c. obtained, the Esquimaux ladies treated the white men to a dance; in which, however, elegance of motion was not displayed in a very high degree of perfection. While they were thus pleasantly occupied, Mr. Simpson took an observation, which placed the Point in 71° 23' 33" north latitude, and 156o 20' 0" west longitude. Although the natives seemed friendly, a strict watch was kept upon the things in the canoe ; but, upon going down to embark, the oars were not to be found. They were restored, however, after some trouble, and the party finally left Point Barrow on their return to Boat Extreme; their only regret being that there was nothing more to discover ! On reaching the camp of the Esquimaux who had lent them the oomiak, tLey re-borrowed it for the purpose of rowing round to Boat Extreme, and engaged four of their men to accompany them, so as to take back the canoe. At Point Tangent, however, they refused to go farther, and determined to remain with several of their friends whom they found encamped there, demanding an axe for the canoe. " I immediately," says Simpson, " gave them one of our axes, together with all the tobacco we had left ; and my bowman was in the act of shoving off, when the strangers, nine in number, seized the canoe with the intention of dragging it ashore. On my pointing my gun at them they desisted; but, quick as thought, they snatched their bows and quivers, expecting to take us by surprise. When, however, they saw the whole crew ready for the combat, they lowered their tone of defiance; and I remarked with a smile, that, as sometimes happens in more civilized com- munities, the most blustering, turbulent fellow was the first 842 REACH WINTER QUARTERS. r Skpt. L 1837. to show the white feather. * * * When the threatened fray was blown over, I explained, as well as I could, to the aggressors, that the visit and intentions of .lie whites were altogether friendly ; but we parted in mutual distrust." On the following morning, at five o'clock, the pedestrians rejoined their comrades at Boat Extreme, and the re-united party, turning their boats' heads to the eastward, retraced their route to the Mackenzie. Our limits will not permit us to detail their return jour- ney up the Mackenzie to winter quartera at Great Bear Lake, which occupied them during the month of August and the greater part of September. Their progress was as tedious as heretofore; ice, wind, rain, and natives combin- ing to interrupt and detain them. On the 28th August they reached Fort Good Hope, where their party was plea- santly increased by the wife, niece, and grand-daughter of Mr. Dease. Leaving this post, they proceeded on their way up the rapid Mackenzie, and arrived at Fort Norman, where they received despatches from England, and answered them; after which they proceeded to Great Bear Lake, picking up the batteaux and hunters with their outfit on the way. The whole of this part of the journey was excessively st^irmy, and everything gave indication of the approach of an arctic winter. The magnificent sheet of water, on whose shores they were to spend so many dreary months, was reached on the 14th September, and presented a black, frown- ing surface, under the influence of a stiif easteriy breeze. Several showers of snow fell while they crossed its stormy waves, and proved to be the first white coat of permanent snow that clothed the country till the following spring. On the 25th the establishment was reached ; and then it r — A +v«* +i,o T^arfv wTiiVVi had been sent to build the was xvuiiu. Liidu tixv j^'"" 'J ' — fort had been delayed so much by ice in the lake, that they Srpt. ■] 1837. J PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER. 343 did not arrive at the appointed wintering ground till the 17th of August; consequently, all that presented itself to the gaze of the weary travellers was, a small store, and the skeleton of a dwelling-house 1 Thankful, however to have at last reached the end of their journeying for the present, they hailed its appearance with delight ; and, with feelings of sincere gratitude to their Almighty Protector, named their infant establishment Fort Confidence. It was situated in latitude 66° 53' 36" N., longitude 118° 48' 45" W. " The situation judiciously chosen for the establish- ment was a wooded point, on the northern side of a deep and narrow strait formed by a large island. It commands a fine view of the lake to the east and west, and the rocks form a natural landing-place for the boats at the very door." Here, then, they prepared to spend the long, long winter, in a small wooden hut, thousands of miles from the haunts of civilized men ; provided with but a slender stock of pro- visions, and dependent for food, to a great extent, on the activity and friendship of Indian hunters. Unfortunately, they found on their arrival that most of these poor men were laid up with influenza ; and, so far from being of any assist- ance to them, proved, at least for a long period, to be a burden. " To commence a winter," says Simpson, " within the arctic circle, with a considerable party destitute of pro- visions, and the Indians, upon whom we mainly depended for subsistence, requiring our aid and support, was an plarm- ing condition, which demanded the utmost exertion of our personal resources." Accordingly, Mr. Simpson exchanged his sextant and astronomical instruments for the gun and snow shoes, and personally led the Indians in the chase; crossing the rugged barren grounds after the rein-deer; stretching beside the red men at nights by the camp-fire on the snow, without any other protection from the weather than was afforded by a slight tent made of skins, and the 844 DEER HUNTING. rOcT., Nov. L 1«37, deer- skin that he used as a blanket. He also visited the sick in their encampments, to administer medicine, and cheer them in their distress. During these excursions he was pretty successful in obtaining rein- deer, which were not scarce, although somewhat difficult to approach, owing to their keeping long in the open grounds. " Our tents," says he, " were usually pitched in the last of the stunted straggling woods, whence we issued out at daybreak among the bare snowv hills of the ' barren grounds,' where the deer could be distinguished a great way off, by the contrast of their dun colour with the pure white of the boundless waste. * * * On one occasion I witnessed an extra- ordinary instance of affection in these timid creatures. Having brought down a fine doe at some distance, I was running forward to despatch her with my knife, when a handsome young buck bounded up, and raised his fallen favourite with his antlers. She went a few paces, and fell; again he raised her, and continued wheeling round her, till a second ball — for hunger is ruthless — laid him dead at her side." As the winter advanced, however, they managed, by unremitting perseverance in the chase, to accumulate a sufficient quantity of food to enable them to keep a week's supply always in store. The cold, as usual in these climes, was very intense. The lowest point to which the thermometer fell was 60" below zero on the 11th of February. All the streams flowing into Great Bear Lake were frozen to the bottom, and Simpson mentions casting a pistol bullet of quick- silver, when the thermometer stood at 49*^ belovv zero, which he fired through an inch plank. From the 17th of October till the 24th April the temperature never rose to the freezing point — a period of six months and a week — the mean temperature for the whole winter being 14° below zero. During forty-three days of this dismal Dec. T DEATH OF A VOYAGEUR. 345 period the sun did not rise over a small hill which stood in front of the fort. The winter packet, in these solitary regions so ardently longed for, and the contents of which are so fervently gloated over, arrived on the 29th December, in charge of a Canadian, whose comrade had perished by the way. They had left Fort Norman in a small canoe, but were soon set fast by ice, and finally abandoned her, and took to their snow shoes. Soon, however, poor Taylor, who was affected with a pulmonary complaint, began to complain of weak- ness ; upon which his friend, Le Sourd, with considerate kindness, carried his provisions and spare clothing. At last he became unable to walk farther, and Le Sourd made a comfortable encampment, in which he tended his dying companion; and, when he expired, carefully laid his body in a grave, made by thawing the frozen earth with fire. He even placed, with Indian superstition, a valuable gun, that the grateful sufferer had given him, beside the remains of its former owner. After performing this act of kind- ness to his deceased companion, he pursued his solitary way to Fort Confidence. During the whole winter divine service was performed on Sabbath, at which all the people regularly attended; and the few books that they had with them were diligently perused, while the monotony of their life was occasionally relieved by the arrival of Indians, sometimt cith pro- visions, but oftener for them. Among others, a family arrived, the youngest member of which, a boy scarcely two years old, and still unweaned, walked on snow shoes! and this precocious piece of copper-coloured humanity not only used the snow shoes from necessity, but rejoiced in them to such an extent that he began to bellow lustily when his mother attempted to take them from him. Towards the end of winter Indians flocked in greater numbers than 346 FLEASUBES OF SmiNO. TMat LI888. !||i ever to the fort, in a state of starvition. One poor, old blind man was hauled there on a sledge, or led with a string, and sometimes carried by his wife and daughter. May — bright, warm May, the month of flowers and glad sunshine — opened upon the dwellers in arctic land, as upon the inhabitants of the sunny south; but it came not in " with flowers." The only flowers to be seen there were those traced by the frost on the window-panes ; while the thermometer stood at zero! The snow-clad earth, the wintry sky, the lurid sun, were still unchanged; but about the beginning of June the genius of the spring began to put forth his power. His warm fingers touched the land, and straightway the snows melted, the rivers flowed, the lakes burst their icy coats, the ducks and geese and all the wild denizens of the marshes began to arrive from the regions of the south ; supplying the hitherto scantily furnished tables of the party, and filling the surrounding air with wild harmony. Smile not, gentle reader, at the idea of harmony in the hoarse cries or the wild cackling of geese or ducks. Hadst thou spent nine long, dreary months in a land of solitude, where no sound broke upon the ear save the howling of the arctic storm, or the sighing of thine owm voice, or the hoarse croak of an adventurous raven, the trumpet tones of the Canada goose and the plaintive cry of wild-fowl would sound as music in thine unaccustomed earl It will be remembered that Governor Simpson's instruc- tions to the leaders of the expedition enjoined them to devote their second summer in the north to the exploring of the coast from Franklin's farthest — Point Turnagain — eastward to the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh; or as much farther as they thought proper to advance. Accordingly, on the 6th of June 1838, they started to cross over the land that separated them from the Coppermine Eiver, down JUNK-l 1888.J BOATS SAILING ON THE ICE. 347 which they purposed to descend to the sea. During this journey, about one hundred miles of unexplored coast was traced by Mr. Simpson and a party on foot ; the boats being set fast by ice near Point Tumagain. As, however, the greater part of their route on this occasion was ground which had been traversed by former explorers, we shall merely glance at a few of the more interesting events that occurred by the way. Leaving Ritch, one of the men, in charge of Fort Con- fidence, they commenced the ascent of Dease River in their two boats, which were manned by four men each — two others having been sent forward some days' journey to watch a quantity of provisions which they were to pick up in pass- ing. The water, in which they had often to walk waist deep, was bitterly cold, and laden with ice, which rose in blue walls on either side of them. Not unfrequently these masses came tumbling down with great violence; and, on one occasion, a ponderous mass of snow fell from the banks so close to the boats as nearly to swamp them. The river was at length safely ascended, and, after making a portage of six miles long, they arrived at the Dismal Lakes. Dismal, indeed, did these lakes seem, covered as they were entirely over with the thick and still unbroken coat of win- ter. Although the rivers break up early in spring, owing to the sudden flush of water caused by the melting snow, the lakes are much longer of delivering themselves from the bondage of winter, as the ice does not give way until thoroughly decayed; but this was well known to the party, and they had provided for emergencies of the kind. Two stout iron-shod sledges were placed under the boats, which were then dragged on the ice ; a rope was fixed to their bows which the crews laid hold of; the sails were set, the Cnlmirs nnisfpil nnrl axvoir flipTr -iwont 'yv^v iV"» A«rkf»/»»s In!"* at the rate of two miles an hour, to the inexpressible sur- 348 MUSK-OX KILLED. rJuNB Ll838. prise of a band of natives, who happened to be in the neighbourhood when they arrived. In this curious way they proceeded till a stream of open water enabled them once more to commit the boats to their native element. At the Dismal Lake portage, Mr. Simpson came upon a white woK's den, where were four fine pups. Without asking their mother's permission, he took possession of them, intending to send them to Fort Confidence by the Indians. Their dam, attracted by their cries, rushed to the rescue, and was shot, while the more cowardly male contented himself with howling all night on a neighbouring emi- nence. Deer and musk-oxen were numerous. One of the latter, which was espied by the quick-sighted hunters among the willows, was fired at several times without effect, when he started off in the direction of the boats; but, stumbling into a deep creek, swam out into the river, where he was wounded in the act of crossing. The animal instantly turned about and endeavoured to climb the bank where they stood, his eyes darting fire, and his nostrils distended with pain and rage; but ere he ascended it many steps, several well-aimed bullets stretched him lifeless on the ground. On arriving at the Coppermine River, which they reached on the 20th of June, they found it still frozen over, and were detained a couple of days on its banks, after which a narrow stream opened in the centre of it. Into this they launched, and swept rapidly down the swollen tide. Much difficulty was experienced in avoiding the huge masses of ice, which, having now become thoroughly broken up by the rising of the spring floods, descended with great impetuosity, as if resolved to dispute with them the passage to the sea. " Shortly before noon," says Simpson, " we came in sight of Escape Rapid of Franklin, and a 1838. J PERILOUS DESCENT OF TUE COPPERMINE. 