IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A i 4?/ 1.0 I.I 1^ i lilM JIIIM iO IIIIM ||Z2 12.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► v: O /. 7 /^ ^ 1 Photographic Sciences Corporation d ^^ i\ # ;\ \ % V ^.\ ^ o^ ^^„ «^ l,>i;r,ij'h:, and I'oiir Mij'S • :^s9^- -aaa^- LONDON: WILIJAM III'INKMANN ^■J/I I igl'ilS rCUITid IS95 F Edinburgh: T. iinil A. Cunstaiili , Printers to Her Majusly CI ;; t Zo M V I\I O T 1 1 I', K PWri I W CHAPTHR IV CAMI'INc; IN SWA.Ml' .... 77 CHAl'TKR V l)N niK IKACK ()|- A (;ki//i,y . 99 C Ii A V r i: R V 1 InllN S I'KOI'IIIXV 120 chai'ti:r VI ON IIIK SNOW-I.INK. .... '36 .>^*Mi^ 1 I ii (1 1' VllI THE LAND OF THIi MUSKEG CHAPTER VIII SHORT COMMONS .... CHAPTER IX HUNGKR AND COLD .... I'AGE i6i 178 CHAPTER X THE I'OKTAIRS AND SICCANKES 220 CHAPTER XI DOWN IHK HAIMDS AND AWAY 237 % LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS H. VOMERS SOMERSKT A nOOD TROPHY . . . . ROUGH WORK IN THK ROCKIES , WINTRY WEATHER IN W VOMINO H. li. ROUND SNOWEU-UI' IN CAEIFORN WYOM WINTER CAMP IN I A NO A SriCRN FATHER Wl.; HUNTED WITH FAIR SUCCESS I'ACK-TRAIN IN THE SNOW H. S. SOMERSET .... STEAMER ON Al'HAliASKA . PASSING AN INDIAN CAMP THE STURCEON-HEAI) ON THE LITTI ONE OF THE CREW IHE EAST OF OUR liOAT A NATIVE A HAI.F-IIREED .... STUCK IN A SWAMP . 'HERE AND THERE WE CAME TO SM A TYPE FIRST VIEW OF THE PEACE MONIAS H. l;. ROUND i'AI' DAUKHAN .... JOHN KNOT . SI, A I.I, VE Froniispiccc l'A(,E Preface xiii xiv xvi xvii ., xix „ xxi ., xxii ., xxiv „ \xvii ,, xxxi UAI I VI' lES 4 6 lO 12 i6 17 •9 21 23 24 27 29 32 32 36 ir f!l 'I 8 ' i I X THE LAND OF THE MUSKE(i NISTAMAPU . ALBERT TAIT FORT DUNVEGAN . A FISH SPEAR CHIEF TRAN(JUILLE TWELVEFOOT DAVIS JOHN THE HAl'TIST'S DAUGHTERS ROUND AND POLLEN PACKING . 'THE HORSES WERE HEAVILY LADEN' 'MANY OF THE TREES WERE ROTTING' . 'THE GRASS WAS LONG AND VERY TIRING' 'WE MOVED ON ABOUT FIVE MILES' THE PRAIRIE 'HE HAD ONLY THE SMALL MUZZLE-LOADER' 'THE HUGE ANIMAL ROLLED OVER DEAD' INDIAN ICE SCOOP 'FAR BEYOND WE COULD SEE THE LOW FOOT-HU.LS MOSQUITO NETS . AN EVENING CAMP 'ABOUT MIDDAY WE DESCENDED INTO AN OPEN FLAT' HORSES SWIMMING THE PINE RIVER JOHN AND DAUKHAN IN THE CANOE FISH SPEAR OUR CAMP IN THE VALLEY GETTING READY FOR MOBERLEY'S LAKE TRACK OF A GRIZZLY .... IN OPEN COUNTRY .... BIRCH-BARK ROGGANS .... HARPOON POINTS .... JOHN ALLAH'S MOTHER .... ALLAH'S WIFE PAGE 39 40 42 44 50 5' 53 57 60 61 64 65 68 71 72 76 78 79 83 87 89 92 96 lOI 103 104 109 1 12 119 1 22 125 127 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XI I'AGE 39 40 42 44 50 51 53 57 60 61 64 65 68 71 72 76 78 79 83 87 89 92 96 lOI 103 104 109 1 12 119 1 22 125 127 LODGES CAMPED IN THE M/OODS AFTER A HARD DAY A BEND OF THE PINE THE START AN AMPHITHEATRE ON THE NORTH SPUR THE MOCK SUNSET THE VIRGIN FOREST A WELCOME SK^HT FIRE IJAG TWO OF OUR VISITORS SVMON 'INDIAN LAUGH AIJ, THE TIME' CHARLEY SENIOR HIS SON DEDODOR CIIARI.KV JUNIOR GAMBLING STICKS ...... TOM-TOMS HORSES IN DOWN TIMBER .... WHICH.' THE AXE-MEN HAD TO CLEAR A PATH STONE WAR CLUBS 'THE VALLEY H.\D BECOME VERY NARROW' GOOD-BVE TO IHE PINE 'lAF'.RVWHERE DEEP POOLS AND BEAVER DAM> 'OUR CAMP WAS MISERABLY WET' . 'MARCHING IN MUSKEGS' DEAD I!I:AT 'DARKNESS CAME ON' THE HARD GROUND' A BUILDING LOOMED Ul' BIC. IN THi; DARKNESS' I'OLLEN LOOKED VERY GHASTLY' . I'A(,K 129 '31 ^33 135 136 •38 140 146 14S 159 160 162 •63 164 164 165 155 167 168 170 171 172 177 180 1S2 189 191 192 196 198 199 211 216 4 vll -ti xii THE LAND OF THE MUSKEG JOHN SAYS GOOD-BYK FORT M'^LEOD ROBERT RAMSEY . ON A GOOD TRAIL CARRIER INDIANS A PAIR OF TWEEZERS A PREHISTORIC MICROBE . STONE SPEAR AND ARROW HEADS DREAM NECKLACE CKILCOTIN PIPE .... WOODEN COMB .... ON THE FRAZER IN A DUG-OUT NEARLY A MILE BROAD 'THE RIVER DROPPED OUT OF SIGHT OVER A FALL 'SMOOTH WATER SOME MILES BELOW' BONE MINNOW SPEAR HEAD CASTORUM CASE PAGE 223 225 227 228 230 230 232 236 238 240 241 244 245 246 248 ill ■.t| If MAPS MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, ALBERTA, AND ATHABASKA to face page I EDMONTON '.O DUNVEGAN .... „ 1 4 DUNVEGAN TO FORT M'^LEOD ... „ 5^ FORT APLEOD TO FORT (JEORGE AND QUKSNEI.LE MOUTH .... „ 237 —««-*■• PREFACE '■?<7 It was only about ten clays before we left EnoJand that we decided upon making the expedition de- scribed in this book. Two years before, Somerset and I had made short hunting trips in the moun- tains in the north of the State of Wyoming, and in the more southerly sierras in California. Here we had ; hunted with fair success, and incidentally had learned what roughing it really means. In Wyoming we had struggled with a premature gust of wintry weather, and had been snowed up, and in California too had experienced the pleasures of being lost on snov\ -covered heights. So that, though only nineteen Somerset had had a con- siderable experience of mountain travelling. But so far our adventures had not been anything out of the ordinary lot of the sporting tripper ; and we A GOOD TKOI'IIY XIV THIi: LAND OI- THI- Ml'SKmi were now anxious to break new ij^round, if possibk-, in a country that offered a fair prospect for sport. It was at this point that a recent map of British Columbia and certain mendacious Canadian likie- booUs fell into our hands, and in a moment our plans were laid. ' Unexplored ' fi^^ured so largely and alluringly in one and prodigious ac- counts of bears, moose, w o I V e s, beavers, cariboo, and other animals so se- ductively in the other, that we felt to force our way through this untravelled region promised a certain amount of novelty and adventure, while it seemed impossiole that we could pass through the great fur reserve of the world without getting such an amount of sport as would justify the labour of our undertaking. What Mr. Pike had so courageously done (and so admirably described) in the extreme North, must, it seemed, be a much easier tliinu to do in more K()U(;il WOKK IN IIIK KO(jKIi;s ■U.."^! PRI'I'ACI- XV tem[)eratc and less barren rco;ions ; so \vc dctcriiiinccl to strike off from the hi XVI THI' I-ANI) OI- THI- MlSKIlCi m had seen ;it Winnipeg, our original plan hail been to travel by water and wagon to Fort St. John, on the Peace River, and make that our base for a journey to the North. Of course we were reckoning in entire ignorance of the character of the country. We were in Kdmonton a full week, and thouirh most h()S[)itably welcomed in that llourishing sentinel town, it is to be said that our plans were received with derision. What folly to go to certain misery and failure, when by staying where we were we could get the finest wild -fowl shooting in the world ! Then there were any number of black bears and, if I remember rightly, deer, moose, and a whispered rumour of buffalo, and all in a neighbourhood teeming with comfort. It is always so in my experience in a frontier town. One would have thought that, having come so far afield, these pioneers from an overcrowded world would have warmed to the project of fresh adven- ture ; but no, one is invariably warned with circum- stantial (but quite unveracious) anecdote of the perils of the beyond, and gratuitously (and quite UlNTKY WICATIIKK IN \VVu.MIN(; 7i -i (1 .- J t rKi-rAci-: XVI 1 been John, for a voning intry. Lhouijjh entincl 'ccivcd misery en by c were e finest ting in ^n there nber of if 1 , deer, intl all It is town, so far d world adven- circuni- of the id quite incorrectly) advised as to rejj^ions and routes one has no wish or intention of exploring;. But most luckily at Edmonton there was one man who did know the country we were making for, and knew it and its inhabitants well, for he had for years been stationed at ! )unvegan in charge of \ M. the Hudson's Bay Company's fort. This was Mr. H. B. Round, about whom I shall have more to say later. Suffice it at present that he at once cncouracred our making the attempt, and only corrected our plans by suggest- ing that we should start from Dunvegan and work west in- stead of north. The thousand perplexities that threaten every traveller who enters a country new to him were in great degree dissipated by the iniormation and advice that Mr. Round gave us, and after three days' acquaintance we had got to lean on his judgment so completely that we begged b r- — ■ n"'. -^s fc 'flf ■■"' ; *jfe: •--\. •• ;■ '.;■' »^*i§:i II. 1!. KOUNI) w iil Win Till". LAND OI" Till". MI'SKI.C. ^^ i4n'^' -5 1 3 him to acc()in[)any us if he could. Most fortunately for us he was able to do this, and at once threw himself into the business of buying stores and perfecting arrangements with a heartiness that boded well. Our first move must be to get to the Athabaska Landing, a hundred miles north ; here we should find a river steamer that plies on the Athabaska, carrying the Company's fur and stores, and in this we should be taken uj) to meet Mr. Ewen Macdonald from the Little Slave Lake, who was expected at the mouth of the Little Slave River with the fruits of the winter's trading. Mr. ^Lacdonald would see us safe to his headquarters on the bend of the lake, and here we should be left to our own devices. The steamer was due to start on the 2oth, but our arrangements being all made, and we in a hurry to escape into camp-life, we thought we might as well start, and so on the 14th, amid the cheers of the good-hearted folk of Edmonton, and a drench- ing downpour of rain, we left in two wagons heavily loaded with passengers, the more precious baggage, stores for a week, and our camp outfit. Rourd and I drove in one, and a hired driver, who was to bring the teams back, had charge of the other, with Captain Robert Ramsey and Dr. Dudley as H m^ rtunately cc threw )rcs and less that kthabaska vc should thabaska, M.\ in this ilacdonakl cpectcd at I the fruits vvoukl see nd of the n devices. 20th, but in a hurry might as cheers of a drench- 3ns heavily is baggage, tit. Rourd r, who was the other, Dudley as si 0 a O m IT XX THI- LAM) ()!• Tin- MUSKF'C. * ' in f passcntjcrs. I ho Doctor was a young praciilioiur from Chicago, whom wc had cn<;a: 'i xxii THI-: LAND OI' Tin- Ml'SKl'G our reception. It was a tiny log-hut of two small rooms, but there was a stove in it, and we gratefully accepted his offer of its shelter, as the alternative of camping in the mud was not pleasant. The Athabaska Landing is the gate of the great North. It is from here that all the stores go out that supply the Hudson's iJay Company's forts from Hudson's Hope to the mouth of the Mackenzie. A steamer built on the spot plies up the river to the mouth of the Slave River, and down to where the rapids make the Athabaska no longer navigable, where the stores are transhipped to York boats. Beyond the warehouses, offices, and Mr. Wood's residence there are no buildinLrs, although most of the year there is a large Indian encampment near by. It is, too, the last outpost of the Govern- ment, and a couple of the Canadian [)olice were on duty to stop the im[)ortation of strong liquor. But once on the north shore of the river, the constituted authority of the Queen's Government ends. Over all the rest of Northern Canada the land has been taken and settled after A STKKN lATIIKU i^'J mm P« rRI-I'ACI' XX m wo small :jratcfully "native of the great s o-o out orts from ;ickenzie. river to to where baska no he stores k boats. , offices, ice there gh most e Indian t is, too, Govern- ^anadian stop the or. But ^ of the Queen's lorthern ed after treaty with the Indian tribes, the natives ♦giving up their right to range freely, and getting reservations of territory and an annual supply of food in return. Witii the northern Indians no such ticali's have been made, and I believe it is an open question whether they are at all under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Courts. I think it was the day