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B'ij^?-' ■■ •..:.:i;y"< ''■^-\ . ■,V" ■. , 'S«^'„-«4'v::' JOURNEY TO TIIK SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, In 1819-20-2 1-22: WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE SECOND JOl RNEV In 1825-26-27. BY JOHN FRANKLIN, Cait. R.N. F.R.S. AND COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION. FOUR VOLS.— WITH PLATES. VOL. IV. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. MDCCCXXIX. -:^^:.mi..^m^;^t^^,^ CONTENTS OF THE FOURTH VOLUME. CHAPTER XU.—continued, Difficulty and delay in crossing Copper-Mine River — Melancholy and fatal results thereof — Extreme Misery of the whole Party — Murder of Mr. Hood — Death of several of the Cana- dians— Desolate State of Fort Enterprise — Distress suffered at that Place — Dr. Richard- son's Narrative — Mr. Back's Narrative — Con- clusion Page 1 An Account of the Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1825-26-27. 189 ^*w^:-^i^m^'':^^:^( f?^ JOURNEY TO THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. CHAPTER XII. (continued.) Journey across the Barren Grounds — Difficulty and delay in crossing Copper-Mine River — Melancholia and fatal results thereof — Extreme Misery of the whole Party — Murder of' Mr, Hood — Death of several of the Canadians — Deflate State of Fort Enterprise — Distress suffered at that Place — Dr. Richardson^s Narrative — Mr. Back's Narrative — Conclusion, The morning of the 7th cleared up a little, but the wind was still strong, and the wea- ther extremely cold. From the unusual continuance of the storm, we feared the winter had set in with all its rigour, and VOL. IV. B ^i^i-*<,V .;•»<* V, (>**«*^«»Hi|;, '. I Z JOURNEY TO THE SHORES that by longer delay we should only be ex- posed to an accumulation of difficulties ; we therefore prepared for our journey, al- though we were in a very unfit condition for starting, being weak from fasting, and our garments stiffened by the frost. We had no means of making a fire to thaw them, the moss, at all times difficult to kindle, being now covered with ice and snow. A considerable time was consumed in packing up the frozen tents and bed clothes, the wind blowing so strong that no one could keep his hands long out of his mittens. Just as we were about to commence our march, I was seized with a fainting fit, in consequence of exhaustion and sudden ex- posure to the wind ; but after eating a morsel of portable soup, I recovered so far as to be able to move on. I was unwilling at first to take this morsel of soup, which was diminishing the small and only remain- ing meal for the party ; but several of the men urged me to it, with much kindness. The ground was covered a foot deep with si cl ES only be ex- difficulties ; journey, al- fit condition fasting, and frost. We [ire to thaw difficult to ith ice and as consumed Its and bed roiig that no g out of his ►mmence our minting fit, in sudden ex- ler eating a Ivered so far ls unwilling [soup, which ]nly remain- eral of the kindness, deep with OF THE POLAR SEA. 3 snow, the margins of the lakes were in- crusted with ice, and the swamps over which we had to pass were entirely frozen ; but the ice not being sufficiently strong to bear us, we frequently plunged knee-deep in water. Those who carried the canoes were re- peatedly blown down by the violence of the wind, and they often fell, from making an insecure step on a slippery stone ; on one of these occasions, the largest canoe was so much broken as to be rendered utterly un- serviceable. This we felt was a serious disaster, as the remaining canoe having through mistake been made too small, it was doubtful whether it would be sufficient to carry us across the river. Indeed we had found it necessary, in crossing Hood's River, to lash the two canoes together. As there was some suspicion that Benoit, who carried the canoe, had broken it intention- ally, he having on a former occasion been overheard by some of the men to say, that he would do so when he got it in charge, we closely examined him on the point ; he roundly denied having used the expressions B 2 ■:«-'■- '*»'%^>«ife'^i|^a|!^|f1^C^ I ? I I i ! i , h I 4 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES attributed to him, and insisted that it was broken by his falling accidentally ; and as he brought men to attest the latter fact, who saw him tumble, we did not press the matter further. I may here remark that our people had murmured a good deal at having to carry two canoes, though they were informed of the necessity of taking both, in case it should be deemed advisable to divide the party; which it had been thought probable we should be obliged to do if animals proved scarce, in order to give the whole the better chance of procuring subsistence, and also for the purpose of sending forward some of the best walkers to search for Indians, and to get them to meet us with supplies of provision. The power of doing -this was now at an end. As the accident could not be remedied, we turned it to the best account, by making a fire of the bark and timber of the broken vessel, and cooked the remainder of our portable soup and arrow-root. This was a scanty meal after three days' fasting, but it served to allay the pangs of hunger, and I RES L that it was ally; and as e latter fact, not press the remark that good deal at though they iity of taking med advisable it had been be obliged to n order to give of procuring le purpose of best walkers get them to [ovision. The w at an end. remedied, we by making a .f the broken inder of our This was a fasting, but hunger, and OF THE POLAR SEA. 5 I enabled us to proceed at a quicker pace than before. The depth of the snow caused us to march in Indian file, that is, in each other's steps ; the voyagers taking it in turn to lead the party. A distant object was pointed out to this man in the direction we wished to take, and Mr. Hood followed immedi- ately behind him, to renew the bearings, and keep him from deviating more than could be helped from the mark. It may be here observed, that we proceeded in this manner throughout our route across the barren grounds. In the afternoon we got into a mort hilly country, where the ground was strewed with large stones. The surface of these was covered with lichens of the genus gyro* pJiora, which the Canadians term tripe de roche, A considerable quantity was ga- thered, and with half a partridge each, (which we shot in the course of the day,) furnished a slender supper, which we cooked w^ith a few willows, dug up from beneath the snow. We passed a comfortless night in our damp clothes, but took the precau- I i 6 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES tion of sleeping upon our socks and shoes to prevent them from freezing. This plan was afterwards adopted throughout the journey. At half-past ifive in the morning we pro- ceeded ; and after walking about two miles, came to Cracroft's River, flowing to the westward, with a very rapid current over a rocky channel. We had much difficulty in crossing this, the canoe being useless, not only from the bottom of the channel being obstructed by large stones, but also from its requiring gumming, an operation which, owing to the want of wood and the frost, we were unable to perform. However, after following the course of the river some distance we effected a passage by means of a range of large rocks that crossed a rapid. As the current was strong, and many of the rocks were covered with water to the depth of two or three feet, the men were exposed to much danger in carrying their heavy burdens across, and several of them actually slipped into the stream, but were immediately rescued by the others. RES iks and shoes ;. This plan roughout the •ning we pro- mt two miles, owing to the urrent over a h difficulty in r useless, not channel being but also from oration which, md the frost, However, e river some e by means lat crossed a strong, and td with water et, the men in carrying several of stream, but the others. OF THE POLAR SEA. 7 Junius went farther up the river in search of a better crossing-place, and did not re- join us this day. As several of the party were drenched from head to foot, and we were all wet to the middle, our clothes be- came stiff with the frost, and we walked with much pain for the remainder of the day. The march was continued to a late hour from our anxiety to rejoin the hunters who had gone before, but we were obliged to encamp at the end of ten miles and a quarter without seeing them. Our only meal to-day consisted of a partridge each, (which the hungers shot,) mixed with tripe de roche» This repast, although scanty for men with appetites such as our daily fatigue created, proved a cheerful one, and was re- ceived with thankfulness. Most of the men had to sleep in the open air, in consequence of the absence of Credit, who carried their tent ; but we fortunately found an unusual quantity of roots to make a fire, which pre- vented their suffering much from the cold, though the thermometer was at 17°. We started at six on the 9th, and at the JOURNEY TO THE SHORES end of two miles regained our hunters, who were halting on the borders of a lake amidst a clump of stunted willows. This lake stretched to the westward as far as we could see, and its waters were discharged by a rapid stream, one hundred and fifty yards wide. Being entirely ignorant where we might be led by pursuing the course of the lake, and dreading the idea of going a mile unnecessarily out of the way, we de- termined on crossing the river if possible ; and the canoe was gummed for the purpose, the willows furnishing us with fire. But we had to await the retiu*n of Junius before we could make the traverse. In the mean time we gathered a little tripe de rochey and breakfasted upon it and a few partridges that were killed in the morning. St. Germain and Adam were sent upon some recent tracks of deer. Junius arrived in the after- nooa and informed us that he had seen a large herd of musk-oxen on the banks of Cracrof\;'s River, and had wounded one of them, but it escaped. He brought about four .pounds of meat, the remains of a deer thai poo] wall i :s OF THE POLAR SEA. 9 inters, who lake amidst This lake far as we discharged d and fifty >rant where e course of of going a ay, we de- if possible ; le purpose, fire. But nius before the mean rochCi and partridges :. Germain le recent the after- id seen a banks of led one of [ht about )f a deer that had been devoured by the wolves. The poor fellow was much fatigued, having walked throughout the night, but as the weather was particularly favourable for our crossing the river, we could not allow him to rest. After he had taken some refresh- ment we proceeded to the river. The canoe being put into th water was found extremely ticklish, but it was managed with much dexterity by St. Germain, Adam, and Peltier, who ferried over one passenger at a time, causing him to lie flat in its bottom, by no means a pleasant position, owing to its leakiness, but there was no alternative. The transport of the whole party was effected by five o'clock, and we walked about two miles farther and encamped, having come five miles and three quarters on a south- west course. Two young alpine hares were shot by St. Germain, which, with the small piece of meat brought in by Junius, fur- nished the supper of the whole party. There was no trij)e de roche here. The country had now become decidedly hilly, and was covered with snow. The lake preserved -*.S.'..£*rt'^ -^ff^ls^.i^r m)h.%m:-mm tiiH'i^&^'MxA'^ 10 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES its western direction, as far as I could see from the sn-'^mit of the highest mountain near the en ipment. We subsequently learned from the Copper Indians, that the part at which we had crossed the river was the Congecatha-wha-chaga of Hearne, of which I had little idea at the time, not only from the difference of latitude, but also from its being so much farther east of the mouth of the Copper-Mine River, than his track is laid down; he only making one degree and three quarters' difference of longitude, and we upwards of four. Had I been aware of the fact, several days' ha- rassing march, and a disastrous accident, would have been prevented by keeping on the western side of the lake, instead of crossing the river. We were informed also that this river is the Anatessy or River of Strangers, and is supposed to fall into Bathurst's Inlet ; but although the Indians have visited its mouth, their description was not sufficient to identify it with any of the rivers whose mouths we had seen. It pro- bably discharges itself in that part of the IRES OF THE POLAR SEA. 11 s I could see lest mountain subsequently ians, that the the river was f Hearne, of time, not only ide, but also r east of the Liver, than his r making one difference of four. Had I ral days' ha- ous accident, y keeping on , instead of nformed also or River of to fall into the Indians cription was any of the n. It pro- part of the coast which was hid from our view by Goulbourn's or Elliott's Islands. September 10. — We had a cold north wind, and the atmosphere was foggy. The ther- mometer 18° at five A.M. In the course of our march this morning, we passed many small lakes ; and the ground becoming higher and more hilly as we receded from the river, was covered to a much greater depth with snow. This rendered walking not only extremely laborious, but also ha- zardous in the highest degree ; for the sides of the hills, as is usual throughout the bar- ren grounds, abounding in accumulations af large angular stones, it often happened that the men fell into the interstices with their loads on their backs, being deceived by the smooth appearance of the drifted snow. If any one had broken a limb here, his fate would have been melancholy indeed; we could neither have remained with him, nor carried him on. We halted at ten to gather tripe de roche, but it was so frozen that we were quite benumbed with cold before a sufficiency could be collected even for a - , ,...^-..sm t.'-. -^m^^^iSf^i: > I 1^.^1^^9|^^pf|,fp 16 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES this unpalatable weed was now quite nau- seous to the whole party, and in several it produced bowel complaints. Mr. Hood was the greatest sufferer from this cause. This evening we were extremely distressed, at discovering that our improvident com- panions, since we left Hood's River, had thrown away three of the fishing-nets, and burnt the floats ; they knew we had brought them to procure subsistence for the party when the animals should fail, and we cguld scarcely believe the fact of their having wil- fully deprived themselves of this resource, especially when we considered that most of them had passed the greater part of their servitude in situations where the nets alone had supplied them with food. Being thus deprived of our principal resource, that of fishing, and the men evidently getting weaker every day, it became necessary to lighten their burdens of every thing except ammu- nition, clothing, and the instruments that were required to find our way. I there- fore issued directions to deposit at this encampment the dipping needle, azimuth : SHORES s now quite nau- and in several it nts. Mr. Hood from this cause, •emely distressed, mprovident com- )od's River, had fishing-nets, and ' we had brought ^e for the party Lil, and we cguld their having wil- >f this resource, •ed that most of er part of their e the nets alone d. Being thus ^source, that of getting weaker sary to lighten except ammu- 3truments that 'ay. I there- eposit at this edle, azimuth OF THE POLAR SEA. 17 compass, magnet, a lar^yp fhr. out of these such n,;? <=»"ed, having torn longitude. I oj.^ ^ : , latitude and «ent to the efforVrhr?' " "* ^''="«- St. Germain, andan 1 ^ "^' "^ 8"" '" Adam, or any of tt o2 ^""'P«°««"o» to Ml any an Jals MrHooT" "\" ^"""^'^ ^.lenthisgunXre'eretr"^" who was very ea^er in th ^ Iroquois, successful. " *^ '=''^«' ^d often September 14 . Ti,i*« ^ bei/assembi rlS d7T3 1 ""l^^'' ,>-ault presented each of „ wL ^'' ^^'7 piece of meat which h^ La , ^ ""^ 'allowance. It w2 r.. T"* ^'■°'» *"» thankfulness Id « if ^'^^'^ ^'* g^^at 'and kindnt;ret;t'i:i°^-'f-f'"a' Canadian voyager S ""'^P*'='^<^ « « *«ars. In dir^L *""■ ^^^^ '^ith liss.,;„„ e '"'^f fng our course to a riv.^r issumg from the lake, we met CrlA , c • 18 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES h that was nearest to us, prepared breakfast. After which the other deer was sent for, and we went down to the river, which was about three hundred yards wide, and flowed with great velocity through a broken rocky channel. Having searched for a part where the current was most smooth, the canoe was placed in the water at the head of a rapid, and St. Germain, Solomon Belanger, and I, embarked in order to cross. We went from the shore very well, but in mid- channel the canoe became difficult to manage under our burden as the breeze was fresh. The current drove us to the edge of the rapid, when Belanger unluckily applied his paddle to avert the apparent danger of being forced down it, and lost his balance. The canoe was overset in conse- quence in the middle of the rapid. We fortunately kept hold of it, until we touched a rock where the water did not reach higher than our waists ; here we kept our footing, notwithstanding the strength of the current, until the water was emptied out of the canioe. Belanger then held the canoe ■■■■ft i HORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 19 ►ared breakfast, r was sent for, iver, which was vide, and flowed a broken rocky for a part where )oth, the canoe t the head of a omon Belanger, to cross. We ^ell, but in mid- Qe difficult to as the breeze rove us to the anger unluckily t the apparent it, and lost his erset in conse- e rapid. We til we touched id not reach we kept our trength of the mptied out of eld the canoe steady whilst St. Germain placed me in it, and afterwards embarked himself in a very dexterous manner. It was impossible, however, to embark Belanger, as the canoe would have been hurried down the rapid, the moment he should have raised his foot from the rock on which he stood. We were, therefore, compelled to leave him in his perilous situation. We had not gone twenty yards before the canoe, striking on a sunken rock, went down. The place being shallow, we were again enabled to empty it, and the third attempt brought us to the shore. In the mean time Belanger was suffering extremely, immersed to his middle in the centre of a rapid, the tempera- ture of which was very little above the freezing point, and the upper part of his body covered with wet clothes, exposed, in a temperature not much above zero, to s. strong breeze. He called piteously for re- lief, and St. Germain on his return endea- voured to embark him, but in vain. The canoe was hurried down the rapid, and when he landed he was rendered by the c 2 '<"'-;• ^'a,xij*mm'v;-^^Mi^^i0^, ""W '''*'W»*i., , ,#'i ..%^'-Wi.^gj.',>:'..?-^g"/' 4 •> J ' U ^ r ' I 20 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES cold incapable of further exertion, and Adam attempted to embark Belanger, but found it impossible. An attempt was next made to carry out to him a line, made of the slings of the men's loads. This also failed, the current acting so strongly upon it, as to prevent the canoe from steering, and it was finally broken and carried down the stream. At length, when Belanger's strength seemed almost exhausted, the canoe reached him with a small cord belong- ing to one of the nets, and he was dragged perfectly senseless through the rapid. By the direction of Dr. Richardson, he was in- stantly stripped, and being rolled up in blankets, two men undressed themselves and went to bed with him ; but it was some hours before he recovered his warmth and sensations. As soon as Belanger was placed in his. bed, the officers sent over my blankets, and a person, to make a fire. Augustus brought the canoe over, and in returning he was obliged to descend both the rapids, before he could get across the stream; which hazardous service he per- HORES exertion, and t Belanger, but tempt was next a line, made of ids. This also ) strongly upon from steering, id carried down hen Belanger's exhausted, the all cord belong- le was dragged the rapid. By son, he was in- rolled up in ed themselves ut it was some is warmth and Belanger was sent over my make a fire, over, and in Idescend both ret across the vice he per- OF THE POLAR SEA. 21 formed with the greatest coolness and judg- ment. It is impossible to describe my sen- sations as I witnessed the various unsuc- cessful attempts to relieve Belanger. The distance prevented my seeing distinctly what was going on, and I continued pacing up and down upon the rock on which I landed, regardless of the coldness of my drenched and stiffening garments. The canoe, in every attempt to reach him, was hurried down the rapid, and was lost to view amongst the rocky islets, with a ra- Ipidity that seemed to threaten certain de- [struction ; once, indeed, I fancied that I jaw it overwhelmed in the waves. Such Ian event would have been fatal to the whole party. Separated as I was from my com- j)anions, without gun, ammunition, hatchet, )r the means of making a fire, and in w^t jlothes, my doom would have been speedi'v sealed. My companions too, driven to the lecessity of coasting the lake, must have junk under the fatigue of rounding its in- lumerable arms and bays, which, as we lave learned from the Indians, are very -■ifts«^?7^?i?w^:*?5i'H3? rjsn^: w^ ! I 2ft JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I't^ extensive. By the goodness of Providence, however, we were spared at that time, and ^ome of us have been permitted to offer up our thanksgivings, in a civilized land, for the signal deliverances we then and afterwards experienced. By this accident I had the misfortune to lose my port- folio, containing my journal from Fort Enterprise, together with all the astronomical and meteorological observa- tions made during the descent of the Cop- per-Mine River, and along the sea-coast (except those for the dip and variation). I was in the habit of carrying it strapped across my shoulders, but had taken it off on entering the canoe, to reduce the upper weight. The results of most of the obser- vations for latitude and longitude had been registered in the sketch books, so that we preserved the requisites for the construc- tion of the chart. The meteorological ob- servations, not having been copied, were lost. My companions, Dr. Richardson, Mr. Back, and Mr. Hood, had been so careful in noting every occurrence in their OF THE POLAR SEA. 23 journals, that the loss of mine could fortu- nately be well supplied. These friends immediately offered me their documents, and every assistance in drawing up another narrative, of which kindness I availed my- self at the earliest opportunity afterwards. September 15, — The rest of the party were brought across this morning, and we were delighted to find Belanger so much recovered as to be able to proceed, but we could not set out until noon, as the men had to prepare substitutes for the slings which were lost yesterday. Soon after leaving the encampment we discerned a herd of deerj and after a long chase a fine male was killed by Perrault, several others were wounded but they escaped. After this we passed round the north end of a branch of the lake, and ascended the Willingham Mountains, keeping near the border of the lake. These hills were steep, craggy, and covered with snow. We encamped at seven, and enjoyed a substantial meal. The party were in good spirits this evening at the recollection of having crossed the rapid, and being in ■T'^-'^V'V^V&Z fi^W^I^ «■ 2i JOURNEY TO THE SHORES •iH l' possession of provision for the next day. Besides we had taken the precaution of bringing away the skin of the deer to eat when the meat should fail. The tempera- ture at six P.M. was 30°. We started at seven next morning and marched until ten, when the appearance of a few willows peeping through the snow induced iis to halt and breakfast. Recom- mencing the journey at noon, we passed over a more rugged country, where the hills were separated by deep ravines, whose steep sides were equally difficult to descend and to ascend, and the toil and suffering we experienced were greatly increased. The party was quite fatigued when we encamped, having come ten miles and three quarters. We observed many summer deer roads, and some recent tracks. Some marks that had been put up by the Indians were also noticed. We have since learned that this is a regular deer pass, and on that account annually frequented by the Copper Indians. The lake is called by them Contwoy-to, or Rum Lake ; in consequence r r /■■-:: I / If •■i'-i.- ■■-*'-'^!f -'^y^m^m^-^ 1 < f 'i^'ftti? r^k' ij! !l V -f.-^Cjlr ."^ - r ''A.:*!'. wm^^ "mL,*^::'. 4 1 Si 1 - / ' • • 1 i d: ')(}■ JOIKNKY TO THE . iMtli' ■f>\?si.';i. M/. ' ' <^i th^ ih'vv to six I'.M. was ,su . *icai*ri-' nci, and tlue toil iuri > .*t/ ue encarnp«(l, fiaWiig eoiiie i','n miks and thrive quarters, \''- aim-, uu^ny j^nmuior over a^viw/io ...'• ko- UCiil ;i put tip by til. V\,; ■' ^i ma rifKuJor deer pjsyo. ',n<« '-em I 1 I -j \r> , !