349 glance at the overhanging cliffs told us that there was no alternative but to run down with full cargo. In an instant we were in the vortex; and, before we were aware, my boat was borne towards an isolated rock, which the boiling surge almost concealed. To clear it on the outside was no longer possible; our only chance of safety was to run between it and the lofty eastern cliff. The word was passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream, which dashed down upon us over the brow of the precipice more than a hundred feet in height, mingled with the spray that whirled upwards from the rapid, forming a terrific shower- bath. The pass was about eight feet wide, and the error of a single foot on either side would have bee" instant destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's consumu.^te skill, the boat shot safely through those jaws of death, an in- voluntary cheer arose." After a rough and hazardous journey, they reached the sea-coast at the beginning of July, having been detained five days by ice at the Bloody Fall. Here, however, a gloomy prospect opened upon them. Ice lay in thick masses all along the coast and far out to sea, and they v/ere compelled to wait as patiently as they could for its disruption. When Captain Franklin reached the same spot, twenty days later in the season in 1821, he found a clear sea — so greatly do the seasons vary in these uncertain climes. This unfortunate state of the coast Mr. Simpson attributes to the calmness of the season — rain and tempest being, in his opinion, the most favourable accompaniments of arctic discovery. With the utmost diflficulty they reached a small bay on the 9th of August, which they called Boathaven, and which is situated about three miles west of Point Turnagain. Here they were detained till the 19th, and at last, finding that there was no chance of doing more that season with 850 MR. SIMPSON AND PARTY PROCEED ON FOOT. rJm-T Ll838. the boats, Mr. Simpson set off for ten days to the eastward, on foot, accompanied by seven of the men. Each man carried a load weighing about half a hundredweight, which consisted of food, blankets, cooking utensils, a canvass- canoe, tent, &c.; in short, as Simpson says, their "food, lodgmg, bedding, arms, and equipage." The walking proved to be very fatiguing, owing to the softness of the ground in many places, and one or two of the men began to knock up before the termination of the journey. They persevered, however, and succeeded in tracing about a hundred miles of the coast eastward of Point Tumagain. The coast was generally of the same low and swampy character, intersected here and there by streams of various sizes. Fortunately the weather continued clear during the whole time, enabling Mr. Simpson to take repeated obser- vations, and lay down the coast very correctly. An exten- sive line of coast, seen to the north, was named after Queen Victoria, and an elevated cape on which they stood was called Cape Alexander, after a brother of the adven- turous discoverer. From this cape, situated in latitude 68** 56' N., longitude 106** 40' W., an extensive open sea was seen, rolling its free waves at their feet and beyond the reach of vision to the eastward. On the 25th they reached a small stream, whose waters ran into a bay of such extent, that it was deemed prudent to terminate their journey here for the present, the more especially that their time was expired. The stream was called the Beaufort, and the lati- tude of the plaxie was 68*^ 43' 39" N., longitude 106° 3' 0" W., and variation 60° 38' 23" E. A pillar being erected, the Union Jack hoisted, and the country taken possession of in her Majesty's name, the party then retraced their steps to Boathaven, where they arrived in safety; and, re-embarking in the boats, eom- menced the ascent of the Coppermine. The ascent was Sbpt. t 1838. J WINTER AGAIN AT FORT CONFIDENCE. 351 found to be very laborious; but, sS running many risks and making many hair-breadth escapes, they happily arrived, through the preserving goodness of God, at Fort ConHdence, on the 14th of September, having left the boats on the banks of the Coppermine. At Fort Confidence they spent the winter of 1838-9 in much the same routine as before. Although much had been accomplished during the summer, it was but a small portion of what they had hoped to achieve; so, having permission from the governor to devote another summer to the same object, they resolved to do so, and made the requisite preparations accordingly. A great accession was made to the expedition towards spring in the person of Ooligbuck, the Esquimaux interpreter who had accompanied Franklin in a former expedition. During the winter, starvation again stared them in the face, and the poor natives, who seem to lead a truly miserable life in those inhospitable realms, were constantly throwing themselves for the means of subsistence on the generosity of their white brothers, who could ill afford them such assistance. Towards spring, however, things improved. Deer became more plentiful, and fish were taken in the nets. In June the frost entirely gave way ; the tempera- ture at mid-day was sometimes up to 70** in the shade, causing the snow to melt, the brooks to run, the willows to bud forth, and the birds to sing, or, at least, to pour forth the wild notes and cries which constitute the songs of the tuneless feathered tribes of America. The genial influence of the weather had its effect too upon the lonely, but ever cheerful, party at Fort Confidence. The men, and even the Indians, amused themselves with out-of-door games, of which foot-ball seemed to be the favourite; and Mr. Dease's .1 — m, CiSner tliaa heretofore, sent its thrilliug tones through the hearts of the whole party, causing them to I I 352 FISHING SALMON AT THE BLOODY PALL. L 163'i. shake the entire fabric of the fort as they vigorously danced and capered about in the hall. On the 15th of June they started on foot for the place where they had left the boats at the Coppermine, with renovated hopes and thankful hearts, resolved to try their fortunes a third time on the Polar Sea. Their second descent of the Coppermine was accomplished without much difficulty; but the sea, which they reached on the 24th, was found quite solid. It was therefore resolved that Mr. Simpson should examine Richardson's River, while the rest of the party remained at the Bloody Fall. During their detention at this place, the men amused themselves by angling. Like everything else in these extraordinary regions, this was conducted in a somewhat outlandish manner. The setting- poles, with which they were in the habit of pushing the boats against the roaring torrents, were converted into ponderous fishing-rods; and with hooks baited with fat meat, tuey succeeded in luring to their destruction several arctic salmon, in the boiling eddies at the foot of the fall. Throughout the country generally, the fish display a singular indifterence to the clumsiness of the tackle with which they are tempted. River trout are often caught with large cod hooks, converted into flies ^)y means of a duck's feather and a thread of a scarlet worsted belt, the rod being a stout branch of a tree, and the line a bit of coarse twine ! We need scarcely add that the anglers do not plai/ their fish. Emerging from the Coppermine on the 3d of July, their first day's progress was only five miles, the first week's but twenty; and it was the 18th ere they reached Cape Barrow. Running before a fresh breeze off the land, they made Cape Franklin on the 20th, just one month covered with an unbroken sheet of ice, as it was then, they Ano.T 1839 J EASTERN SEA DISCOVERED. 353 found an open channel, nearly two miles wide, extending all along the main shore. On the 27th they reached the pomt where their discoveries had terminated in 1838- and, putting ashore to exhume the portable canoe which had been buried there, entered upon ground till then untrodden by the foot of civilized man. From the Minto group of islands, seen by Mr. Simpson the previous season, a view of the coast was obtained. It was bold, rocky, and indented ; running far away to the south, and skirted by numerous islands. These latter, from their numbers, continued to perplex them during the greater part of their voyage. As they proceeded, threading their tortuous way among islands and round bays and points, the coast gradually lost its bold character, becoming low and stony; obliging them to ascend every little eminence to prevent their being involved in its intricacies. The weather was often foggy and always variable-one peculiar feature m Its variableness being, that it usually turned from bad to worse; but, with bold hearts and strong muscles, they pursued their way, until, on the 11th of August, they pene- trated a strait through which the tide rushed with such force as to leave no longer any room to doubt the neighbour- hood of an open sea leading to the mouth of Back's Great Fish River. From an eminence here Mr. Simpson first beheld this much-desired eastern sea. " That glorious sight," says he, " was first beheld by myself from the top of the high limestone islands. * * * The joyful news was soon conveyed to Mr. Dease, who was with the boats at the end of the island, about half a mile off; and even the most desponding of our people for- got, for the time, the great distance we should have to return to winter quarters." Point Seaforth, the eastern outlet of this rpm.arknble strait, is situated in latitude 68° 32 N., longitude 97° 35' W. z 354 REACH POINT OGLE. PAtjo. 11833. At this place they were visited with one of the most terrific thunderstorms they ever experienced. Travelling onwards as rapidly as the weather would allow, they reached Back's Point Ogle on the 13th of August, where, directed by M'Kay, they found the two bags of pemmican, several pounds of chocolate, two canisters of gunpowder, and a box of percussion caps, which had been deposited there by their enterprising predecessor five years before I The pemmican was alive I and the chocolate rotten; never- theless, enough of it was extracted to produce a kettle-full, wherewith the men celebrated the grand event of the day. All the objects for which the expedition was undertaken had now been accomplished; but Messrs. Dease and Simp- son were not quite satisfied. They had determined the northern limits of America to the westward of the Thlew- ee-choh; but it still remained a question, whether Boothia Felix might not be united to the continent to the east of that river. The men were therefore summoned, and the importance of proceeding some distance farther explained to them, when they agreed to advance without a murmur. On the evening of the 16th they crossed over the river's wide mouth. " It was a lovely night," says Simpson. " The fury of the north lay chained in repose. The Harp, the Eagle, the Charioteer, and many other bright constella- tions, gemmed the sky. and sparkled on the waters, while the high Polar Star seemed to crown the glorious vault above us." A six hours' pull brought them to a bluff cape, from which Mr. Simpson, who climbed to its summit, saw the coast turn sharply and decidedly eastward; while round to the north-west stretched a sea free from all ice, .nnd devoid of all land, except what looked like two very distant islands. The point was named Cape Britannia. The wind now beo-an to nrove adverse, and on the 19th they were almost tempted to give up farther advance as AVQ. 1839, :] BKSOLVE TO KETUEN. 355 hopeless When the land suddenly turned more towards the north-eaat, so, hoisting their sail, they made a fine ^ of th,rty mJes, and landed at i p.„. to breakfast, on a cape wh.eh was named Cape Selkirk. They then adv»ced «x m,lcs farther, but after being buffeted by whT^I waves, and making very little progress, they were Z pelle to take shelter in a small rivlr, which *ey 121 after their boats, the Castor and Pollux River It now became quite evident that the time was come for commenemg their return to the distant Coppermine To orders were g.ven to the men to ereet a piSar in Jom! memoration of their visit, while the two leaders wleTto an emmenee three miles off, whence they saw the cl^ t^cndmg off more to the right. Far without lay eZ l^y xslanda, and in the north-east, more distLt still Weared some h.gh blue land, which was designated Cap^ bir John Rosa^ and was supposed to be the southern shoi^s 68 28 2o N., longitude 94» U' W., variation 16" 20' I'2Sd."'^*' '-^^ »"«« -- ''—^^ on The stormy winds, which obstinately resisted their pro- gress to the eastward, lent wings to their retreat. Point ate pomt, bay after bay, were rapidly passed and left behind. Crossing over to Victoria Land, they explored a hundred miles of its coast, denominating' theLtem and western visible extremes respectively Point Back and Fomt Parry; then, rccrossing the strait and continuing tlV7T rf"""^ *'"' ""'"' '^'^ ''"''"y """^hed the mouth of the Coppermine on the 16th of September, in a bitter frost, and the surrounding country covered with snow, after by far the longest voyage ever performed in boats on the Polar Sea, the distance they had gone being not less than 1408 geographical, or 1631 statute miles 356 GRIZZLY DEAR. [ Alio. 1839. The Coppermine was ascended in safety, the only thing of an unusual kind that they saw being a huge grizzly bear, to which Mr. Dease and Mr. Simpson gave chase, and fired several shots without effect. The monster's foot- prints in the snow measured fifteen inches by six I This is the most formidable animal of the American continent. When full-grown, it equals in size the large polar bears, and is not only more active, but of a fiercer and more vindictive disposition. Its strength is so great that it will drag the carcass of a buffalo, weighing a thou- sand pounds. The following story of its prowess is well authenticated:— A party of vor/a^rewrs had been occupied all day in tracking a canoe up the Saskatchewan, and had seated themselves round a fire in the evening. They were engaged in the agreeable task of preparing their supper, when a huge grizzly bear sprang over the canoe, which they had tilted behind them, and seizing one of the party by the shoulder, carried him off. The remainder fled in terror, with the sole exception of a metif named Bourasso, who, grasping his gun, followed the bear, as it was delibe- rately retreating with the man in its mouth. He called out to his unfortunate comrade that he was afraid of hitting him if he fired at the bear; but the latter entreated him to fire instantly, because the animal was squeezing him to death. On this he took a steady aim, and lodged a ball in the body of the brute, which immediately dropped its original prey, that it might revenge itself upon Bourasso.