alter our arrival that a weatherbeaten old savage landed in a beautifully made birch-bark canoe while we were loitering at the landing-place, and came and shook hands with us in the friendliest manner. His story was curious, and illustrates what I have just been saying. There was a domestic (juarrel, it seems, one day in his lodge, and his son offering some serious incivility to his mother, he gave him a lesson in good-breeding by chopping off his head with an axe. For this he was taken out to Winnipeg, I think, and tried for murder, found guilty and sen- tenced, his counsel all the while protesting. The sentence was changed to imprisonment, and finally, after a lew weeks' detention, he was released and re- stored to his country — w^hether on the score of health or want of jurisdiction in the Court I am unable to say, but I was told that the first was made an excuse for not deciding the latter (juestion. One thing, however, is certain, and it is that ■»r- XXIV THE LAND OP THE MUSKE.G 1'i ^ north of the Athabaska there is no function of Government that is discharged either by the Dominion of Canada or the Imperial authority ; nor has the original power of the Indian chiefs survived in its integrity, and over far the greater part of the North-West all the machinery of con- trol they know is represented to the uncovenanted Indian by the Hudson's Bay Company and the missionaries of St. Mary Immaculate. These last fill a picturesque place in the story of the country. Ai almost every fort you will find the neat log-houses and church of the Roman Catholic Mission ; and the priests themselves are all highly edu- cated men, while the most of th>.m are of good French or French -Canadian families. Their in- fluence with the Indians is immense. During the last rebellion the Canadian Government owed much to the missionaries' power of restiaining incipient revolt, and every Hudson's Bay Company's officer we met was loua and unqualified in their praise. This VVK IlUNTlOl) WITH FAIR SUCCESS f \>.aU IV PREFACE XXV ction of by the ithority ; n chiefs greater of con- enanted md the story of find the Catholic lid the mselves ily edu- /hile the n are of ich or nadian heir in- th the ebelHon to the : revolt, we met This would hardly be so were not their services to civilisation and good order known beyond dispute, for the officers in question were to a man alien to their race and their creed, and as we had lament- able occasion to remark, the bitterness of religious differences is not a whit softer in that country than in ours. For ourselves, we have a score of services to thank them for, and the fathers at the Little Slave Lake, Smoky River, Dunvegan, and Fort IVFLeod each and all put themselves and all they possessed at our disposal in the friendliest way. It Avas through Fere Husson, at Dunvegan, that we were able to make the arrangements that enabled Daukhan Tustovvits and John Knot — those invaluable men — to leave their families for the summer, secure in the consciousness that they were in good hands : to Fere Morice we owe a debt of thanks for much of the information that we obtained, — and to all a recollection of personal kindliness and consideration that it will be a lasting pleasure to remember. The Hudson's Bay Company itself, however, holds the pride of place in the North. With its long history, its wide ramifications, its vast property, and its huge power, so benevolently used, it seems more like a political institution than a mercantile T' » ' ,♦ XWl THI-: LAND Ol' Till' Ml'SKi:(i concern. To borrow from the name of their ex- cellent tobacco, there is something of an Imperial Mixture about their organisation. At the forts flies the Union Jack, with the Company's mono- gram upon it : amongst the officers there is an esprit de corps and a loyalty to their calling that is almost patriotic. To them rivals, like the smugglers of old, are 'free traders,' and the survival of the old-world phrase is eloquent of the very tale of the Company's history. And yet the stress of modern commercial life is making great, and in a sense devastating, changes in the old order. The system of appointing a new Commissioner every five years disturbed the continuity of the Company's policy as little as the changes in the Viccroyalty of India now dis- connects that Government, so long as that policy was determined by an annual conference of the chief officers. Those were days when great dis- cretion was necessarily left to each officer in the discharge of his duties. Fraud, peculation, and dishonesty were unknown things in the Company's history, and it must be obvious to any one that to secure trustworthy men, and trust them absolutely, would have remained the best security for a con- tinued immunity. But with the new system of I iiv I PRi-:i'Aci<: XXVI 1 heir cx- Impcrial he forts s mono- 'e is an !ng that ike the md the uent of i\ Hfe is changes ntinor a bed the as the )w dis- t poHcy of the sat dis- in the m, and npany's that to olutely, a con- tem of centralisation which improved methods of com- munication have made possible, the system works tlifferently, and the old order is rapidly disap[)ear- ing. Competition and the rapid decay of the fur trade in so many districts contribute much to the change in the character of the officers, and with it the general aspect of the Company as an institution must in a few years' time be altered beyond reco---- nition. It is useless to regret the inevitable, but a casual traveller may be pardoned if he deplores the invasion of the spirit of modern dividend-huntin(r into a domain so romantic and inspiring. For the trail of eco- nomy is over all. Old servants are being dismissed, and their places taken by cheaper men. Forts are abandoned, and Indians forced to move to follow their r-'.arkets, and everywhere there is a consciousness of uncertainty as to the future, and ignorance of what the next move from headquarters may be, that but ill replaces I'ACIv-TKAIN IN TIIK SNOW 1 !^ ' > XXVlll Tlir: I.AND OI' THI' MUSKEC. 1^ l'' * h m u 1 H ^ ;■ « ^' / r ^ '♦ ' 1 u\S > L,!U \ the old self-reliance and security that made such splendid servants of the officers, and endowed them with an authority that the Indians instinctively respected. The change in its least attractive features was brought home to us very vividly from the fact of our havint^ had the great good fortime to secure Mr. Round's company on our journey. He was a man of a good English family, educated in a public school, and bringing to his work all those high ideals of loyalty, perseverance, and devotion that are the distinguishing mark of our public servants. When he joined the Company's service more than twenty years ago that was the universal spirit of its employees, and in that spirit Mr. Round put ;n his score of years of toil. After fourteen years' charge of the fort at Dunvegan he had just reached the point at which he would have been entitled to expect promotion, when, for what was alleged to be an error of judgment, he was summarily dis- missed. At Dunvegan he had the care of a large ranche of cattle. Several died of an obscure disease. It seemed to him that the disease must be contagious, and in the exercise of his discretion he killed the survivors that were afflicted to save the rest. In all, if I remember aright, he only rRI'FACE XXIX killed two or three. These acts were duly reported ; but, owing to the indiscreet anxiety of a friend to discover the action of the disease, the fact of the disease at Dunveoan became public, there was an outcry from Europe, the Company was blamed, and the unfortunate Mr. Round was made; the scapegoat. Now it is hard for me to believe that if the control of the Company had been in the hands of any one who had personal knowledge of Mr. Round's character and service, so cruel a punish- ment would have been inlhcted for so small a fault — if fault indeed it was ; for the inquiry which was promised into the nature of the disease has not, so far as I am aware, ever been made. And that is why I alluded just now to the five years' Com- missionership : the chief of the Company has no knowledge, can have no knowledge, of his officers, and in a moment may part with one of the best the Company has ever had, inflicting a double wrong — one on the organisation that has been so well, so loyally served, another on the man who has given the prime of his life to its service. But to us the incident was all gain, for we enjoyed the companionship and help of a man whose like one could seldom hope; to light on in ^p^ XXX TII1<: LAND OF THI<: Ml'SKF-O t the pioneer [)laces of the earth. Never out of humour nor down-hearted, he did more work than any in an outfit where all were from the first almost driven to work their hardest all the time. And his advice and judgment made us as much his debtors as his exertions, for he knew more of the country and our method of travel, and the character and idiosyncrasies of the Indians, than any one we came across. His complete mastery of the Cree language was an invaluable help, and the fact of the Indians all knowmg and likinijf him personally made a hundred things easy that might well have been impossible. It was during our idle stay at the Athabaska Landing that our final plans were laid. From Round we had learned that the north bank of the Peace River was practically impassable — and moreover, not well stocked with game. The country between Pouce Coupee's prairie and the Pine Pass, on the other hand, was a favourite hunting-ground both of the Beavers and Crees. This route had another attraction for us, as by working through towards the mountains we could get out again to civilisation by M^Leod's Lake and the Frazer River instead of retracing our steps. There was a chance too of finding tolerable trails, Mr. Dawson having come over the Pine h i> m rKI'I'ACI' XXXI Pass and through to Dunvegan some fourteen years before. 'I'his therefore we deLcrminecI to attempt ; but of course all would d(^pend on the <,aiidance and information we should get later from the natives. How far our hopes were realised, and our adventures in carrying out our plan, the reader will learn in the following pages. ARTHUR IIUNCJKRKORI) TOLLKN. II. s. KoMKKsi'rr (From a sK-ctcli nutdc in caiiif< hy A //. /'. ) "• ; lit J » •: $ •/' i k I i' II 'h IM toll., \ ^'f '-^'!^'v W"" "^> ^ \ ¥•*•> J » — ^ mvimLm •<» .•iH ' »uaw.it ''./• '^">.\ I* '\. )'»il< i.m.'i, \ \ VMitatnuuiM ' . . . ■ :.•» 10- '»'<-, ^^ ^ X y J-'h.y,.r X^>., / ';::c o- • L', ,v. , M X tt/ ^-^ fcV'«a*'"' '^^H '''"'"'"'1* '*"'' * "* *"".• I r-. ('3w'' . V '• f ■• ,,1, ,/!'%•< '"■ ^fe"^^-; 3?i& H^^r ^i^^'-> '--?^- f"^v«^'H; I A' , '''.s/;;»':A..... \ )^"i\r" ' -^'^■ '(»,""""■<• / •'■••'I'll .Wi/w,-,,v< ' MAP or ALBERTA AND ATHABASCA " /.!<>' i:to Somerset and Pollen's Route \x^ I.: I I. Ill lOH ,^,iit "' '"«, IV.i ll" ^ ^vi-t^V I 111"' -A^»' ,/ \ h " f.l"' * Y"'"'' t «•■" si,.!.!' ,.V I' '. '\ "r J viv.f> Ai' : "iW/.i, '^^-Z ■% , ivl .' it i, ♦ V" "/v B.iiT (*"''> ,.•' — / " ' ,1 iif*'^ It / V-/' T^ 54 ' IJ I iji> , fS "'ir A T K s I !<'. •/\;; ■"'V''. •■/.