•! K.T T>) &• IT) OF THE POLAR SEA. 25 of Mr. Hearne having here given the Indians who accompanied him some of that liquor. Fish is not found here. We walked next day over a more level country, but it was strewed with large stones. These galled our feet a good deal ; we contrived, however, to wade through the snow at a tolerably quick pace until five P.M., having proceeded twelve miles and a half. We had made to-day our proper course, south by east, which we could not venture upon doing before, for fear of falling again upon some branch of the Contwoy-to. Some deer were seen in the morning, but the hunters failed of killing any, and in the afternoon we fell into the track of a large herd, which had passed the day before, but did not overtake them. In consequence of this want of success we had no breakfast, and but a scanty supper ; but we allayed the pangs of hunger by eating pieces of singed hide. A little tripe de roche^ was also obtained. These would have satisfied * The different kinds of gyrophora, are termed in- tjiiscriininately by the voyagers tripe de roche. \ : Vi 26 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES US in ordinary times, but we were now almost exhausted by slender fare and travel, and our appetites had become ravenous. We looked, however, with humble confi- dence to the Great Author and Giver of all good, for a continuance of the support which had hitherto been always supplied to us at our greatest need. The thermometer varied to-day between 25° and 28°. The wind blew fresh from the south. - On the 18th the atmosphere was hazy, but the day was more pleasant for walking than usual. The country was level and gravelly, and the snow very deep. We went for a short time along a deeply-beaten road made by the rein-deer, which turned suddenly off to the south-west, a direction So wide of our course that we could not venture upon following it. All the small lakes were frozen, and we marched across those which lay in our track. We supped off the tripe de roche which had been gathered during our halts in the course of the march. Thermometer at six P.M. 32°, Showers of snow fell without intermission OF THE POLAR SEA. 27 through the night, but they ceased in the morning, and we set out at the usual hour. The men were very faint from hunger, and marched with difficulty, having to oppose a fresh breeze, and to wade through snow two feet deep. We gained, however, ten miles by four o'clock, and then encamped; The canoe was unfortunately broken by the fall of the person who had it in charge. No tripe de roche was seen to-day, but in clearing the snow to pitch the tents we found a quantity of Iceland moss, which was boiled for supper. This weed, not having been soaked, proved so bitter, that few of the party could eat more than a few spoonfuls. Our blankets did not suffice this evening to keep us in tolerable warmth ; the slightest breeze seeming to pierce through our debi- litated frames. The reader will, probably, be desirous to know how we passed our time in such a comfortless situation; the first operation after encamping was to thaw" our frozen shoes, if a sufficient fire could be made, and dry ones were put on; each V 28 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES f » ' person then wrote his notes of the daily occurrences, and evening prayers were read ; as soon as supper was prepared it was eaten, generally in the dark, and we went to bed, and kept up a cheerful conversation until our blankets were thawed by the heat of our bodies, and we had gathered sufficient warmth to enable us to fall asleep. On many nights we had not even the luxury of going to bed in dry clothes, for when the fire was insufficient to dry our shoes, we durst not venture to pull them off, lest they should freeze so hard as to be unfit to put on in the morning, and therefore inconve- nient to carry. On the 20th we got into a hilly country, and the marching became much more labo- rious, even the stoutest experienced great difficulty in climbing the craggy eminences. Mr, Hood was particularly weak, and was obliged to relinquish his station of second in the line, which Dr. Richardson now took, to direct the leading man in keeping the appointed course. I was also unable to keep pace with the nien, who put forth their ol OF THE POLAR SEA. 29 Utmost speed, encouraged by the hope, which our reckoning had led us to form, of seeing Point Lake in the evening, but we were obliged to encamp without gaining a view of it. We had not seen either deer or their tracks through the day, and this cir- cumstance, joined to the disappointment of not discovering the lake, rendered our voyagers very desponding, and the meagre supper of tripe de roche was little calculated to elevate their spirits. They now threat- ened to throw away their bundles and quit us, which rash act they would probably have committed, if they had known what track to pursue. September 21. — We set out -^t seven this morning in dark foggy weather, and changed our course two points to the westward. The party were very feeble, and the men much dispirited; we made slow progress, having to march over a hilly and very rugged country. Just before noon the sun beamed through the haze for the first time for six days, and we obtained an observation in latitude f>5° 30 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES f* 7' 06" N., which was six miles to the south- ward of that part of Point Lake to which our course was directed. By this observa- tion we discovered that we had kept to the eastward of the proper course, which may be attributed partly to the difficulty of pre- serving a straight line through an unknown country, unassisted by celestial observations, and in such thick weather that our view was often limited to a few hundred yards, but chiefly to our total ignorance of the amount of the variation of the compass. - We altered the course immediately to west-south-west, and fired guns to apprize the hunters who were out of our view, and ignorant of our having done so. After walking about two miles we waited to col- lect the stragglers. Two partridges were killed, and these, with some tripe de roche^ furnished our supper. Notwithstanding a full explanation was given to the men of the reasons for altering the course, and they were assured that the observation had enabled us to discover our exact distance from Fort Enterprise, they could not divest OF THE POLAR SEA. 31 themselves of the idea of our having lost our way, and a gloom was spread over every countenance. At this encampment Dr. Richardson was obliged to deposit his spe- cimens of plants and minerals, collected on the sea-coast, being unable to carry them any farther. The way made to-day was five miles and a quarter. September 22. — After walking about two miles this morning, we came upon the bor- ders of an extensive lake, whose extremities could not be discerned in consequence of the density of the atmosphere ; but as its shores seemed to approach nearer to each other to the southward than to the north- ward, we determined on tracing it in that direction. We were grieved at finding the lake expand very much beyond the con- tracted part we had first seen, and incline to the eastward of south. As, however, it was considered more than probable, from the direction and size of the body of water we were now tracing, that it was a branch of Point Lake; and as, in any case, we. knew that by passing round its south end 32 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES we must shortly come to the Copper- Mine River, our course was continued in that direction. The appearance of some dwarf pines and willows, larger than usual, induced us to suppose the river was near. We en- camped early, having come eight miles^. Our supper consisted of tripe de roche and half a partridge each. Our progress next day was extremely slow, from the difficulty of managing the canoe in passing over the hills, as the breeze was fresh. Peltier, who had it in charge, having received several severe falls, became impatient, and insisted on leaving his bur- den, as it had already been much injured by the accidents of this day ; and no argu- ments we could use were sufficient to pre- vail on him to continue carrying it. Vail- lant was, therefore, directed to take it, and we proceeded forward. Having found that he got on very well, and was walking even faster than Mr. Hood could follow, in his present debilitated state, I pushed forward to stop the rest of the party, who had got out of sight dimng the delay which the dis- OF THE POLAR SEA. 33 even his ward d got dis- cussion respecting the canoe had occasioned. I accidentally passed the body of the men, and followed the tracks of two persons >vho had separated from the rest, until two P.M., when not seeing any person, I retraced my steps, and on my way met Dr. Richardson, who had also missed the party whilst he was employed gathering tripe de rochc, ^nd we went back together in search of them. We found they had halted among some wil- lows, where they had picked up some pieces of skin, and a few bones of deer that had been devoured by the wolves last spring. They had rendered the bones friable by burning, and eaten them as well as the skin ; and several of them had added their old shoes to the repast. Peltier and Vail- lant were with them, having left the canoe, which, they said, was so completely broken by another fall, as to be rendered incapable of repair, and entirely useless. The anguish this intelligence occasioned may be con- ceived, but it is beyond my power to de- scribe it. Impressed, however, with the necessity of taking it forward, even in the VOL. IV. D 34 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I State these men represented it to be, we urgently desired them to fetch it ; but they dedined going, and the strength of the of- ficers was inadequate to the task. To their infatuated obstinacy on this occasion, a great portion of the melancholy circumstances which attended our subsequent progress may, perhaps, be attributed. The men now seemed to have lost all hope of being pre- served ; and all the arguments we could use failed in stimulating them to the least exertion. After consuming the remains of the bones and horns of the deer, we resumed our march, and in the evening reached a contracted part of the lake, which, perceiv- ing it to be shallow, we forded, and en- camped on the opposite side. Heavy rain began soon afterwards, and continued all night. On the following morning the rain had so wasted the snow, that the tracks of Mr. Back and his companions, who had gone before with the hunters, were traced with difficulty; and the frequent showers during the day almost obliterated them. The men became furious at the apprehen- s ■ OF THE POLAR SEA. 35 sion of being deserted by the hunters, and some of the strongest throwing down their bundles, prepared to set out after them, intending to leave the more weak to follow as they could. The entreaties and threats of the officers, however, prevented their executing this mad scheme; but not before Solomon Belanger was despatched with or- ders for Mr. Back to halt until we should join him. Soon afterwards a thick fog came on, but we continued our march and over- took Mr. Back, who had been detained in consequence of his companions having fol- lowed some recent tracks of deer. After halting an hour, during which we refreshed ourselves with eating our old shoes and a few scraps of leather, we set forward in the hope of ascertaining whether an adjoining piece of water was the Copper-Mine River or not, but were soon compelled to return and encamp, for fear of a separation of the party, as we could not see each other at ten yards' distance. The fog diminishing to- wards evening, Augustus was sent to exa- mine the water, but having lost his way, D 2 Pi 36 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES '! he did not reach the tents before midnight, when he brought the information of its be- ing a lake. We supped upon tripe de roche, and enjoyed a comfortable fire, having found some pines, seven or eight feet high, in a valley near the encampment. The bounty of Providence was most sea- sonably manifested to us next morning, in our killing five small deer out of a herd, which came in sight as we were on the point of starting. This unexpected supply re- animated the drooping spirits of our men, and filled every heart with gratitude. The voyagers instantly petitioned for a day's rest, which we were most reluctant to grant, being aware of the importance of every moment at this critical period of our journey. But they so earnestly and strongly pleaded their recent sufferings, and their conviction that the quiet enjoyment of two substantial meals, after eight days' famine, would enable them to proceed next day more vigorously, that we could not resist their entreaties. The flesh, the skins, and even the contents of the stomachs of the OF THE POLAR SEA. 87 (leer were equally distributecl among the party by Mr. Hood, who had volunteered, on the departure of Mr. Wentzel, to per- form the duty of issuing the provision. This invidious task he had all along per- formed with great impartiahty, but seldom without producing some grumbling amongst the Canadians ; and, on the present occasion, the hunters were displeased that the heads and some other parts had not been added to their portions. It is proper to remark, that Mr. Hood always took the smallest portion for his own mess ; but this weighed little with these men as long as their own appetites remained ur satisfied. We all suf- fered much inconvenience from eating ani- mal food after our long abstinence, but particularly those men who indulged them- selves beyond moderation. The Canadians, with their usual thoughtlessness, had con- sumed above a third of their portions of meat that evening. We set out early on the 26th, and after walking about three miles along the lake, came to the river which we at once recog- 38 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES nized, from its size, to be the Copper-Mine. It flowed to the northward, and after wind- ing about five miles, terminated in Point Lake. Its current was swift, and there were two rapids in this part of its course, which in a canoe we could have crossed with ease and safety. These rapids, as well as every other part of the river, were carefully examined in search of a ford ; but finding none, the expedients occurred of attempting to cross on a raft made of the willows which were growing there, or in a vessel framed with willows, and covered with the canvass of the tents ; but both these schemes were abandoned, through the obstinacy of the interpreters and the most experienced voyagers, who declared that they would prove inadequate to the conveyance of the party, and that much time would be lost in the attempt. The men, in fact, did not believe that this was the Cop- per-Mine River, and so little confidence had they in our reckoning, and so much had they bewildered themselves on the march, that some of them asserted it was I / OF THE POLAR SEA. 89 I /. I Hood's River, and others that it was the Bethe-tessy, (a river which rises from a lake to the northward of Rum Lake, and holds a course to the sea parallel with that of the Copper-Mine.) In short, their de- spondency had returned, and they all de- spaired of seeing Fort Enterprise again. However, the steady assurances of the of- ficers that we were actually on the banks of the Copper-Mine River, and that the dis- tance to Fort Enterprise did not exceed forty miles, made some impression ,upon them, which was increased upon our finding some bear-berry plants (arbutus uva ursi), which are reported by the Indians not to grow to the eastward of that river. They then deplored their folly and impatience in breaking the canoe, being all of opinion, that had it not been so completely demo- lished on the 23d, it might have been re- paired sufficiently to take the party over. We again closely interrogated Peltier and Vaillant as to its state, with the intention of sending for it ; but they persisted in the declaration that it was in a totally unser- 40 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I viceable condition. St. Germain being again called upon to endeavour to construct a ca- noe frame with willows, stated that he was unable to make one sufficiently large. It became necessary, therefore, to search for pines of sufficient size to form a raft ; and being aware that such trees grow on the borders of Point Lake, we considered it best to trace its shores in search of them ; we, therefore, resumed our march, carefully looking, but in vain, for a fordable part, and encamped at the east end of Point Lake. As there was little danger or our losing the path of our hunters whilst we coasted the shores of this lake, I determined on again sending Mr. Back forward, with the interpreters to hunt. I had in view, in this arrangement, the further object of enabling Mr. Back to get across the lake with two of these men, to convey the earliest possible account of our situation to the Indians. Accordingly I instructeu him to halt at the first pines he should come to, and then pre- pare a raft ; and if his hunters had killed OF THE POLAR SEA. 41 animals, so that the party could be sup- ported whilst we were making our raft, he was to cross immediately with St. Germain and Beauparlant, and send th^ Indians to us as quickly as possible with supplies of meat. We had this evening the pain of discover- ing that two of our men had stolen part of the officers* provision, which had been allotted to us with strict impartiality. This conduct was the more reprehensible, as it was plain that we were suffering even in a greater degree than themselves, from the effects of famine, owing to our being of a less robust habit, and less accustomed to privations. We had no means of punishing this crime, but by the threat that they should forfeit their wages, which had now ceased to operate. Mr. Back and his companions set out at six in the morning, and we started at seven. As the snow had entirely disappeared, and there were no means of distinguishing the footsteps of stragglers, I gave strict orders, previously to setting out, for all the party 42 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES to keep together: and especially I desired the two Esquimaux not to leave us, tliey having often strayed in search of the re- mains of animals. Our people, however, through despondency, had become careless and disobedient, and had ceased to dread punishment, or hope for reward. Much time was lost in halting and firing guns to collect them, but the labour of walking' vas so much lightened by the disappearance of the snow, that we advanced seven or eight miles along the lake before noon, exclusive of the loss of distance ^*n rounding its nu- merous bays. At length we came to an "arm, running away to the north-east, and apparently connected with the lake which we had coasted on the 22d, 23d, and 24th of the month. The idea of again rounding such an ex- tensive piece of water and of travelling over so barren a country was dreadful, and we feared that other arms, equally large, might obstruct our path, and that the strength of the party would entirely fail, long before we could reach the only part wjiere we were ti OF THE POLAR SEA. 43 tliey certain of finding wood, distant in a direct line twenty-five miles. While we halted to consider of this subject, and to collect the party, the carcase of a deer was discovered in the cleft of a rock into which it had fallen in the spriiig. It was putrid, but little less acceptable to us on that account, in our present circumstances; and a fire being kindled, a large portion was devoured on the spot, affording us an unexpected break- fast : for, in order to husband our small re- maining portion of meat, we had agreed to make only one scanty meal a-day. The men, cheered by this unlooked-for supply, becine sanguine in the hope of being able to cross the stream on a raft of willows, although they had before declared such a project impracticable, and they unanimously entreated us t^ return back to the rapid, a request which accorded with our own opi- nion, and was therefore acceded to. Credit and Junius, however, were missing, and it was also necessary to send notice of our in- tention to Mr. Back and his party. Au- gustus, being promised a reward, undertook I 44 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES / /■ the task, and we agreed to wait for him at the rapid. It was supposed he could not fail meeting with the two stragglers on his way to and from Mr. Back, as it was likely they would keep on the borders of the lake. He accordingly set out after Mr. Back, whilst we returned about a mile towards the rapid, and encamped in a deep valley amongst some large willows. We supped on the remains of the putrid deer, and the men, having gone to the spot where it was found, scraped together the contents of its intestines, which were scattered on the rock, and added them to their meal. We also enjoyed the luxury to-day of eating a large quantity of excellent blue-berries and cran- berries (vaccinium uliginosum and v, vitis idced), which were laid bare by the melting of the snow, but nothing could allay our in- ordinate appetites. In the night we heard the report of Cre- dit's gun in answer to our signal muskets, and he rejoined us in the morning, but we got no intelligence of Junius. We set out about an hour after daybreak, and encamped or THE POLAR SEA. 45 at two P.M. between the rapids, where the river was about one hundred and thirty yards wide, being its narrowest part. Eight deer were seen by Michel and Credit, who loitered behind the rest of the party, but they could not approach them. A great many shots were fired by those in the rear at partridges, but they missed, or at least did not choose to add what they killed to the common stock. We subse- quently learned that the hunters often se- creted the partridges they shot, and ate them unknown to the officers. Some tripe de roche was collected, which we boiled for supper, with the moiety of the remainder of our deer's meat. The men commenced cutting the willows for the construction of the raft. As an excitement to exertion, I promised a reward of three hundred livres to the first person who should convey a line across the river, by which the raft could be managed in transporting the party. September 29. — Strong south-east winds with fog in the morning, more moderate in the evening. Temperature of the rapid 38°. 46 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i; !i i{ The men began at an early hour to bind the willows in fagots for the construction of the raft, and it was finished by seven ; but as the willows were green, it proved to be very little buoyant, and was unable to support more than one man at a time. Even on this, however, we hoped the whole party might be transported, by hauling it from One side to the other, provided a line could be carried to the other bank. Several at- tempts were made by Belanger and Benoit, the strongest men of the party, to convey the raft across the stream, but they failed for want of oars. A pole constructed by tying the tent poles together, was too short to reach the bottom at a short distance from the shore ; and a paddle which had been carried from the sea-coast by Dr. Richard- son did not possess sufficient power to move the raft in opposition to a strong breeze, which blew from the other side. All the men suffered extremely from the coldness of the water, in which they were necessarily immersed up to the waists, in their endea- vours to aid Belanger and Benoit; and { OF THE POLAR SEA. 47 having witnessed repeated failures, they began to consider the scheme as hopeless. At this time Dr. Richardson, prompted by a desire of relieving his suffering compa- nions, proposed to swim across the stream with a line, and to haul the raft over. He launched into the stream with the line round his middle, but when he had got a short distance from the, bank, his arms be- came benumbed with cold, and he lost the power of moving them ; still he persevered, and, turning on his back, had nearly gained the opposite bank, when his legs also be- came powerless, and to our infinite alarm we beheld him sink. We instantly hauled upon the line and he came again on the surface, and was gradually drawn ashore in an almost lifeless state. Being rolled up in blankets, he was placed before a good fire of willows, and fortunately was just able to speak sufficiently to give some slight direc- tions respecting the manner of treating him. He recovered strength gradually, and through the blessing of God was enabled in the course of a few hours to converse, and 48 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ■ / 1 \ by the evening was sufficiently recovered to remove into the tent. We then regretted to learn, that the skin of his "bole left side was deprived of feeling, in coj* sequence of exposure to too great heat. He did not perfectly recover the sensation of that side until the following summer. I cannot de- scribe what every one felt at beholding the skeleton which the Doctor's debilitated frame exhibited. When he stripped, the Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, " Ah! que nous sommes maigres!" I shall best explain his state and that of the party, by the following extract from his journal : "It may be worthy of remark that I should have had little hesitation in any former period of my life, at plunging into water even below 38° Fahr. ; but at this time I was reduced almost to skin and bone, and, like the rest of the party, suffered from degrees of cold that would have been dis- regarded in health and vigour. During the whole of our march we experienced that no quantity of clothing could keep us warm whilst we fasted, but on those occasions on .