^ He escaped, however, and the bear soon after retreated into a thicket, where they were too happy to let him lie unmo- lested. The rescued man had his arm fractured, and was otherwise severely bitten, but he ultimately recovered. Dr. Richardson tells us that a man is now living, in the vicinity of Edmonton House, who was attacked by a grizzly bear, which suddenly sprang out of a thicket, and scalped 1839.J ANECDOTES TP THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 357 him by a Single scratch of his tremendous claws, layinff bare the skull, and pulling down the skin of the forehead qmte over his eyes. Assistance being at hand, the beast was driven off; but the unfortunate man, although his hfe was saved, never recovered his sight after the event Mr. Drummond, who made a botanical trip to the Rocky Mountains, frequently met with these disagreeable com^ panions. When he happened unintentionally to come suddenly upon them, they would rear themselves upright on their hmd legs, and utter a loud, harsh, and rapid breathing. From what is known of the habits of these animals It is certain that, had he lost his presence of mind and attempted to flee, he would have been pursued, overtaken, and torn to pieces. But the bold Forfar-man stood his ground to an inch, and beating a huge botanical box, made of tin, his discordant music so astounded the gnzzly monsters, that, after eyeing the Scottish Orpheus for a few minutes, they generally M-heeled to the right- about, and galloped away. On one occasion he obsen^ed a male caressing a female, and soon after the couple came towards him, but whether by accident or design, he was uncertain. However, he thought there was no great harm m climbing a tree; and as the female drew near, he very ungallantly fired at and mortally wounded her. As usual in such cases, she uttered some loud screams, which threw the male into a most furious rage, and he reared himself up against the trunk of the tree on which Mr. Drummond was perched. Fortunately, it is so ordained that grizzly bears either can't or won't climb; and the female in the meantime having retired to a short distance, lay down while the male, following to condole with her, was also shot. Winter had fairly set in ere the expedition reached the head of the Coppermine, which they did on the 20th, and ■'*:«?' 358 FORT CONFIDENCE CONSIGNED TO DESTRUCTION. rSrpT L 1839. then proceeded across the country on foot to Fort Con- fidence, where they arrived in safety on the 24th of Sep- tember, just as the shades of night were casting their sabie mantle over the wintry scene. Here, however, they were not to rest. The little fort in which thev had, through the goodness of God, success- fully struggled through so n'any dreary months, was to be abandoned; and the scene that ensued soon after their arrival was at once amusing and sad. " I despair," says Simpson, " of conveying an idea of the scene enacted by the natives during the two following days, which were occu- pied in settling with them, and packing up our own goods. They hurried in from all quarters; and as everybody •wanted everything, the distribution of our commodities was rather a difficult problem. As for the clamour of young and old, Bedlam itself cannot match the ordeal we under- went. * * * Our spare guns, kettles, ironwork, dogs, and sledges, were given to the moat deserving. All were furnished with ammunition, for hunting their way to the regular trading-posts on the Mackenzie. Our old clothes graced the persons of our young fellow-travellers; and last, not least, the whole assemblage was abundantly fed. In the afternoon of the 26th this noisy scene was brought to a close, and we took a last leave of Fort Con- fidence. Larocque Maccaconce, and some of the old men and youths who had been most about us, appeared affected as we shook hands with them; but all the rest were too busily engaged in rifling our forlorn abode to notice our departure. Even before finally quitting the house, the parchment windows were cut out by the women and chil- dren; the legs of the few miserable chairs and tables were torn off; and by the time we were out of sight, I verily believe that not a single nail remained undrawn, or a scrap of any sort unappropriated, on the premises." Fkb. 1 1840.J MR. SIMPSON RETURNS TO RED RIVER. 359 In concluding this sketch of Messrs. Dcase and Simp- son's expedition, we think it r. "ht to give a brief account of the early and violent death of the tpirited young man to whose energy and perseverance its successful termination must be partly attributed. After leaving Fort Confidence, Mr. Simpson proceeded to Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, and thence, over the counlry on foot, to Red River settlement, at which place he arrived on the 2d February 1840, having traversed 1910 miles on foot in sixty-one days. At Grreat Slave Lake, Mr. Simpson drew up a plan for an expedition to complete the survey of the coast between the exireme east of the discoveries of 1839, and the Straits of the Fury and Hecla, which he transmitted to the direc- tors oi the Hudson's Bay Company in London; at the same time offering to assume the command of the expedi- tion without a moment's respite. At Red River he anxi- ously waited for letters in reply, which would authorize him to undertake it ; but in consequence of his despatches not having reached England in time to be acknowledged by the spring canoes, he received no communication from the directors. Deeply disappointed at this, and un- willing to remain idly at Red River for a year until his offer could be accepted, he resolved to proceed to Eng- land. With this end in view, he left Red River settlement on the 6th of June, intending to cross the prairies to St. Peter's, on the Mississippi, and proceed thence to Eng- land. On leaving the settlement he was accompanied by a party of settlers and half breeds ; but becoming impatient of their slow movements, h«^ started ahead with four men. chart, which was found with his other papers after his 360 MELANCHOLY DFATH OP MR. THOMAS SIMP80N. rJoNii L 1840. death; on which tL .. ^^a s journey on the 11th of June was traced as ft»Hy»j«< )n ile« in a strai{(ht line. (( ►Subsequent to- that date, writes Mr. Alcxandi-r Simp- son in hi^' l/ritt memoir of his brother' ri life, "every orcinn- stance is iavolveupposed, separated the two extreme points of discovery. Hitherto the expeditions which had been despatched to the polar seas by land, had carried on their operations chiefly during summer; depending upon supplies of pemmi- can and flour for their maintenance during the long winter ^'^" the arctV vegions, should all other resources in the shape 01 fish and game fail them. The expedition now sent out, however, was conducted on quite a diflerent principle. Spring, or, more correctly speaking, the latter end of win- ter, was the seascn during which its operations were to be carried out. Only four months' provisions were taken, 362 OPINION REGARDING THE EXPEDITION. [1846. although it was anticipated that the objects for ;vhich it was sent could not be accomplished in less than eighteen months, if not longer. The net and the gun were to be the only hope of the little band of adventurers who thus ventured to penetrate into a land so barren, and of whose resources so little was known, that it was feared, even by those who were long accustomed to a desert life, that the whole party would infallibly starve ; and all the more was this thought probable, when it was remembered that little or no fuel could be obtained there, with the exception of a small quantity of oil from the Esquimaux. Starve, how- ever, they did not. Under the command of Dr. Rae, a man of practical experience in arctic life, of scientific attain- ments, and indomitable resolution, the expedition was brought back in safety, after a long sojourn in these lands of ice and darkness, where they suffered privations, and encountered dangers out of which the Father of light and love alone could have delivered them. In the following pages we shall follow the footsteps of Dr. Rae and his hardy associates, as they pursue their devious and interesting journey— -interesting, whether we view it in connection with the long-disputed passage which has tried the metal and cost the lives of so many of Britain's sons during the last two hundred years, or look at it in the light of a daring and novel incursion into the regions of the far north. The instructions given to him by Sir George Simpson, directed Dr. Rae to proceed to Fort Churchill, the mosl northerly establishment of the company on Hudson's Bay, with two boats and twelve men, and to proceed thence to the scene of his labours; devoting as much time as he could, without occasioning serious delay, to ascertaining I/Uty iai.llUU.CO aUU. lUlliillUU.ViO \}i. vuXj tjX\Ji^v t^/..•.^. •-^»-— -»- £- — i within the range of his operations, noting the incidents 1846.] INSTRUCTIONS TO DR. RAE. 363 of the journey, and, generally, to registering the various peculiarities and phenomena of the regions he was about to explore. Having achieved the object of his journey, he was to return, according to his own discretion, either by his original course to Churchill, or by Back's Great Fish River, to Great Slave Lake. " In conclusion," writes Sir George, «let me assure you that we look confidently to you for the solution of what may be deemed the final pro- blem in the geography of the northern hemisphere. The eyes of all who Lake an interest in the subject are fixed on the Hudson's Bay Company; from us the world expects the final settlement of the question that has occupied the attention of our country for two hundred years ; and your safe and triumphant return, which may God in His mercy grant, will, I trust, speedily compensate the Hudson's Bay Company for its repeated sacrifices and its protracted anxieties."* Rae was just tlie man for such an expedition. He was surgeon, astronomer, steersman, and leader to the party ; had spent several years in the service of the company '; and added to his other attainments the by no means insig- nificant accomplishments of a first-rate snow-shoe walker and a dead shot I On the 8th of October Dr. Rae landed at York Factory- on the shores of Hudson's Bay, after a canoe journey of about two months' duration, through the interior from Canada. Here he took up his residence for the winter, purposing to sail for Fort Churchill in the following spring, so soon as the icy bands, which lock up the waters there for nearly eight months, should give way. The two boats were fine-looking, strong, clinker-built craft, twenty-twc feet long by seven feet six inches broad, each capable of * Eae's Expedition, p. 17. f f ;■ 1 L 864 PREPAKATIONS AND DEPARTURE. TMat 11846. carrying between fifty and sixty pieces of goods, of 90 lbs. weight per piece. They were each rigged with two lug sails, to which jibs were afterwards added, and were named the "North Pole" and the "Magnet." Besides the usual amount of sails, oars, cordage, and ballast, the boats were laden with twenty bags of pemmican, two bags of grease, twenty-five bags of flour, and four gallons of alcohol for fuel, with a good supply of sugar, chocolate, and tea, four gallons of brandy, and two gallons of port wine ; amount- ing in all to little more than four months' provisions at full allowance. To these were added a small sheet-iron stove for each boat, a set of sheet-iron lamps for burning oil after the fashion of the Esquimaux ; several small kettles, called conjurers, having a little basin and per- forated tin stand for burning alcohol, a seine net, and four small window frames, with double panes of glass in each. This method of glazing windows, besides rendering the room to which they are attached warmer, prevents the heated air within from congealing on the glass, and so rendering it opaque. Windows glazed with single panes soon become covered with moisture, which freezes the instant it settles upon the cold glass, and accumulates frequently to the thickness of an inch. An oiled canvass canoe was also taken, and one of Halkett's portable air boats, which latter was large enough to carry three persons. About the beginning of May 1846, the increasing power of the sun began to work a rapid change over the whole land, which, since October, had lain in that cold, dead, and seemingly unconquerable stillness, of which none but arctic traveller'? can form an adequate conception. Gradually at first, and as if unwillingly, the ice gave way before the genial beams of the spring sun, till at last it melted away and left the released earth and streams to rejoice in their deliverance J reminding one forcibly of the manner in Mat -I 184U.J BEGINNING OF DIFFICULTIES. 365 which the Sun of Righteousness, by the all-powerful influ- ence of His bright beams of forbearance and protracted love, thaws and sets free the icy heart and frozen soul of unregenerate man. On the 5th of May, Hayes River began to break up, but it was not until the 12th of June that the coast was sufficiently free from ice to permit the exploring party to commence their voyage. On that day, however, it was reported practicable, and on the 13th, after saying farewell to their friends at York Factory, they set sail in the " North Pole" and " Magnet," along the shores of Hudson's Bay. The crews of the two boats consisted of twelve men, six to each boat ; but small though the party was, it embraced no less than six different races of men—Orkneymen, Can- adians, Indians, half-breeds, Zetlanders, and Highlanders; and to these was afterwards added an Esquimaux interpreter! who rejoiced in the name of Ooligbuck, and his son, whJ rejoiced in an incurable habit of thieving, which afterwards proved to be no small annoyance to the party. A foretaste of the difficulties which this strangely assorted crew were afterwards to experience, was afforded them on the day of their departure, in the shape of a stiff head wind. They had scarcely proceeded a mile down the river in the direction of the sea, and the smoke of the guns, with which they had been saluted at departure, was still floating in the air, when the wind chopped round directly in their teeth and blew a gale. Dr. Rae, however, was much too sanguine to think of turning back after having fairly started; he therefore ordered the sails to be close reefed, and the boats' heads turned out to sea, despite the ugly cross sea which was occasioned by the meeting currents of the river and tide. A good deal of water was shipped, but he succeeded in ma.iing good his point ; cleared the siiallows that jutted out from the end of the Point of Marsh ; and after a good i I 366 BLEEPING IN BOATS AT NIGHT. TMat 11846. deal of difficulty in forcing a passage through the ice which drove along the coast with the current, finally anchored for the night near Sam's Creek, to which place the lonely in- habitants of York Factory send a party every spring and autumn to shoot and salt geese for their winter consumption. Here being unable to land, they slept in the boats. " The night," says Rae, " was beautiful, and as all my men had gone to sleep, nothing interrupted the stillness around but the occasional blowing of a white whale, the rather musical note of the * caca wee' (long- tailed duck), or the harsh scream of the great northern diver. Yet I could not close my eyes. Nor was this wakefulness caused by want of comfort in my bed, which I must own was none of the most inviting, as it consisted of a number of hard packed bags of flour, over which a blanket was spread, so that I had to accommodate myself the best way I could to the inequalities of the surface. To a man who had slept soundly in all sorts of places, on the top of a round log in the middle of a swamp, as well as on the wet shingle beach, such a bed was no hardship; but thoughts now pressed upon me which during the bustle and occupation of preparation had no time to intrude. I could not conceal from myself that many of my brother officers, men of great experience in the Indian country, were of opinion that we ran much risk of starving : little was known of the resources of that part of the country to which we were bound ; and all agreed that there was little chance of procuring fuel, unless some oil could be obtained from the natives. Yet the novelty of our route and of our intended mode of opera,- tions had a strong charm for me, and gave me an excite- ment which I could not otherwise have felt."