«•• r 'n„ii Win~ -.n'^ .» '■ I't mim CHAPTER I FROM THE ATHABASKA LANDING For five days we remained in our cabin at the Athabaska Landing, talking to Mr. Wood, ihe officer in charge, or wandering over to the camp of Cree Indians by the river-bank. For hours together we sat watching the great stream Mow . by on its way to the Arctic, and wondering what our journey would bring forth. The steamer lay moored to the bank— a curious stern-wheeled affair steered by five rudders, and of a somewhat roucrh- and-ready build. All day and all night the mosquitoes hung over us in clouds, but we were told that their numbers would be niultiplied a hundred-fold when we got into the bush country ; and this certainly proved true. Torrents of rain fell perpetually, so that we were forced to sleep under the tables in the cabin if we wished to keep dry beds, and often above the roaring of the rain we heard the beating of the tom-tom through the night, while the Indians gambled or held a tea revel. Our stores had been delayed, and did not arrive until we had nearly exhausted our patience. A ir i i THE LAND OF THE MUSKEG i i f } and, to add to our troubles, the captain of the steamer lay dying, so that she could not start. At last, however, a substitute was found, and with Mr. Livock in charge, on June the 23rd, we got under way, and steamed slowly up the Athabaska to the West. The rapid current impeded the little boat, so that she shook and splashed her single paddle, and made but a poor pace. Reach after reach of that monotonous river came to view -«^MMfcn^ and was left behind with no land- mark to tell of its passage. The banks, high and choked with dense woods of pine and poplar, advanced and receded with the bending of the stream, dark and sombre, like houses in an ill-lit street. And yet they were full of interest to us. We sat on the little deck and watched them, wondering what the woods we should journey through would look like, and whether the underbrush would always be as dense and the trees so thick. Now and then we passed Indians paddling easily with the current, or towing their light canoes against the stream. About mid- day one of the rudders broke loose and swung into the stern paddle, breaking some of the buckets, so that we were obliged to lie up by the bank and effect repairs. The mosquitoes flocked out from STEAMER ON ATHABASKA ^ li '. 1 ;J FROM THE ATHABASKA LANDLXG 3 the bushes in thousands, and brought with them y new tormentor, the bull-dog fly. This insect is about the size of a bumble-bee, and indeed much resembles one in appearance, but has also a suggestion of the horse-fly about it. They flew silently, and alighted so skilfully that one did not notice them until they had already commenced the attack. Then one felt a quick pain, as though some sharp steel instrument had pierced the flesh ; and even after the insect had been d.iven off, the blood would continue to flow for several minutes. During this halt an accident happened to one of our be- longings that will delight any superstitious person who has the endurance to follow our wanderings and note our misfortunes, for we had broken a looking-glass— the only one we had— on the first day of our travels. I would not have mentioned this apparently trivial incident had it not been that several persons have seriously told me we got off extremely easily after so evil an omen. That night the stoamer was again moored to the bank near an i 1 .amping-ground, where the native hands '- ^- •' ''"'ni the writing on the trees that one 'Two accxts' had lately spent some days. On the followmg day the river appeared shal'ower, and about six hundred yards broad. Wo were obliged to proceed with great cauiion r.mongst the islands and sandbanks, so that it was not until past midday that we came to the mouth of the I 11' I i t > 4 THE LAND OF THE MUSKEG Lesser Slave River. There we met Mr. M'^Donakl, the Hudson's Bay Company officer, in charge of the Slave Lake Post. He had come down the Slave River to meet the steamer which was to carry the ' fur-kill ' of his district out to the landing, and which brought him his winter's stores. Of course he had no knowledge of our coming, and was much surprised to see us, for, with the ex- ception of Mr. Pike, we were the first party in his time who had travelled up the country for their own amusement. His crew of Indians joined forces with the steamer hands, and the interchange of baggage was soon effected, our belongings being neatly stored in the bottom of his open boat, while the business of the Company It was pretty to watch the way in which the men moved the fur bales, one half-breed of the name of Brassand handling two- hundred-and-fifty-pound packages with the greatest ease and swiftness. After luncheon we said fare- well to Mr. Livock, thanking him for his kindness, and then the steamer turned down the river again and disappeared round the bend, cutting off all com- PASSING AN INIIIAN CAMl' was being attended to •wr I >^ FROM THH ATHABASKA LAXDIXG 5 munication with the outer world. Now at last wp-felt that we had started, and that, come what might, we had set our faces towards the unknown. The sturgeon-head boat in which we were to travel is one of the features of a country where rivers are the only highways. There are but three kinds of boats in the North-West,— the canoe, the York boat, and the sturgeon-head. A sturgeon- head somewhat resembles a canal barge, but is broader of beam and draws less water, having also a flattened bow, from which it derives its name. This one was about forty feet long and eight feet wide. We embarked and shoved off into the stream, and then proceeded up the little river in most picturesque fashion. The crew of ten stood upon the thwarts and punted with long poles ; the steersman, upon a platform in the stern, guided the boat with an oar or sweep trailing behind ; whilst a man in the bow, balancing a pole after the manner of a tight-rope walker, pointed out the shoals and shallows with either end as they appeared to the right or left. After a time the current ran stronger, and we disembarked the men, who proceeded to tow us. Towing— or tracking, as it is called in the North— brings up before the English mind pictures of well-kept paths and neat white gates fitted with easy springs. But the shores of the Slave River can boast none of these advantages, the country being thickly bushed and very rough ; and nowhere I 4 rv I :■ ill W '. ( •»■• ' \i '1 ■.'.■■ II : ' 'Hi y; 'fr ai > > o a < Id z; O a 3! 3 H 7) ^' > < o < 7-, o u FROM THE ATHAHASKA LANDING 7 for a hundred consecutive yards is there good going. In tracking, two lines are used, three or four men being harnessed to each rope. Behind them walics another, whose duty it is to free the line when it becomes caught in the bushes. These unfortunates stumble along through the underbrush or bruise their moccasined feet against the sharp rocks by the water-side, often up to their waists in the river, always leaning on the rope, and frequently almost losing their balance when it gets entangled in some twisted root. Hour after hour they go steadily forward, only halting for food ; while the white man in the boat smokes his pipe in whatever ci mount of peace the mosquitoes allow him, and, protected from the weather by tarpaulin and macintosh, idly watches their labours. At first sight it seems wonderful that any one can be found willing to endure such slavery, but the men are well fed and well paid, earning far better wages than their more independent brothers who spend their life in fur- hunting, in a country from which the greater part of the game has long since disappeared. We had no sooner started than the rain fell in torrents, so that camp was not made under cheerful auspices. Nevertheless that first supper of bread and bacon tasted good, for we knew that every step carried us farther into the wilds, and this brought back more forcibly the old love for the i ! ,-.= r. ^ I , I I ' 8 THIi: LAND Ol' THE MUSKEG wilderness. The crew shot several owls near camp, and this addition to their regulation meal seemed to afford them immense satisfaction. The routine of the day was as follows : A light and hasty breakfast was taken at five before starting; at 8.30 a halt was made for a more serious meal, and again at 12.30 for dinner. As a rule the men eat again at five, and finally had supper in camp at nine. In this fashion we moved up the little river until the third day, when we reached the lake. As the shore was swampy, we went on a little way and made camp on a small island some miles from the coast. The lake itself is about seventy-five miles long, and from five to fifteen broad. It is a shallow piece of water, lying in a low, swampy country, and it is said that every year the shore encroaches, and that the day is not far distant when the water-way will become impassable for any but extremely small boats. Be this as it may, the enormous expanse of water stretching to the horizon is very impressive in its utter desolation. Mr. McDonald told us that the ice had only broken up about three weeks before our coming, but not a vestige of it remained. As the wind was directly contrary, it seemed that we might have to wait some days before we attempted to cross. However, we kept everything in readiness for a sudden start in the night on the chanct of a lull or a change in the weather. The island where we were encamped swarmed with •"f^^-- FROM THE ATHAI5ASKA LANDING 9 sleigh dogs belonging to the Company and neioh- bouring Indians. These animals will eat almost anything, so we were compelled to hang the greater part of our goods upon the trees, high enough to bt- out of their reach. The lake is full of white fish, which the Indians smoke and dry in native fashion • and very excellent they are. Some were brought to us, and, giving a few handfuls of tea in exchange, we roasted them for supper. The wind was still blowing a gale on the follow- ing morning, so that we did not make a start until well on in the day, and had onlv travelled about tv.elve miles by evening. It was then too late to cross the lake, and so that night we slept upon the southern shore. On Wednesday the weather moder- ated a little, but the waves still ran high, and the rain fell in torrents. The men, however, rowed in splendid style, and we made a late camp upon tlie northern shore. The strength and endurance of these men— both Indians and half-breeds-is quite extraordinary. They are for the most part small spare men, with slender arms and narrow chests, yet they are able to work in the most wonderful way, and to go on for any length of time. Each oar of a sturgeon-head boat weighs about a hun- dred pounds, being of great length and thickness, but suddenly narrowing to the dimensions of an ordinary oar towards the end, so that the men may obtain a firm grasp with the hand. The rowers t I- f t^il) lO THI-: LAND Ol- THE MUSKEG i:; t f'» place a pad under one foot, the \eg being held nearly straight before them, with the other leg beneath the seat, they rise to a standing position, and then throwing their weight on the sweep, and getting a sharp kick off from the pad, they sink back to the bench, thus completing the stroke. As may be imagined, this is no light work, but the men do not seem to mind it, and will go on all day, and sometimes all night, laughing and cheerful, so long as the food is plentiful and to their liking. Towards the south there lay a low table mountain about two thousand feet above the lake ; it was the only hill in the landscape, and, as such, gained a certain dis- tinction. But it appears that it has a far greater claim to reverence than one would be led to suppose. For, according to Indian tradition, this is the home of thunder. They say that upon it there dwell many enormous birds ; now and again they flap their wings with loud noise, and this is what men rail thunder. As these immense creatures never condescend to visit the plain, but remain for ever upon the revered mountain, there is no legend which would lead one to suppose that they have ON'K OK Till-; tm-.w •-'♦*- ■^^H-— •'^" I'ROM THE ATHAHASKA LANDING I I ever appeared to mortals, but for many years the fact of their existence was never doubted. I do not imagine that any up-to-date Indian believes or even considers these traditions. Christianity has long since reached them, and they have lost even the semblance of their former mythology. Yet so strongly