\ i>.j- OF THE POLAR SEA. 49 which we were enabled to go to bed with full stomachs, we passed the night in a warm and comfortable manner." In following the detail of our friend's narrow escape, I have omitted to mention, that when he was about to step into the water, he put his foot on a dagger, which cut him to the bone; but this misfortune could not stop him from attempting the execution of his generous undertaking. In the evening Augustus came in. He had walked a day and a half beyond the place from whence we turned back, but had neither seen Junius nor Mr. Back. Of the former he had seen no tracf.s, but he had followed the tracks of Mr. Back's party for a considerable distance, until the hardness of the ground rendered them imperceptible. Junius was well equipped with ammunition, blankets, knives, a kettle, and other neces- saries ; and it was the opinion of Augustus that when he found he could not rejoin the party, he would endeavour to gain the woods on the west end of Point Lake, and follow the river until he fell in with the Esqui- VOL. IV. £ 00 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES f 1 . .4 t \ mauX) who frequent its mouth. The Indians too, with whom we have since conversed upon this subject, are confident that he would be able to subsist himself during the winter. Credit, on his hunting excursion to-day, found a cap, which our people re- cognised to belong to one of the hunters who had left us in the spring. This cir- cumstance produced the conviction of our being on the banks of the Copper-Mine River, which all the assertions of tiit officers had hitherto failed in effecting with some of the party ; and it had the happy consequence of reviving their spirits considerably. We consumed the last of our deer's meat this evening at supper. Next morning the men went out in search of dry willows, and collected eight large faggots, with which they formed a more buoyant raft than the former, but the wind be'.ng still adverse and strong, they delayed attempting to cross until a more favourable opportunity. Pleased, however, with the appearance of this raft, they collected some tripe de roche and made a cheerful supper. OF THE POLAR SEA, />l Dr. Richardson was gaining strength, but his leg was much swelled and very painful. An observation for latitude placed the en- campment in G5° 00' 00'' N., the longitude being 112° 20' 00" W., deduced from the last observation. On the morning of the 1st of October, the wind was strong, and the weather as unfavourable as before for crossing on the raft. We were rejoiced to see Mr. Back and his party in the afternoon. They had traced the lake about fifteen miles farther than we did, and found it undoubtedly con- nected, as we had supposed, with the lake we fell in with on the 22d of September; and dreading, as we had done, the idea of coasting its barren shores, they returned to make an attempt at crossing here. St, Germain now proposed to make a canoe of the fragments of painted canvass in which we wrapped our bedding. This scheme appearing practicable, a party was sent to our encampment of the 24th and 25th last, to collect pitch amongst the small pine^ that E 2 ^li 52 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES lli (' I! grew there, to pay over the seams of the canoe. In the afternoon we had a heavy fall of snow, which continued all night. A small quantity of tripe de roche was gathered ; and Credit, who had been hunting, brought in the antlers and back bone of a deer which had been killed in the summer. The wolves and birds of prey had picked them clean, but there still remained a quantity of the spinal marrow which they had not been able to extract. This, although putrid, was es- teemed a valuable prize, and the spine being divided into portions was distributed equally. After eating the marrow, which was so acrid as to excoriate the lips, we rendered the bones friable by burning, and ate them also. On the following morning the ground was covered with snow to the depth of a foot and a half, and the weather was very stormy. These circumstances rendered the men again extremely despondent; a settled glDom hung over their countenances, and OF THE lOLAR SEA. 53 they refused to pick tripe de roche, choosing rather to go entirely without eating than to make any exertion. The party which went for gum returned early in the morning without having found any ; but St. Germain said he could still make the canoe with the willows covered with canvass, and removed with Adam to a clump of willows for that purpose. Mr. Back accompanied them to stimulate his exertion, as we feared the lowness of his spirits would cause him to be slow in his operations. Augustus went to fish at the rapid, but a large trout having carried away his bait, we had nothing to replace it. The snow-storm continued all the night, and during the forenoon of the 3d. Having persuaded the people to gather some tripe de roche, I partook of a meal with them; and afterwards set out with the intention of going to St. Germain to hasten his opera- tions, but though he was only tliree quarters of a mile distant, I spent three hours in a vain attempt to reach him, my strength being unequal to the labour of wading I ■'/ ir )!■ 1 54 JOURNEY TO THE SHOkES through the deep snow, and I returned quite exhausted, and much shaken by the numerous falls I had got. My associates Were all in the same debilitated state, and poor Hood was reduced to a perfect shadow, from the severe bowel complaints which the tripe de roche never failed to give him. Back was so feeble as to require the support of a stick in walking, and Dr. Richardson had lameness superadded to weakness* The voyagers were somewhat stronger than ourselves, but more indisposed to exertion, on account of their despondency. The sensation of hunger was no longer felt by any of us, yet we were scarcely able to converse upon any other subject than the pleasures of eating. We were much in- debted to Hepburn at this crisis. The officers were unable from weakness to gather tripe de roche themselves, and Sa- mandre, who had acted as our cook on the journey from the coast, sharing in the de- spair of the rest of the Canadians, refused to make the slightest exertion. Hepburn, on the contrary, animated by a firm reliance OP THE POLAR SEA. 55 on the beneficence of the Supreme Beings tempered with resignation to his will, was indefatigable in his exertions to serve us, and daily collected all the tripe de roche that was used in the officers' mess. Mr. Hood could not partake of this miserable fare, and a partridge which had been re- served for him was, I lament to say, this day stolen by one of the men. October 4. — .The canoe being finished, it was brought to the encampment, and the whole party being assembled in anxious expectation on the beach, St. Germain embarked, and amidst our prayers for his success, succeeded in reaching the opposite shore. The canoe was then drawn back again, and another person transported, and in this manner by drawing it backwards and forwards, we were all conveyed over without any serious accident. By these frequent traverses the canoe was materially injured ; and latterly it filled each time with water before reaching the shore, so that all our garments and bedding were wet, and there was not a sufficiency of willows upon f ynsat^grr^; 56 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES the side on which we now were to make a fire to dry them. That no time might be lost in procuring relief, I immediately despached Mr. Back, with St. Germain, Solomon Belanger, and Beaiiparlant, to search for the Indians, directing him to go to Fort Enterprise, where we expected they would be, or where, at least, a note from Mr. Wentzel would be found to direct us in our uearch for them. If St. Germain should kill any animals on his way, a portion of the meat was to be put up securely for us, and con- spicuous marks placed over it. It is impossible to imagine a more grati- fying change than was produced in our voyagers after we were all safely landed on the southern banks of the river. Their spirits immediately revived, each of them shook the officers cordially by the hand, and declared they now considered the worst of their difficulties over, as they did not doubt of reaching Fort Enterprise in a few days, even in their feeble condition. We had, indeed, every reason to be grateful. OF THE POLAR SEA. 57 lake a juring Back, r, and idians, rprise, ae, or ^entzel search all any le meat nd con- ; grati- in our [ided on Their )f them hand- le worst did not m a few . We grateful, and our joy would have been complete had it not been mingled with sincere regret at the separation of our poor Esquimaux, the faithful Junius. The want of tripe de roche caused us to go supperless to bed. Showers of snow fell frequently during the night. The breeze was light next morning, the weather cold and clear. We were '^^1 on foot by day-break, but from the frozen state of our tents and bed-clothes, it was long before the bundles could be made, and, as usual, the men lingered over a small fire they had kindled, so that it was eight o'clock before we started. Our advance, from the depth of the snow, was slow, and about noon, coming to a spot where there was some tripe de roche, we stopped to collect it, and breakfasted. Mr. Hood, who was now very feeble, and Dr. Richardson, who attached himself to him, walked together at a gentle pace in the rear of the party. I kept with the foremost men, to cause them to halt occasionally until the stragglers came up. Resuming our march after breakfast, we ■iisf^ i^TjMn" tmjmnmih 18 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES il followed the track of Mr. Back's party, ^nd encamped early, as all of us were much fatigued, particularly Credit, who having to-day carried the men's tent, it being his turn so to do, was so exhausted, that when he reached the encampment he was unable to stand. The tripe de roche disagreed with this man and with Vaillant, in consequence of which, they were the first whose strength totally failed. We had a small quantity of this weed in the evening, and the rest of our supper was made up of scraps of roasted leather. The distance walked to-day was six miles. As Credit was very weak in the morning, his load was reduced to little more than his personal luggage, consisting of his blanket, shoes, and gun. Previous to set- ting out, the whole party ate the remains of their old shoes, and whatever scraps of leather they had, to strengthen their sto- machs for the fatigue of the day's journey* We left the encampment at nine, and pur- sued our route over a range of black hills* The wind having increased to a strong gale in the course of the morning became 6T THE POLAR SfiA. 50 piercingly cold, and the drift rendered it difficult for those in the rear to follow the track over the heights ; whilst in the val- leys, where it was sufficiently marked, from the depth of the snow the labour of walking was proportionably great. Those in ad^ vance made, as usual, frequent halts, yet being unable from the severity of the wea- ther to remain long still, they were obliged to move on before the rear could come up, and the party, of course, straggled very much. About noon Samandre coming up in- formed us that Credit and Vaillant could advance no further. Some willows being discovered in a valley near us, I proposed to halt the party there, whilst Dr. Richard- son went back to visit them. I hoped too that when the sufferers received the infor- mation of a fire being kindled at so short a distance they would be cheered, and use their utmost efforts to reach it, but this proved a vain hope. The Doctor found Vaillant about a mile and a half in the I'ear, much exhausted with cold and fatigue* 60 JOURNEY TO T!IE SHORES f Having encouraged him to advance to the fire, after repeated soHcitations he made the attempt, but fell dov^n amongst the deep snow at every step. Leaving him in this situation, the Doctor went about half a mile farther back, to the spot where Credit was said to h'^ve halted, and the track being nearly obL ta . I by the snow drift, it be- came unsatt for ]\'m. to go further. Re- turning he passed Vaillant, who, having moved only a few yards in his absence, had fallen down, was unable to rise, and could scarcely answer his questions. Being un- able to afford him any efiectual assistance, he hastened on to inform us of hia situa- tion. When J. B. Belanger had heard the melancholy account, he went immediately to aid Vaillant, and bring up his burden. Respecting Credit, we were informed by Samandre that he had stopped a short dis- tance behind Vaillant, but that his intention was to return to the encampment of the preceding evening. When Belanger came back with Vaillant*s load, he informed us that he had found him OF THE POLAR SEA, 61 lying on his back, benumbed with cold, and incapable of being roused. The stoutest men of the party were now earnestly entreated to bring him to the fire, but they declared themselves unequal to the task ; and, on the contrary, urged me to allow them to throw down their loads, and pro- ceed to Fort Enterprise with the utmost speed. A compliance with their desire would have caused the loss of the whole party, for the men were totally ignorant o*' the course to be pursued, and none of the officers, who could have directed the march, were sufficiently strong to keep up at *^'e pace they would then walk; besides, even supposing them to have found their way, the strongest men would certainly have deserted the weak. Something, however, was absolutely necessary to be done to relieve them as much as possible from their burdens, and the officers consulted on the subject. Mr. Hood and Dr. Richardson proposed to remain behind, with a single attendant, at the first place where sufficient wood and tripe de roche should be found for •e^ ■*.» >fciiii*n»THWi 62 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ten days' consumption, and that I should proceed as expeditiously as possible with the men to the house, and thence send them immediate relief. They strongly urged that this arrangement would contribute to the safety of the rest of the party, by relieving them from the burden of a tent and several other articles, and that they might afford aid to Credit, if he should unexpectedly come up. I was distressed beyond description at the thought of leaving them in such a dangerous situation, and for a long time combated their proposal; but they strenuously urged that this step afforded the only' chance of safety for the party, and I reluctantly acceded to it. The ammunition, of which we had a small barrel, was also to be left with them, and it was hoped that this deposit would be a strong inducement for the Indians to venture across the barren grounds to their aid. We communicated this resolution to the men, who were cheered at the slightest prospect of alleviation to their present miseries, and promised, with great appearr OF THE POtAR SEA. 63 ance of earnestness, to return to those officers upon the first supply of food. The party then moved on; Vaillant's blanket and other necessaries were left in the track at the request of the Canadians, without any hope, however, of his being able to reach them. After marching till dusk without seeing a favourable place for encamping, night compelled us to take shelter under the lee of a hill amongst some willows, with which, after many attempts, we at length made a fire. It was not sufficient, however, to warm the whole party, much less to thaw our shoes ; and the weather not permitting the gathering of tripe dc roche, we had nothing to cook. The painful retrospection of the melancholy events of the day banished sleep, and we shuddered as we contemplated the dreadful effects of this bitterly cold night on our two compa- nions, if still living. Some faint hopes were entertained of Credit's surviving the storm, as he was provided with a good blanket, and had leather to eat. The weather was mild next morning. i«HnMhw«*i ■iftdM 64 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ( \. 1 i We left the encampment at nine, and a little before noon came to a pretty extensive thicket of small willows, near which there appeared a supply of trijie de roche on the face of the rocks. At this place Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood determined to remain, with John Hepburn, who volun- teered to stop with them. The tent was securely pitched, a few willows collected, and the ammunition and all other articles were deposited, except each man's clothing, one tent, a sufficiency of ammunition for the journey, and the officers' journals. I had only one blanket, which was carried for me, and two pair of shoes. The offer was now made for any of the men, who felt themselves too weak to proceed, to remain with the officers, but none of them accepted it. Michel alone felt some inclination to do so. After we had united in thanksgiving and prayers to Almighty God, I separated from my companions, deeply afflicted that a train of melancholy circumstances should have demanded of me the severe trial of parting, in such a condition, from friends I A OP THE POLAH SEA. 05 who had become endeared to me by their constant kindness and co-operation, and a participatio'.i of numerous sufferings. This trial I could not have been induced to undergo, but for the reasons they had so strongly urged the day before, to which my own judgment assented, and for the sanguine hope I felt of either finding a supply of provision at Fort Enterprise, or meeting the Indians in the immediate vicinity of that place, according to my arrangements with Mr. Wentzel and Akaitcho. Previously to our starting, Peltier and Benoit repeated their promises, to return to them with pro- vision, if any should be found at the house, or to guide the Indians to them, if any were met. Greatly as Mr. Mood was exhausted, and indeed incapable, as he must have proved, of encountering the fatigue of our very next day's journey, so that I felt his resolution to be prudent, I was sensible that his deter- mination to remain was chiefly prompted by the disinterested and generous wish to remove impediments to the progress of the VOL. IV. F 6G JOURNEY TO THE SHORES (I' I ! rest. Dr. Richardson and Hepburn, who were both in a state of strength to keep pace with the men, besides this motive which they shared with him, were influenced in their resolution to remain, the former by the desire which had distinguished his cha- racter, throughout the expedition, of de- voting himself to the succour of the weak, and the latter by the zealous attachment he had ever shown towards his officers. We set out without waiting to take any of the tripe de roche, and walking at a tole- rable pace, in an hour arrived at a fine group of pines, about a mile and a quarter from the tent. We sincerely regretted not having seen these before we separated from our companions, as they would have been better supplied with fuel here, and there appeared to be more tripe de roche than where we had left them. Descending afterwards into a more level country, we found the snow very deep, and the labour of wading through it so fatigued the whole party, that we were compelled to encamp, after a march of four miles and a m OF THE POLAR SEA. 67 m half. Belanger and Michel were left far behind, and when they arrived at the en- campment appeared quite exhausted. The former, bursting into tears, declared his inability to proceed, and begged me to let him go back next morning to the tent, and shortly afterwards Michel made the same request. I was in hopes they might recover a little strength by the night's rest, and therefore deferred giving any permission zmtil morning. The sudden failure in the strength of these men cast a gloom over the rest, which I tried in vain to remove, by repeated assurances that the distance to Fort Enterprise was short, and that we should, in all probability, reach it in four days. Not being able to find any tripe de rochet we drank an infusion of the Labrador tea plant (ledum palustre), and ate a few- morsels of burnt leather for supper. We were unable to raise the tent, and found its weight too great to carry it on ; we, there- fore cut it up, and took a part of the canvass for a cover. The night was bitterly cold, and though we lay as close to each other as F 2 I 'I. \ 68 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I ( possible, having no shelter, we could not keep ourselves sufficiently warm to sleep. A strong gale came on after m' Iniglit, which increased the severity of the weather. In the morning Belanger and Michel renewed their request to be permitted to go back to the tent, assuring me they were still weaker than on the preceding evening, and less ca- pable of going forward ; and they urged that the stopping at a place where there was a supply of ir'i'pe de roche was their only chance of preserving life : under these cir- cumstances I could not do otherwise than yield to their desire. I wrote a note to Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, informing them of the pines we had passed, and recom- mending their removing thither. Having found that Michel was carrying a consider- able quantity of ammunition, I desired him to divide it among my party, leaving him only ten balls and a little shot, to kill any animals he might meet on his way to the tent. This'man was very particular in his inquiries respecting the direction of the house, and the course wt ,neant to pursue ; OF THE POLAR SEA. 69 he also said that if he should be able, he would go and search for Vaillant and Cre- dit; and he requested my permission to take Vaillant's blanket, if he should find it, to which I agreed, and mentioned it in my notes to the officers. Scarcely were these arrangements finished before Perrault and Fontano were seized with a fit of dizziness, and betrayed other symptoms of extreme debility. Some tea was quickly prepared for them, and after drinking it, and eating a few morsels of burnt leather, they recovered, and expresijed their desire to go forward ; but the other men, alarmed at what they had just witness- ed, became doubtful of their own strength, and, giving way to absolute dejection, de- clared their inability to move. I now ear- nestly pressed upon them the necessity of continuing our journey, as the only means of saving thgir own lives, as well as those of our friends at the tent ; and, after inuch entreaty, got them tc set out at ten A.M. : Belanger and Michel were left at the en- campment, and proposed to start shortly ro JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ^^ ^ afterwards. By the time we had gone about two hundred yards, Perrault became again dizzy, and desired us to halt, which we did, until he, recovering, offered to march on. Ten minutes more had hardly elapsed be- fore he again desired us to stop, and, burst- ing into tears, declared he was totally ex- hausted and unable to accompany us further. As the encampment was not more than a quarter of a mile distant, we recommended that he should return to it, and rejoin Be- langer and Michel, whom we knew to be still there, from perceiving the smoke of a fresh fire ; and because they had not made any preparation for starting when we quit- ted them. He readily acquiesced in the proposition, and having talcen a friendly leave of each of us, and enjoined us to make all the haste we c^uld in sending re- lief, he turned back, 1 ; Ing his gun and ammunition. We wat^ iied him until he was nearly at the fire, and then pror^eeded. During these detentions, Augustus becoming impatient of the delay hat. walked on, and we lost sight of him. The labour we expe- OF THE POLAR SEA- 71 e about e again we did, rch on. led be- , burst- dly ex- further, than a Tiended oin Be- 7 to be ke of a )t made ^e quit- in the friendly 1 us to ling re- jun and intil he rieeded. jcoming on, and e expe- rienced in wading through the deep snow induced us to cross a moderate sized lake, which lay in our track, but we found this operation far more harassing. As the sur- face of the ice was perfectly smooth, w^e slipt at almost every step, and were fre- quently blown down by the wind \\ith such force as to shake our whole frames. Poor Fontano was completely exhausted by the labour of this traverse, and we made a halt until his strength was recruited, by which time the party was benumbed with cold. Proceeding again, he got on tolerably well for a little time ; but being again seized with faintness and dizziness, he fell often, and at length exclaimed that he could go no further. We immediately stopped, and endeavoured to encourage him to persevere, until we should find some willows to en- camp ; he insisted, however, that he could not march any longer through this deep snow ; and said, that if he should even reach our encampment this evening, he must be left there, provided tripe de roche could not be procured to recruit his strength. ■>o^ m II 72 JOUENEY TO THE SHORES The poor man was overwhelmed with grief, and seemed desirous to remain at that spot. We were about two miles from the place where the other men had been left, and as the track to it was beaten, we proposed to him to return thither, as we thought it pro- bable he would find the men still there ; at any rate, he would be able to get fuel to keep him warm during the night ; and, on the next day, he could follow their track to the officers' tent ; and, should the path be covered by the snow, the pines we had passed yesterday would guide him, as they were yet in view. I cannot describe my anguish on the oc- casion of separating from another com- panion under circumstances so distressing. There was, however, no alternative. The extreme debility of the rest of the party put the carrying him quite out of the question, as he hiraself admitted ; and it was evident that the frequent delays he must occasion if he ^accompanied us, and did not gain strength, would endanger the lives of the wl ole. By returning he had the prospect OF T1I£ POLAR S£A. 73 h grief, it spot. B place and as osed to it pro- ere ; at fuel to Emd, on rack to )ath be vQ had as they the oc^ r com- ressing. . The irty put lestion, evident ccasion )t gain of the rospect of getting to the tent where trijje de roche could be obtained, which agreed with him better than with any other of the party, and which he was always very assiduous in gathering. After some hesitation he de- termined on going back; and set out, having bid each of us farewell in the tenderest manner. We watched him with inexpres- sible anxiety for some time, and were re- joiced to find, though he got on slowly, that he kept on his legs better than before. Antonio Fontano was an Italian, and had served many years in De Meuron's regi- ment. He had spoken to me that very morning and after his first attack of dizzi- ness, about his father ; and had begged, that should he survive, I would take him with me to England, and put him in tlie way of reaching home. The party was now reduced to five per- sons, Adam, Peltier, Benoit, Samandre, and myself. Continuing the journey, we came, after an hour's walk, to some »»'illows, and encamped under the shelter of a rock, hav- ing walked in the whole four miles and a 74 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 1 ( half. We made an attempt to gather some tripe de roche, but could not, owing to the severity of the weather. Our supper, therefore, consisted of tea and a few mor- sels of leather. Augustus did not make his appearance, but we felt no alarm at his absence, sup- posing he would go to the tent if he missed our track. Having fire, we procured a little sleep. Next morning the breeze was light and the weather mild, which enabled us to collect some tripe de roche, and to enjoy the only meal we had had for four days. We derived great benefit from it, and walked with considerably more ease than yesterday. Without the strength it supplied, we should certainly have been unable to oppose the strong breeze we met ii) the afternoon. After walking about five miles, we came upon the borders of Marten Lake, and were rejoiced to find it frozen, so that we could continu'^ our course straight for Fort Enterprise. We encamped at the first rapid in Winter River amidst willows and alders ; but these were so frozen, and I OF THE POLAR SEA. 75 the snow fell so thicks that the men had great difficulty in making a fire. This proving insufficient to warm us, or even thaw our shoes, and having no food to pre- pare, we crept under our blankets. The arrival in a well-known part raised the spi- rits of the men to a high pitch, and we kept up a cheerful conversation until sleep over- powered us. The night was very stormy, and the morning scarcely less so ; but, being desirous to reach the house this day, we commenced our journey very early. We were gratified by the sight of a large herd of rein-deer on the side of the hill near the track, but our only hunter, Adam, was too feeble to pursue them. Our shoes and garments were stiffened by the frost, and we walked in great pain until we arrived at some stunted pines, at which we halted, made a good fire, and procured the refresh- ment of tea. The weather becoming fine in the afternoon, we continued our journey, passed the Dog-rib Rock, and encamped among a clump of pines of considerable growth, about a mile further on. Here we 76 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i enjoyed the comfort of a lar^^e fire for the first time since our departure from the sea- coast ; but this gratification was purchased at the expense of many severe falls v\ cross- ing a stony valley, to get to these trees. There was no tripe de roche, and we drank tea and ate some of our shoes for supper. Next morning, after taking the usual repast of tea, we proceeded to the house. Musing on what we were likely to find there, our minds were agitated between hope and fear, and, contrary to the custom we had kept up, of supporting our spirits by conversa- tion, we went silently forward. At length we reached Fort Enterprise, and to our infinite disappointment and grief found it a perfectly desolate habitation. There was no deposit of provision, no trace of the Indians, no letter from Mr. Wentzel to point out where the Indians might be found. It would be impossible to desc^^ibe our sensations after entering this miserable abode, and discovering how we had been neglected : the whole party shed tears, not so much for our own fate, as for that of our OF THE POLAR SEA. 77 friends in the rear, whose lives depended entirely on our sending immediate relief from this place. I found a note, however, from Mr. Back, stating that he had reached the house two days before and was going in search of the Indians, at a part where St. Germain deemed it probable they might be found. If he was unsuccessful, he purposed walk- ing to Fort Providence, and sending suc- cour from thence: but he doubted whether, either he or his party could perform the jour- ney to that place in their present debilitated state. It was evident that any supply that could be sent from Fort Providence would be long in reaching us, neither could it be sufficient to enable us to afford any assist- ance to our companions behind, and that the only relief for them must be procured from the Indians. I resolved, therefore, on going also in search of them ; but my com- panions were absolutely incapable of pro- ceeding, and I thought by halting two or three days they might gather a little strength, whilst the delay would afford us IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) :/. 