* The shores of Hudson's Bay between York Factory and * Kae's Expedition, pp. 7-8. hav m JONB 1346, ?] KILLING WHITE WHALES. 367 Fort Churchill are low, flat, and uninteresting. Not a single rock 18 to be seen in all its dreary length, though here and there boulder- stones, of various sizes, were observed A short distance from the sea, were numerous small lakes and swamps, which were filled with ducks, geese, and other water-fowl, whose wild cries served in some degree to break the monotony of the way, while their fat little bodies helped nightly to fill the kettles, and tickle the palates of the miscellaneous crew that invaded their usually undisturbed domain. Ice, with its unfailing attendant, fog, floated in abundance on the ocean, now compelling them to pm-sue a devious track among the open lanes of water ; then causing them to bore slowly through its closely packed but broken masses; anon, vanishing as if by magic, leaving them in an open sea, and ouentimes interrupting their progress altogether. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however they pursued their route along the coast, and landed at Churchill on the 27th of June. Here they remained a few days repairing the boats and examining the provisions, this being the last establishment they would meet with. Some tobacco and salt, being looked upon as unnecessary luxuries, were exchanged for additional supplies of pemmican and flour, and everything was finally arranged for the voyage. The people at the fort were engaged in killing white whales when they arrived. These fish abound in the polar seas, and are often seen rolling their unwieldy forms up the rivers that flow into Hudson's Bay. They are used by the fur-traders as food for the dogs, the house in which their flesh IS kept being called the blubber-house; to find which house, especially in summer, no other direction would be necessary than the trite one of " follow your nose I " The method of killine' iho white ^^rh^]^ ,'. ,.f, ;„-,„v * ' • having a harpooner both at bow and stern, sails out among 368 LEAVE CHURCHILL — ^THE LAST ESTABLISHMENT. [ j^ illill the shoal, and being painted white, it does not alarm them. When close enough, the harpoons are thrown, and the whales dive under the water. They do not, however, run any great distance in one direction, but dart about much in the way that a trout does when hooked. Indians employ another method of killing them. They erect a stage in the water, as far from shore as they can, and sit perched upon this, gun in hand, till the whales pass, when they shoot them with ball, and afterwards fish up their carcasses in their canoes. Having taken on board Ooligbuck, the Esquimaux, and his son, and said farewell to the inhabitants of Churchill — the last civilized beings whom they were to see for a year and a half — Dr. Rae and his men started on their voyage of discovery on the 5th of July 1846. The weather was fine, and the coast, fortunately, free from ice, so that they sailed cheerily along under the influence of a light breeze from the N.N.E. The men were in excellent health and spirits ; and, like most men of daring, adventurous spirits, rejoiced at the prospect of facing and overcoming difficulties and dangers. The general brightness and liveliness of the whole scene at their departure had doubtless some influence in producing the exuberance of joy with which they left the last settlement of the white man. The broad expanse of Hudson's Bay lay stretched out before them; its calm surface flickering in the beams of a bright sun, and enlivened with the wild cry and splash of water- fowl, as they bathed their plumage, or pursued each other over the surface, and down into the blue depths of the ocean. Up in the clear sky flocks of gulls sailed calmly on ap- parently motionless wings, giving to the beholders a strange, irresistible desire to be up there too, disporting in the atmospheric ocean ; while from among the happy revellers every now and then, would dart one or two of their number, ie«J BEAUTIFUL APPEAKANCE OP THE SEA. 369 and descending with collapsed wings, from their giddy h«gh^ plunge .nto the water in pursuit of unsuspecting tosh The peeuhar eharacteristies of aretic seenery also tended to heighten the wild beauty and interest Tf tt scene. Far away in the distance might be seen the whL pmnacles of a gigantic iceberg-huge, firm, and sout appearance, like the snow-clad summits of tie everlalg h.Ils, but in reahty brittle and unstable, liable to drift and change w.th eve,y ray of sunshine, and eve^ brea h " f wmd, and ready, without a moment's wamingfto lose its balance, and, like the airy castles erected i„l m ndTf n>an, bu^ .ts towering heights and fair battlements in the msteady gulf from which it rose. White whales rolled * .r uncouth forms about, and ruffled the otherwise c^ bosom of the sea, coming frequently within a few yards oi 1 L ;■■.;'"' ■•"" '"^ '''''' *^ bullet head of a seal bobbed suddenly up to the snrfe,.B ;.= „ «r,A »,•.!„ 1 '^ '■'"' surface, its grave countenance and w.de goggle eyes seeming to inquire what new wonders of creation had come to invade the Arctic Sea-already snfficently wel peopled with hyperbon^an monstrosities! Dunng the day they passed a river whose name was in keep,ng w,th the wild land through which it flows, being «.lled he Pauk-a-thau.kis.cow. The shore was flat ani low obbgmg them to keep six miles out fo sea in order to avoid bemg stranded at the ebb tide; but this mattered little m such fine weather. As the night was clear, and the wind fa,r, they continued their course without interruption, till the forenoon of next day, when it was found that they had made a run of ninety-five miles. Here they were overtaken by three Esquimaux in their kayaks. These httle canoes were propelled by their vigorous owners so wl'^;i!',!l!:,:LT::"°\''" ■"• -' k--: no vbilst thus placed, else both she 872 MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. rJci.T Ll846. and the crew must inevitably have been lost. ^ The gale continued to increase, and at last became so violent that they were forced to run for shelter under the lee of a large island. On a neighbouring island, a number of Esquimaux tents were seen, but it could not be discovered whether or not they were inhabited. Rain poured down in torrents but, rather than recline in lazy luxuriance on his wet blanket. Dr. Rae seized his gun and proceeded, after the manner of Robinson Crusoe, to make a survey of the island Like him, too, he discovered a footprint in the sand, but it was that of a large white bear, which, from the havoc made in the nests of the wild-fowl, had evidently been dining on a few hundred eggs. He also fell in with a number of Esquimaux graves, protected, though not very effectually, from the depredations of wild animals by arches of stone. Among these graves were found a number of spear heads and knives; but Esquimaux do not generally destroy all the property of the deceased, as do most of the Indian ^''in the evening the wind moderated, and they received a visit from five Esquimaux, from the tents before mentioned. They each received a small piece of tobacco, of which they seemed remarkably fond. A large, deep river which empties itself into the sea not far from the island they had landed on, abounds in white whales, seals, and salmon One of the latter, weighing ten pounds, was caught, and proved an acceptable variety to their supper of pemmican. Salmon, however, are not always, in these wild coun ries, partaken of with the gusto that might be supposed by those who dwell in more civilized climes. There is a great truth enunciated when it is said, a man may have "too much of a good thing." There is a river called the Moise, which flows near the Labrador coast, and empties itself into the Gulf of St. LawTence. Go there, reader-you will fand JriTT 1846. J TOO MUCU OF A GOOD THING. 373 dwelling in a solitary trading establishment, about twenty miles from the banks of that river, a lonely clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company. One other human being, a Canadian, helps him to inhabit the spot ; all the rest of his party, eight or ten in number, being away at a salmon- fishery on the Moise. He has just risen from a breakfast oi roasted salmon, and now takes down his gun and salliea forth into the woods behind the house. For the last three weeks he has done so, and has returned, day after day with the same charge in his gun; for it is summer, and the water-fowl are away north, and everything else hag vanished, no one knows where—away south, probably I He empties his piece into the blue sky, however, and calls for dinner. Several large cuts of boiled salmon are brought and set before him. "No hardship this," you will say. Perhaps not; but it certainly approximates to discomfort, when fried salmon appears at tea, and kippered salmon graces the table next morning at breakfast, and so on un- ceasingly for weeks together, till at last he loaths salmon, kippered, fried, roasted, or boiled, with a frenzied intensity that can scarcely be understood by those who purchase the delicacy in a British market at two shillings per pound! This is no ideal case, got up to show how a good thing might be detested when one had too much of it. It is a well-authenticated instance in which salmon once was actually superabundant, and was heartily abhorred. The relish with which Dr. Rae and his party ate their supper was not, however, blunted on the present occasion, by having too much of it; nor was the doctor's apprecia- tion of rest at all lowered by the uncomfortable condition m which he found his couch upon retiring to it after the evening meal. " When about to go to bcu," says he, " I found my blankets quite wet by the seas that washed over me in the morning. This, however, made them lis; 374 FEATURES OF THE COABT. rJot.T Ll»4tf. keep out the wiud better, and did not certainly affect my restl" The island and its neighbourhood, ihey found, waa a favourite resort of the natives. The following day was more moderate, but not sufficiently so to permit of their venturing out of harbour. On the 9th, however, the wind shifted, and they were enabled to lie their course. The sea was studded with numerous islets, the resort of immense flocks of birds, which the travellers used as food (although not very palatable) to save their pemmican. A few of the birds called guillimots were also observed here. The weather was very variable, with calms and light breezes alternating. Nevertheless they made good way, taking advantage of every favouring puff to spread their sails and court the winds, and continuing steadily at the oars, often by night as well as by day. The shores had become steep and rugged; the whole coast being lined with bare primi- tive rocks, and the sea dotted occasionally with rocky islands, from among which were obtained constant and large supplies of eggs and water-fowl. Several deer were also shot by the men, so that their larder was usually over- flowing with the fat of the land. On the 13th Chesterfield Inlet was passed. Here they were visited by a solitary Esquimaux, one of a band which resorts to this place for the purpose of spearing deer whilst swimming across the inlet in autumn. A number of walruses were seen here. ' ' They were grunting and bellow- ing," says Rae, " making a noise which I fancy would much resemble a concert of old boars and buffaloes." During a two days' detention at an inlet into which they had run for shelter, Dr. Rae and one of his men traced eight miles of the course of a considerable river which flows into the bay. At its mouth upwards of thirty seals were observed basking in the sun, among whom a ball was sent, which JlXTT 184ti.J ARRIVE AT REPULSE BAY. 875 bad the effect of sending them walloping into t!i. .vuter in ludicrous haste. During their walk a hen partridge and her brood were found. This bird afforded them an inter- esting instance of the strong power of love in overcoming natural timidity and weakness when it exists strongly in the breasts even of the lower animals. " I have :.een " says Rae, " many birds attempt to defend their young, but never witnessed one so devotedly brave as this mother: she ran about us, over and between our feet, striking at our hands when we attempted to take hold of her young, so that she herself was easily made prisoner. Although kept in the hand some time, when let loose again she con- tinned her attacks with unabated courage and perseverance, and was soon left mistress of the field, with her family safe around her." The rest of their voyage along the coast was unmarked by any incident of peculiar interest. Light winds and sunshine succeeded to stiff breezes and clouds; and they experienced the usual vicissitudes attendant upon arctic travelling, in the shape of ice, fogs, rain, and snow. To- wards the end of July they drew near the scene of future operations; and, on the 25th of that month, landed at the head of Repulse Bay. Here thay met a party of Esqui- maux, who, as usual, received their pacific advances with some distrust. Under the influence of Ooligbuck's per- suasive tongue, however, they soon threw aside their fears, and became communicative, informing their interrogators that the bay (called Akkoolee) of which they were in search was not much more than forty miles distant from the spot where they stood, in a N.N.W. direction, and that about thirty-five miles of this distance was a chain of deep lakes. This decided Dr. Rae in his resolution to penetrate to tno sea in his boats, in preference to a method, which he had once contemplated, of going round and de- n 376 PLEASING APPEARANCE OP THE NATIVES. rJULT 11846. scending into the bay by the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. Accordingly, the boats were hauled up on the beach, and a reconnoitring party went off to examine a small stream which falls into Repulse Bay not far from the spot on which they landed. The Esquimaux were good-looking fellows, of low sta- ture, and much more cleanly than those of Hudson's Straits. One of the men had a formidable beard and whiskers, and another, a youth with ruddy cheeks and sparkling black eyes, which beamed with fun and good-humour, was dressed somewhat fancifully even for an Esquimaux, and seemed to entertain a high opinion of his personal appearance. Having ascertained that the little river rose in a lake about five miles from its mouth, they commenced, on the following day, to drag the North Pole up the stream, having first secured the cargoes, and placed them, with the Magnet, in a place of security, with a guard to protect them from the natives, who assembled to the number of twenty- six to welcome their visiters. From these people was ob- tained a seasonal le supply of seal- skin boots, which, being perfectly waterproof, are well adapted for travelling over wet ground. These boots are made of undressed seal-skin, the sole being made of walrus hide. They are so hard, that it is impossible to get them on until after being thoroughly soaked, outside and in, with water, in which state they are pliable, and after being rubbed dry with a cloth, are ready for use. If parts of them have not been sufficiently softened during the soaking, the natives hasten the process by chewing the refractory portions between their teeth. " When about to put on a pair of Esquimaux boots," says Rae, " one of our female visiters, noticing that the leather of the foot was rather hard^ took them out of my hands, and began chewing them with her strong teeth!" The work of discovery now commenced. No white JUIYI 1846. J FIRST STEPS ON UNKNOWN GROUND. 