does the religion of one generatfon affect the speech of another, that you will often hear a man say, after a stormy night, that 'they have been flapping a good deal.' During the entire voyage the wind remained contrary, and the rain swept down the lake in drenching squalls, so that we were glad to find shelter under a friendly tarpaulin, and there re- mained huddled above the bilge in somewhat dismal mood. On the third day we sighted land towards the west, lying low and unbroken on the horizon, but it was not until late in the afternoon that we drew towards the shore. Once more under the lea of the swamp our lives again became a bur- den to us, for the mosquitoes seemed to scent our approach and came out in unnumbered deputations to welcome us. Until this time we had encountered only the small grey mosquito, but it seemed that its season was over, and that the reign of the large yellow insect had come. This was of a light brown or yellow colour and of immense size. We measured the trunks of several specimens, which we found to be a quarter of an inch long. Neither It -v ( f ! ^ h^ J! f 13 THH LAND OI" TMI-: .MUSKi:r, clothinj; nor thick gloves were any [jrotcction from their attacks, and their boldness and recklessness of life and limb made them almost unendurable. The last part of our journey was along a shallow- channel through the large swamp that lies below the Fort — the haunt of innumerable ducks and wild-fowl— and, turning slightly towards the north, we unloaded the boats on the open shore in front of the Slave Lake Post. This post is the metropolis of the district, being the headquarters of the Com- pany for an immense area and the chief trading - place of the Cree- speaking In- dians in the North-West. The names of the Company's stations make a brave show upon the map, standing out in such clear black type that the stranger expects to find a city at least as large as Man- chester, and might be excused if he expressed some surprise upon seeing the place as it actually is. At the Little Slave Lake Post, for instance, the ' fort ' is a low log building, comfortable enough, but not imposing. Near by are several barn-like THE LAST OK OUK HOAT .•.rt.'...>t ' ■BB IRO.M Till' ATHAHASKA LANDING ^3 Structures where the fur is sorted and stored ; a little to the left stands the Catholic Mission and small chapel ; a few sheds and paddocks, a corral for the horses half hidden by the bush, and a score or so of the roughest Indian shacks complete one of the chief centres of industry in the North- VVest. But small and cheerless as such places are, the hospitable kindness of their inhabitants makes one ever remember these little settlements with pleasure. It is seldom that a stranger visits one of these lonely posts, but when he does, he feels that he has found a second home in a foreign land. We passed a pleasant evening at the post with Mr. M'^Donald's family, and then returned to our ramp to fight off the insects and try to sleep. On the following day we called upon the mis- sionaries, and very pleasant fellows we found them. One of them seemed to be in bad health, so we turned the Doctor on to him and watched with interest his treatment of the sick man. Now the Doctor, although by no means a large man, had a stentorian voice, and of this circumstance he seemed inordinately proud. In all cases of emergency or need he was in the habit of shouting his loudest, and he roared out his questions and medical advice in so savage a tone that the unfortunate priest seemed to think that he had committed some mon- strous crime in being ill, and had hardly the face to describe his symptoms. T 14 THE T,AND OF THE MUSKEG li: i ■ We were still about one hundred and thirty mile': from Dunvegan, and had the following ar- rangements to make : In />rimis, we were told that it would b^ difficult to get pack-horses farther up the country, so that we should be obliged to obtain them at Slave Lake, where we then were. Secondly, we had to get carriage for our goods as far as the Peace River Crossing, by what is known as the Slave Lake Road. But the Company's ox-train was not due to start until tv. o days after our arrival, so that thus far all was simple. Finally, we should have to trust to luck and the missionaries on the Peace River to convey us to Dunvegan, after reaching which we should be independent of the Company, and might set out through the bush with the horses, in whatever direction we chose. Of course, if the missionaries failed us, we could march with the pack-train to Dunvegan, but we knew that we could travel more rapidly with a wagon, Ci iving the horses unpacked before us. Mr. APDonald had given orders that the horses should be brought in from the range for our inspection, so we all adjourned to the corral and there spent the greater part of the day. Finally, we bought nine horses for four hundred and ninety dollars, small hardy-looking animals, and well up to weight. We knew that we should require more for the rough work in the bush, but we had taken all we fancied, and Mr. McDonald told us that e o EH iz; o iz; o Q F • f ,, •iif ? MB I FROM THE ATHARASKA LANDING 15 though we should be certain to get a few animals on the Peace River to carry the extra burdens, we could not count upon finding enough to make a pack-train. And this turned out as he had pre- dicted. But most important of all, we had still to find an Indian who should combine the skill of a hunter with some sort of knowledge of the unexplored country through which we proposed to travel. Round knew the natives well, and said that one Daukhan Tustowits, a famous hunter, was just the man we wanted. He told us that if we could only find this man the success of the expedition would be assured, but that we might have ^rreat difficulty in discovering his whereabouts, as he would certainly be away hunting in the bush. If he were within reach at all, it was probable that he would be somewhere in the Peace River country; and so it was settled that Round and Pollen oukl ride on to the river and send out men to scour the country for him. They were to take food with them upon a pack-horse, and make what haste they could, so that by the time the main party arrived they would know whedier they were likely to get him or not, and thus the expedition would be delayed as short a time as possible. Ramsey, the Doctor, and I were to follow on horseback with the ox-train, driving the pack-horses with the assistance of one John Knot, a half-breed herder and doo-- m i6 THE LAND OI' THE MUSKEC, < t t . ly." '' 1 1 sleigh driver of the Company's, This plan seemed excellent, but we had forgotten one thing. The Doctor was no equestrian, and did not look forward to a riding lesson over nearly one hundred miles of rough road with any pleasure. Of course, travelling with the ox-train, we should not go beyond a foot- pace, but still he showed a very natural distaste for so unwonted an exercise. We were told that the road was at all times atrocious, and at this season of the year in particularly bad condition, and he could hardly be expected to jolt for so long a journey in a springless ox- wagon. Mr. M'^Donald, how- ever, again came to our rescue, saying that he would himself drive the Doctor in his light car^ and thus get us out of our difficulty. To this kind proposal our inimitable medical adviser gave his assent, saying that he did not mind in the least. Having secured the necessary number of gunny sacks to supply deficiencies in the matter of saddle-blankets we were ready to set out. The sturgeon-head and Indian crew were once more requisitioned, and we moved round the last curve of the Lake, and camped amidst the ox-carts at the extreme west end, ready for the march on the morrow. There we visited IMr. Holmes, the A NATIVK FROM THE ATHABASKA LANDING 17 Anglican missionary, and his family, and talked of the old country and of our present surroundings. Of course, all Anglican missionaries in this country are to a certain extent poachers. The country is without doubt Cau.olic— that is, in so far as it may be said to be Christian at all ; and the unnecessary rivalry of sects must do much towards confusino- the smiple-minded native. It may be answered that two good things are better than one, and I do not deny it for a moment. Mr. Holmes is a model missionary, and the pity of the thing is, that they are not all like him. But the fact that in many places the Indians are Pro- testant in the winter when the times are hard, and Ca- ^ tholic when there is nothing to be gained, is somewhat startlinpf. We were up betimes next morning, and Pollen and Round got their kit together for their flying ride. At twelve, after a hasty lunch, they set off at a sharp trot ; and about a couple of hours later the ox-train began to get under v/ay. Each animal drew a two-wheeled cart, and was tied^to the tail of the cart before him, so that one man was able to manage four or five carts, and by leading the foremost ox could direct a small procession. In B A u.\LK-iiKi;i;i) ^ i i8 THE LAND OF THIL MUSKI'G ,/ ' I !''. I addition to the fourteen small carts there was a wagon drawn by four oxen, and another to which four horses were harnessed. The wagons moved off first, then came the ox-train, then a single cart in which the whole of John Knot's family travelled, sheltered from the sun by green branches, and finally, Ramsey and I brought up the rear on horseback, driving our newly purchased animals before us. The whole country was covered with a dense forest of poplar and cotton-wood, so that one could see but a few yards to the right d*- left. The branches met overhead, and the road beneath was an oozy swamp of black mud untouched by the sun. Great pits and dykes furrowed its sur- face, and were filled to the brim with the staQ-nant water. Through these the wagons pitched and swam like ships in a heavy sea, now falling on the brink of disaster, then again righting, and again all but overturning on the other side. The loud creaking of the wheels filled the air. Far away in the front of the long line a root or hole w'ould jolt some wagon, making the axles scream ; as we approached we could hear the loud cry coming ever nearer, as cart after cart en- countered the obstacle, and all the while the whole train lumbered along irroaningf. When we passed through the swamp great clouds of mosquitoes llew out upon us. The necks and shoulders of the horses were grey with them, and FROM THE ATHADASKA LANDING 19 ran blood from the bites of the bull-doo; flies. As we marched at a foot-pace, we had not made more than five miles by camping-time. On the following morning we made a very early start, and soon passed the ox-train. Charley, the head of the Hudson Bay Company's transport on this road, an old hand at srUCK IN A SWAMl' the work, drove the horse-wagon and came ahead with us. Here and there we crossed little open meadows, and it was in one of these that the wagon became hopelessly bogged. The team could not draw it out of the mud-hole, so we unhitched the horses and waited for the coming of the oxen. On their arrival we harnessed five oxen fei) 20 THF, LAND OF THI': MUSKEG J:,' f f r 1^ f l'^ •; t f 1 ''M w^sd in front of the four horses, and urgin_Lj them for- ward with whip and voice tried to move the wagon. Charley, erect upon the box, cracked his long stock whip over the struggling animals ; an Indian stood at the head of the leaders trying to keep them to the road, whilst the remainder of the party belaboured the oxen with heavy sticks. But the wagon did not move. The panting teams swerved and slipped in the mud, and finally collapsed in a heap in a shallow pool by the roadside. We tried again and again, till the coats of the eight beasts were white with lather, but did not succeed in