1.0 I.I IM I2J 2.2 tuuu mm 1.25 ||U 1.6 ^ 6" ► ^ «>1^' Photographic Sciences Corporation m 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 6^ 78 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES il i /, the chance of learning whether Mr. Back had seen the Indians. We now looked round for the means of subsistence, and were gratified to find seve- ral deer-skins, which had been thrown away during our former residence. The bones were gathered from the heap of ashes ; these with the skins, and the addition of tripe de roche, we considered would support us tolerably well for a time. As to the house, the parchment being torn from the windows, the apartment we selected for our abode was exposed to all the rigour of the season. We endeavoured to exclude the wind as much as possible, by placing loose boards against the apertures. The tem- perature was now between 15° and 20° below zero. We procured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the other rooms, and water for cooking, by melting the snow. Whilst we were seated round the fire, singe- ing the deer-skin for supper, we were re- joiced by the unexpected entrance of An- gus us. He had followed quite a different course from ours, and the circumstance of OF THE POLAR SEA. 79 Ir. Back means of ind seve- wn away le bones f ashes ; [lition of L support .s to the from the d for our Lir of the ihide the ing loose rhe tem- and 20° y pulling oms, and he snow, re, singe- were re- e of Au- difFerent istance of ■^ ■* M his having found his way through a part of the country he had never been in before, must be considered a remarkable proof of sagacity. The unusual earliness of this winter became manifest to us from the state of things at this spot. Last year at the same season, and still later, there had been very little snow on the ground, and we were surrounded by vast herds of rein- deer ; now there were but few recent tracks of these animals, and the snow was upwards of two feet deep. Winter River was then open, now it was frozen two feet thick. When I arose the following morning, my body and limbs were so swollen that I was unable to walk more than a few yards. Adam was in a still worse condition, being absolutely incapable of rising without assist- ance. My other companions happily ex- perienced this inconvenience in a less de- gree, and went to collect bones, and some tripe de roche, which supplied us with two meals. The bones were quite acrid, and the soup extracted from them excoriated the mouth if taken alone, but it was some- \l I f 80 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES what milder when boiled with tripe de roche, and we even thought the mixture palatable, with the addition of salt, of which a cask had been fortunately left here in the spring. Augustus to*day set two fishing lines below the rapid. On his way thither he saw two 'deer, but had not strength to follow them. On the 13th the wind blew violently from south-east; and the snow drifted so much that the party were confined to the house. In the afternoon of the following day Belanger arrived with a note from Mr. Back, stating that he had seen no trace of the Indians, and desiring further instruc- tions as to the course he should pursue. Belanger's situation, however, required our first care, as he came in almost speechless, and covered with ice, having fallen into a rapid, and, for the third time since w^e left the coast, narrowly escaped drowning. He did not recover sufficiently to answer our questions until we had rubbed him for some time, changed his dress, and given him some warm- soup. My companions nursed him with the greatest kindness, and the desire i OF THE POLAR SEA. 81 ie rochCf alatable, L a cask 3 spring. ?s below saw two V them, iriolently ifted so d to the bllowing :om Mr. trace of instruc- pursue. ired our echless, 1 into a p we left He wer our br some im some sed him e desire ng. of restoring him to health seemed to absorb all regard for their own situation. I wit- nessed with peculiar pleasure this conduct, so different from that which they had recently pursued, when every tender feeling was suspended by the desire of self-preser- vation. They now no longer betrayed impatience or despondency, but were com- posed and cheerful, and had entirely given up the practice of swearing, to which the Canadian voyagers are so lamentably ad- dicted. Our conversation naturally turned upon the prospect of getting relief, and upon the means which were best adapted for obtaining it. The absence of all traces of Indians on Winter River, convinced me that they were at this time on the way to Fort Providence, and that by proceeding towards that post we should overtake them, as they move slowly when they have their families witJi them. This route also offered us the prospect of killing deer in the vicinity of Rein-Deer Lake, in which neighbourhood our men, in their journey to and fro last winter, had always found them abundant. VOL. IV. G |:! 82 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES Upon these grounds I determined on taking the route to Fort Providence as soon as possible, and wrote to Mr. Back, desiring him to join me at Rein-Deer Lake, and detailing the occurrences since we parted, that our friends might receive relief, in case of any accident happening to me. Belanger did not recover sufficient strength to leave us before the 18th. His answers as to the exact part of Round-Rock Lake, in which he had left Mr. Back, were very unsatisfactory; and we could only collect that it was at a considerable distance, and that he was still going on with the intention of halting at the place where Akaitcho was encamped last summer, about thirty miles off. This distance appeared so great, that I told Belanger it was very unsafe for him to attempt it alone, and that he would be several days in accomplishing it. He stated, however, that as the track was beaten, he should experience little fatigue, and seemed so confident, that I suffered him to depart with a supply of singed hide. Next day I received information which ■I I lii-na OF THE POLAR SEA. 83 explained why he was so unwilling to acquaint us with the situation of Mr. Back's party. He dreaded that I should resolve upon joining it, when our numbers would be so great as to consume at once every thing St. Germain might kill, if by accident he should be successful in hunting. He even endeavoured to entice away our other hunter, Adam, and proposed to him to carry off the only kettle we had, and without which we could not have subsisted two days. Adam's inability to move, however, precluded him from agreeing to the pro- posal, but he could assign no reason for not acquainting me with it previous to Belan- ger's departure. I was at first inclined to consider the whole matter as a fiction of Adam's, but he persisted in his story without wavering ; and Belanger, when we met again, confessed that every part of it was true. It is painful to have to record a fact so deroga- tory to human nature, but T have deemed it proper to mention it, to show the difficul- ties we had to contend with, and the effect which distress had in warping the feelings o 2 I 84 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ( .^ and understanding of the most diligent and obedient of our party, for such Belanger bad been always esteemed up to this time. In making arrangements for our depar- ture, Adam disclosed to me, for the first time, that he was affected with oedematous swellings in some parts of the body, to such a degree as to preclude the slightest attempt at marching ; and upon my expressing my surprise at his having hitherto concealed from me the extent of his malady, among other explanations the details of the pre- ceding story came out. It now became necessary to abandon the original intention of proceeding with the whole party towards Fort Providence, and Peltier and Samandre having volunteered to remain with Adam, I determined on setting oat with Benoit and Augustus, intending to send them relief by the first party of Indians we should meet. My clothes were so much torn as to be quite inadequate to screen me from the wind, and Peltier and Samandre, fearing that I might suffer on the journey in conse- quence, kindly exchanged with me parts of OF THE POLAR SEA. 85 mt and elanger time, depar- le first matous to such ittempt ingmy icealed among le pre- became tention ;owards mandre Adam, loit and jlief by d meet. 1 to be om the fearing conse- ^arts of their dress, desiring me to send them skins in i«turn by the Indians. Having patched up three pair of snow-shoes, and singed a quantity of skin for the journey, we started on the morning of the 20th. Previous to my departure, I packed up the journals of the officers, the charts, and some other documents, together with a letter addressed to the Under-Secretary of State, detailing the occurrences of the Expedition up to this period, which package was given in charge to Peltier and Samandre, with directions that it should be brought away by the Indians who might come to them. I also instructed them to send succour immediately on its arrival to our companions in the rear, which they solemnly promised to do, and I left a letter for my frieuds, Richardson and Hood, to be sent at the same time. I thought it necessary to admonish Peltier, Samandre, and Adam, to eat two meals every day, in order to keep up their strength, which they promised me they would do. No language that I can use could adequately describe the partin gscene. 86 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I shall only say there was far more calmness and resignation to the Divine will eviaced by every one than could have been ex- pected. We were all cheered by the hope that the Indians would be found by the one party, and relief sent to the other. Those who remained entreated us to make all the haste we could, and expressed their hope of seeing the Indians in ten or twelve days. At first starting we were so feeble as scarcely to be able to move forwards, and the descent of the bank of the river through the deep snow ;vas a severe labour. When we came upon the ice, where the snow was less deep, we got on better, but after walk- ing six hours we had only gained four miles, and were then compelled by fatigue to encamp on the borders of Round-Rock Lake. Augustus tried for fish here, but without success, so that our fare was skin and tea. Composing ourselves to rest, we lay close to each other for warmth. We found the night bitterly cold, and the wind pierced through our famished frames. , The next morning was mild and pleasant or THE POLAR SEA. 87 for travelling, and we set out after break- fast. We had not, however, gone many yards before I had the misfortune to break my snow-shoes by falling between two rocks. This accident prevented me from keeping pace with Benoit and Augustus, and in the attempt I became quite ex- hausted. Feeling convinced that their be- ing delayed on my account might prove of fatal consequence to the rest, I resolved on returning to the house, and letting them proceed alone in search of the Indians. I therefore halted them only whilst I wrote a note to Mr. Back, stating the reason of my return, and desiring he would send meat from Rein-Deer Lake by these men, if St. Germain should kill any animals there. If Benoit should miss Mr. Back, I directed him to proceed to Fort Providence, and furnished him with a letter to the gentleman in charge of it, requesting that immediate supplies might be sent to us. On my return to the house I found Samandre very dispirited, and too weak, as he said, to render any assistance to Peltier, 88 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES Upon whom the whole labour of getting wood and collecting the means of subsist- ence would have devolv-^J. Conscious too that his strength would have been unequal to these tasks, they had determined upon taking only one meal each day ; so that I fielt my going back particularly for- tunate, as I hoped to stimulate Samandr^ to exertion, and at any rate could contribute some help to Peltier. I undertook the office of cooking, and insisted they should eat twice a-day, whenever food could be procured; but as I was too weak to pound the bones, Peltier agreed to do that in addition to his more fatiguing task of get- ting wood. We had a violent snow storm all the next day, and this gloomy weather increased the depression of spirits under which Adam and Samandr^ were labouring. Neither of them would quit their beds, and they scarcely ceased from shedding tears all day; in vain did Peltier and myself endeavour to cheer them. We had even to use much entreaty before they would take the meals we had prepared for them. Our OF THE POLAR SEA. 89 situation was indeed distressing, but, in comparison with that of our friends in the rear, we thought it happy. Their condition gave us unceasing soHcitude, and was the principal subject of our conversation. Though the weather was stormy on the 2()th, Samandre assisted me to gather tripe de rocfie, Adam, who was very ill, and could not now be prevailed upon to eat this weed, subsisted principally on bones, though he also partook of the soup. The tripe de roche had hitherto afforded us our chief support, and we naturally felt great uneasi- ness at the prospect of being deprived of it, by its being so frozen as to render it impos- sible for us to gather it. We perceived our strength decline every day, and every exertion began to be irk- some; when we were once seated the greatest effort was necessary in order to rise, and we had frequently to lift each other from our seats; but even in this pitiable condition we conversed cheerfully, being sanguine as to the speedy arrival of the Indians. We calculated, indeed, that 90 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i !l n if they should be near the situation where they had remained last winter, our men would have reached them by this day. Having expended all the wood which we could procure from our present dwelling without danger of its fall, Peltier began this day to pull down the partitions of the adjoiring houses. Though these were only distant about twenty yards, yet the increase of labour in carrying the wood fatigued him so much that by the evening he was ex- hausted. On the next day his weakness was such, especially in the arms, of which he chiefly complained, that he with diffi- culty lifted the hatchet ; still he persevered, while Samandre and I assisted him in bringing in the wood, but our united strength could only collect sufficient to replenish the fiie four times in the course of the day. As the insides of our mouths had become sore from eating the bone- soup, we relinquished the use of it, and now boiled the skin, which mode of dressing we found more palatable than frying it, as we had hitherto done. OF THE POLAR SEA. 91 On the 29th, Peltier felt his pains more severe, and could only cut a few pieces of wood. Samandre, who was still almost as weak, relieved him a little time, and I aided them in carrying in the wood. We endeavoured to pick some tripe de roche, but in vain, as it was entirely frozen. In turning up the snow in searching for bones, I found several pieces of bark, which proved a valuable acquisition, as we were almost destitute of dry wood proper for kindling the fire. We saw a herd of rein-deer sporting on the river about half a mile from the house ; they remained there a long time, but none of the party felt themselves strong enough to go after them, nor was there one of us who could have fired a gun without resting it. Whilst we were seated round the fire this evening, discoursing about the anticipated relief, the conversation was suddenly inter- rupted by Peltier's exclaiming with joy, " Ah! le monder imagining that he heard the Indians in the other room ; immediately afterwards, to his bitter disappointment, 92 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES u Dr. Richardson and Hepburn entered, each carrying his bundle. Peltier, however, soon recovered himself enough to express his delight at their safe arrival, and his re- gret that their companions were not with them. When I saw them alone my own mind was instantly filled with apprehensions respecting my friend Hood, and our other companions, which were immediately con- firmed by the Doctor's melancholy com- munication, that Mr. Hood and Michel were dead. Perrault and Fontano had neither reached the tent nor been heard of by them. This intelligence produced a melancholy despondency in the minds of my party, and on that account the particu- lars were deferred until another opportu- nity. We were all shocked at beholding the emaciated countenances of the Doctor and Hepburn, as they strongly evidenced their extremely debilitated state. The al- teration in our appearance was equally dis- tressing to them; for since the swellings had subsided we were little more than skin and bone. The Doctor particularly re- ! 1, each wever, xpress his re- >t with ly own ensions other ly con- y corn- Michel no had leard of iuced a linds of particu- »pportu- ^holding Doctor ^idenced The al- ally dis- iwelUngs fian skin arly re- OF THE POLAR SEA. 93 marked the sepulchral tone of our voices, which he requested us to make more cheerful if possible, unconscious that his own partook of the same key. Hepburn having shot a partridge, which was brought to the house, the Doctor tore out the feathers, and having held it to the fire a few minutes divided it into six por- tions. I and my three companions rave- nously devoured our shares, as it was the first morsel of fiesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days, unless, indeed, the small gristly particles which we found occasionally adhering to the pounded bones may be termed flesh. Our spirits were revived by this small supply, and the Doctor endea- voured to raise them still higher by the prospect of Hepburn's being able to kill a deer next day, as they had seen, and even fired at, several near the house. He en- deavoured too, to rouse us into some atten- tion to the comfort of our apartment, and particularly to roll up in the day our blankets, which (expressly for the conveni- ence of Adam and Samandre,) we had been 94 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES in the habit of leaving by the fire where we lay on them. The Doctor having brought his prayer-book and testament, some prayers and psalms, and portions of scripture, appropriate to our situation, were read, and we retired to bed. Next morning the Doctor and Hepburn went out early in search of deer; but though they saw several herds and fired some shots, they were not so fortunate as to kill any, being too weak to hold their guns steadily. The cold compelled the forme^* to return soon, but Hepburn per- sisted until late in the evening. My occupation was to search for skins under the snow, it being now our object immediately to get all that we would, but I had not strength to drag in more than two of those which were within twenty yards of the house ^mtil the Doctor came and assisted me. We made up our stock to twenty-six, but several of them were putrid, and scarcely eatable, even by men suffering the extremity of famine. Peltier and Samandre continued very weak and dispirited, and »'i' 1 ■I Vs! ■V ft:s fire where tor having testament, portions of uation, were d Hepburn deer ; but s and fired fortunate as y hold their mpelled the epburn per- ch for skins V our object would, but I ore than two jnty yards of i and assisted 3 twenty-six, putrid, and suffering the nd Samandre spirited, and .J.1.1 :i.'jt:ii5 lufi" jp* . ifa 05 (Tj) ;q- . IMNiMmI iP.'^a llV .l-.l,;. !vt,.,.|-,-,y I, aV L.«.ii-lnn OF THE POLAR SEA. 95 they were unable to cut fire-wood. Hep- burn had in consequence that laborious task to perform after he came back. The Doctor having scarified the swelled parts of Adam's body, a large quantity of water flowed out, and he obtained some ease, but still kept his bed. After our usual supper of singed skin and bone-soup, Dr. Richardson acquainted me with the afflicting circumstances attend- ing the death of Mr. Hood and Michel, and detailed the occurrences subsequent to my departure from them, which I shall give from his Journal, ip his own words; but I must here be permitted to express the heart-felt sorrow with which I was overwhelmed at th? loss of so many com- panions ; especially of my friend Mr. Hood, to whose zealous and able co-operation I had been indebted for so much invaluable assistance during the Expedition, whilst the excellent qualities of his heart engaged my warmest regard. His scientific obser- vations, together with his maps and draw- 96 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ings, evince a variety of talent, which, had his life been spared, must have rendered him a distinguished ornament to his profes- sion, and which will cause his death to be felt as a loss to the service. OF THE POLAR SEA. 07 Dr. RICHARDSON'S NARRATIVE. After Captain Franklin had bidden us farewell we remained seated by the fireside as long as the willows the men had cut for US before they departed, lasted. We had no tripe de roche that day, but drank an in- fusion of the country tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth, although it af- forded no sustenance. We then retired to bed, where we remained all the next day, as the weather was stormy, and the snow- drift so heavy, as to destroy every prospect o£ success in our endeavours to light a fire with the green and frozen willows, which were our only fuel. Through the extreme kindness and forethought of a lady, the party, previous to leaving London, had been furnished with a small collection of religious VOL. IV. u 98 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES fi books of v-hich we still retained two or three of thr ost portable, and they proved of incalculable benefit to us. We read portions of them to each other as we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service, and found that they inspired us on each perusal with so strong a sense of the Omnipresence of a beneficent God, that our situation, even in these wilds, appeared no longer destitute ; and we conversed, not only with calmness, but with cheerfulness, detailing with unrestrained confidence the past events of our lives, and dwelling with hope on our future prospects. Had my poor friend been spared to revisit his native land, I should look back to this period with unalloyed delight. On the morning of the 9th, the weather, although still cold, was clear, and I went out in quest of tripe de rochCf leaving Hep- burn to cut willows for a fire, and Mr. Hood in bed. I had no success, as yesterday's snow-drift was so frozen on the surface of the rocks that I could not collect any of the weed ; but on my return to the tent I found OF THE POLAR SEA. 99 that Michel, the Iroquois, had come with a note from Mr. Franklin, which stated that this man and Jean Baptiste Belanger being unable to proceed, were about to return to us, and that a mile beyond our present en- campment there was a clump of pine-trees, to which he recommended us to remove the tent. Michel informed us that he quitted Mr. Franklin's party yesterday morning, but that having missed his way, he had passed the night on the snow a mile or two to the northward of us. Belanger, he said, being impatient, left the fire about two hours earlier, and as he had not arrived, he supposed must have gone astray. It will be seen in the sequel, that we had more than sufficient reason to doubt the truth of this story. Michel now produced a hare and a par- tridge which he had killed in the morning. This unexpected supply of provision was received by us with a deep sense of grati- tude to the Almighty for his goodness, and we looked upon Michel as the instrument he had chosen to preserve all our lives. He H 2 <'« 100 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES complained of cold, and Mr. Hood offered to share his buffalo robe with him at night : I gave him one of two shirts which I wore, whilst Hepburn in the warmth of his heart, exclaimed, " How I shall love this man if I find that he does not tell lies like the others !" Our meals being finished, we arranged that the greatest part of the things should be carried to the pines the next day ; and, after reading the evening service, re- tired to bed full of hope. Early in the morning, Hepburn, Michel, and myself, carried the ammunition, and most of the other heavy