377 man had ever penetrated into the interior of the land on whose shores they now stood. All beyond the shores of Repulse Bay was an unknown wilderness, except in so far as it had been described to them by the natives; and it was with renewed energy and freshened hope that they began the difficult ascent of the little river before mentioned. The bed of this stream was extremely rocky and broken* obliging the men to be constantly up to their waists in the ice-cold water; and, despite their utmost endeavours to prevent it, the boat got severely rubbed and bruised— not, however, so as to damage her materially. They soon passed the river, and entered upon a lake whence it flows, where they encountered a gale of wind. This did not arrest,' although it impeded their progress, and, in a few hours, they came to the end of the lake, which, with the river that flowed out of it, was named after the boat. A narrow channel conducted them into another lake towards evening, on whose treeless shores they encamped for the night. No wood of any kind was to be found; but they were so for- tunate as to discover a kind of plant which, although it did not make the cheerful, bright, crackling blaze which affords so^ much comfort and enjoyment to the voyageur in the thick- wood lands, still served the purpose of cooking their supper and warming their fingers. Next morning (the 28th) they started at six, and con- tinued their journey. The banks of the lake were low and without rocks, being covered with short grass in many places. At ten o'clock they arrived at a neck of land about half a mile broad, which separates this lake from another; and while part of the crew were occupied in carrying the goods over it, some were busily engaged in preparing breakfast. Here they were in some doubt as to what course ought to be pursued, having got confused in the intricacies of the lalce. After some difficulty in conveying the boat over 378 DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED rJm.T Ll846. one or two of the portages, which being covered with granite stones, the boat's keel stuck to them like glue, they reached a point whence was obtained a view of the Arctic Sea, bearing north, at a distance, apparently, of about twelve miles. Not a pool of open water, however, was to be seen upon its broad expanse, the whole of which was covered to the horizon with immense fields of ice. Crossing two more portages and another small lake, they entered upon a body of fresh water of nearly six and a half miles in length, and not more than half a mile broad. Its banks were steep and rugged, being in many places upwards of three hundred feet high. At the end of this lake they found a portage, the most difficult to surmount that had yet obstructed their passage. A short passage from Dr. Rae's interesting work will give some idea of the difficulties encountered at this place, which was little worse after all than the rest of the route. " The following morning was cloudy, with a cold, north breeze, which was not at all unfavourable for the work we had to do. We went to work at an early hour, but our advance was very slow, as the portage fully realized the bad opinion that we had formed of it. Hitherto, by laying the anchor out some distance ahead, and having a block attached to the bow of the boat by a strop, or what sailors call a swifter passing round her, we could form a purchase sufficiently strong to move her with facility; but here our utmost exertions were re- quired, and the tracking line was frequently broken. A piece of iron, an eighth of an inch thick, which lined the keel from stem to stern, was actually drawn out and doubled up, so that it ^^ as necessary to remove the whole. At half- past ten, when half way across, we breakfasted, after which we met with a bank of snow, over which we went at a great ruio. i-n ^-^A V.t^nAA.-t-nAa A liTi/Minrli jlponlafA ATirkTicrh- as far as man was concerned, there was no lack of animal Auo.T 18 16. J DEER SHOT ON THE ICE. 381 life to enliven the I scene. Wolves serenaded them by night ; marmots chattered at them by day, standing up on their hind-legs, as the exploring party passed, to gaze (it is presumed) in wonderment at the unwonted sight. Foot- prints of musk cattle and deer were observed in the sand, while the air thrilled with the wild music of hundreds of golden plovers and sand-pipers. One morning a young buck was observed on a piece of ice half a mile to seaward. It had been forced to take to the water to escape the wolves, one or two of which were seen skulking along shore, await- ing the poor animal's return. The boat instantly started in pursuit, as the state of their larder did not allow them to be merciful ; and after a long chase, the poor deer was shot whilst swimming from one floe to another. The weather was very unsettled. Fogs continued to retard them con- stantly, while they tracked and poled amongst the masses of ice which beset them on every side. It also rained continually; so that, besides being wet all day, their fuel was so saturated as to render it impossible to make a fire, obliging them to sleep in wet clothes and wet beds night after night. " Fortunately," says Rae, with characteristic coolness, " the weather was mild, so that we did not feel much inconvenience from this I" Besides being surrounded by ice, they were constantly exposed to the danger of being overwhelmed by the ponderous masses under which they were compelled frequently to pass. Some of these masses were twenty feet up in the air, and they were crashing into the sea all round them, without a moment's warning to give indication of the approaching catastrophe ! What a position ! How utterly futile the power or pre- caution of man in such a case. How eminently conspicuous the protecting goodness of God. I inciing iiiaii laere v^'as no poosibiiity of tracing the western shore in the direction of Dease and Simpson's 382 FARTHER PROGRESS ARRESTED. rAua Ll846. farthest, owing to the ice, Dr. Rae resolved, on the 5th, to retrace his route, and endeavour to proceed along the eastern shore towards the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. In this attempt, however, he failed, in consequence of the ice blockading that coast as thickly as it did the other. A gale which blew on the 7th failed to clear it away; and from this circumstance he felt convinced that Akkoolee Bay must be completely blocked up. On the 8th the flood-tide carried the ice down upon them BO as to render their position unsafe ; and as it was impos- sible to advance, the boat's head was unwillingly turned towards the point whence they had set out; at which place Dr. Rae resolved to await some favourable change in the state of the ice, and ascertain how things were going on at Repulse Bay. On arriving opposite the tents of their Esquimaux friends, they beheld them running down to the beach, led on by the old lady whose volubility of utterance has been already noticed. On the present occasion she seemed to have added an additional spring to her tongue, which went like the clapper of a mill; and, for riotous noisiness, threw all the others entirely into the shade, as she rushed towards the party with loud shouts of joy at their return. The ox hunters had returned, and brought information that the deer had commenced migrating to the southward, which determined the doctor to walk over to Repulse Bay, to see what his men were doing towards procuring a supply of venison for the winter. Leaving three men and Ooligbuck's son in charge of the boat, he set out on his journey with the remainder, intending to cross the isthmus in a S.S.E. direction; " but it was impossible," says he, " to keep this course for any great distances as we were forced to make lono* circuits to avoid precipices and arms of the lake. After a most .1846. Arc. I 1846J JOURNEY ON FOOT OVER THE ISTHMUS. 383 fatiguing day's march over hill and dale, through swamp and stream, we halted at half-past 6 p.m., close to the second portage crossed on our outward route. To gain a distance of twenty miles, we had travelled not less than thirty. Our supper was soon finished, as it was neither luxurious, nor required much cooking, consisting of our staple commodities, pemmican, cold, with water. The morning (of the 10th) was raw and cold, with ;^ome hoar frost, and there not being a blanket among the party, and only two coats, our sleep was neither long, sound, nor re- freshing. In fact, I had carried no coat with me except a thin Mackintosh, which being damp from the rain of yesterday, had become an excellent conductor of caloric, and added to the chilly feeling instead of keeping it off. There is one advantage in an uncomfortable bed, it induces early rising; and it proved so on the present occasion, for we had finished breakfast and resumed our journey by half-past 2 a.m. The travelling was as difficult as that of yesterday, but we had the advantage of a cool morning, and got on more easily. At seven o'clock we arrived at the nan-ows which separate Christie and North Pole Lakes, where we found the greater number of the Esquimaux we had seen, encamped, waiting for the deer crossing over."* At two o'clock in the afternoon they arrived at Eepulse Bay, with enviable appetites, but rather foot-sore, having completely worn through their socks and shoes on the journey. Here the men were found to be living from hand to mouth, having only enough of salmon and deer to prevent them from starving. As the lives of the Avhole party depended on their success in fishing and shooting, Dr. Eae, after mature consideration, resolved to give up the idea of * Eae's Narrative, pp. 59, CO. 384 PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. PAuo L1846. prosecuti g the survey that autumn — a resolution which was strengthened by the fact, that the immense quantities of ice in the bay, and the prevalence of northerly winds, rendered it more than probable that the objects of the expedition could not have been completed during that year; and as they should have no means of subsistence on re- turning to Repulse Bay, it would have been necessary to pass the winter at Churchill. Having once formed his plans, the doctor lost no time in putting them into execution. A house had to be built, provision stores and observatories erected, fisheries estab- lished, hunting parties sent out, fuel collected, and all the multifarious preparations for a winter campaign in the regions of ice, fog, snow, and desolation, attended to. Accordingly, a party of the men were immediately de- spatched to bring over the boat, and place her in a place of safety, while Dr. Rae, shouldering his gun, sallied forth to look for an eligible site whereon to erect his dwelling. After a lengthened search, no better place could be found than a deep valley, about a hundred and fifty yards to the eastward of North Pole River, and not far from the spot where they had originally landed. Besides being the best locality as regarded shelter, there was the additional advantage of several large bays close at hand, which were likely to produce fish. During his survey. Dr. Rae fell in with a covey of ptarmigan, out of which he bagged eighteen brace in a couple of hours, an earnest of the plentiful supply of food which they afterwards obtained. At this time it became a matter of serious consideration what was to be done for fuel. There was not a single tree in the whole land; and even willows were scarce and small-sized. Of these, however, they set vigorously to work to collect as many as possible, and it was hoped that, by dint of economy and a supply of oil from the Sept."! 