drawing the wagon to firm ground for nearly two hours. On the following day Mr. A^Donald and the Doctor overtook us, and we travelled all day to- gether in torrents of rain. The flies nearly drove us mad, so that we were forced to wave green branches round our heads continually as we rode, in a vain attempt to drive them off. On the third day we camped near another outfit — that of a free trader named Riviere, the sworn enemy of the Hudson's Bay Company. He had with him two Belgians, whose conduct was strange in the ex- treme. It appeared that one of them asked the other to fetch a bucket of water. He accordingly started towards the swamp to do so, but returned saying that he would not fetch water in a pail which he considered improperly cleaned. Upon I'ROM THK aTHAIUSKA LANDING 21 this there ensued a fiery discussion on the subject of pails, so that the Bel^nans nearly came to blows. However, they decided to lay their case before La Riviere, and allow him to decide whether the pail was clean or no. Now La Riviere was sitting" in his tent talking- to a venerable Catholic mis sionary, who happened to be goin_(r over the road in his caravan, when they entered, bucket in hand. ' IlliKIi AM) 'lilKKE UK ( AMK Tl) .S.MA1,L I'UAlKll.s' But it was all to no purpose. Before either had stated his case a paroxysm of fury seized both young men, and they began to fight, using the prostrate bodies of the free trader and the mission- ary as their battle-ground. The tent was small, and the view of the interior during the next few moments suggested a human kaleidoscope. Here and there we came to small prairies a mile or so across, where the ground was firm ; but for the most part we continued to travel through i s T hi 22 Till- LAND OI" Tllli Ml'SKI'd ■i: > J,l }■■ I.' <' If ' ' I swampy woods. Now for the first time we made the acciLiaintance of the muskeg swamp, and from this time forward hardly a day passed to the end of the journey when we did not curse this particular abomination. At first sight a muskeg seems no very terrible affair. Green spongy moss covers the ground, whilst here and there lie small pools of clear water. One realises that the moss is soft and wet, and that the travelling may be heavy, but nothing more. But no sooner have you set foot upon its treacherous surface than the thing becomes more serious. The beautiful green moss seems to catch your foot as in a vice, and to rise swiftly towards you. When a man faints he somef.mies imagines that the ground has risen up and struck him ; this is exactly the sensation of him who walks in a muskeg. You feel that you must quickly take another step before it is too late, and so you plod on, and soon you tire. In point of fact there is little danger of being sucked down, but the place has a most melancholy look. Nothing else on earth can be so vividly green and yet so utterly desolate. Several times we saw skunks upon the road, and indeed John Knot contrived to kill one — a most difficult job, as no one dares come to close quarters with these small and inoffensive-looking animals on account of the fearful stench which they are capable of emitting when provoked. The it FROM THl- ATHAHASKA LANDIXC 23 distance to which tht;y can throw the stinking- llujtl is remarkable, and their aim unfailing. Any gar- ment which they even sprinkle must immediately be thrown away, and the man who wore it is no welcome guest for many days afterwards. John was a most pleasant companion, and had a mightily quaint way of expressing his ideas. He was also a very hard worker, with a high character for honesty. Besides his other accom- plishments he spoke Cree like a native, and understood the lan- guage of the Beaver Indians, ^ through whose country we were 71 to pass. We were already short- handed for so long an expedition, and so when I met Pollen at the crossing, he needed little per- suasion to agree that it w^ould be best to engage John to join our party. The flies were so troublesome in the evenings that I was often obliged to make a small fire, or smudge, as it is called, and sit in the smoke when writing up my journal ; but even when so uncom- fortably situated, and with gloved hands, I could hardly write two words without stopping to crush some bold insect which had found the seams in the gloves, and had already commenced his meal. A TYl'K I f,l I i n L^i '' * I, * H , ! \i ' CHAPTER II THE PEACE RIVER On the seventh day after leaving the Lake we sighted the great Peace River. We had been travelling on a plateau sloping gently towards the north-west ; but now the land sank down rapidly to the river at a sharp angle, and we stood upon bold bluffs overlook ing the plain. Be- low us lay the mighty river, winding ma- j e s t i c a 1 1 y amongst the little hills and prairies. Mile after mile of thickly timbered rolling country stretched out before us in great sweeping lines of hill and valley. Towards the south-west, where the Smoky River joined the Peace, a great curtain of blue haze shut out the view. No white man, and but few Indians, 2-t FIRST VIKW OF TIIK I'liAClC ^ fe- I I ) ' M I J THE Pi'Aci-: ri\i:r 25 liavc ever penetrated this country, or solved the mystery of this perpetual smoke ; but it is tiiou-^ht that a burning coal-mine must exist upon the river- bank, as no sign of volcanic action has ever been observed in the surrounding district. The Indians give the place a very wide berth, but one more bold than his fellows once confessed to me that he had explored the region, and gave a picturesque if not entirely scientific account of v.hat he saw. He .'.lid that the ground was hot and scorched, but that he could perceive no noise or subterranean rumbling. Upon drawing near to the centre of activity, the smoke, he said, jumped up at him 'like a man from his bed.' We moved down the slope, and presently came to the river-bank, where we found Round and Pollen settled in a small log cabin, ihn property of the Company. They were full of tales of the road, and gave us graphic descriptions of their forced march. On the first half-day they had covered twenty miles, and had done the remaining eighty in the two following days. What with the flies and the incessant rain they had had a pretty hard time. They had taken no tent with them, but contented themselves with the laro-e piece of canvas or tent-fly, and so had been but scantily sheltered from the rain. Whilst in Edmon- ton we had purchased square coffin-like mosquito- nets ; but, as we always slept in the tent, we had only used them to block the door the more effec- , I 1 'I II 26 THIL LAND OI- Till-: MUSKI'(} ■tl f. i- •' !' 1 1, i I ( tually. Round and Pollen, however, had been tentless, and therefore pitched the nets each night. and were loud in their praise. Every man in the country, Indian or white, uses these com 'ivances if he is rleeping- in the open, for the alternative of lying between fires of damp logs is by no means attractive. When the Indian is pitchmg with his tepe he is safe from t!ie attacks of insects, as a fire is always kept burning in the centre of the lodge. But when he rests in the open he uses die pro- tective net, even if it costs him a half c ^ his worldly wealth. We found that our advanced guard had been by no means idle. They had ^ent out a man named Akinum to look for Daukhan Tustowits, and bv threat u'ood fortune he had found him. Vkinmn himself had already returned, and Daukhan had promise'! to be with us in a few days. They had also visited the Smoky River Mission, on the far nide of the Peace, and \\ A secured a wagon and th*^ services of a lay brother for the journey to Dunvegan. The brother had promised to call for us at the house r!" a half-breed named Pat, or: the other side of the river, and it had been arranged that Ramsey, the Doctor, and I should take our possessions up to the ?>Iission, whilst Pollen and Round were t) take the horses cross the river with whatever native help the'^ coukl muster. The Peace River is here about thirteen hundred i '**>'W '• ^^^^mmf^mm ■Mm mmmmmmmsm^mimm f *i rHK pi<:ace iuwim 27 feet \v;de, with an eioht-mile current, and Is said to be very deep, Tlie water is so muddy that one can hear the sand hiss in the stream, and even a bucketful will make a sHght noise when freshly drawn. Our first move was 10 take tlxe goods across. 'J^he only available scow, a punt-like boat, leaked alarmingly, and it seemed hardly safe to load it with the whole of our possessions, which weiglied nearly twenty- five hundred pounds. However, we knew that it was getting late, and that we should only be able to make one trip before nightfall, so we piled our stores and goods into the ferry, and hunted the neighbourhood for Indian help. Akanan, an Indian called Piddlicks (the native rendering of Frederick), and a half-witted man named Monias, were pressed into our service, and soon we were ready to start. After many adieus to Charley, and expres- sions of gratitude to Mr. M'Donald, we set out for the farther shore. On account of the swiftness of the river we were forced to go up the stream for more than a mile before we le^t the bank, and very arduous work it was; but finally we decided that we might safely turn acros.s, and in a moment were whirlino- in the swift current. A man who has nev(.'- rowed in rapid waters can have no idea of the teeling of utter helplessness which comes over one at such a ^!oMAS 1 '#.'\r m- 28 Till'. LAM) OI- Till' MLSKllC, ft?' • ' ■ t time. Tho whole landscape seemed to spin by us at an alarmint^ rate, and row as we might, we could make no headway against the current. Here and there we saw huge pine-trees floating down the river. Now and again some undercurrent would catch them, and they would rear sixty feet of their length clear out of the water, as though upheld by some giant hand, and then fall without warning, making a mighty splash. The least touch of one of these would have sent our frail craft to the bottom, and our own chances of safety or rescue would have been slioht indeed. At last, after a fearful struggle, we came to calmer water, and landed opposite Pat's cabin in a very exhausted condition. Pat, who was a mild-faced half-breed, did not seem the least disturbed at see- ing us, and when we told him that we intended to spend the night in his cabin, expressed no surprise, but simply sat on his door-stef) whilst we made our- selves comfortable in his mansion. I do not think he had any objections to our coming, but I am bound to say that we calmly took possession without ask- ing his leave. He would have been astonished if we had done so. He sal on the door-step while we cooketl our supper on his stove, until \\\t felt obliged to entreat him to come in and share it, as if W(j had been the hosts and he the guest. The three men who had lu:lped us across the river now came up for payment, st* \vc wrote cheques nil': I'luvcr: ri\'i:k 29 on the Hudson's Bay Company for so m my 'skins' apiece, and then remain^xl talking to thjm for some 1 1 ill we irc St. vcr ACS J 4*" -aBfe!: imim*- t^vt™r •■■-- ~ t9"v^^ ^i: M. II. KnlM) time. Poor liaif-witted Monias told us stories of his unfortunate and almost sui)ernatural powers, which, though e.xtraordinary, are quite unprintable. I^i-i! 30 THI': LAND Ol- THIi MLSKF.G That night we slept on Pat's floor under our mos- quito-nets, which gave the little room the appear- ance of a laundress's drying-yard. On the following morning the lay brother came down with the wagon, into which we packed our goods, and then Ramsey, the Doctor, and I started towards the Mission, leaving Pollen and Round to cross and the horses to follow next morning. Our driver, who was a Frenchman, and an exceedingly pleasant fellow, told us all he l;new of the land and the climate, and made the journey very agreeable