articles, to the pines. Michel was our guide, and it did not occur to us at the time that his con- ducting us perfectly straight was incompa- tible with his story of having mistaken his road in coming to us. He now informed us that he had, on his way to the tent, left on the hill above the pines a gun and forty- eight balls, which Perrault had given to him when with the rest of Mr. Franklin's party, he took leave of him. It will be seen, on a reference to Mr. Franklin's jour- 4 m OF THE POLAR SEA. 101 d offered at night : h I wore, his heart, is man if like the shed, we the things next day ; ?rvice, re- n, Michel, lition, and es, to the and it did It his con- 3 incompa- listaken his V informed e tent, left I and forty- id given to . Franklin's It will be [iklin's jour- nal, tliat Perrault carried his gun and am- munition with him when they parted from Michel and Belanger. After we had made a fire, and drank a little of the country tea, Hepburn and I returned to the tent, where we arrived in the evening, much exhausted with our journey. Michel preferred sleep- ing where he was, and requested us to leave him the hatchet, which we did, after he had promised to come early in the morning to assist us in carrying the tent and bedding. Mr. Hood remained in bed all day. Seeing , nothing of Belanger to-day, we gave him up for lost. On the 11th, after waiting until late in the morning for Michel, who did not come, Hepburn and I loaded ourselves with the bedding, and accompanied by Mr. Hood, set out for the pines. Mr. Hood was much affected with dimness of sight, giddiness, and other symptoms of extreme debility, which caused us to move very slowly, and to make frequent halts. On arriving at the pines, we were much alarmed to find that Michel was ab^^ent. ui 102 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES .f We feared that he liad lost his way in coming to us in the niornin Mr. Hood, and boiled and ate it. Michel tried to per- suade me to go to the woods on the Copper-Mine River, and hunt for deer, instead of going to the Fort. In the after- noon, a flock of partridges coming near the tent, he killed several, which he shared with us. Thick snowy weather and a head wind prevented us from starting the following day, but on the morning of the 23d we set out, carrying with us the remainder of the tinged robe. Hepburn and Michel had each a gun, and I carried a small pistol which Hepburn had loaded for me. In the course of the march Michel alarmed us much by his gestures and conduct, was con- stantly muttering to himself, expressed an iinwillingness to go to the Fort, and tried to persuade me to go to the southward to the woods, where he said he could maintain VOL. IV. I i\ 114 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 1 mi liimsclf all the winter by killing deer. In consequence of this behaviour, and the ex- pression of his countenance, I requested him to leave us, and to go to the southward by himself. This proposal increased his ill-nature ; he threw out some obscure hints of freeing himself from all restraint on the morrow ; and I overheard him muttering threats against Hepburn, whom he openly accused of having told stories against him. He also, for the first time, assumed such a tone of superiority in addressing me, as evinced that he considered us to be com- pletely in his power ; and he gave vent to several expressi'^ns of hatred towards the white people, or, as he «ormed us in the idiom of the voyagers, the French, some of whom, he said, had killed and eaten his uncle and two of his relations. In short, taking every circumstance of his conduct into corisideration, I came to the conclusion that he would attempt to destroy us on the first opportunity that offered, and that he had hitherto abstained from doing so from his ignorance of his way to the Fort, but >RES ling deer. In r, and the ex- I requested the soutliward increased his obscure hints estraint on the him muttering lom he openly ;s against him. assumed such Iressing me, as us to be com- le gave vent to ed towards the med us in the ?'rench, some of and eaten his ions. In short, of his conduct } the conclusion stroy us on the id, and that he 1 doing so from ) the Fort, but /' t-V J.r®KM jv i*'. I^lll\\ol^'^l l"'"S \>1 .kilin Miirr.iv I.nllll." ^^« ,■■%: s>>iU H. \ ■■■■ ■■■■ .<■>','■'•'■%' ■•■•1': ■ ■''■■■■<■■■ ■■<^:'*;*:'S*k. .^ . \ fie f ■'■.■.if^'? •;•.■., .^ ■■■■• ■'.. .■^./#i'-'.>f-fS2^i.-''#; :■•■,-'■- *>v ■■■^., ■■.f OF THE POLAR SEA. 115 that he would never suffer us to go thither in company with him. In the course of the day he had several times remarked that we were pursuing the same course that Mr. Franklin was doing when he left him, and that by keeping towards the setting sun he could find his way himself. Hepburn and I were not in a condition to resist even an open attack, nor could we by any device escape from him. Our united strength was far inferior to his, and, beside his gun, he was armed with two pistols, an Indian bay- onet and a knife. In the afternoon, coming to a rock, on which there was some tripe de rochc, he halted, and said he would gather it whilst we went on, and that he would soon overtake us. Hef)burn and I were now left together for the first time since Mr. Hood's death, and he acquainted me with several material circumstances which he had observed of Michel's behaviour, and which confirmed me in the opinion that there was no safety for us except in his death, and he offered to be the instrument of it. I deter- mined, however, as I was thoroughly con- I 2 r /, ■•••8^ •■— 116 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES \ vinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the whole responsibility upon myself; and immediately upon Michel's coming up, I put an end to his life by shooting him through the head with a pis- tol. Had rny own life alone been threat- ened, I would not have purchased it by such a measure ; but I considered myself as entrusted also with the protection of Hepburn's, a man, who, by his humane at- tentions and devotedness, had so endeared himself to me, that I felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own. Michel had gathered no tripe de roche, and it was evi- dent to us that he had halted for the pur- pose of putting his gun in order, with the intention of attacking us, perhaps, whilst we were in the act of encamping. I have dwelt in the preceding part of the narrative upon many circumstances of Mi- chel's conduct, not for the purpose of aggra- vating his crime, but to put the reader in possession of the reasons that influenced me in depriving a fellow-creature of life. Up to the period of his return to the tent, his OF THE POLAR SEA. 117 conduct had been good and respectful to the officers ; and in a conversation between Captain FrankHn, Mr. Hood, and myself, at Obstruction Rapid, it had been proposed to give him a reward upon our arrival at a post. His principles, however, unsupported by a belief in the divine t'-uths of Christi- anity, were unable to withstand the pressure of severe distress. His countrymen, the Iroquois, are generally Christians, but he was totally uninstructed and ignorant of the duties inculcated by Christianity; and, from his long residence in the Indian coun- try, seems to ^ave imbibed, or retained, the rules of conduct which the southern Indians prescribe to themselves. On the two following days we had mild but thick snowy weather, and as the view was too limited to enable us to preserve a straight course, we remained encamped amongst a few willows and dwarf pines, about five miles from the tent. We found a species of corniculariay a kind of lichen, that was good to eat when moistened and toasted over the fire ; and we had a good 118 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES many pieces of singed buffalo hide re- maining. On the 26th, the weather being clear and extremely cold, we resumed our march, which was very painful from the depth of the snow, particularly on the margins of the small lakes that lay in our route. We frequently sunk under the load of our blankets, and were obliged to assist each other in getting up. After walking about three miles and a half, however, we were cheered by the sight of a large herd of rein- deer, and Hepburn went in pursuit of them ; but his hand being unsteady through weak- ness, he missed. He was so exhausted by this fruitless attempt that we were obliged to encamp upon the spot, although it was a very unfavourable one. Next day we had fine and clear, but cold weather. We set out early, and, in crossing a hill, found a considerable quantity of tripe de roche. About noon we fell upon Little Marten Lake, having walked about two miles. The sight of a place that we knew inspired us with fresh vigour, and there OF THE FOLAR SEA. 119 being comparatively little snow on the ice, we advanced at a pace to which we had lately been unaccustomed. In the afternoon we crossed a recent track of a wolverene, which, from a parallel mark in the snow, appeared to have been dragging something. Hepburn traced it, and upon the borders of the lake found the spine of a deer, that it had dropped. It was clean picked, and at least one season old ; but we extracted the spinal marrow from it, which, even in itb frozen state, was so acrid as to excoriate the lips. We encamped within sight of the Dog-rib Rock, and from the coldness of the night and the want of fuel, rested very ill. On the 28th we rose at day-break, but from the want of the small fire, that we usually made in the mornings to warm our fingers, a very long time was spent in making up our bundles. This task fell to Hepburn's share, as I suffered so much from the cold as to be unable to take my hands out of my mittens. We kept a straight course for the Dog-rib Rock ; but, owing to the depth of the snow in the val- / 1 . •A' .•?'■' 120 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES leys we had to cross, did not reach it until late in the afternoon. We would have encamped, but did not like to pass a second night without fire ; and though scarcely able to drag our limbs after us, we pushed on to a clump of pines about a mile to the southward of the rock, and arrived at them in the dusk of the evening. During the last few hundred yards of our march, our track lay over some large stones, amongst which I fell down upwards of twenty times, and became at length so exhausted that I was unable to stand. If Hepburn had not exerted himself far beyond his strength, and speedily made the encampment and kindled a fire, I must have perished on the spot. This night we had plenty of dry wood. On the 29th we had clear and fine wea- ther. We set out at sunrise, and hurried on in our anxiety to reach the house, but our progress was much impeded by the great depth of the snow in the valleys. Although every spot of ground over which we travelled to-day had been repeatedly OF THE POLAR SEA. 121 it until 1 have second carcely pushed } to the It them ng the ch, our mongst r times, I that I lad not rength, nt and on the of dry e wea- mrried se, but y the alleys, which atedly trodden by us, yet we got bewildered in a small lake. We took it for Marten Lake, which was three times its size, and fancied that we saw the rapids and the grounds about the Fort, although they were still far distant. Our disappointment when this illusion was dispelled by our reaching the end of the lake, so operated on our feeble minds as to exhaust our strength, and we decided upon encamping ; but upon ascend- ing a small eminence to look for a clump of wood, we caught a glimpse of the Big Stone, a well-known rock upon the summit of a hill opposite to the Fort, and deter- mined upon proceeding. In the evening we saw several large herds of rein-deer, but Hepburn, who used to be considered a good marksman, was now unable to hold the gun straight, and although he got near them all his efforts proved fruitless. In passing through a small clump of pines we saw a flock of partridges,- and he succeeded in killing one after firing several shots. We came in sight of the Fort at dusk, and it is impossible to describe our sensations when, i! (i ije« JOURNEY TO THE SHORES on attaininfr the eminence that overlooks it, we behekl the smoke issuing from one of the chimneys. From not having met with any footsteps in tlie snow as we drew nigh our once cheerful residence, we had been agitated by many melancholy forebodings. Upon entering the now desolate building, we had the satisfaction of embracing Captain Franklin, but no words can convey an idea of the filth and wretchedness that met our eyes on looking around. Our own misery had stolen upon us by degrees, and we were accustomed to the contemplation of each others emaciated figures; but the ghastly countenances, dilated eye-balls, and sepulchral voices of Captain Franklin and those with him, were more than we could at first bear. Conclusion of Dr. Richardson^s Narrative. OF THE rOLAR SEA. 123 ooks it, one of let witli 2W nigh id been >odings. uilding, Captain an idea met our misery and we ation of [)iit the ills, and lin and could (live. Tni: morning of the 31st was very cold, the wind being strong from the north. Hep- burn went again in quest of deer, and the Doctor endeavoured to kill some partridges ; both were unsuccessful. A large herd of deer passed close to the house, the Doctor fired once at them, but was unable to pur- sue them. Adam was easier this day, and left his bed. Peltier and Samandre were much weaker, and could not assist in the labours of the day. Both complained of soreness in the throat, and Samandre suf- fered much from cramps in his fingers. The Doctor and Hepburn began this day to cut the wood, and also brought it to the house. Being too weak to aid in these la- borious tasks, I was employed in searching for bones, and cooking, and attending to our more weakly companions. In the evening Peltier, complaining much of cold, requested of me a portion of a blanket to repair his shirt and drawers. The mending of these articles occupied him 124 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES and Samandrd until past one A .M,, and their spirits were so much revived by the employment, that they conversed even cheerfully the whole time. Adam sat up with them. The Doctor, Hepburn, and myself, went to bed. We were afterwards agreeably surprised to see Peltier and Sa- mandre carry three or four logs of wood across the room to replenish the fire, which induced us to hope they still possessed more strength than we had supposed. November 1. — This day was fine and mild. Hepburn went hunting, but was as usual unsuccessful. As his strength was rapidly declining, we advised him to desist from the pursuit of deer, and only to go out for a short time, and endeavour to kill a few partridges for Peltier and Samandre. The Doctor obtained a little tripe de rochet but Peltier could not eat any of it, and Sa- mandre only a few spoonfuls, owing to the soreness of their throats. In the afternoon Peltier was so much exhausted, that he sat up with difficulty, and looked piteously ; at length he slided from* his stool upon his OF THE POLAR SEA. 125 ., and by the even sat up n, and rwards id Sa- wood , which jsessed le and was as th was desist to go to kill andre. rochCi d Sa- to the rnoon Ihe sat y; at n his bed, as we supposed to sleep, and in this composed state he remained upwards of two hours, without our apprehending *>v danger. We were then alarmed by h ; i g a rattling in his throat, and on the Dot .or*s examining him, he was found to be speech- less. He died in the course of the night. Samandre sat up the greater part of the day, and even assisted in pounding some bones; but on witnessing the melancholy state of Peltier, he became very low, and began to complain of cold and stiffness of the joints. Being unable to keep up a suf- ficient fire to warm him, we laid him down and covered him with several blankets. He did not, however, appear to get better, and I deeply lament to add he also died before day-light. We removed the bodies of the deceased into the opposite part of the house, but our united strength was in- adequate to the task of interring them, or even carrying them down to the river. It may be worthy of remark that poor Peltier, from the time of Benoit's departure, had fixed on the first of November as the U6 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES time when lie should cease to expect any relief from the Indians, and had repeatedly said thac if they did not arrive by that day, he should not survive. Peltier had endeared himself to each of us by his cheerfulness, his unceasing activity, and affectionate care and attentions, ever since cur arrival at this place. He had nursed Adam with the tenderest solicitude the whole time. Poor Samandre was will- ing to have taken his share in the labours of the party, had he not been wholly inca- pacitated by his weakness and low spirits. The severe shock occasioned by the sudden dissolution of our two companions rendered us very melancholy. Adam became low and despondent, a change which we lamented the more, as we had perceived he had been gaining strength and spirits for the two pre- ceding days. I was particularly distressed by the thought that the labour of collecting wood must now devolve upon Dr. Richard- son and Hepburn, and that my debility would disable me from affording them any material assistance ; indeed both of them OF THE POLAR SEA. 127 ct any eatedly lat day, each of activity, IS, ever He had ohcitude vas will- 3 labours )lly inca- V spirits, le sudden rendered ame low lamented had been two pre- istressed collecting Richard- debility them any of them most kindly urged me not to make the at- tempt. They were occupied the whole of the next day in tearing down the logs of which the store-house was built, but the mud plastered between them was so hard frozen that the labour of separation ex- ceeded their strength, and they were com- pletely exhausted by bringing in wood suf- ficient for less than twelve hours' consump- tion. I found it necessary in their absence to remain constantly near Adam, and to con- verse with him, in order to prevent his reflecting on our condition, and to keep up his spirits as far its possible. I also lay by his side at night. On the 3d the weather was very cold, though the atmosphere was cloudy. This morning Hepburn was affected with swell- ing in his limbs, his strength, as well as that of the Doctor, was rapidly declining ; they continued, however, to be full of hope. Their utmost exertions could only supply wood, to renew the fire thrice, and on making it up the last time we went to bed. *aMi 128 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ■♦, • Adam was in rather better spirits, but he could not bear to be left alone. Our stock of bones was exhausted by a small quantity of soup we made this evening. The toil of separating the hair from the skins, which in fact were our chief support, had now become so wearisome as to prevent us from eating as much as we should otherwise have done. November 4. — Calm and comparatively mild weather. The Doctor and Hepburn, exclusive of their usual occupation, gathered some tripe de roche. I went a few yards from the house in search of bones, and re- turned quite fatigued, having found but three. The Doctor again made incisions in Adam's leg, which discharged a considerable quantity of water, and gave him great relief. We read prayers and a portion of the New Testament in the morning and evening, as had been our practice since Dr. Richard- son's arrival ; and I may remark that the performance of these duties always afforded us the greatest consolation, serving to re- animate our hope in the mercy of the OF THE POLAR SEA. 129 lit he stock antity le toil which I now s from ie have ratively ^pburn, athered V yards and re- nd but sions in iderable t rehef. he New ning, as ichard- that the fforded to re- of the Omnipotent, who alone could save and de- liver us. On the 5th the breezes were light, with dark cloudy weather and some snow. The Doctor and Hepburn were getting much weaker, and the limbs of the latter were now greatly swelled. They came into the house frequently in the course of the day to rest themselves, and, when once seated, were unable to rise without the help of one another, or of a stick. Adam was for the most part in the same low state as yester- day, but sometimes he surprised us by get- ting up and walking with an appearance of increased strength. His looks were now wild and ghastly, and his conversation was often incoherent. The next day was line, but very cold. The swellings in Adam's limbs having sub- sided, he was free from pain, and arose this morning in much better spirits, and spoke of cleaning his gun ready for shooting par- tridges, or any animals that might appear near the hou3e, but his tone entirely changed before the day was half over ; he became VOL. IV. K 130 JC ;RNEY TO THE SHORES again dejected, and could scarcely be pre- vailed upon to eat. The Doctor and Hep- burn were almost exhausted. The cutting of one log of wood occupied the latter half an hour ; and the other took as much time to drag it into the house, though the dis- tance did not exceed thirty yards. I en- deavoured to help the Doctor, but my as- sistance was very trifling. Yet it was evi- dent that, in a day or two, if their strength shou ( continue to decline at the same rate, I should be the strongest of the party. I may here remark that owing to our loss of flesh, the hardness of the floor, from which we were only protected by a blanket, produced soreness over the body, and espe- cially those parts on which the weight rested in lying, yet to turn ourselves for relief was a matter of toil and difficultv. However, during this period, and indeed all along, after the acute pains of hunger, which lasted but three or four days, had subsided, we generally enjoyed the comfort of a few hours' sleep. The dreams which for the most part, but not always, accom- OF THE POLAR SEA. 131 pre- Hep- itting rbalf 1 time le dis- I en- nftV as- as evi- trengtb le raie, ty. our loss r, from blanket, id espe- weigbt ves for fficulty. indeed hunger, ays, had comfort s which accom- panied it, were usually (though not inva- riably) of a pleasant character, being very often about the enjoyments of feasting. In the daytime we fell into the practice of con- versing on common and light subjects, al- though we sometimes discussed with seri- ousness and earnestness topics connected with religion. We generally avoided speak- ing directly of our present sufferings, or even of the prospect of relief. I observed, that in proportion as our strength decayed, our minds exhibited symptoms of weakness, evinced by a kind of unreasonable pettish- ness with each other. Each of us thought the other weaker in intellect than himself, and more in need of advice and assistance. So trifling a circumstance as a change of place, recommended by one as being warmer and more comfortable, and refused by the other from a dread of motion, frequently called forth fretful expressions which were no sooner uttered than atoned for, to be re- peated perhaps in the course of a few mi- nutes. The same thing often occurred when we endeavoured to assist each other K 2 I 132 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES in carrying wood to the fire ; none of us were willing to receive assistance, although the task was disproportioned to our strength. On one of these occasions, Hepburn was so convinced of this waywardness, that he ex- claimed, " Dear me, if we are spared to return to England, I wonder if we shall recover our understandings." November 7. — Adam had passed a rest- less night, being disquieted by gloomy ap- prehensions of approaching death, which we tried in vain to dispel. He was so low in the morning as to be scarcely able to speak. I remained in bed by his side to cheer him as much as possible. The Doctor and Hepburn went to cut wood. They had hardly begun their labour, when they were amazed at hearing the report of a musket. They could scarcely believe that there was really any one near, until they heard a shout, and immediately espied three In- dians close to the house. Adam and I heard the latter noise, and I was fearful that a part of the house had fallen upon one of my companions, a disaster which had in fact OF THE POLAR SEA. 133 f US DUgH [Igth. as so e ex- ed to shall rest- ly ap- whicli io low able to side to JDoctor ley had ^y were lusket. jre was ^eard a •ee In- and I [ful that one of in fact been thought not unlikely. My alarm was only momentary ; Dr. Richardson came in to communicate the joyful intelligence that relief had arrived. He and myself imme- diately addressed thanksgivings to the throne of mercy for this deliverance, but poor Adam was in so low a state that he could scarcely comprehend the information. When the Indians entered, he attempted to rise, but sank down again. But for this seasonable interposition of Providence, his existence must have terminated in a few hours, and that of the rest probably in not many days. The Indians had left Akaitcho's encamp- ment on the 5th November, having been sent by Mr. Back with all possible expedi- tion, after he had arrived at their tents. They brought but a small supply of pro- vision that they might travel quickly. It consisted of dried deer's meat, some fat, and a few tongues. Dr. Richardson, Hep- burn, and I, eagerly devoured the food, which they imprudently presented to us in too great abundance, and in consequence 1 134 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES t we suffered dreadfully from indigestion, and had no rest the whole night. Adam being unable to feed himself, was more judiciously treated by them, and suffered less ; his spirits revived hourly. The cir- cumstance of our eating more food than was proper in our present condition, was another striking proof of the debility of our minds. We v/ere perfectly aware of the danger, and Dr. Richardson repeatedly cau- tioned us to be moderate ; but he was him- self unable to practise the caution he so judiciously recommended. Boudel-kell, the youngest of the Indians, after resting about an hour, returned to Akaitcho with the intelligence of our situa- tion, and he conveyed a note from me to Mr. Back, requesting another supply of meat as soon as possible. The two others, " Crooked-Foot and the Rat," remained to take care of us, until we should be able to move forward. The note received by the Indians from Mr. Back, communicated a tale of distress, with regard to himself and his party, as OF THE POLAR SEA. 135 painful as that which we had suffered ; as will be seen hereafter by his own narrative. November 8. — The Indians this morning requested us to remove to an encampment on the banks of the river, as they Were un- willing to remain in the house where the bodies of our deceased companions were lying exposed to view. We agreed, but the day proved too stormy, and Dr. Ri- chardson and Hepburn, having dragged the bodies to a short distance, and covered them with snow, the objections of the Indians to remain in the house were dissipated, and they began to clear our room of the accu- mulation of dirt and fragments of pounded bones. The improved state of our apart- ment, and the large and cheerful fires they kept lip, produced in us a sensation of comfort to which we had long been strangers. In the evening they brought in a pile of dried wood, which was lying on the river-side, and towards which we had often cast a wishful eye, being unable to drag it up the bank. The Indians set about every thing with an activity that amazed us. Indeed, 136 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES contrasted with our emaciated figtires and extreme dobihty, their frames apj>eared to us gigantic, ai;.l Jieir strength supernatural. These kind creatures next turned their at- tention to our personal appearance, and prevailed upon us to shave and wash our- selves. The beards of the Doctor and Hepburn had been untouched since they left the sea-coast, and were become of a hideous length, and peculiarly offensive to the Indians. The Doctor and I suffered extremely from distention, and therefore ate sparingly.