184C. J FORT HOPE. 385 natives, they should b able to keep the fire goiu^ all winter. ^ '=> On the 2(1 September the house was finished. The walls, formed of mud and clay, were fully two feet thick- three small openings were left, into which a like number of windows were fixed, having two panes of glass each. Ihe door was made of parchment deer-skins, stretched over a w-ooden ft-ame. The roof was in keeping ;vith the other par s of this palace, being constnicted of the oars and masts of the boats with a moose-skin and oiled-cloth covering Ihe entire edifice measured, internally, twenty feet long by fourteen wide; height in front, seven and a half feet, sloping to five and a half at the back. One end of this space was partitioned off with a screen of moose-skins; and besides forming the library, parlour, and bed-room of Dr Kae, also served as a store-room for the pemmican which was to be the travelling provision of the party on the following spring, or their last hope in case of starvation. A meat store was built close to the dwelling-house, and afterwards, when the snow became sufficiently consolidated to form slabs, two observatories were built with a pillar of ice m each-one for the dip circle, the other for a hori- zontally suspended needle on which to try the effect of the Aurora. The establishment, when completed, was called lort Hope, and truly a more hopeful band of men have seldom tenanted a house or dwelt in a land less hopeful in appearance than was the little fort of Dr. Rae and his vo7/yeurs on the well-named shores of Repulse Bay. The whole time and energies of the party were now devoted to providing themselves with the means of sus- taining life and caloric; and in accomplishing this, they found themselves full occupation. The following is a description of their procedure :— " The routine of our day's work," says Rae, <' was as fol- 2 B 386 DAILY ROUTINE OP THE FORT. TSfpt. L 184a lows: In the morning wc were up before daylight; the men got orders for the several duties they had to perform, which were principally carried on out of doors, and at which they set to work immediately after rolling up their bedding and taking breakfast. This meal usually consisted of boiled venison, the water with which it was cooked being con- verted into a very excellent soup by the addition of some deers' blood, and a handful or two of flour. Our dinner, or rather supper, consisted of the same materials as our breakfast, and was taken about four or five o'clock; after that, my time was employed in writing my journal, or making calculations, whilst the men were busy improving themselves in reading, arithmetic, &c., in which I assisted them as much as my time would permit. Divine service was read every Sunday when practicable." Towards the end of September, the pools of water were frozen over, and a considerable portion of the bay set fast, its smooth surface being broken here and there by the thick heads of the seals, who did not seem to relish the idea of being debarred from an occasional visit to the atmospheric world, and took this method of keeping air- holes open during the winter. The deer also became numerous at this time, and often tempted the doctor, who pleads guilty to the charge of being much addicted to field-sports, to exchange the sextant for the rifle, an ex- change which was certainly advantageous to the larder, for he tells us that, out of ten deer shot one day, seven were killed by himself within a few miles of the house. The sporting-book for September showed that they had been diligent and successful: 63 deer, 5 hares, 1 seal, 172 partridges, and 116 salmon and trout, having been brought in. About the beginning of October the cold became suffi- ciently intense to penetrate within doors; but this, strange Orr. -] J 846. J ADVENTURE WITH A DEER. 387 damp. The froat, however, effectually removed tL una the s„eceed,„g spring tha.ed them down again. ' On the 19th the doetor very narrowly cseaped an „n ZherV lt™L SlhaTht;- '^^"' '" ""''"" "^ f I- 1, , ^ '^ *^^* ^^^ been wounded and nnf settled the b«,,„e«s (for he had fallen), I went carelessly >P to h,m without reloading my rifle, and when witht a and thought I wa. ^ ^i^ tTS'^X tolt w^rhi„T2tr:!^rfr"^^-^^ rhetiLe^tt,, r ' 'r^'^'-^*'^'"- l™gh!ng heartily all the t.me at the strange figure we must have cut. Taking ho deer by the horns could have been of no use, J^I W hT T 'r"""""' ''™'- ^-^ -rJtches^" NotwUhstandmg the strenuous exertions that had been made, .t was found, towards the middle of NovemW tt they could not afford fuel to dry their clothes; war! „rf d;izf irrr ^' '- '"'''' »^ -»f°" *^- ary clothmg They therefore adopted the plan of taking «,epar^^i,ri^;;-:^;:^^ t» freeze the moisture which collected in the house^^ n! S; rsf tr' " .\""''^ ""'" "" '"^ "'^-^A wh" h M'cre lound sparkling' wiVTi z,^„« /%_.. _, i ., '. ^ rp^f of r.- 1 ; -."'', *^''''" ^^'"^^ ^^^*^y retired to rest at night; and these blankets were not entirely free i !i 388 INTENSITY OF THE FROST. t Nov., DK.a 1840. from ice till the first of March, when the sun first became powerful enough to dry them I Dr. Ilae tells u. that his waistcoat became so stitf at last, owing to the constant deposit of moisture from his breath, which was frozen as soon as deposited, that he could scarcely manage to button it; and, a3 the fuel became more scarce, the heat raised m Fort Hope was never sufficient to thaw this said garment On the 1st of February, however, the waistcoat experienced a temporary disenchantment from its sad condition on the occasion of its wearer paying a visit to the snow habitation of an Esquimaux, which edifice was so warm that th.i waist- coat actually thawed 1 As time wore on, things grew more and more desperate; and one cannot help snnlmg at the cool way in which Dr. Rae speaks of his di^comfor s The room in which they lived was so constantly filled with tobacco smoke, that it was not quite certain whether it or atmospheric air predominated. " Of course, says the doctor (who was no smoker), " I might to a great extent have put a stop to this, but the poor fellows appeared to receive so much comfort from the use of the pipe that it would have been cruelty to do so for the sake of saving myself a trifling inconvenience." In speaking of the cold, he s ys " Of oil our stock was so small tha^ we had been forced to keep early and late hours, namely, lying occa- sionally fourteen hours in bed, as we found that to sit up in a house in which the temperature was some degrees bdow zero, without either light or fire, was not very pleasant . Nevertheless, the whole party seemed actually to enjoy themselves under these circumstances; and one poor fellow who had his knee frozen while in bed, only got laughed at for his effeminacy, instead of being commiserated, when he made known the fact ! , .„ , -r,. _„., « -T tQAT -NTorth T'^^lf T^iver was On the i^8th oi juuuaij xui., --»i^" frozen to the bottom, so that it became necessary to to Jan. 1 1847.J RLNCONTRE WITH THE WOLVES. 889 ft hike about half a mile from the house for water. Dur- ing the constant gales which swept the snow-drift in thick volumes round their little dwelling, the boat became com- pletely drifted over, so that not a trace of her was to be seen. She was found at last; and after the greater part of the men had been employed for fourteen days in clearing her of snow, she was at length extricated from a hole more than twelve feet deep. Wolves were exceedingly numerous during the whole wintei. One morning Ooligbuck shot one, not more than ten yards from the door of the house, and six or eight more were seen not far off. When pressed by hunger, these fierce but cowardly brutes, if strong in numbers, will some- times attack a man. Early one morning, before day-light. Dr. Rae met a pack. " I observed," says he, " a band of animals coming over a rising ground at a quick pace directly towards me. I at first supposed them to be deer, but on a nearer approach they proved to be wolves, seventeen in number. They continued to advance at fnll speed until within forty yards, when they formed , sort of half circle to leeward. Hoping to send a ball through one, I knelt down and took what I thought a sure aim at a large fallow that was nearest; unfortunately it was not broad day-light, and the rascals all kept end on to me, so that the ball merely cut off a line of hair and a piece of skin from his side. They apparently did not expect to meet with such a reception, for, after looking at me a second or two, they trotted off, no doubt as much disappointed at not making a breakfast of me, as I was at missing ray aim. Had they come to close quarters, which they sometimes do when hard pressed for food, I had a large and strong knife which would have proved a very efficient wearson." The winter passed slowly away; and, towards the month of March, the weather became somewhat milder, and the iiiiii i m 390 RENEW THE SURVEY ON FOOT. r April L l»i7. deer began to migrate northward again. Still there were many weeks to pass away before the massive cakes of ice, which bound river, lake, and sea, would yield to the power of spring and set the waters free. Dr. Rae had deter- mined to prosecute part of his discoveries on the ice, and accordingly about this time he began to make preparations for setting out. Two sledges were constructed of the bat- tens which lined the inside of the boat, three of which were nailed together to form runners of sufficient thickness. It had been intended to start on the 1st of April, but this was prevented by an accident which happened to Ooligbuck. He had been out hunting one day, and happened acciden- tally to stumble. In falling, a large dagger, which he usually carried, ran comoletely through his arm, and caused such a flow of blood that he had scarcely strength left to return to the fort. A little care, however, soon restored him; and preparations were made for setting out finally on the 5th of April. The men who went on this winter expedition were, Dr. Rae, George Flett, John Corrigal, William Adamson, Ooligbuck's son, and Ivitchuk, an Esquimaux. The pro- visions, &c., were drawn on two sledges, to each of which four dogs were harness,ed. Their provision for the journey consisted of three bags of pemmican, seventy rein-deer tongues, haK a hundredweight of flour, some tea, choco- late, and sugar, besides a little alcohol and oil for fuel. Each man had a blanket and a supply of moccasins and socks. Thus equipped, they started from Fort Hope early in the morning, in the midst of a gale of wind, with clouds of drifting snow. Towards breakfast-time, however, the weather smiled propitiously on them. The^ clouds dis^- persed, leaving the deep blue of the wintry sky to spread a gladdening influence over the scene and over the spirits of the arctic travellers. Five suns shone forlh with dazzling suns. At»rili 1847. J CURIOUS DWELLINGS. 891 brilliancy I four of which, however, were parhelia, or mock buiis, and they rivalled in brightness the orb of day him- self. The track followed was that formerly pursued in the boat ; their intention being to cross the isthmus that separates Akkoolee from Repulse Bay, and coast along the former on the ice until they reached Lord Mayor's Bay, which was the most southerly part of Boothia Felix discovered bv Sir John Ross. During the day's march, numerous bands of deer crossed their path, which served greatly to enliven the scene, and proved a capital stimulus to the dogs, which, from the bad state of the roads, were frequently inclined to lag. To- wards seven o'clock in the evening the whole party began to feel inclined for rest, and finally called a halt on the eastern shore of Christie Lake, where they prepared to pass the night. In this world of wonders, we become so much accus- tomed to hear of and to behold astounding facts, that they cease very much to make any impression upon us. Never- theless, we do think that it is somewhat calculated to make an impression on the most obtuse minds, to be told that Dr. Rae and his men built a house every evening during their journey, and forsook it, without the smallest feeling of regret, evert/ morning I But let the doct>^r speak for himself. " Our usual mode," says he, " of preparing lodgings for the night was as follows : — As soon as we had selected a spot for our snow-house, our Esquimaux, assisted by one or more of the men, commenced cutting out blocks of snow. When a sufficient number of these had been raised, the builder commenced his work, his assistants supplying him with the material. A good roomv dwelling was thus raised in an hour, if the snow was in a good state for building. Whilst our principal mason was thus occupied, another of the party was busy 4iJ 392 SNOW HUTS — ESQUIMAUX. rApRTi L 1847. erecting a kitchen, which, although our cooking was none of the most delicate or extensive, was still a necessary- addition to our establishment, had it been only to thaw snow. As soon as the snow-hut was completed, our sledges were unloaded, and everj^thing eatable (including parch- ment-skin and moose- skin shoes, Avhich had now become favourite articles with the dogs) taken inside. Our bed was next made, and by the time the snow was thawed or the water boiled, as the case might be, we were all ready for supper. When we used alcohol for fuel (which we usually did in stormy weather), no kitchen was required." They sat rent-free, however, which no doubt reconciled them in some degree to their cold dwelling, which, besides being unheated by ought save the animal caloric of the inmates, was but dimly illuminated by a small window of clear ice placed in the roof. These truly primitive edifices were usually erected in a couple of hours, and are spoken of as being "very snug!" Be this as it may, the whole party spent the night in one ot these snow-huts, and on the following morning emerged, like bees out of a huge white hive, to resume their toilsome journey. A little before noon they arrived at a snow-hut inhabited by two Esquimaux, one of whom, Kei-ik-too-oo, agreed to accompany them for a short way with his sledge, to help them over the isthmus. Some of the party were slightly affected with snow-blindness, a disease very common in arctic regions, especially in spring, when the intense brilliancy of the sun causes such a glare upon the white snow as to produce severe inflammation of the eyes. The Indians do not take any precautions to prevent snow-blind- ness, although they suffer very much from it; but the Esquimaux, who are every way more ingenious than their red neighbours, make wooden blinds or spectacles, which very effectually prevents this unpleasant malady. On the 7th Apeil") 1.S47. J ROUGHNESS OF THE ROUTE. 393 they reached the sea. The weather was dark and gloomy, though somewhat milder, the thermometer standing five degrees above zero. The coast was found to be so rough with broken ice, that the men and dogs had great difficulty in dragging the sledges over it; and a stiff breeze, which dashed the snow-drift continually in their faces, prevented them from picking their way along the smoothest parts. One of the dogs also became so much exhausted as to be quite useless; so it was unharnessed, and allowed to walk behind. Even this it was not able to do long, and at last it lay down. Rather than leave it to the mercy of the wolves, they shot it. At a small river, near which they encamped on the 9th, a number of loose stones were found, which enabled them io ^rm a ''cache" of provisions for the homeward journ* , The coast varied much in appearance, being in some places low and flat, at other parts more elevated and broken. Several hills were also observed a few miles inland, one of which appeared to be fully five hundred feet high. The latitude was observed here, 67° 53' 24" and the coast turned off to the westward, forming a pointj which was named Cape Weynton. Thus they proceeded, sometimes making rapid progress, when the ice on the sea was smooth and the weather calm ; at other times struggling slowly against biting winds and driving snow, or stumbling over the broken ice along the shore. Dr. Rae frequently fell behind the party to take the beari:igs and observations, on which occasions he had considerable, difficulty sometimes in preventing his face and fingers from freezing. The scarcity of fuel annoyed them^ not a little. Their alcohol and oil ran so low at last, that it could not be used to cook the pemmican: and for the purpose of economising it still further, they gave up using it to melt snow for water, and obtained this indis- 394 NEW METHOD OP OBTAINING WATER. rApi;!!, L 1847. pensable fluid by filling two small kettles and a bladder with snow, which they took to bed with them I Strange bed-fellows, and somewhat unpleasant too, for on one occa- sion the fastening of t}?e bladder came off, and the natural consequences followed. Severe -work had now given the dogs such strong appetites, that they became perfectly ravenous, and although they received a fair allowance of provisions, devoured e\'erything that came in their way — shoes, leather mitts, and even a worsted belt, was eaten, much to the chagrin of the owners, and the merriment of the others. The party usually supped on pemmican and cold water, as they could only afford one hot meal in the day, and preferred taking it in the morning. On the 12th, being informed by the Esquimaux that, by crossing over the land in a north-west direction, to a large bay which he had formerly visited, the way would be shortened considerably, it was resolved to do so; and accordingly, leaving the coast at latitude 68° 18 N., lon- gitude 88° 26' W., they struck across the land. Here the walking was found to be much more laborious, and the snow too soft to support the sledges, so that they were obliged to encamp an hour after noon on the borders of a small lake, as the dogs were quite knocked up. During the day they passed a small river, which was frozen to the bottom; but the ice on the lake was found to be only four feet eight inches thick, so that they cut through it, and enjoyed, for once, the luxury of drinking fresh water ad libitum. Ivitchuk drank with an intensity of zest that was of itself quite refreshing to behold. This part of the country was miserably barren. No signs of deer or musk- oxen were seen, the tracks of a few foxes alone indicating that the desolate spot was inhabited. For several days after this, the weather became ex- tremely stormy, and on the 14th it blew a complete storm April"] 1«47. J STORMY WEATHER. 