for us. Never have I seen such a glorious country as we now travelled over. On our left we could see the mighty river flowing between the dark pine-trees, wooded hills and sweeps of green prairie extending on all sides, covered with countless flowers, and acres of blood-red lilies ; while thickets of saska- toon, raspberry and gooseberry bushes, were banked up against the timber. After a while we descended into the river-bottom again, and stopped at the house of one Mackenzie, where the Doctor attended a patient. Then we went forward a little way and made our camp near the Mission. The priests and Mackenzie have cultivated a considerable portion of the valley, which is exceptionally fertile. But it is said that it is very difiicult to grow anything upon the beautiful plain above on account of the early frosts. The notes to be found on the maps of the country are emphatic in their praise of the THI-: pi:aci-: ri\hk 31 ! soil, which is undoubtedly fine ; but if the experi- ence of the inhabitants is to be relied upon, the whole area fit for cultivation only comprises a few small river-side Hats in many thousands of square miles. There has lately been a great 'boom' about the Peace River. Mr. Pike'' has already done his best to prick the bubble, but I have heard so many ignorant people aver that this IS a great farming country, that I think these facts cannot be too often repeated. It is a dreadful thing to think of the wretched emigrants who toil to this promised land only to find a useless country, and who are often unable to return to civilisation! but are forced to endure all the severities of the winter in a lattitude where the temperature has often fallen to si.xty degrees below zero. The missionaries, Peres Xerc. Husson. and La Treste. were kindness itself, making us presents of milk and butter, and allowing us to camp before their door by the banks of the Peace. The news that we had a great medicine-man in the outfit -spread fast, and soon our camp became a sort of hospital. Ghastly old hags hung round our fire, whilst maimed men and sick children stood silently watching us, waiting to be cured. The natives pu'i great faith in the 'medicine' of the white man. and believe that every Hudson's Bay Company's officer is a past master of the art. So great is their faith, that when the medicine-chest is exhausted they are m .1 M 32 THI:: LAND OF THE MUSKEG s ' w .>. If v*. / PAT often completely cured of minor ailments after taking a tumbler of dissolved tooth-powder or some such harmless compound. I very much doubt if the doctor's remedies were as successful, for they were made up in small tablets and globules, very convenient for travel- ling indeed, but then they lacked the unpleasant taste and bulk which the sick of the district believed to be indispensable to a complete cure. On Sunday Pollen and Round came up from ' The Crossing ' with the pack-horses, having had hard work on the previous evening ferrying them across the river. They told us that Daukhan Tustowits was already at the river-bank, and he rode up in the morning, accompanied by John Knot. Daukhan was a small wiry man about forty years of age, with thin black hair upon his chin. The pure Indian grows little or no hair on his face ; but Daukhan had white blood, and indeed somewhat resembled the ideal French cavalry officer in appearance. His manners were perfect, and the neatness of his speeches, which Round interpreted, was beyond liAUlvHAN THi: I'KACi-: ri\i:r 33 praise. Of course he had no English, but spoke in the soft and beautiful Cree lani^uage, and with the assistance of Round we carried on a long conversa- tion with him. Daukhan said that bears were very plentiful, and that he thought it would be a good hunting year, as the saskatoon bushes would bear a large crop of berries. He approved of our plan of march, saying that he knew the greater part of the country which we proposed to explore, and that although he had never crossed the Rockies by the Pine Pass he had no doubt he could find the way. During the afternoon Mr. Gunn,the Hudson's Bay Company's officer at Fort St. John, rode into camp. He had been paying a visit to Mr. Brick, the Anglican missionary, close at hand, and he proposed that we should go and call upon him. The Mission lay near the river, within three or four miles of the Catholic church ; and so, as the day was Sunday, we thought it best to ride without our rifies, in case we might break in upon some open-air service and seem too mundane to His Reverence. The trail was open and smooth, and the leaves of the young poplar-trees glittered wonderfully in the sunshine. Away up the valley we could see the fences and ploughed fields of the Anglican Mission, but the house was still hidden from us by the bush. Suddenly we heard a loud crash in the under- growth. The most inexperienced 'tender-foot' could c i J" A' I ill. i 4 » I I 'I' 34 THI' LAND or THE MUSKEG have told in an instant what was the cause of the commotion. When a horse or a cow is stampeded, it rushes headlong- forward, but to a certain extent it avoids small trees and dead branches ; a bear, however, crashes throusfh the bush without a moment's hesitation. We had hardly reined in our horses when the animal appeared. It was a black bear of immense size, standing nearly twelve hands high at the shoulder. He swung along at a lumber- ing canter within a few yards of us, but through our silly desire to please the missionary we had left our rifles behind and could do nothing. The shiny coat of the huge brute was wringing wet, and he seemed much exhausted, so th..it we made sure that he had only just crossed the river. Shouting to Mr. Gunn to ride forward and try and head off the bear, we turned our horses and raced back to camp for our rifles, but when we returned the bear had disappeared. Mr. Gunn said that the animal had been so exhausted that it could hardly move, and that he had ridden alongside of it for a con- siderable distance. But finally it had escaped him in some thick undergrowth, and had made for the hill. Half-way up it had b- jn obliged to rest, hanging out its tongue and panting like a dog, but finally it had recovered sufficiently to proceed, and had made off towards the timber on the upland. We knew that it would be useless to attempt to follow it, as the ground was hard, and it would have " V THli PKACF- UIVKR 35 left no tracks. Before long, however, we discovered the place where it had landed after crossing the river, and found the great foot-marks of the huge animal in the mud. The Peace was particularly broad and fast at this spot, so that it was no wonder that the bear was exhausted ; and we turned our horses towards the Mission again, feeling very cheap, and sorry for ourselves, John Gough Brick was standing at the door of his house when we rode up. He wore a large pair of moccasins on his feet, blue overalls covered his legs, surmounted by a long black frockcoat, a grey flannel shirt and a celluloid collar, Mr, Brick was kindness itself, entertaining us with a jovial hospitality that was past praise, and with a fund of Rabelaisian anecdote marvellous in its steady volume. I have heard that he has gained for himself quite a reputation as a raconteur in this particular line. And there can be no doubt that few ministers of the Church of England have so full and varied a vocabulary of purely secular language. He has a large farm near the river, which, as he told me, had been started as a school of Agricul- ture for the Indians. The game is fast disappear- ing from the country, and unless the natives are taught to raise crops and till the land, they will undoubtedly starve. But as Mr. Brick boisterously observed, ' I don't allow any of those damned Jh Ih I U'. m^'i' 'V'^l I w 36 I III". LAND OI" rill' MISKMG Indians round wi' place' He lias not even a rudimentary Unowledsj^c of the lan<;ua_<,re of his con<'rciration, and so would be (luite unable to preach in the native tonoue, ev(;n if he hatl a mind to. But he has resided at the Mission for some years, and he told me quite seriously that ' he knew the Cn:e for bread.' The Mission is, I believe, not financed by the Church of F. upland Missionary Society, although the liishop of Athabaska retains his hold over the place, which will return to the Society upon the death or retirement of the present occupant. Mr. Brick is, without doubt, a most capable and enerp^etic farmer, but he has, of course, no market for his produce, and so, althouL^h he can almost make a living' by his own industry, he cannot make sufficient to carry on the good work amongst the heathen {/.c. Catholic). Ac- cordingly, from time to time he makes pilgrimages to England, and there collects funds. If this gentleman appeared in the old country saying : ' I am an ex- cellent farmer ; I am a pioneer in a savage land ; I am an honest man, who works to support a wife and family. My life is hard, but I am opening up a JOHN KNOT nil'. I'i'Aci': ri\i:r 9-7 new centre for iniinii^n'ation,' no one could luuc^ anything- to say against the proceedini;-, althoiiL;h Mr. Hrick nii^ht not ac(iuire as mucli money as he tlocs .it present. lUit when on(? thinks of the needy people, who with many a stru<;Lile have subscribed their pittance that poor savay^es may gain knowledge and hear the gos[)el, the case alters consideral)ly. I<"or my own part, I beli(;ve that more ffood miuht be done nearer home bv the outlay of the same money ; and to me it seems particularly absurd to ket;p ministers of religion in a foreign land simply to convert the renmants of a dying race to Protestantism, when the Catholics have already made th<'m about as Christian as they are capable of being. However, it was impossible to know Mr. F>rick and be angry with the man; he was so plausible and so amusing that one forgot his faults in laughing at his sallies and highly seasoned humour. As there were many pigs and cattle round the place, we agreed to buy a calf from him. in order that we might lean as lightly as possible ui)on our provisions on the road to Dunvegan. Then we said ' Good-bye ' and returned to our camp. We had already hired another wagon from Mackenzie, so that we were ready to start, which we did upon th(; following morning. We rode, driving our pack-horses, whilst the Doctor drove beside the lay brother, and Mackenzie's m .< I /•I ■A H 38 Till-: LAND 01- Till-: MlSKia. boy brouj^ht on his own vvae^on behind. Round and Pollen went down to Brick's with one pack- horse to fetch away the calf which Mr. Brick had promised to kill for us, arrangint^ to meet us at luncheon-time upon the trail. They arrived at the Mission, and were shown the carcass of the calf han'nntr in the slau home and saw his dog standing over the cradle covered with blood. Then he was wild with rage and shot at the dog with the magic bow ; and the arrow flew and killed the dog, but pierced his son as well, and he came and saw many dead wolves around the cradle, and realised that his faithful dog had protected the child, and that he had lost his son through disobedience to the laws of the ' Cunnincr One.' The second tale is the Cree version of the Flood, in which the ' Wanderer ' appears again, this time as Noah. The main oudine of the story closely re- sembles the Biblical account, but it will be observed that the dove has been changed into the beaver to suit the local taste, and also that their habit of dam- building is accounted for. Once the whole earth was covered with water, but the ' Wanderer ' was in a big canoe with many kinds of animals ; and after he had been on the water for many days without seeing land, he de- termined to send an animal to dive down to see if the water \v^as still deep, or if the flood were abat- ing ; so he sent down a young beaver. But the little animal was afraid to dive too deep, and re- turned, saying that he saw nothing but water and no land. Then the ' Wanderer ' was verv an. 1 1, r--^ "•- ■^"' V / ' IS^^' twi;lvi-,i-(j()T DAVIS IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A {/ 1.0 I.I fM IIM i« 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► V] c*m. f ^^ % ^/. y >^ Photograpliic Sciences Corporation s. ip ,\ 4 V \\ ^9> V #> 73 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 873-4503 .