* Hepburn was getting better, and Adam recovered his strength with amazing rapidity. November 9. — This morning was plea- * The first alvine discharges after we received food, were, as Hearne remarks on a similar occasion, at- tended with excessive pain. Previous to the arrival of the Indians, the urinary secretion was extremely abundant, and we were obliged to rise from bed in consequence upwards of ten times in a night. This was an extreme annoyance in our reduced state. It may, perhaps, be attributed to the quantity of the country tea that we drank. I and lI to iiral. r at- and our- and they of a ve to [Tered refore setter, with plea- food, m, at- arrival [remely Ibed in This Ite. It I of the OF THE POLAR SEA. 137 saiitly fine. Crooked-foot caught four large trout in Winter Lake, which were very much prized, especially by the Doctor and myself, who had taken a dislike to meat, in consequence of our sufierings from repletion, which rendered us almost inca- pable of moving. Adam and Hepburn in a good measure escaped this pain. Though the night was stormy, and our apartment freely admitted the wind, we felt no incon- venience, the Indians were so very careful in covering us up, and in keeping a good fire; and our plentiful cheer gave such power of resisting the cold, that we could scarcely believe otherwise than that the season had become milder. On the 13th the weather was stormy, with constant snow. The Indians became desponding at the non-arrival of the supply, and would neither go to hunt nor fish. They frequently expressed their fears of some misfortune having befallen Boudel- kell ; and in the evening went off suddenly, without apprizing us of their intention, hav- ing first given to each of us a handful of frnt* 138 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i pounded meat, which they had reserved. Their departure at first gave rise to a sus- picion of their having deserted us, not meaning to return, especially as the expla- nations of Adam, who appeared to be in their secret, were very unsatisfactory. At length, by interrogations, we got from him the information, that they designed to march night and day until they should reach Akaitcho's encampment, whence they would send us aid. As we had combated their fears about Boudel-kell, they perhaps ap- prehended that we should oppose their de- termination, and therefore concealed it. We were now left a second time without food, and with appetites recovered, and strongly excited by recent indulgence. On the following day the Doctor and Hepburn resumed their former occupation of collecting wood, and I was able to assist a little in bringing it into the house. Adam, whose expectation of the arrival of the Indians had been raised by the fineness of the weather, became towards night very desponding, and refused to eat the singed i OF THE POLAR SEA. 139 skin. The night was stormy, and there was a heavy fall of snow. The next day he became still more dejected. About eleven Hepburn, who had gone out for the wood, came in with the intelligence that a party appeared upon the river. The room was instantly swept, and, in compliance with the prejudices of the Indians, every scrap of skin was carefully removed out of sight : for these simple people imagine that burn- ing deer-skin renders them unsuccessful in hunting. The party proved to be Crooked- Foot, Thooee-yorre, and the Fop, with the wives of the two latter dragging provisions. They were accompanied by Benoit, one of our own men. We were rejoiced to learn by a note from Mr. Back, dated November 1 1 , that he and his companions had so recruited their strength that they were preparing to pro- ceed to Fort Providence. Adam recovered his spirits on the arrival of the Indians, and even walked about the room with an appear- ance of strength and acti^/ily that surprised us all. As it was of consequence to get 4 uo JOURNEY TO THE SHORES H *> amongst the rein-deer before our present supply should fail, we made preparations for quitting Fort Enterprise the next day ; and accordingly at an early hour on the 16th, having united in thanksgiving and prayer, the whole party left the house after breakfast. Our feelings on quitting the fort where we had formerly enjoyed much comfort, if not happiness, and latterly ex- perienced a degree of misery scarcely to be paralleled, may be more easily conceived than described. The Indians treated us with the utmost tenderness, gave us their snow-shoes, and walked without themselves, keeping by our sides, that they might lift us when we fell. We descended Winter River, and about noon crossed the head of Round-Rock Lake, distant about three miles from the house, where we were obliged to halt, as Dr. Richardson was unable to proceed. The swellings in his limbs ren- dered him by much the weakest of the party. The Indians prepared our encamp- ment, cooked for us, and fed us as if we had been children, evincing humanity that »i OP THE POLAR SEA. 141 would have done honour to the most civi- lized people. The night was mild, and fatigue mmle us sleep soundly. From this period to the 2Gth of Novem- ber we gradually improved, through their kindness and attention; and on that day arrived in safety at the abode of our chief and companion Akaitcho. We were re- ceived by the party assembled in the leader's tent with looks of compassion and profound silence, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, and by which they meant to express their condolence for our sufferings. The conversation did not begin until we had tasted food. The chief, Akaitcho, showed us the most friendly hos- pitality, and all sorts of personal attention, even to cooking for us with his own hands, an ofHce which he never performs for him- self. Annoethai-yazzeh and Humpy, the chief's two brothers, and several of our hunters, with their families, were encamped here, together with a number of old men and women. In the course of the day we were visited by every person of the band. 1^2 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES not merely from curiosity, but a desire to evince their tender sympathy in our late distress. We learned that Mr. Back, with St. Germain and Belanger, had gone to Fort Providence ; and that i)revious to his de- parture he had left a letter in a cache of pounded meat, which we had missed two days ago. As we suppossed that this letter might acquaint us with his intentions more fully than we could gather from the Indians, through our imperfect knowledge of their language, Augustus the Esquimaux, whom we found here in perfect health, and an Indian lad, were despatched to bring it. We found several of the Indian families in great affliction for the loss of three of their relatives, who had been drowned in the August preceding by the upsetting of a canoe near Fort Enterprise. They bewailed the melancholy accident every morning and evening by repeating the names of the per- sons in a loud singing tone, which was fre- quently interrupted by bursts of tears. One woman was so affected by the loss of her only son, that she seemed deprived of OF THE POLAR SEA. 143 reason, and wandered about the tents the whole day, crying and singing out his name. On the 1st of December we removed with the Indians to the southward. On the 4th we again set off after the In- dians about noon, and soon overtook them, as they had halted, to drag from the water, and cut up anu share a moose-deer, that had been drowned in a rapid part of the river, partially covered with ice. These operations detained us a long time, which was the more disagreeable, as the weather was extremely unpleasant from cold low fogs. We were all much fatigued at the hour of encampment, which was after dark, though the day's journey did nit exceed four miles. At every halt the elderly men of the tribe made holes in the ice and put in their lines. One of them shared the produce of his fishery with us this evening. In the afternoon of the 6th, Belanger and another Canadian arrived from Fort Provi- dence, sent by Mr. Weeks with two trains of dogs, some spirits and tobacco for the Indians, a change of dress for ourselves. 11 144 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES »> P- -"i \h and a little tea and sugar. They also brought letters for us from England, and from Mr. Back and Mr. Wentzel. By the former we received the gratifying intelligence of the successful termination of Captain Parry's voyage ; and were informed of the promo- tion of myself and Mr. Back, and ot poor Hood, our grief for whose loss was renewed by this intelligence. The letter from Mr. Back stated that the rival Companies in the fur trade had united ; but that owing ^.o some cause which had not been explained to him, the goods mtended as rewards to Akaitcho and his band, which we had demanded in the spring from the North- West Company, were not sent. There were, however, some stores lying for us at Moose-Deer Island, which had been ordered for the equipment of our voyagers; and Mr. Back had gone across to that establishment, to make a selection of the articles we could spare for a tempo- rary present to the Indians. The disap- pointment at the non-arrival of the goods was seriously felt by us, as we had looked I OF THE POLAR SEA. 145 also Tom •mer ;e of rry's )nio- poor Bwed forward with pleasure to the time when we should be enabled to recompense our kind Indian friends, for their tender sympathy in our distresses, and the assistance they had so cheerfully and promptly rendered. I now regretted to find tbaf. Mr. Wentzel and his party, in their return from the sea, had suffered severely on their march along the Copper-Mine River, having on one occa- sion, as he mentioned, had no food but tripe de roche for elcen days. All the Indians flocked to our encamp- ment to learn the news, and to receive the articles brought for them. Having got some spirits and tobacco, they withdrew to the tent of the Chief, and passed the greater part ^-f the night in singing. We had now the indescribable gratification of changing our linen, which had been worn ever since our departure from the sea-coast. December 8. — After a long conference with Akaitcho, we took leave of him and his kind companions, and set out with two sledges heavily laden witli provision and bedding, drawn by the dogs, and conducted VOL. IV. 146 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES U n by Belanger and the Canadian sent by Mr. Weeks. Hepburn and Augustus jointly dragged a smaller sledge, laden principally with their own bedding. Adam and Benoit were left to follow with the Indians. We encamped on the Grassy-Lake Portage, having walked about nine miles, principally on the Yellow-Knife River. It was open at the rapids, and in these places we had to ascend its banks, and walk through the woods for some distance, which was very fatiguing, especially to Dr. Richardson, whose feet were severely galled in con- sequence of some defect in his snow- shoes. On the 11th, however, we arrived at the Fort, which was still under the charge of Mr. Weeks. He welcomed us in the most kind manner, immediately gave us changes of dress, and did every thing in his power to make us comfortable. Our sensations on being once more in a comfortable dwelling, after the series of hardships and miseries we had experienced, may be imagined, Our first act was again OF THE FOLAR SEA. 147 Mr. intly pally enoit We tage, pally open lad to 1 the very fdson, con- snow- at the ^e of most anges power e in a les of ;nced, again to return our grateful praises to the Al- mighty for the manifold instances of his mercy towards us. Having found here some articles which Mr. Back had sent across from Moose-Deer Island, I deter- mined on awaiting the arrival of Akaitcho and his party, in order to present these to them, and to assure them of the promised reward, as soon as it could possibly be pro- cured. In the afternoon of the 14th, Akaitcho, with his whole band, came to the Fort. He smoked his customary pipe, and made an ad.dress to Mr. Weeks in the hall previous to his coming into the room in which Dr. Richardson and I were. We discovered at the commencement of his speech to us, that he had been informed that our ex- pected supplies had not come. He spoke of this circumstance as a disappointment, indeed, sufficiently severe to himself, to whom his band looked up for the protection of their interests, but without attaching any blame to us. " The world goes badly," he said, " ail are poor ; you are poor, the L'2 US JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i*t traders appear to be poor, I and my party are poor likewise ; and since the goods have not come in, we cannot have them. I do not regret having supplied you with pro- visions, for a Copper Indian can never per- mit white men to suffer from want of food on his lands, without flying to their aid. I trust, however, that we shall, as you say, receive what is due next autumn ; and at i\i events," he added, in a tone of good hunour, ** it is the first time that the white people have been indebted to the Copper Indians." We assured him the supplies should certainly be sent to him by the autumn, if not before. He then cheerfully received the small present we made to himself; and, although we could give a few things only to those who had been most active in our service, the others, who, perhaps, thought themselves equally deserving, did not mur- mur at being lefl out in the distribution. Akaitcho afterwards expressed a strong desire, that we should represent the cha- racter of his nation in a favourable light to our countrymen. " I know," he said, ** you OF THE POLAR SEA. 149 write down every occurrence in your books ; but probably yovi have only noticed the bad things we have said and done, and have omitted the good." In the course of the desultory conversation which ensued, he said, that he had been always told by us, to consider the traders in the same light as ourselves ; and that, for his part, he looked upon both as equally respectable. This assurance, made in the presence of Mr. Weeks, was particularly t^ratifying to us, as it completely disproved tl: defence that had been set up, respec ing the injurious reports circulated against us amongst the Indians in the spring; namely, that they were in retaliation for jur endeavours to lower the traders in the eyes of the Indians. I take this opportunity of stating my opi- nion, that Mr. Weeks, in spreading these reports, was actuated by a mistaken idea that he was serving the interests of his em- ployers. On the present occasion, we felt indebted to him for the sympathy he dis- played for our distresses, and the kindness 150 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 4) i i if with which he administered to our personal wants. After this conference, such Indians as were indebted to the Company were paid for the provision they had given us, by de- ducting a corresponding sum from their debts ; in the same way we gave a reward of sixteen skins of beaver to each of the persons who had come to our reHef at Fort Enterprise. As the debts of Akaitcho and his hunters had been effaced at the time of his engagement with us, we placed a sum equal to the amount of provision they had recently supplied, to their credit on the Company's Books. These things being, through the moderation of the Indians, ad- justed with an unexpected facility, we gave them a keg of mixed liquors (five parts water,) and distributed among them several fathoms of tobacco, and they retired to their tents to spend the night in merriment. Adam, our interpreter, being desirous of. uniting himself with the Copper Indians, applied to me for his discharge, which I granted, and gave him a bill on the Hud- OF THE POLAR SEA. 151 son's Bay Company for the amount of his wages. These arrangements being com- pleted, we prepared to cross the lake. Mr. Weeks provided Dr. Richardson and I with a cariole each, and we set out at eleven A.M., on the 15th, for Moose-Deer Island. Our party consisted of Belanger, who had charge of a sledge laden with the bedding, and drawn by two dogs, our two cariole men, Benoit and Augustus. Pre- vious to our departure, we had another con- ference with Akaitcho, who, as well as the rest of his party, bade us farewell, with a warmth of manner rare among the Indians. • The badness of Belanger's dogs, and the roughness of the ice', impeded our progress very much, and obliged us to encamp early. We had a good fire made of the drift wood, which lines the shores of this lake in great quantities. The next day was very cold. We began the journey at nine A.M., and encamped at the Big Cape, having made another short march, in consequence of the roughness of the ice. On the 17th, we encamped on the most 152 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES southerly of the Rein-Deer Islands. This night was very stormy, but the wind abating in the morning, we proceeded, and by sun- set reached the fishing-huts of the Company at Stony Point. Here we found Mr. An- drews, a clerk of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, who regaled us with a supper of ex- cellent white fish, for which this part of Slave Lake is paiticularly celebrated. Two men with sledges arrived soon afterwards, sent by Mr. M*Vicar, who expected us about this time. We set off in the morning before day-break, with several companions, and arrived at Moose-Deer Island about one P.M. Here we were received with the ut- most hospitality by Mr. M*Vicar, the chief trader of the Hudson's Bay Company in this district, as well as by his assistant Mr. M*Auley. We had also the happiness of joining our friend, Mr. Back ; our feelings on this occasion can be well imagined, and we were deeply impressed with gratitude to him for his exertions in sending the supply of food to Fort Enterprise, to which, under Divine Providence, we felt the preservation Imgs and le to )ply ider ition OF THE POLAR SEA. 153 of our lives to be owing He gave us an affecting detail of the proceedings of his party since our separation; the substance of which I shall convey to the reader by the following extracts from his Journal. 154 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES Mr. back's narrative. October 4, 1821. — Captain Franklin hav- ing directed me to proceed with St. Ger- main, Belanger, and Beauparlant, to Fort Enterprise, in the hope of obtaining relief for the party, I took leave of my com- panions, and set out on my journey, through a very swampy country, which, with the cloudy state of tlie weather and a keen north-east wind, accompanied by frequent snow showers, retarded us so much, that we scarcely got more than four miles before we halted for the night, and made a meal of tripe de roche and some old leather. On the 5th we set out early amidst ex- tremely deep snow, sinking frequently in it up to the thighs, a labour in our enfeebled and almost worn-out state, that nothing but the cheering hopes of reaching the house •elief ex- ill it •bled but ^ouse OF THE POLAR SEA. 155 and affording relief to our friends could have enabled us to support* As we ad- vanced, we found to our mortification, that the tripe de rochcy hitherto our sole depend- ence, began to be scarce, so that we could only collect sufficient to make half a kettle- ful, which, with the addition of a partridge each, that St. Germain had killed, yielded a tolerable meal ; during this day I felt very weak and sore in the joints, particularly between the shoulders. At eight we en- camped among a small clump of willows. On the 6th we set out at an early hour, pursuing our route over a range of hills, at the foot of one of which we saw several large puies, and a great quantity of willows ; a sight that encouraged us to quicken our pace, as we were now certain we could not be far from the woods. Indeed we were making considerable progress, when Be- langer unfortunately broke through the ice, and sank up to the hips. The weather being cold, he was in danger of freezing, but some brushwood on the borders of the lake enabled us to make a fire to dry him. 156 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES At the same time we took the opportunity of refreshing ourselves with a kettle of swamp tea. My increasing d bilityhad for some tim ]6i JOURNEY TO THE SHORES \i I clear, but it was not before two in the afternoon that we set out; and the one was so weak, and the other so full of complaints, that we did not get more than three-quar- ters of a mile from our last encampment, before we were obliged to put up; but in this distance we were fortunate ertough to kill a partridge, the bones of which were eaten, and the remainder reserved for baits to fish with. We, however, collected suffi- cient tripe de roche to make a meal ; and I anxiously awaited Belanger's return, to know what course to take. I was now so much reduced, that my shoulders were as if they would fall from my body, my legs seemed unable to support me, and in the disposition in which I then found myself, had it not been for the remembrance of my friends behind, who relied on me for relief, as well as the persons of whom I had charge, I certainly should have preferred remaining where I was, to the miserable pain of attempting to move. October 16. — We waited until two in the afternoon for Belanger ; but not seeing any OF THE POLAR SEA. 1C5 thing of him on the lake, we set out, pur- posing to encamp at the Narrows, the place which was said to be so good for fishing, and where, according to St. Germain's ac- count, the Indians never failed to catch plenty; its distance at most could not be more than two miles. We had not pro- ceeded far before Beauparlant began to complain of increasing weakness ; but this was so usual with us that no particular notice was taken of it, for in fact there was little difference, all being alike feeble; among other things, he said whilst we were resting, that he should never get beyond the next encampment, for his strength had quite failed him. I endeavoured to encou- rage him by explaining the mercy of the Supreme Being, who ever beholds with an eye of pity those that seek his aid. This passed as common discourse, when he in- quired where we were to put up ; St. Gery main pointed to a clump of pines near us, the only place indeed that offered for fuel. " Well," replied the poor man, " take your axe Mr. Back, and I will follow at my lei- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) .^' ^^ 4^. ^ / > Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 « \ P c^^ \ ^ >.>. ^ ^ ^4 o ..