395 all night ; nevertheless, Dr. Rae assures us that they were as comfortable in their snow-hive as if they had been lodged in the best house in England. Next day they reached the sea again, on the shores of a large bay upwards of twenty-three miles broad, which was named Pelly Bay, and encamped under the lee of a group of islands six miles from the shore. On the 16th the gale increased, with snow-drift from the north-west, so that it was impossible to advance. This did not much matter, however, as the doctor had intended to rest a day here to recruit the men and dogs, and at the same time to send out in search of the Esquimaux, whose tracks had been discovered in the neighbourhood, and from whom he hoped to procure some seals' flesh and blubber; the first for food, and the latter for fuel. In this they were not successful, the drift being so thick that the men who were sent out could not see any distance. In the meantime Corrigal and Adamson had been collecting fuel, and Dr. Rae obtained an observation for latitude, which gave 68« 53' 44", from which he con- cluded that Sir John Ross's most southerly discoveries could not be distant more than two days' journey. It was now resolved that part of the men should be left here, while Dr. Rae should proceed the remainder of the way in company with two of the men. Flett and Corrigal were chosen for this service, being the strongest of the party, and the remainder were instructed to kill seals if they could; to trade with the natives, if they saw any; and, above all, to moderate their appetites to the lowest possible ebb, whether they could or not. Having made these arrangements, Dr. Rae and his men set off, and travelled briskly over the snow. Being lightly laden, they made good progress. A brisk walk of seventeen miles brought them, an hour before noon of the 17th, to the shore, near a high point formed of dark I I 396 REACHES LORD MAYOR* S BAY. rAPHTL L 1847. gray granite, which was named Cape Berens; and at 3 p.m. they came to two narrow points in a small bay, which were called the Twins, and between which they built their snow-hut for the night. The morning of the 18th was fine, but hazy, with a light wind from the N.W., the thermometer 3° below zero, and the walking good, so that they soon traversed twelve miles of country, when they reached what proved to be the head of a deep inlet, whose western shores they had been tracing. It was named Halkett's Inlet. Two rein-deer were seen here. As there could be no doubt that they were now in the vicinity of Lord Mayor's Bay, they im- mediately struck across the land instead of following the coast. The walking proved to be very tiresome, however ; and after floundering three miles through the deep snow, Dr. Rae ordered his men to halt and prepare their night's lodgings, while he proceeded on alone to search for the coast. A walk of twenty minutes brought him to an inlet, not more than quarter of a mile wide, which he traced upwards of a league, when his course was again obstructed by land. There were some high rocks near at hand which he ascended, and from their summits thought he could discern roug-h ice in the desired direction. With renewed hopes, he slid down a declivity, plunged among snow, scrambled over rocks and through rough ice, until he gained a rising ground close to the sea-shore, from whose summit he beheld Lord Mayor's Bay stretching out before him far as the eye could reach, clothed with ice and studded with innumerable islands. These were the islands named the sons of the cUrgij of the Church of Scotland by Sir John Ross, to whose discoveries Dr. Kae had now joined his own ; thus completing a link which had long been wanting in the chain of arctic geography, and going far to settle the APniL-| 1847. J TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LAND AND RETURN. 897 disputed point as to whether Boothia Felix is an island or a peninsula. There is still, however, a doubt hanging over this question. In his journey northward, Dr. Rae tells U3 that he was on the eve of making a survey of l^elly Bay when he was informed by one of the natives that a com- plete view of its shores could be obtained from the island on which they were encamped. He accordingly ascended to the highest point, the evening being beautifully clear, and " obtained a distinct view of the whole bay, except a small portion immediately under the sun." Dr. Rae does not appear to have entertained a doubt of this being a more distant part of the coast line ; yet it is possible that this jortion of the supposed bay may be a narrow strait, which perhaps communicates with the large bay seen by Messrs. Dease and Simpson from their farthest point of discovery, and from which it cannot be distant more than a hundred miles. Having taken possession of his discoveries, Dr. Rae and his men returned to the companions they had left behind, whom they found in a fat and flourishing condition. They had taken advantage of the doctor's absence to supply themselves more largely from the pemmican bags than was at all necessary or expedient. Fortunately, however, a quantity of seals' flesh, blood, and blubber, was obtained from a party of Esquimaux whom they encountered during their march; and being thus reinforced, it was resolved to trace the shores of the peninsula across which they had formerly cut in their anxiety to reach Lord Mayor's Bay. This object was successfidly accomplished after a severe walk, when they experienced the usual alternations from heat to cold, and storm to calm, in which the weather in these hyperborean climes seems to take such peculiar dc > light. The increasing power of the sun, too, rendered walking so difficult and painful during the day that they : 398 EETUnN TO FORT HOPE. TMat 11847. May -I 184 7. J were fain to reverse the ordinary course of things, and travel during the night, devoting the day to rest. It was now approaching the end of April; and as it was desirable, if possible, to survey the shores of the Akkoolee (named by Dr. Rae Committee) Bay, before the breaking up of the ice, no time was lost in retracing their route to the fort at Repulse Bay. All the caches of provisions which had been made during the outward journey were found quite safe, and thus afforded them a plentiful supply of food. On the morning of the 5th of May they reached some Esquimaux dwellings on the shores of Christ' -j's Lake, about fifteen miles from Fort Hope. " At 2 p.m. on the same day," says Rae, " we were again on the march, and arrived at our home at half-past 8 p.m., all well, but so black and scarred on the face from the combined effects of oil, smoke, and frost bites, that our friends would not believe but that some serious accident from the explosion of gunpowder had happened to us. Thus successfully terminated a journey little short of six hundred English miles, the longest, I believe, ever made on foot along the arctic coast.'' During the absence of the exploring party, things had gone on prosperously at winter quarters. Provisions, although not superabundant, had been procured in sufficient quantities to prevent the necessity of breaking upon the pemmican, which they were so anxious to preserve for travelling fare. Once, indeed, after consuming all they had in store, and scouring the neighbourhood finiitlessly in search of game, they were obliged to have a dinner of tongues; but soon afterwards the deer became more numer- ous, the hunters more successful ; and, during the remain- der of their stay at Fort Hope, they never wanted fresh provisions. At the time of Dr. Rae's return with the ex- ploring party, the meat store was well filled. This was a May 1847 •J PREPARATIONS FOR ANOTHER JOURNEY. 399 happy circumstance, as they arrived as ravenous as wolves. The short but hearty congratulations over, they made a vigorous assault on the venison, and ate, according to their own confession, a great deal more than would have been good for them had the food been other than venison j as it was, however, they gormandized with impunity. Several families of Esquimaux had taken up their resi- dence about a quarter of a mile from the fort. Here they erected a city of snow, and occupied themselves in paying visits to the white men, when not engaged in killing seals or trapping deer. The way in which they approach seals IS somewhat amusing. The hunter lays himself flat on his face upon the ice, and, by a series of motions, resembling those of the unsuspecting animal that sits enjoying the winter sun beside its ice-hole, approaches it with such seal- like grace that the animal is actually deceived into the belief that a friend desires his company, and, with commend- able politeness, approaches to meet him. When near enough, the deceiver jumps to his feet, and the deceived bolts for his hole, but is generally intercepted and slain. The women are said to be particularly aufait at this work, and on such occasions arm themselves with a stout club with which to knock the seals on the nose. Deer were taken by the natives in pits dug in the snow, over which a thin cake of snow was spread; over this the deer walked, and were precipitated to the bottom of the hole. Wolves were also taken in this way. Having recruited themselves at Fort Hope for some days, preparations were now made for another journey along the western shore of Melville Peninsula as far as the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. On this occasion Dr. Rae was accom- panied by four of his men, who each carried a load of 70 lbs. weight, while the doctor himself carried his books, instruments, &c., which weighed altogether about 40 lbs! ! M' 400 FROM RAD TO WOKSE. tMat 11847 Some of the party wlio were to remain behind, accompanied them to the shores of the hay, which they reached on the 16th of May, and then, bidding adieu to their comrades, commenced their journey. Bud as the walking liadbcen in their former expedition, it was nothing to what they experienced now. As soon as they had rounded a cape, designated Cape Thomas Simpson, after the distinguished arctic traveller of that name, the land turned to the eastward, and the walking became shockingly disagreeable. The whole shore was indented with deep, narrow inlets, which were so packed with rough and jagged masses of ice, that it cost the travellers many a deep sigh and ludicrous scramble. " At one moment," writes the energetic leader of the band, " we sank nearly waist-deep in snow, at another we were up to our knees in salt water, and then again on a piece of ice so slippery, that, with our wet and frozen shoes, it was impossible to keep from falling. Sometimes we had to crawl out of a hole on all fours like some strange-looking quadrupeds; at other times falling backwards, we were so hampered by the weight of our loads, that it was impossible to rise with- out throwing them off, or being assisted by one of our companions. We therefore found it better to follow the shores of the inlets than to cross them, although by so doing we had double the distance to go over." At half-past three in the morning they encamped for the night! if we may be allowed the somewhat paradoxical expression. As usual, they constructed a snow-hut to sleep in, and another in which to cook their food. The walking became so bad, however, that they were ultimately obliged to curb their appetites, as, had they lived on full allowance, there would not have been enough food left for the return journey: and as comparatively few tracks of animals were seen, it was resolved on the 21st of May to content them- 1847. J DIt. KAE SHOOTS A DEER. 401 selves in future with one meal per day, and that not over- abundant. Truly we cannot but admire the resolution of these iron-built men. It is bad enough to walk through and over slush, snow, ice, gravel, and rocks, on one's head, knees, neck, and shoulders (for these parts, from continual falls, seem to have come in contact with the ice very nearly as much as did their feet), with a full allowance of good provisions; but to be under the necessity of doing this with empty stomachs, is so bad, that we can find no term by which to characterize itl To add to their discomforts, the weather, during the greater part of the journey, was stormy, and heavy showers of snow fell continually, which rendered the walking, if possible, stiU more difficult. Still, there were occasional gleams of sunshine, which enabl*^d the doctor to find his latitude and longitude, and cast a pleasant glow across their desolate track; creat- ing also a sympathetic gleam of sunshine in their hearts. Among other pleasant things, too, there was one which caused a sunny ray of hope to warm their empty stomachs, and cause their longing mouths to water: this was the shooting of a fine buck, which, fortunately for them, and unfortunately for itself, crossed their path early on the morning of the 22d. Their first shot only wounded him, and he led them so long a chase that they were on the point of giving it up in despair, when Dr. Rae raised his rifle, and although far out of ordinary range, succeeded in sending a ball through its head. This proved a seasonable supply, and served to strengthen them greatly. Fuel was very scarce during the whole journey, and they we' - fre- quently under the necessity of taking their old friends— the kettles of r now— to bed with them, in order to save as much as possible their small supply of alcohol. J he general iSatures oi the coast along which they travelled were rough and varied; being in some places 2c 402 PROVISIONS FAIL — OBLIGED TO RETURN. rMAT Ll847. quite level, and consiating of mud, shingle, and fragment* of limestone; in olher parts rining into bold rocky capes and headlands, and receding into deep bays and inlets, which were all more or less studded with rocky islands. As they advanced northwards, this became a more prominent feature in the landscape; the islands becoming so numerous at times, both m the bays and out to seaward, as to cause them some trouble in following the proper route. A few miles beyond Capo W. Mactavish, a large island of table- land V as seen without a single rock in situ upon it. It is in latitude 67° 42' 22" N., and longitude 86° 30' W.; \hc strait tha^, separated it from the mainland being not more than a mile and a half wide. It was named after his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A few miles north of this they came to a bay, on the north shore of which were two strangely- shaped rocks of granite, which had the appearance of an old ruin or portion of a fortress, of a square form, and each of about twenty-five feet high. On the 25th they reached a bay, to which was given the name of Garry, after one of the Hudson's Bay Company's directors. It was the most curiously- shaped and irregular in outline of any that had been seen, and was crowded with islands. Five miles inland was a range of hills varying from five to eight hv.udred feet high. The latitude here was 68° 59' 15" N., and longitude 84° 48' W. At this point the provisions began to fail, a circumstance all the more to be regretted that a day or two would have brought them to the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. On the 25th Dr. Rae had left two of his men behind, for the purpose of procuring some venison, while he and the other two advanced with a small stock of provisions. As this was now nearly finished, they could only advance half a nigiit farther ; ;so, leaving another of the men behind, the doctor pressed forward with the remaining one, and found JrWRT 1847. J CONCLUSION OF THE SURVEY. 