^ <' WJ>. JP & '> I [it Itl I"!-:' f (6. mam wS^ WVEQAN TO rOBT M'LEOD. JBnghsTi MiUs ffiSMl'J p ^ \f\ 'I r ■s. : 1 I'M 1 ; 1; DAiKiiw AM) ini: r.i:\Ks 5: On the following mornini; \vc bcij^an packini^ the horses. Now packing is an art that may not be learned in a short tinu'. I'ollen and 1 had had a considerable; amount of practice both in the southern Rockies and in California. Round, Daukhan, and John were experts, l^'or my part I confess that I had acquired but a slight knowledge KOlMl AMI I'dl.l.l N I'AI MM. ■ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^m^^ft % -•*■■" X . ., '-' ' • 1 \s % ' t ■ »■ . » .■ t of the art, as I have never been either strong or heavy erough to get the requisite pull on the lash- rope. Ar.d so it happened that the task of packing fell to the other four, whilst Ramsey, the Doctor and I busied ourselves with the other duties of camp. And there was much to be done. Let me describe the usual routine of a morning's work in Ml 1 58 TIM' LAND OI- TIM' MUSKHC } I I.. camp. First, the fire must be made up and break- fast prepared. Then, whilst the tent is beintj furled and the beds tightly rolled up, two or three of the party go out and bring in the horses, no light work, for the fourteen horses may be very widely scattered. Meanwhile the pack-saddles and saddle-blankets are sorted, and each pack, tightly rolled and roped, is placed near its own saddle ready to be fixed upon the back of the horse to which it belongs. Every- thing having been made ship-shape, the horses are saddled, and then the really hard work commences. A man stands on each side of a horse, and, lifting up a bundle weighing anything from fifty to one hundred pounds, fixes it to the side of the saddle with a small rope called a sling-rope. When both side-packs are secured, the top-pack is placed between the two burdens, and a cloth is thrown over the whole ; round this is thrown the lash- rope, a thick cord about forty feet long. This is passed round the pack in various ways, as the case demands, and runs over the girth under the animal's belly, the men handing the ' loose ' to each other in regular order, and pulling on the rope with one foot braced against the pack or horse's side. When all is made as tight as can be, the animal is turned loose, whilst the attention of the packers is given to the next horse. Meanwhile the knives and plates have been washed and the kitchen-horse packed, and at last the expedition gets under DAIKHAN AM) Illl. IMIAUS 59 way. As may be imai^incd, all this talcL-s time, and is besides so laborious that one is in some dejj^rce exhausted before the day's march l)eL,Mns. The great thing to be remembered about all wild travel on the American Cv ntinent is that each man must do his share to the best of his ability, so the work should fall evenly upon all members of an expedition. On the mor ling of our start we had a very hard time. The horses were fresh, and continued to buck off the packs as fast as we rixeu iliem, and we soon saw that we had not nearly enough animals to carry our possesr.ions. Of c*. irse we shaiz i:.l:; huddlinLT tOLrethcr in a tent. W-; : . . ti x -r^'in fast, as the horses were heavilv: .ui.:u:i- im: c:: of condition, so that it was not untjl die: rniri ^^ mai we crossi 1 the Rat River and ■iZin'^.L rm: lite poplar forest. The trees i^n^w -k^ ifi --- i'«_:tiiiitT 'MANY OF THK TKE!:? x :;xE iom: >y :s, le rh that the sky was obscured, and aociinv;: ~rSiz ht seen but the ^j;reen leaves overiitt:a5 zit^ iniDt under-brush below, and the grear wtnntr rs.t:r-:- and branches around us. Many of rfn^ -rr— - •: ■-^- rottinjT as they stood, and leaned on* a i:'* J! ! plctely covered with dry twigs, and when there is much hush, the difficulty is increased many-fold. In the winter the Indians follow the moose upon snow-shoes, thus gaining some advantage in pace. There is a popular superstition abroad, to the effect that a man can go more rapidly over the snow on snow-shoes than upon open ground on his feet. This of course is not the case, at least when the netted American shoe is used. It is true that an expert can run, and even jump, when wearing them, but they are worn simply to prevent a man's sink- ing into the snow. As the moose sinks belly-deep at every step, he tires comparatively soon, and an Indian who is a good traveller is able to overtake it, although he is sometimes obliged to follow the animal for seven or eight days in succession. The hardships which the Indians endure on these expedi- tions are very remarkable. They can carry but little food with them, and have no covering except their walking clothes ; they sleep for a few hours by a fire at night, and resume before daybieak the march, which they had prolonged far into the previous evening. Sometimes, when they are close upon the moose, they are unable to light a fire for fear of alarming him, and then they will curl themselves up under a bush and sleep with the thermometer at fifty and sixty degrees below zero, or keep moving to avoid being frozen. When they have killed the animal, they bring their I 1. I 1 there is nany-fold. )ose upon J in pace, the effect : snow on his feet, when the le that an •ing them, an's sink- Delly-deep n, and an overtake follow the Ion. The se expedi- y but little :cept their s by a fire le march, previous lose upon a fire for will curl with the elow zero, I. When ring their DAUKHAX AM) thJ.: IHIARS 67 edges and fl.milies and camp near the carcass feascng and hving in idleness until the meat is l^^one, when hunger again obliges then, to seek f<,r rcsh game. This alternate feasting and starving soon undermn.cs their constitutions, and many o'f them become the victims of dyspepsia and sin.ilar con.^un.. wh.h. with scrofula, are extermina^ mg the Beaver tribe. As thov -iro ..^f i • • 1 • ^s uicy are utterly minro- vKlent, many of them die of starvation, which mLh t be prevented by a little care even in ,his desohte Daukhan followed his moose, but found that it was travjelhng, and so left the trail and returned to camp. Meanwhile Pollen and I had discovered a 1^' «;-'y/-k, and had left our horses nd followed ,t for some distance, but lost it in a swamp. We returned to camp and told Daukhan nd on the ne.t day started out again with h m s.de of a small stream to the north of the prairie The grass was long, and the bear had left I broTd ^wmdi^ up the slopes and amongst Ih:^ Several ttmes we came upon other tracks, but Daukhan pronounced these old, although to our unpracfsed eyes they looked exactly siniHar to tl e f-sh one. Daukhan did some verv pretty sta ki I and seemed ciuite confident that he'cot.ld fm I' bear. IJ ,t ,t ,vas all to no purpose. The anin,a^ had wandered in circle.: =„A u : animal circles, and had crossed his own 1 1' 'f 1 i^^Vi mm ^M 68 Tin- LAND OI' Till' MlSKl'C. track so often that the whole hillside was lined and much of the grass beaten down. Finally, it became evident that the bear was moving himself, so we remounted, and beat a large piece of bush, galloping for about a mile through the underbrush as fast as we could, in ho[)es that we should cut him off and come to quarters ; but we saw nothing, and only got very much scratched by the thorns. Round indeed declared that he had heard the bear movinir. but rill. I'KAii;!!-: I . we could find no trace of him, so we returned to camp, feeling rather low. Daukhan had done some wonderful stalking, and it was only by chance that we had missed the animal. He was, however, very disconsolate at his failure. It seems a curious thing that no definite conclu- sion has yet been arrived at concerning the number of different kinds of bear to be found in North America. Men talk of roach-backs and cinnamons. I liAl KUAN AM) Tin; luvVKS 69 incd and ; became f, so we ^allopinrr LS fast as off and only got .1 indeed 'ini::, but returned ad done y' chance lowever, conclu- n umber 1 North namons, I silver-tips, and black and brown and grizzly bears, as though they were separate breeds ; and indeecl many thnik so. I think that the real reason of this IS that m each place the animals are called by diHerent names. Thus in Wyoming the griz/Iy is known as silver-tip, and so on. In the north, at all events, there an- only three kinds of bear. In the far north there is the polar bear. Next comes the grizzly bear, which does not differ from the grizzly of California or the silver-tip of Wyoming. 'I hen there is the common black bear, which ?s sometimes brown. Daukhan told me that he had absolute proof of this, as he had found a black bear with a black and a brown cub, just as the silver and cross foxes, and indeed red foxes, are all found together in the same litter. It has been suggested that there is sometimes a cross between the'^grizzly and the black bear; but Daukhan said he thought that this was out of the question, as the urir/ly persecutes the smaller animal. He declared that this was the reason why the black bear keeps so nuich to the wood, as it is able to escape from its enemy by climbing. He also said that more than once he had come upon the scene of one of the encounters, and had found the black bear literally torn to pieces, so that its skin was not worth dress- ing or curing ; and in such cases the black bear was not necessarily a male. Daukhan himself is a noted bear-hunter, havin-r fTossBBm&mwmm i t \l I \l 70 nil' l-AM) OI- IIII' Ml SKI'C; killed a wonderful number of these animals — j)ro- bably not less than 1 20 grizzlies alone, as may be proved by the entries in the fort journal at Dunvegan. He told us the story of one of his early adventures, which must certainly have been sufficiently exciting. A cousin of his. one Thomas, had been badly mauled by a particularly ferocious grizzly, and had been carried to his father's lodge in an almost dying condition. Daukhan no sooner learned this than, as he put it, he knew he must kill that bear. But he was only nineteen, the bear was evidently a very ' bad ' one, and his father flatly forbade his going after it. It seems that in the 'i'ustowitz family parental authority was supreme. It was therefore useless to attempt to gainsay his father, more especially as the stern parent had taken away his only rifle. So now he did not dare to tell his family that he was going after this one, but quietly took an old single-barrelled muzzle-loading shot-gun and a few caps, and told his father that he would shoot a few rabbits for supper. Then he started out and reached the place where his cousin had been found. Arrived there, he found a little open space, and on the farther side, amongst the bushes, he could hear the grizzly feeding. It was too thick to try to get at him. His only chance was to draw the bear into the open. He therefore stood out, and snapped a dead stick with his fingers. The grizzly f DAIKIIAN AM) llll- lU'ARS 71 Is— pro- as may irnal at l: of his vc been riiomas, crocious •'s lodge 0 sooner new he lineteen, and his [t seems )rity was ;empt to le stern now he is ^lo'inix barrelled ind told jbits for led the Arrived on the lear the to get le bear )ut, and grizzly was on its hind-legs in an instant, and, looking round, saw him. Without a moment's hesitation the grizzly {iiiysia/iia) had rushed out upon him 'roaring like a bull. Me had only the small muzzle-loader, and his caps were cracked and wet, so that if he did not kill at the first shot he was done for. Daukhan waited until the bear was almost upon him, and then fired and jumped cpiickly aside, ■ III, HAD ONI.V Till. ^MAI.l. MlV./l.i;-I.