*%^ ii £(5 166 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES \\ sure, I shall join you by the time the en- campment is made." This is a usual prac- tice of the country, and St. Germain and myself went on towards the spot; it was five o'clock and not very cold, but rather milder than we had experienced it for some time, when on leaving the ice, we saw a number of crows perched on the top of some high pines near us. St. Germain im- mediately said there must be some dead animal thereabouts, and proceeded to search, when we saw several heads of deer half buried in the snow and ice, without eyes or tongues ; the previous severity of the wea- ther having obliged the wolves and other animals to abandon them. An expression of " Oh merciful God ! we are saved," broke from us both; and with feelings more easily imagined than described, we shook hands, not knowing what to say for joy. It was twilight, and a fog was rapidly darkening the surface of the lake, when St. Germain commenced making the encamp- mert; the task was too laborious for me to render him any assistance, and had we OF THE POLAR SEA. 167 the en- 1 prac- in and it was rather r some saw a top of lin im- e dead search, ;r half jyes or e wea- other ession aved," elings d, we ay for ipidly en St. amp- ler me d we not thus providentially found provision, I feel convinced that the next twenty-four hours would have terminated my existence. But this good fortune in some measure re- novated me for the moment, and putting out my whole strength I contrived to collect a few heads, and with incredible difficulty carried them singly about thirty paces to the fire. Darkness stole on us apace, and I be- came extremely anxious about Beauparlant ; several guns were fired, to each of which he answered. We then called out, and again heard his responses though faintly, when I told St. Germain to go ?nd look for him, as I had not strength myself, being quite exhausted. He said that he had al- ready placed a pine branch on the ice, and he could then scarcely find his way back but if he went now he should certainly be lost. In this situation I could only hope that as Beauparlant had my blanket, an4 every thing requisite to light a fire, he might have encamped at a little distance from us. II 1G8 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES i October 17. — The night was cold and clear, but we could not sleep at all, from the pains of having eaten. We suffered the most excruciating torments, though I in particular did not eat a quarter of what would have satisfied me; it might have been from using a quantity of raw or frozen sinews of the legs of deer, which neither of us could avoid doing, so great was our hunger. In the morning being much agi- tated for the safety of Beauparlant, I desired St. Germain to go in search, of him and to return with him as quick as possible, when I would have something prepared for them to eat. It was, however, late when he arrived, with a small bundle which Beauparlant was accustomed to carry, and with tears in his eyes, told me that he had found our poor companion dead. "Dead!" I could not be- lieve him. " It is so. Sir," said St. Ger- main ; " after hallooing and calling his name to no purpose, I went towards our last encampment, about three-quarters of a mile, and found him stretched upon his m OF THE POLAR SEA. ICO back on a sand bank frozen to death, his limbs all extended and swelled enormously, and as hard as the ice that was near him ; his bundle was behind him, as if it had rolled away when he fell, and the blanket which he wore around his neck and shoulders thrown on one side. Seeing that there was no longer life in him, I threw your covering over him, and placed his snow-shoes on the top of it." I had not even thought of so serious an occurrence in our little party, and for a short time was obliged to give vent to my grief. Left with one person and both of us weak, no appearance of Belanger, a likelihood that great calamity had taken place amongst our other companions, still upwards of seven- teen days' march from the nearest Esta- blishment, and myself unable to carry a burden; all these things pressed heavy on me; and how to get to the Indians or to the Fort I did not know ; but that I might not depress St. Germain's spirits, I sup- pressed the feelings to which these thoughts ji 170 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I Ni if gave rise, and made some arrangements for the journey to Fort Providence. October 18. — While we were this day occupied in scraping together the remains of some deer's meat, we observed Belanger coming round a point, apparently scarcely moving. I went to meet him, and made immediate inquiries about my friends. Five, with the Captain, he said, were at the house, the rest were left near the river un- able to proceed ; but he was too weak to relate the whole. He was conducted to the encampment, and paid every attention to, and by degrees we heard the remainder of his tragic tale, at which the interpreter could not avoid crying. He then gave me a letter from my friend the Commander, which indeed was truly afflicting. The simple story of Belanger I could hear, but when I read it in another language, mingled with the pious resignation of a good man, I could not sustain it any longer. The poor man was much affected at the death of our lamented companion, but his appetite 1 '^1 OF THE POLAR SEA. 171 nts for is day emains ilanger larcely made Five, at the er un- eak to to the on to, der of preter ^e me mder. The r, but ngled man, The death )etite prevailed over every other feeling; and, had I permitted it, he would have done himself an injury ; for after two hours' eat- ing, principally skin and sinews, he com- plained of hunger. The day was cloudy, with snow and fresh breezes from the north-east by east. ' The last evening, as well as this morning, the 19th, I mentioned my wishes to the men, that we should proceed towards Rein-Deer Lake, but this proposal met with a direct ref-isal. Belanger stated his inability to move, and St. Germain used similar lan- guage : adding, for the first time, that he did not know the route, and that it was of no use to go in the direction I mentioned, which was the one agreed upon between the Commander and myself. I then insisted that we should go by the known route, and join the Commander, but they would not hear of it ; they would remain where they were until they had regained their strength ; they said, I wanted to expose them again to death (faire perirj. In vain did I use every argument to the contrary, for they were i H 172 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ^1 equally heedless to all. Thus situated, I was compelled to remain; and from this time to the 25 th we employed ourselves in looking about for the remnants of the deer and pieces of skin, which even the wojvijs had left ; and by pounding the bones, we were enabled to make a sort of soup, which strengthened us greatly, though each still complained of weakness. It was not with- out the greatest difficulty that I could re- strain the men from eating every scrap they found, though they were well aware of the necessity there was of being economical in our present situation, and to save whatever they could for our journey ; yet they could not resist the temptation, and whenever my back was turned, they seldom failed to snatch at the nearest piece to them, whether cooked or raw. We had set fishing lines, but without any success ; and we often saw large herds of deer crossing the lake at full speed, and wolves pursuing them. The night of t^e 25th was cold, with hard frost. Early the next morning I sent OF THE POLAR SEA. 173 with sent the men to cover the body of our departed companion Beauparlant with the trunks and branches of trees, which they did ; and shortly after their return I opened his bundle, and found it contained two papers of vermilion, several strings of beads, some fire-steels, flints, awls, fish-hooks, rings, linen, and the glass of an artificial horizon. My two men began to recover a little as well as myself, though I was by far the weakest of the three ; the soles of my feet were cracked all over, and the other parts were as hard as horn, from constant walk- ing. 1 again urged the necessity of ad- vancing to join the Commander's party, but they said, they were not sufficiently strong. On the 27th we discovered the remains of a deer, on which we feasted. The night was unusually cold, and ice formed in a pint-pot within two feet of the fire. The coruscations of the Aurora were beautifully brilliant; they served to show us eight wolves, which we had some trouble to frighten away from our collection of deer's bones ; and, between their howling and the u N 174 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES I" 1^ I constant cracking of the ice, we did not get much rest. Having collected with great care, and by self-denial, two small packets of dried meat or sinews, sufficient (for men who knew what it was to fast) to last for eight days, at the rate of one indifferent meal per day, we prepared to set out on the 30th. I cal- culated that we should be about fourteen days in reaching Fort Providence; and allowing that we neither killed deer nor found Indians, we could but be unprovided with food six days, and this we heeded not whilst the prospect of obtaining full relief was before us. Accordingly we set out against a keen north-east wind, in order to gain the known route to Fort Providence. We saw a number of wolves and some crows on the middle of the lake, and sup-f posing such an assembly was not met idly, we made for them and came in for a share of a deer which they had killed a short time before, and thus added a couple of meals to our stock. By four P.M. we gained the head of the lake, or the direct road to Fort OF THE POLAR SEA. 175 Providence, and some dry wood being at hand, we encamped ; by accident it was the same place where the Commander's party had slept on the 19th, the day on which I supposed they had left Fort Enterprise ; but the encampment was so small, that we feared great mortality had taken place amongst them ; and I am sorry to say the stubborn resolution of my men, not to go to the house, prevented me from deter- mining this most anxious point, so that I now almost dreaded passing their encamp- ments, lest I should see some of our unfor- tunate friends dead at each spot. Our fire was hardly kindled when a fine herd of deer passed close to us. St. Germain pursued them a short distance, but with his usual want of success, so that we made a meal off the muscles and sinews we had dried, though they were so tough that we could scarcely cut them. My hands were be- numbed throughout the march, and we were all stiff and fatigued. The marching of two days weakened all very much, and the more so on account of our exertion to 176 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES K» follow the tracks of our Commander's party ; but we lost them, and concluded that they were not before us. Though the weather was not cold, I was frozen in the face, and was so reduced and affected by these con- stant calamities, as well in mind as in body, that I found much difficulty in proceeding even with the advantages I had enjoyed. November 3. — We set out before day, though, in fact, we were all much fitter to remain, from the excessive pain which we suffered in our joints, and proceeded till one P.M., without halting, when Belanger, who was before, stopped, and cried out, " Footsteps of Indians." It is needless to mention the joy that Ijrightened the counte- nances of each at this unlooked-for sight ; we knew relief must be at hand, and consi- dered our sufferings at an end. St. Ger- main inspected the tracks, and said that three persons had passed the day before ; and that he knew the remainder must be advancing to the southward, as was cus- tomary with these Indians, when they sent to the trading establishment on the first ice. OF THE POLAR SEA. 177 On this information we encamped, and being too weak to walk myself, I sent St. Ger- main to follow the tracks, with instructions to the chief of the Indians to provide im- mediate assistance for such of our friends as might be at Fort Enterprise, as well as for ourselves, and to lose no time in re- turning to me. I was now so exhausted, that had we not seen the tracks this day, I must have remained at the next encamp- ment, until the men could have sent aid from Fort Providence. We had finished our small portion of sinews, and were pre- paring for rest, when an Indian boy made his appearance with meat. St. Germain had arrived before sunset at the tents of Akaitcho, whom he found at the spot where he had wintered last year ; but imagine my surprise, when he gave me a note from the Commander, and said that Benoit and Au- gustus, two of the men, had just joined them. The note was so confused, by the pencil marks being partly rubbed out, that I could not decipher it clearly ; but it in- formed me, that he had attempted to come VOL. IV. N \ ll lii 178 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES with the two men, hut finding his strength inadequate to the task, he relinquished his design, and returned to Fort Enterprise, to await reHef ivith the others. There was another note for the gentleman in charge of Fort Providence, desiring him to send meat, blankets, shoes, and tobacco. Akaitcho wished me to join him on the ensuing day, at a place which the boy knew, where they were going to fish ; and I was the more anxious to do so, on account of my compa- nions : but particularly that I might hear a full relation of what had happened, and of the Commander's true situation, which I suspected to be much svorse than he had described. In the afternoon I joined the Indians, and repeated to Akaitcho what St. Germain had told him ; he seemed much affected, and said, he would have sent relief directly, though I had not been there ; indeed, his conduct was generous and humane. The next morning, at an early hour, three In- dians, with loaded sledges of meat, skins, shoes, and a blanket, set out for Fort En- OF THE POLAR SEA. 179 trength led his rise, to re was arge of I meat, i:?iitcho e they 3 more ;ompa- hear a and of lich I le had IS, and in had 1, and rectly, d, his The le In- skins, •t En- terprise ; one of them was to return directly with an answer from Captain Franklin, to whom I wrote ; but in the event of his death, he was to bring away all the papers he could find ; and he promised to travel with such haste, as to be able to return to us on the fourth day. I was now somewhat more at ease, having done all in my power to succour my imfortunate companions ; but was very anxious for the return of the mes- senger. The Indians brought me meat in small quantities, though sufficient for our daily consumption ; and, as we had a little ammunition, many were paid on the spot for what they gave. On the 9th I had the satisfaction of seeing the Indian arrive from Fort Enterprise. At first he said they were all dead, but shortly after he gave me a note, which was from the Commander, and then I learned all the fatal particulars which had befallen them, I now proposed that the chief should immediately send three sledges, loaded with meat, to Fort Enterprise, should make a cache of provision at our present encamp- N 2 180 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES ment, and also, that he should here await the arrival of the Commander. By noon two large trains, laden with meat, were sent off for Fort Enterprise. The next day we proceeded on our journey, and arrived at Fort Providence on the 21st of November. Conclusion of Mr, Back's Narrative. 1 ' OF THE POLAR SEA. 181 e await Jy noon ire sent day we ived at ember. I HAVE little now to add to the melan- choly detail into which I felt it proper to enter ; but I cannot omit to state that the unremitting care and attentions of our kind friends, Mr. M*Vicar and Mr, M*Auley, united with our improved diet, to promote to the restoration of our health ; so that, by the end of February, the swellings of our limbs, which had returned upon us, en- tirely subsided, and we were able to walk to any part of the island. Our appetites gradually moderated, and we nearly re- gained our ordinary state of body before the spring. Hepburn alone suffered from a severe attack of rheumatism, which con- fined him to his bed for some weeks. The usual symptoms of spring having appeared, on the 25th of May we prepared to embark for Fort Chipewyan. Fortunately, on the following morning, a canoe arrived from that place with the whole of the stores which we required for the payment of Akaitcho and the hunters. It was ex- tremely gratifying to us to be thus enabled, 182 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES previous to our departure, to make arrange- ments respecting the requital of our late Indian companions ; and the more so, as we had recently discovered that Akaitcho, and the whole of his tribe, in consequence of the death of the leader's mother, and the wife of our old guide Keskarrah, had broken and destroyed every useful article belonging to them, and were in the greatest distress. It was an additional pleasure to find our stock of ammunition more than sufficient to pay them what was due, and that we could make a considerable present of this most essential article to every individual that had been attached to the Expedition. We quitted Moose-Deer Island at five P.M., on the 26th, accompanied by Mr. M* Vicar and Mr. M*Auley, and nearly all the voyagers at the establishment, having resided there a^^out five months, not a day of which had passed without our having cause of gratitude for the kind and unvaried attentions of Mr. M* Vicar and Mr. M*Auley. ' These gentlemen accompanied us as far as Fort Chipewyan, where we arrived on the OF THE POLAR SEA. 183 2d of June. Here we met Mr. Wentzel and the four men who had been sent with him from the mouth of the Copper-Mine River ; and I think it due to that gentleman to give his own explanation of the unfortu- nate circumstances which prevented him from fulfilling my instructions, respecting the provisions to have been left for us at Fort Enterprise.* * " After you sent me back from the mouth of the Copper-Mine River, and I had overtaken the Leader, Guides, and Hunters, on the fifth day, leaving the sea-coast, as well as our journey up the River, they always expressed the same desire of fulfilling their premises, although some- what dissatisfied at being exposed to privation while on our return, from a scarcity of animals; for, as I have already stated in my first commu- nication from Moose-Deer Island, we had been eleven days with no other food but tripe de roche. In the course of this time an Indian^ with his wife and child, who were travelling in company with us, were left in the rear, and are since supposed to have perished through want, as no intelligence had been received of them at Fort Providence in December last. On the seventh 1 184 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES In a subsequent conversation he stated to me that the two Indians, who were actually day after I had joined the Leader, &c. &c., and journeying on together, all the Indians, excepting Petit Pied and Bald- Head, left me to seek their families, and crossed Point Lake at the Crow's Nest, where Humpy had promised to meet his brother Ekehcho* with the families, but did not fulfil, nor did any of my party of Indians know where to find them ; for we had frequently made fires to apprize them of our approach, yet none appeared in return as answers. This disap- pointment, as might be expected, served to in- crease the ill-humour of the Leader and party, the brooding of which (agreeably to Indian cus- tom) was liberally discharged on me, in bitter reproach for having led them from their families, and exposed them to dangers and hardships^ which but for my influence, they said, they might have spared themselves. Nevertheless, they still continued to profess the sincerest desire of meet- ing your wishes in making caches of provisions, and remaining until a late season on the road that leads from Fort Enterprise to Fort Provi- dence, through which the Expedition-men had ♦ Akaitcho the Leader. / OF THE rOLAR SEA. 185 ated to ctually X., and cepting 3k their Crow's eet his lid not I know l^made t none disap- to in- party, n cus- bitter nilies, ships, might y still meet- iions, road rovi- had , with him at Fort Enterprise, whilst he re- mained there altering his canoe, were pre- travelled so often the year before — remarking, however, at the same time, that they had not the least hopes of ever seeing one person return from the Expedition. These alarming fears I never could persuade them to dismiss from their minds ; they always sneered at what they called * my credulity/ — * If,' said the Gros Pied,* * the Great Chief (meaning Captain Franklin), or any of his party, should pass at my tents, he or they shall be welcome to all my provisions, or any thing else that I may have.' And I am sincerely happy to understand, by your communication, that in this he had kept his word —in sending you with such promptitude and liberality the assistance your truly dreadful situation required. But the party of Indians, on whom I had placed the utmost confidence and dependance, was Humpy and the White Capot Guide, with their sons, and several of the discharged hunters from the Expedition. This party was well-disposed, and readily promised to collect provisions for the possible return of the Expedition, provided they could get a supply of ammunition from Fort Providence; for when I came up with * Also Akaitcho. 18G JOURNEY TO THE SHORES vented from hunting ; one by an accidental lameness, the other by the fear of meeting alone some of the Dog-Rib Indians. them they were actually starving, and converting old axes into ball, having no other substitute; — this was unlucky. Yet they were well inclined, and I expected to find means at Fort Providence to send them a supply, in which I was, however, disappointed, for I found that establishment quite destitute of necessaries ; and then, shortly after I had left them, they had the misfortune of losing three of their hunters, who were drowned in Marten Lake. This accident was, of all others, the most fatal that could have happened — a truth which no one,, who has the least know- ledge of the Indian character, will deny ; and as they were nearly connected by relationship to the Leader, Humpy, and White Capot Guide, the three leading men of this part of the Copper Indian Tribe, it had the effect of unhinging (if I may use the expression) the minds of all these families, and finally destroying all the fond hopes I had so sanguinely conceived of their assisting the Expedition, should it come back by the An- nadesse River, of which they were not certain. " As to my not leaving a letter at Fort Enter- OF THE POLAR SEA. 187 idental leeting verting' :ute; — clined, idenccj wever, jhment ihortly une of Dwned of all pened know- md as lip to juide, opper ?(ifi these hopes isting J An- am. Inter- We were here furnished with a canoe by Mr. Smith, and a bowman, to act as our guide ; and having left Fort Chipewyan on the 5th, we arrived, on the 4th of July, at Norway House. Finding at this place that canoes were about to go down to Montreal, I gave all our Canadian voyagers their dis- charges, and sent them by those vessels, furnishing tl om with orders on the Agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, for the amount of their wages. We carried Au- gustus down to York Factory, where we prise, it was because, by some mischance, you had forgot to give me paper when we parted.* " I, however, wrote this news on a plank, in pencil, and placed it in the top of your former bedstead, where I left it. Since it has not been found there, some Indians must have gone to the house after my departure, and destroyed it. These details, Sir, I have been induced to enter into (rather unexpectedly) in justification of my- self, and hope it will be satisfactory." * 1 certainly offered Mr. Wentzel some paper when he quitted us, but he declined it, having then a note- book ; and Mr. Back gave him a pencil. 188 JOURNEY TO THE POLAR SEA. arrived on the 14th of July, and were re- ceived with every mark of attention and kindness b; "tr. Simpson, the Governor, Mr. M*Tavisii, and, indeed, by all the of- ficers of the United Companies. And thus terminated our long, fatiguing, and disas- trous travels in North America, having journeyed by water and by land (including our navigation of the Polar Sea,) five thousand five hundred and fifty miles. END OF THE FIRST JOURNEY. ?re re- >n and ernor, be of- d thus disas- laving uding five SECOND JOURNEY TO TUB SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, In 1825-26-27. 1 II J INTRODUCTION. FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. If Pope had lived in our days, we cannot help thinking that his Muse might not have been indisposed to appropriate one little niche in her ** Stupendous pile, not rear'd by human hands," for the reception of a class of candidates for fame, whom he has only condescended to notice, by huddling them together among the millions who are described as rushing for- ward, with clamorous din, to pay their devotions at the shrine of the goddess. — We allude to those high-spirited, disin- c 1P2 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE terested, and undaunted Travellers and Voyagers engaged in the discovery of unknown regions, who, at the risk of health and life itself, and the sacrifice of every personal comfort and convenience, volun- tarily and knowingly subject themselves to the baleful effects of tropical heat and arctic cold, of pestilence and famine — in a word, to the certain endurance 6f every species of misery that can possibly be inflicted on, or borne by, the human frame. Why men like these should be denied their proper station in the records of that " stupendous pile," in which the poet, the philosopher, the historian, and the warrior, have been en- rolled, it would be difficult to assign any cause but that of inadvertence. If, as the same poet tells us, ** The proper study of mankind is man," those who subject themselves to the perils and hardships which attend the collecting of materials for the pursuit of the " study," ERs and very of ►f health ^f every , volun- jelves to id arctic a word, pecies of id on, or men like r station us pile," her, the )een en- sign any \ as the n, le perils ollecting study," SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 195 not of man only, but of all the works of creation, are most unquestionably entitled to have their names handed down to the admiration and gratitude of succeeding ages. Let it be recollected, that from those who sustain the dangers and the sufferings " Of storms at sea, and travels on the shore, » we derive all our knowledge of the most in- teresting portions of the little ball of earth we inhabit. We are well assured that no poet, nor historian, nor biographer of the present day, would think of excluding from their due share of fame such names as those of Cook, and Parry, and Franklin, or of Park, Denham, Clapperton, and Laing, and many others not necessary for us here to enumerate, whose labours have contributed so much to the knowledge, the benefit, and the rational amusement of their kind. Captain Franklin must be considered, beyond all dispute, as one whose name has VOL. IV. o i I 194 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE a right to be enrolled, eminently conspicu- ous, and in durable characters, in that sacred temple to which we have alluded. When we consider what the intensity of his suffer- ings were on his first expedition along the shores of the Polar sea, how very narrowly he escaped from perishing, by that most lingering and painful process of gradually wasting away — by famine, — almost without the faintest ray of hope that he would be re- lieved ; and that the spark of life had, for some time, been only prolonged, by pieces of bones and scraps of skin, picked out of the ash-heap, and boiled down into a wretch- ed mess of ac;rid soup ; that his lodging was in a ruined hovel pervious to wind and snow, with a temperature of 20° below zero of Fahrenheit's scale ; and that the delay of another day, without the arrival of assist- ance, would, in all human probability, have put an end to his existence and sufferings together — when we contemplate this excel- SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 195 nspicu- : sacred When suffer- ing the arrowly it most adiially without 1 be re- lad, for r pieces I out of wretch- ng was d snow, zero of elay of assist- y, have fferings excel- lent officer, in this most distressing of all conceivable situations, we cannot sufficiently admire the fortitude and resolution that prompted him to embark a second time on the very same kind of service, liable to the same accidents, and necessarily to the dan- ger of the same kind of hardships. Hap- pily he has succeeded, and brought home himself, and all his people, in as good, and perhaps better, health than when they started. The following testimony, given by Dr. Richardson, is so honourable to his character, that it cannot be made too public. ** It would not be proper, nor is it my intention, to descant on the professional merits of my superior officer; but, after having served under Captain Franklin for nearly seven years, in two successive voy- ages of discovery, I trust I may be allowed to say, that however high his brother offi- cers may rate his courage and talents, either in the ordinary line of his professional duty, P2 iiauii. ii^i . ! I : 196 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE or in the field of discovery, the hold he ac- quires upon the affections of those under his command, by a continued series of the most concihating attentions to their feelings, and an uniform and unremitting regard to their best interests, is not less conspicuous. I feel that the sentiments of my friends and companions. Captain Back and Lieutenant Kendall, are in unison with my own, when I afHrm, that gratitude and attachment to our late commanding officer will animate our breasts to the latest period of our lives." Nor can w^ overlook the able and dis- tinguished services of his coadjutor, Dr. Richardson, to whose energy of character, and promptitude of action, may, in fact, be ascribed the safety of Franklin, and those of the party who survived on the first ex- pedition. He, too, on the late occasion, voluntarily came forward to solicit permis- sion to accompany his friend, though at the SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 197 d he ac- le under s of the feelings, egard to picuous. nds and eutenant m, when iment to animate of our and dis- tor, Dr. iiaracter, L fact, he nd those first ex- occasion, permis- rh at the temporary sacrifice of abandoning a com- fortable situation on shore, which his former services had earned for him, and the still greater sacrifice of leaving behind him a wife and family ; so anxious was he to com- plete the geography, and the natural history of that particular portion of the North American continent lying between the rivers of Hearne and Mackenzie, which he had but partially accomplished on the first jour- ney, but which he has successfully done on the second, as the volume now on our table bears ample testimony. SECOND JOURNEY, ^C. ^C. 5fC. FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. It is unnecessary to follow Captain Franklin and his party through the numerous ob- structions and difficulties they encountered in this second journey, sometimes hurried away with', and sometimes struggling against, the streams of rivers, and dragging their boats and baggage across the portages which separate the waters, or which were crossed to avoid dangerous or impracticable rapids ; still less necessary is it to enter into any details of the journey over a large portion of North America, which has already been described in the '^.arrative of the former Expedition. No portion of this country is 200 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE by any means inviting ; and the wandering groups of native Indians are better calcu- lated to excite compassion than any plea- surable feeling. The present journal will therefore commence at that part of the journey where the Great Bear Lake River, flowing out of the lake of the same name, joins the Mackenzie River. It was on the banks of the former that the party resolved to take up their winter-quarters, and to build a habitation and store, to which, when completed, they gave the name (in honoui of their revered commander) of Fort Frank- lin. This was done in imitation of the North West Fur Company, who give to all their stations the name oi forts ^ they being to a certain degree places of defence against, as well as dep6t8 for trade with, the native Indians.