403 himself, on tho morning of the 28tli of May, on the south shore of a large bay, from which he obtained a distinct view of the coast for about twelve miles. To the most distant visible point was given the name of Capo Ellice, after one of tho directors of the company. It lies in latitude 69° 42' N., longitude 85° 8' W. The bay was named after the celebrated Sir Edward Parry, and the headland on which they stood was called Cape Crozier. From Cape E]lice the Straits of the Fury and Hecla could not be dis- tant more than ten miles; but from want of provisions, it was impossible to proceed; so Dr. Rae and his man took formal possession of their discoverier, arid, once more, turned their faces homeward. Thus terminated the discoveries of lt^iC-4'7, ^hich have left but a few links of the chain incomplcL.. The few miles yet unsurveyed between Cape Ellice and the Straits of the Fury and Hecla, are scarcely worth speaking of as un- known ground; since, from the nature of the coast, and the immense extent of the neighbouring sea, there can be no doubt that they consist of a line of coast similar to that already traversed by Dr. Rae. The only portion of the North American coast that now remains to be surveyed is that which lies between Rae's farthest western, and Simp- son's farthest eastern discoveries, comprehending a space of about one hundred miles; which, though not great in extent, has occasioned more dispute perhaps than any other part of the coast ; as, within this terra incognita lies, either the isthmus which connects, or the strait which flows between, Boothia Felix and the mainland. During the homeward journey nothing of particular in- terest occurred. It was but a repetition of the same rough walking, snow-hut building, neck-or-nothing scrambling, and short commons, that had characterized their advance northward; with, now and then, an incident, chiefly of a 404 SEVERITY OF THE JOURNEY. [JUNB 1847. ludicrous kind, v/hich served to enliven the way. On one occasion their snow -house, owing to the increasing power of the sun, gave way, and proved its evanescent character by tumbling down about their ears; and a few days after- wards the same melancholy instance of decay took place while they were sitting at supper. Dr. Rae speaks of this journey as being the most fatiguing he had ever undergone. He had often walked on snow shoes, with a day's provisions, axe, and blanket, on his tack, forty, fifty, and on one occasion sixty-five miles; but this out-did all his former experience. This, doubtless, was as much owing to the want of food as anything else; for he speaks of his belt coming in six inches during the journey I The whole party, however, seem to have enjoyed wonderfully good spirits in the midst of these hardships, and the only time they were fairly floored, and induced to grumble at their fate, was when they ran short of tobacco, and had to retire to rest after the day's toil without the comfort of a soothing pipe. On the 9th of June the travellers once more arrived at Fort Hope. Here everything was found in a prosperous condition. The stores were loaded with venison, the house, though somewhat damaged in consequence of the immense weight of snow which had accumulated on its roof in spite of all efforts made to prevent it, was still in good repair; and the weather began to give indubitable indications of the speedy departure of aged winic ', and the hilarious advent of youthful spring. In narrating the progress of events in these regions of our world, we feel that it is necessary occasionally to check the imaginations of those readers who, having passed their days in the sunny regions of the south, or in the more equable climates of the temp^^rate zones, will naturtdly form erroneous conceptions of things, if not sometimes 1847. J INDICATIONS OP SPRING. 405 reminded of the peculiarities of the seasons in the icy north* and it may not be out of place here to state, that the indi- cations of approaching spring, of which we have made mention, were not the chirping of birds among the budding trees, or the trickling of rills among the green meadows. It was June, and well might the incautious reader imagine such things ; but we have already said it is necessary to check this erroneous tendency of the imagination. The wide sea still presented its cold, solid surface of ice, in pro- tracted defiance of the sun. Snow covered the landscape, and hung in masses on the drooping willows. Water, except in the profound depths of the laboriously excavated waterbole, was unknown; and all around, above, below, was winter — cold, obdurate, adamantine winter I The only signs of the approach of spring were the increasing power of the sun, and consequent warmth of the atmosphere, and softening of the surface of the snow; the occasional falling of a drop of water from an icicle — an event full of interest to those who know hovr painfully long an icicle retains a dry point in these climes; the apparition of an adventurous sand-piper, and the cackle of a solitary laughing-goose. These and similar occurrences increased and became more frequent every day, though it was long ere a spot of verdant green refreshed their eyes, and brought to remem- brance other lands and bygone days. Dr. Rae mentions in his journal, that on the 21st of June the ice on the lakes was still four feet thick, though very porous and unsafe. On the 13th, divine service was read, and thanks returned to God for His protection throughout the winter, and during the late journey. During the latter part of this month the weather was exceedingly stormy and variable, but the destruction of winter's power continued to progress rapidly, and they finally deserted their dwelling, which had become disa- 406 HONESTY OF THE NATIVES. rJuLT Ll847. greeable from the thawing and consequent dampness of the clay, of which it was chiefly formed, for the less substantial but more agreeable habitation of a tent. Esquimaux con- tinued to visit and trade with them from time to time, sup- plying them with seal-skin boots, and other articles of Bavage clothing. It is recorded to the honour of these poor creatures, that they were not guilty of stealing during aU the transactions they had with the party— a vice which characterizes, more or less, all the other tribes on the North American coast. One incorrigible rascal, however, annoyed them by his depredations. This was Ooligbuck's son, who not only appropriated all the tobacco belonging to the men on which he could lay hands, but cleared off all the buttons from their trousers, and consummated his wickedness by twice opening his father's bale and eating the old man's sugar. On the 23d the sun was seen at midnight, his lower limb touching the high grounds to the northward; but the weather still continued cold, notwithstanding the advanced state of the season, and it was not till the end of July that the ice on the bay began to give way before the gushing torrents that issued from the swollen current of North Pole River. Out at sea it looked firm and white as ever. The 25th of July was the anniversary of their arrival at Repulse Bay, which appeared in a very different garb at that time. Dr. Rae remarks, that " last summer at this date there was no ice to be ..en in Repulse Bay; the snow had nearly all disappeared, and the various streams had shrunk to their lowest level. Now there was not a pool of water in the bay, except where the entrance of a river or creek had worn away or broken up the ice for a short dis- tance. There was much snow on the ground in many places, and most of the streams were still deep and rapid.'' To add to this incongruous jumble of summer and winter, AUG.T 1847J BOULDER-STONES ON THE ICE. 407 heat and cold, the mosquitoes made their appearance; " but this," says Rae, " I was not sorry for, as the Esqui- maux said that the ice in the bay would soon break up after these tormentors made their appearance." About this time Dr. Rae observed that a number of large boulder-stones made their appearance on the top of the ice in the bay. " I was much puzzled," says he, " to make out how they came there. They could not have fallen from the shore, as the beach was sloping at the place, nor had they been carried in by drift ice of the pre- vious season. The only way that I could account for it was this : At the commencement of winter, the ice, after acquiring considerable thickness, had become frozen to the stones lying on the bottom, and raised them up when the tide came in. The stones wouC get gradually enclosed in the ice, as it grew thicker by repeated freezings, whilst by the process of evaporation, which goes on very rapidly ir spring, the upper surface was continually wasting away, so that in June or July there was little of the first formed ice remaining; and thus the stones, which at first were on the under surface of the ice, appeared on the top. This may perhaps in some measure account for ])oulders, sand, shells, &c. being sometimes found where geologists fancy they ought not to be." A severe storm arose on the 10th of August, accompa- nied by rain and snow. It had the happy effect of creating great havoc among the ice in the bay, which, when it abated, presented a clear sea as far as the point. All was now bustle and preparation for sea. The boats were over- hauled and got ready; one of the anchors and chain were missed, and at last it was recollected that they had been placed on a spot of ground which, at an earlier period of l--_ ^ ^ — .J ,T„.rj T.-.-ipv/nvu. iv/ vic»v, uut vviia nuw uliri'ou. under a mass of ice eight feet thick I Out of this tomb it 408 FAREWELL TO FORT HOPE. rAua 11847. was speedily dug, and removed to the boat. The natives crowded round them at seeing these vigorous preparations for departure, and Dr. Rae, in the fulness of his heart, began to distribute among them all the files, knives, and axes that could be conveniently spared. The weather con- tinued to improve rapidly. Nibitabo was despatched to procure venison for the voyage, and succeeded in shooting two young deer, while St. Germain and Mineau set the nets for a supply of salmon; and, on the 12th of August, all being got ready, the boats were launched, and the party floated once more on the salt sea. Dr. Rae was about to distribute among the Esquimaux their spare kettles and some hoop iron, before taking final leave of them, when it was discovered that one of the boat's compasses was miss- ing. Search was ma-^e, but no compass was to be found. At last it was discovered under some heather, where it had been concealed by one of the women. The farewell gifts were then distributed, and some of the men appeared to be really sorry at parting, wading into the water to shake hands with the doctor as the boat moved slowly from the A light air of N.E. wind carried them slowly from the desolate scene of their recent home; and, leaving Repulse Bay to the swarthy hunters of the walrus and the seal, they shaped their course for York Fort, at which place they arrived on the 6th of September 1847, having been absent nearly fifteen months in the dark and stormy regions of the north. The northern coasts of America were not again visited from the landward side until the year 1848, when the increasing anxiety regarding the fate of the gallant veteran. Sir John Franklin, induced Government to dcspateh an overland searching expedition under the 1848, '49, '60.] THE LAST LAND EXPEDITION. 409 command of Sir John Richardson. Dr. Rae was chosen as a fitting companion to the well-known colleague of Franklin in his former voyages ; and in March 1848 they sailed from Liverpool, and proceeded through the United States and Canada to the scene of their operations at the mouth of the Mackenzie. As the ground over which they travelled, however, is the same with that explored by former discoverers, the details of whose exploits have been already recounted in this volume, it is not necessary to do more than say that, during the years 1848, '49, and '50, Drs. Richardson and Rae made a minute but unsuccess- ful search for the missing ships along the various parts of the arctic coast, where it was considered probable they might have been wrecked. A short account of these jour- neys, along with a concise and graphic description of the various searching expeditions sent out from time to time, will be found in " Polar Seas and Regions." The little spot of unknown territory which has already cost the British nation so much, is soon to be surveyed, we understand, by Dr. Rae, whose fitness for the object has been amply attested by his energetic and successful explo- rations in 1846. Should he be successful, a question of considerable importance will be finally settled, and the narrative of his travels and exploits in the regions of per- petual ice and snow will form another chapter in the interesting annals of arctic story. THE END. EDlNBUHfin: FEINTED BY X NELSON AND SONS. 5:1 1853. NEW iLUSTRATEO WORKS. BOOKS FOE PRESENTS. BOOKS FOR THE lOIJNG. SABBATH SCHOOL REWAHDS, &C. Ac LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; AND EDINBUEQH. ■*-* NEW WORKS fVBUaOMDUX THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. NELSONS' LIBRARY FOR TRAVELLERS AND THE FIRESIDE. 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