().\lil.lJ grasping at his side for his hunting-knife. Then he remembered that his father had taken this from him with the rifle. Hut his suspense was soon over, for the huge animal rolled over dead at his feet. I had been told the story of this youthful escapade before, so that I had no doubt of the truth of the tale ; and I have always thought it one of the pluckiest things I have ever heard. 72 Tin- i.ANi) ()!• rm- MrsKi-c Daukhan lcllin,Lj a bear story was porfiiclly spU.'iuIid. All Crc.'c Indians ust; i^cstiires in conversation, but DauUhan had a little French blood in his veins, and this, I suppose, i^ave him his extraordinary j^racc and ex|)ressiveness of motion. I lis father had been a cattle-herder to the Com- I < tf\ » (M "nil. IIL(ii; AM.MAI, KOI.I.I'.U OVIK DIAI) [)any at Fort Etlmonton in the old days, and was famous as a stron^f and darinqf man. He had once killed a grizzly unassisted, with a bow and arrow. It seems that a lari^^e party of Indians were attempt- ing to kill a very large bear which was hibernating during the winter. The bear, however, had sud- denly wakened up, and made a rush for the entrance DAIKII W AM) nil III AkS 73 Com- ic! was once ;u'row. [cmpt- nating sud- trancc of ihc cave, and liad so alarmed the men thai they had all turned and lied, leaving Daiikh;'n's father to face the bear alone. lie had to shoot with great rapidity, and in his haste made a had shot, so ih.it tiu' first arrow did not kill. It was a critical moment, and the bear was almost on him b(Tore Ik; hatl let lly tlu; second, 'Ihis fortunately pierceil its heart, and Daukhan toi us that to his ilying day tlu; old man's constant advice was never to fire a shot that was not the best that the shooter could do. It is curious that although the bow has disappeared from amongst them, the Iiulians never speak of shooting without str(;tching out the left hand and nicking the right near the ear, as if in the act of Icjttmg go an arrow. It seems that wherexcr nun have hunted much the animals have learnt to tlread them. And so in the more southerly portion of the Rockies a grizzly will seldom attack a man unprovoked. lUit in the North-West they have been known to attack men in the open country, and come some distance out of the bush to meet them ; and once or twice they have rushed upon a pack-train on the; march, and even entered a camp in spite of the fire. As a rule, however, even in the most unfrecpiented districts, the grizzlv, in common with most other animals, will seldom attack a human being unless driven to it or wounded ; although they will often attack cattle and horses on the ranee. I )aukhan said that f :ivr m i 'h -H I ,». f I 74 THl-: LAND ()!• THI- MUSKKG they generally stand upright and take a look at the intruder before they do anything. And this is the time to shoot. But when once they have made up their minds to charge they come with fear- ful swiftness and ferocity, and either club with their paws, smashing in the hunter's ribs, or, as has sometimes happened, hold him down and tear out his entrails. The number of times in which a bear has first knocked the gun out of a man's hand before attacking him is quite remarkable. The grizzly, of course, does not /i7/j^, but they have been known to hold a man with their feet and crush in his skull with their teeth. On the whole, bear- hunting is not a safe profession, and few of the Indians seek encounters with a grizzly. The Beavers, indeed, will go any distance to avoid one. Still, I fancy that the casual hunter runs no greater risk than he does with other big game, and, at all events, the odds are always on the side of a man who has a rille and knows how to use it. The black bear — Musqwah, as the Indians call him — is as a rule a timid animal, although at times he will turn and be exceedingly nasty. It seems that they grow to a far larger size in the North-West than in the more southerly districts, for Round told me that he had seen several skins larger than that of any grizzly that he had ever heard of An Indian named Louisan Thomas, a brother of the Thomas mentioned above, had a very nasty time with one DAIKH AN AND THR B£Jia&> ^O V :ng The one, eater tall man The 1 — is will thev m in that any dian mas one of these monsters. It seems dnin it-t vu- : the tracks, and suddenlv coine nu: : i f.^::^ -R-hii the bear. Before he had dn'i d:^ iir n:- ri-iV^ lif animal was upon him. and thevr ilt- : uth -c-_._j-rd upon the (ground together. Ldciiilvi le: v^f alue to reach his knife and killed, t&tr i'miii-.L- - . .' .-nal. but in the struijole the be^ir hiu: i;r: '.-^^- ^.. ibe skin off his head — had. in hict. icalrei i'm.. Tins encounter Louisan told us himsoiri ■_: - :.:5 i.car5 were eloquent of the tmth ot his- ^:r-r. ]i is a curious thiuLi' that amonijst ail die :e;ir -r.:ri-r i: L»e heard in Western America one s. • . irr . umt:* across a case of a man who has ai:n.a..'_ :rr-j: ,. ^-i. Of course there are such cases, bur a: iT--rr::f -r;^ the animal is e^enerallv Siitisiied wici tt... :: • _ i^ enemy and then retirin;^- from the neii: — ii=u_i-- -'^liu never eats its food fresh, but .iIw:lvs- i--( v-? t: lo ^;;;iet high, and this may account ior d:e v _ : -ariki it leaves what it believes is ceu.c. i ''S. ! ^^-r^-x th.it it very seldom kills a man Xy:>r rT:r«:. ii^ charges in self-protection, or to durenu -- •. The griz;.ly is omnivorous, eadnc • •- " vegetables, but it seems ^eneru^v ^ :-- latier, and subsists mainly on berries. Li^m. i^^i. in the spring, when there is no wild tiriui. ir ^ceirr* to devour many insects, attackinir am— JiiLs ^oid beating up the rotten logs widi tcs ^ii-WJi- in seardh of food. The force of its blow >- -rv'.'-L-^ ■^•'~r-j- ordinary, so that it will pulverise wiu .t^u.. v ...._ iLijd ■?y wr^ \i^ 76 Till-: LAND Ol' THI-: MUSKIIG scatter the fragments far and wide. When enraged, the grizzly will often stand upon its hind-legs and break down young trees with its fore-paws, roaring loudly the while. The female gives birth to two cubs every alternate year, and defends them until they are about twelve months old. The cubs often hibernate by themselves whilst the mother remains in retreat close at hand. There is a theory that the bear nourishes itself during its long sleep by sucking it? paws, and it is said that the under surface of the foot is sore and inflamed in the early spring. At all events it is certain that the bear is fat and in good condition when it emerges from its hole, but becomes thin and emaciated after it has been abroad for a few days. INDIAN l( 1; SCOOI' •I ! " «!■ CHAPTER IV CAMPING IN SWAMP Daukpian declared that there were not many bears in the neighbourhood of the prairie at the time when we visi;:ed it. Our hunts at anyrate were fruitless, and so we moved the camp and made a short march on 3rd of August. On the march Pollen ran a bramble into his eye, causing him much pain, and we camped early on the edge of the prairie. During the afternoon, Daukhan, John, and I, ascended a low mountain to the west of the camp and obtained a magnificent view of the sur- rounding country. Before us stretched mile after mile of forest-covered plain, showing great black- ened patches where fires had raged through the trees ; here and there the bend of a river shone in the sunlight ; and the wind rippled the long grass below us. Far beyond we could see the low foot- hills of the Rockies, and here and there a peak rose white and indistinct in the blue haze of distance. On the way back to camp we came across an old grizzly track of great size. As a rule we marched and hunted in the native moccasin, but I happened 77 ? J ^•■Wi^^i^^PI 78 THI' LAND Ol' Tlir, MUSKFG n to be wearing shooting-boots on this particular occasion, and I found that my two feet, side by side, fitted easily in the footprint of the bear. On returning to camp we found that Pollen's eye had become very much inflamed, and that he was in great pain. The Doctor had mixed some cocaine for him, which afforded him some relief; but he could hardly bear the light, and so had pitched his MAR ui:voNi) \vi: coui.n si:i-: Tin--, i.uw loor-mi.i.s mosquito-net under a shelter. He was entirely without sleep during the night, but continued to bathe his eye with the cocaine, which he kept in a saucer amongst his blankets. On the followinir morning, however, he was much worse, and the affair had become very serious. On examination we found that his saucer was full of ants and other insects which had crawled into his bed and fallen ' CAMPIXC. I\ SWAMP 79 into the medicine durinc: the nii^ht. and that in short he had been bathing his eye in a solution of formic acid. No wonder it liad set up a violent inllam- mation. V/herever we camped we were always much annoyed by ants, which swarm throughout the whole country, so that even when protected by a net from mosquitoes and other Hying insects, one's bed was always invaded by hosts of creeping things. With- out mosquito-nets life would be unendurable, and MOSQUITO M:rs dy to a he on ler en a man once stricken down by illness would most likely be worried to death. Even the moose and deer in the country are often killed by bull-dog (lies and mosquitoes, their blood being sucked away until they succumb through exhaustion. Pollen remained in the tent during the whole day in great pain. On the following day, however, he was much better, and with his eye bound up we put him on a ■'■p,".>ni«ju>i»i 1^1^41, m '1 80 Tin-: Ly\ND OF THR MUSKI-.C. ■ , i i f' horse and continued our way, travelling over a fairly open country. A forest fire had felled the timber and made the ground very fertile, so that we found an abundance of wild strawberries, and raspberries which were excellent. Towards evening we came to a river known to the Indians as Escapesscow Sepe, or the Sharp Stone Creek, where we camped and lay for the night in a thunderstorm. It had not rained for nine days, and this was the longest period of fine weather we experienced during the entire journey. On the morrow we crossed the river and marched on through much muskeg until we came to a small lake, where we camped. Ramsey now be- came very ill, suffering agonies of pain f'-om rheu- matism, so that we remained in the same place for several days hunting and exploring the country. The number of wild geese on the river was quite extraordinary. They would fly past in flocks for more than half an hour at a time, and even when th'^se were gone off, the next bend would disclose hundreds more. It was wdiile we were camped here that we first saw that most wonderful of all the beauties of nature — the aurora borealis. The sun had set with unusual splendour, the light and vaporous clouds holding for long a thousand shades of scarlet, orange, and gold. But no sooner was the last ray gone than pale streaks of green shot horizontally 1 CAMI'IXc; IX SWAMP 8i down the sky and then quivered and passed from side to side like luminous hanginrrs in the wind First one, then another, of these would appear, and then a score ; the intensity of h^ht chani,vincr from one ^nd to the other of the streak, and all passing and repassmg each other with endless and entranc- ing activity. It was a most striking and glorious sight to see half of the dome of heaven abla/e with the shifting dancing fires, the more so as the colour a pale apple-green, seemed so unusual in the sky ; When Ramsey was better we continued our march in the same manner as before. In many places we came across bear-tracks, but they were condemned by Daukhan as old, and not worth followin