* Having reached this spot so early as the 7th August, Captain Franklin csdculated ♦ The position of Fort Franklin was determined to be in lat. 65° 11' 56" N., long. 123° 12' 44" W. The variation of the compass 39° 9' £., dip of the needle 82° 58' 16", SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 201 ndering • calcu- ly plea- nal will of the J River, B name, on the esolved and to 1, when honour Frank- J North 11 their ig to a inst, as native as the filiated ained to V, The ! needle that, by setting off immediately, sufficient time would be allowed him to reach the sea at the mouth of the Mackenzie, and return to winter-quarters before the severity of the cold should have set in. He conceived that, by taking a view of the state of the Polar Sea, at that season, with regard to ice, and of the trending of the coast to the westward, he would be enabled to form a tolerably correct notion as to the probability of next year's success. Accordingly, while those best fitted for the purpose were left to complete the construction of the houses, he, with another party, set out on an expedition down the Bear Lake River and the Macken- zie, to the junction of the latter with the sea. There is little in his progress thrt deserves particular notice, except the fol- lowing passage : — " A few miles above the Bear Lake River, and near its mouth, the banks of the Mac- kenzie contain much wood-coal, which was on fire at the time we passed, as it had been observed to be by Mackenzie in his voyage to the sea. Its smell was very disagreea- I 202 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE ble. On a subsequent trial of this coal at our winter-quarters, we found that it emit- ted little heat, and was unfit for the black- smith's use. The banks likewise contain layers of a kind of unctuous mud, similar, perhaps, to that found on the borders of the Orinoco, which the Indians, in this neighbourhood, use occasionally as food during seasons of famine, and even, at other times, chew as an amusement. It has a milky taste, and the flavour is not disagreeable. We used it for whitening the walls of our dwellings ; for which pur- pose it is well adapted." The Mackenzie falls into the sea in numerous large branches, intersecting an extensive delta of alluvial soil. Captain Franklin was satisfied, on reaching the Whale Island of Mackenzie, the extreme of that enterprizing traveller's progress, that he too had reached the sea, but, on tasting the water, found it to be perfectly fresh ; which circumstance may have influenced Mackenzie in not making any mention of what might have raised a doubt whether he i SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 203 coal at it emit- black- contain similar, ders of in this IS food i^en, at It. It is not itening ill pur- sea in ing an /aptain ig the erne of s, that :asting fresh ; lenced ion of ler he had really succeeded in reaching the sea. Franklin, however, did taste the water ; and, though perfectly fresh, was not the less certain, from the great expansion of water to the northward, and the sudden diverging of the shore, that, at this point, he had in fact entered into the Polar Sea ; and he states that he was the more con- firmed in this opinion by the appearance of a seal* sporting about the boat. Franklin, however, with a determination to leave no doubt remaining as to the fact, pushed on towards an island much farther out, which looked blue from its distance; and, " under its shelter, the boat passed a line of strong ripples, which marked the termination of the fresh water, that on the * The presence of these animals, however, is by no means a test of the presence of the ocean : they have no objection to fresh water; as is proved by the abundance that are found in the lake Baikal, which is more than a thousand miles from the sea. That they sometimes visit fresh-water rivers was not unknown to Virgil : ..." insolitae fugiunt in flumina phocse." 204 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE N geaward side being brackish ; and in the further progress of three miles to the island, we had the indescribable pleasure of finding the water decidedly salt." To this island Captain Franklin gave the name of Garry. Its latitude 69° 29' N., longitude 135® 41' W., variation of the needle 51° 42' E. : temperature of the air 52°— of the sea water 51° — of the fresh water 55°, It abounded with layers of wood-coal, similar to that found in the Mackenzie, besides a bituminous liquid trickling down the sides of the cliff. The discovery of this bitu- minous shale might have been attended with dangerous, perhaps fital, consequences. " In the course of the evening,'' says Cap- tain Franklin, " I found that a piece of the *vood-coal from Garry's Island, which I had placed in my pocket, had ignited spon- taneously, and scorched the metal powder- horn by its side." Small as this island is, numbers of moose and rein-deer, and foxes, were seen upon it; and several kinds of gulls, dotterels, geese, cranes, and swans were flocking around its shores. The ve- H SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 205 in the island) [inding ive the 19' N., needle ;2°— of er 55''. similar sides a e sides s bitu- ed with uences. rs Cap- I of the rhich I d spon- jowder- and is, 1 foxes, jnds of swans The ve- getation consisted of various shrubby plants in flower, grasses, and mosses ; the beach covered with pebbles of granite, greenstone, quartz, and lydian-stone. When Captain Franklin left England to proceed on this expedition, he had to un- dergo a severe struggle between the feel- ings of affection and a sense of duty ; his wife then lying at the point of death, and, with heroic fortitude, urging his departure at the very day appointed — entreating him, as he valued her peace and his own glory, not to delay a moment on her account : she died, we believe, the day after he left her. This will explain the allusion to personal sorrows in the following passage — a passage which will speak to the heart of every one who is capable of understanding the grace that domestic tenderness lends to the gal- lant fortitude of public enterprize : — ** During our absence, the men had pitched the tent on the beach, and I caused the silk union-flag to b^ hoisted, which my deeply-lamented wife had made and pre- sented to me, as a parting gift, under the "■•■«» 206 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE express injunction that it was not to be un- furled before the expedition reached the sea. I will not attempt to describe my emotions as it expanded to the breeze ; however natural, and, for the moment, irre- sistible, I felt that it was my duty to sup- press them, and that I had no right, by an indulgence of my own sorrows, to cloud the animated countenances of my companions. Joining, therefore, with the best grace that I could command, in the general excite- ment, I endeavoured to return, with cor- responding cheerfulness, their warm con- gratulations on having thus planted the British flag on this remote island of the Polar Sea." Being fully satisfied and highly delighted with the favourable prospect of the land and sea to the westward, from this advanced position, the party made the best of their way back, and joined their companions at winter - quarters on the 5th September. About the same time Dr. Richardson re- turned from the north-eastern shores of Great Bear Lake, where it approached SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 207 be un- ed the be my freeze ; It, irre- to sup- t, by an loud the panions. ace that [ excite- ^ith cor- irm con- fited the i of the delighted the land advanced of their janions at gptember. rdson re- shores of pproached nearest to Coppermine River, whither he had proceeded, for the purpose of fixing upon a spot to which he might bring his party, the following year, from the mouth of that river, in the event of his reaching this ultimate object of his research. The several northern expeditions have rendered the passing of a long dreary winter so familiar, that little now is thought of it. Employment, however, to shorten the time is quite necessary; and the party under Franklin appear to have had a sufficient share of it. The Canadians and the In- dians were engaged in fishing and hunting for the support of the whole party : during the autumn the fishing was so successful, that the nets yielded daily from three to eight hundred fish of the kind called " her- ring salmon," and occasionally trout, titta- meg, and carp. The rein-deer furnished them but scantily with flesh-meat, and in the winter the supply of this article ceased altogether. The officers had ample em- ployment in making and registering the thermometrical, magnetical, and atmospheri- „ «fcJPIfS»>'r«lwM i-tWTL fMfti I It ilt 208 SECOND JOltnNF.Y TO THE cal obBcrvations, in writing up their jovir- nalR) finishitifj^ the charts, drawingH, and sketchcB, examining and arranging the ob- jects of natural history which had been col- lected, and in various other matters. Per- sons of education and intelligence seldom (ind any ditticulty about selecting such means to occupy the mind and jiass away the time ; but this is not the case with the uneducated. Aware of the necessity of providing occupation for these, Captain Franklin adopted the plan he thus de- scribes : — ** As the days shortened, it was necessary to find employment during the long even- ings, for those resident at the house, and a scliool was, therefore, established, on three nights of the week, from seven o'clock to nine, for their instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic; and it was attended by most of the British party. They were divided in equal portions amongst the offi- cers, whose labour was amply repaid by the advancement their pupils made : some of those who began with the alphabet learned HIIORKN OP Tin: rOLAIl HKA, 20}) ir jouv- ^H, anil the ob- leon col- ». IVv- ! eieUUnu iig such a8S awiiy with the sessity ot* Captain thus do- necessary ang even- ise, and a , on three o'clock to g, writing, ended by hey were 8t the oftl- )aid by the some of >ct learned to rend and write with tolerfthle correctnoHs. Stinchiy was a dny of rest ; and, with the exception of two (n* three of the ('anadians, the whole ]>arty uniforndy attended Divine service, mc»rning and livening. If, on the other evenings for whicJi no particular oe- cu])ation was a])pointed, the men felt the time tedious, or if they expressed a wisli to vary their ernphiyments, the hall was at their service, to jilay any game they might choose ; and on these occasions they were invariably joined by the officers. By thus participating in their amusements, the men became more attached to us, at the same time that we contributed to tlunr health and eheerfidness. T\w hearts and feelings of the whole party were u'jitid in one common desire to make the time pass as agreeably as possible to each other, until the return of spring should enable them to resume the great object of the expedition." Every thing seems to have gone on pretty well till the end of the year, but, owing to the extreme severity of the weather in the months of January and February, the sources VOL. IV. p 210 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE from whence they had derived their food failed them. All the animals but the wolf and the fox had migrated to the southward ; the stock of dried meat was expended ; the fish caught did not allow more than three or four small herrings to each man, and being out of season, not only afforded very little nourishment, but caused frequent and general indisposition. Under such circum- stances they were obliged to have recourse to their provision of pemmican and portable soup, which had been set apart for the voyage along the sea -coast. Towards March, however, their situation began to improve. " From this period we had a sufficient supply of provision, because the fishvTies improved, and we received deer from time to time. The men who had been indis- posed gained strength, from the increased quantity, and amended quality, of the food ; and we had also the gratification of seeing the dogs daily fatten, amidst the general plenty. The conduct of the men during the season of scarcity was beyond all praise ; SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, 211 eir food the wolf thward ; led; the an three lan, and ded very uent and i circum- recourse , portable t for the Towards began to sufficient fisheries rom time en indis- increased the food ; of seeing te general during the dl praise; and the following anecdote is worthy of re- cord, as displaying the excellent feeling of a British seaman, and as speaking the senti- ments of the whole party. Talking with Robert Sphiks as to the difference of his present food from that to which he had been accustomed on board ship, I said I was glad the necessity WuS over of keeping them on short allowance. * Why, Sir,' said he, * we never minded about the short allowance, but were fearful of having to use the pemnucan intended for next summer; we only care about the next voyage, and shall all be glad when the spring comes, that we may set ^; besides, at the worst time, we could always spare a fish for each of our dogs."' In the winter season of" this severe cli- mate, the poor Indians suffer greatly, and numbers of them perish for want of food ; and this difficulty of procuring sustenance frequently induces them to destroy their female children at their birth. Captain Franklin mentions t"'o women who, just after leaving the fort, were delivered, one p2 mrw^mm n2 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE ■ if of a male the other of a female child, the latter of which was immediately put to death. This custom, however, is by no means common, as would appear from the following incident: — " The wife of one of our Dog-rib hunters brought her only child, a female, for medi- cal advice. As she entered the room it was evident that the hand of death was upon it. In the absence of Dr. Richardson, who happened to be out, all the remedies were applied that were judged likely to be of service ; and as soon as he returned, there being yet a faint pulsation, other means were tried, but in vain. So gentle was its last sigh, that the mother was not at first aware of its death, and continued to press the child against her bosom. As soon, however, as slie perceived that life had fled, she cast herself on the floor in agony, heightened by the consciousness of having delayed to seek lelief till too late, and by the apprehension of the anger of her hus- band, who was doatingly attached to the child. The Indians evinced their participa- SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 213 ild, the put to by no om the hunters r medi- n it was upon it. »n, who ies were o be of d, there means s was its at first o press soon, lad fled, agony, having and by er hus- to the articipa- .s tion in her affliction by silence, and a strong expression of pity in their countenances. At dawn of day the poor creature, though almost exhausted by her ceaseless lamenta- tion, carried the body across the lake for interment." It has often been remarked with what exactness the migratory animals observe the periods of their arrival and departure. In the northern regions of America, they serve ar infallible guides to point out the change of season to the untutored Indians. Thus the appearance of swans, and the departure of geese, are the certain signs, the one of the approach of spring, the other of winter. Dr. Richardson has kept" a curious " re- gister of phenomena connected with the progress of the seasons at Fort Franklin." From this it appears, that on the 11th of September the muskitoes cease to be trou- blesome ; on the 2d of October the first ice was observed, and on the 5th, the last swan passed to the southward ; on the 7th, the fo«^ rain fell — on the 11th the last brown duck was noticed. On the 6th of May,* mmi >«n 2U SECOND JOURNEY TO THE the Jirst swans were seen; on the 7th, the geese appeared ; on the 8th, the ducks ; and on the 9th the gulls arrivea; — on the 11th, the Jirst shower fell; on the 16 th, the mosses hegan to sprout ; on the 1 7th, va- rious singing birds and orioles made their appearance, and some swifts and white geese arrived ; on the 27 th, the iaughing- geese were Jirst seen; and on the 31st, the goat-suckers brought up the rear ; — on the 3d of June, the dwarf-birch, willows, and shrubby-potentilla were in leaf — and the anemonies, tussilagos, and the Lapland rose, (rhododendron lapponicum,) and several other plants, were in full flower ; and on the 26th July, ripe whortle-berries were brought to the Fort. The lowest tempera- ture occurred on the 1st of January, when Fahrenheit's thermometer descended to —49°; the highest, between the 1st and 10th, was —8° 8'; and the mean, —29° 7. By the 15th of June the equipments of the boats were completed. Fourteen men» including Augustus, (the Esquimaux inter- \)reter,) were appointed to accompany Cap- SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 215 7th, the ducks ; -on the 6th, the 7th, va- ie their i white lughing- Jlst, the —on the •ws, and and the ind rose, several and on es were empera- •y, when ded to 1st and -29° 7. nents of 3en men, IX inter- iny Cap- tain Frankhii and Lieutenant Back, in the Lion and ReHance, tSe two larger hoats; and ten, including Ooligbuck, (another Es- quimaux,) to go with Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendall, in the Dolphin and Unicorn, — the former party to proceed to the west- ward, the latter tc :he eastward, of the mouth of the Mackenzie river. On the 28th of June they all quitted the fort, de- scended the Mackenzie, and on the 4th of July reached that part of the river where it divides into various channels, and where the two parties were to pursue different directions. "We felt," says Capt. Frank- lin, "that we were only separating to be employed on services of equal interest ; and we looked forward with delight to our next meeting, when, after a successful termina- tion, we might record the incidents of our respective voyages." Augustus, he says, was rather melancholy, as might be ex- pected, on his parting from Ooligbuck, to proceed he knew not whither ; but he reco- vered his wonted flow of spirits by the evening. II I - 216 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE The western party had scarcely cleared the branch of tlie river down which they descended, when they discovered a crowd of tents on an island, with a number of Esquimaux strolling among them. Captain Franklin wished to open a communication with these people, but gave orders that the boats should be kept afloat, and that on no account should any one fire upon them, even if they showed any marks of hostility, until himself or Lieut. Back should set them the example. " On quitting the channel of the river we entered into the bay, which was about six miles wide, with an unbounded prospect to seaward, and steered towards the tents under easy sail, with the ensigns flying. The water became shallow as we drew towards the island, and the boats touched the ground when about a mile from the beach ; we shouted, and made signs to the Esquimaux to come off, and then pulled a short way back to await their arrival in deeper water. Three canoes instantly put off from the shore, and before they could SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 217 cleared ch they I crowd nber of Captain nication that the It on no 1 them, lostility, uld set iver we lOut six irospect e tents flying. i drew ouched om the to the ulled a ival in tly put r could reach us others were launched in such quick succession, that the whole space between the island and the boats was covered by them. The Esquimaux canoes contain only one person, and are named kaiyacks ; but they have a kind of open boat capable of holding six or eight people, which is named oomiak. The men alone use the kaiyacks, and the oomiaks are allotted to the women and children. We endeavoured to count their numbers as they approached, and had proceeded as far as seventy-three canoes, and five oomiaks, when the sea became so crowded by fresh arrivals, that we could advance no farther in our reckon- ing. The three headmost canoes were paddled by elderly men, who, most proba- bly, had been selected to open the commu- nication. They advanced towards us with much caution, halting when just within speaking distance, until they had been assured of our friendship, and repeatedly invited by Augustus to approach and re- ceive the present which I offered to them. Augustus i text explained to them in detail i 3|' 218 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE the purport of our visit, and told them that if we succeeded in finding a navigable chan- nel for large ships, a trade highly beneficial to them would be opened. They were de- lighted with this intelligence, and repeated it to their countrymen, who testified their joy by tossing their hands alofl, and raising the most deafening shout of applause I ever heard. "Afler the first present, I resolved to bestow no more gratuitously, but always to exact something, however small, in return ; the three elderly men readily offered the ornaments they wore in their cheeks, their arms, and knives, in exchange for the arti- cles I gave them. Up to this time, the first three were the only kaiyacks that had ven- tured near the boats, but the natives around us had now increased to two hundred and fifly or three hundred persons, and they all became anxious to share in the lucrative trade which they saw established, and pressed eagerly upon us, offering for sale their bows, arrows, and spears, which they had hitherto kept concealed within their SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 219 A em that e chan- 3neficial ere de- epeated hI their raising e I ever lived to ways to return ; red the :s, their he arti- the first id ven- around ed and they all iierative id, and for sale ch they n their canoes. I endeavoured in vain, amidst the clamour and bustle of trade, to obtain some information respecting the coast, bu' ''iding the natives becoming more and ': .-r im- portunate and troublesome, I dei .rmined to leave them, and, therefore, directed the boats' heads to be put to seaward. Not- withstanding the forwardness of the Esqui- maux, which we attributed solely to the desire of a rude people to obtain the novel articles they saw in our possession, they had hitherto shown no unfriendly disposi- tion ; and when we told them of our inten- tio 1 of going to sea, they expressed no desire to detain us, but, on the contrary, when the Lion grounded in the act of turn- ing, they assisted us in the kindest manner by dragging her round. This manoeuvre was not of much advantage to us, for, from the rapid ebbing of the tide, both boats lay aground ; and the Esquimaux told us, through the medium of Augustus, that the whole bay was alike flat, which we after- wards found to be correct. An accident happened at this time which. 220 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE was productive of unforeseen and very an- noying consequences. A kaiyack being overset by one of the Lion's oars, its owner was plunged into the water with his head in the mud, and apparently in danger of being drowned. We instantly extricated him from his unpleasant situation, and took him into tlie boat until the water could be thrown out of his kaiyack, and Augustus, seeing him shivering with cold, wrapped him up in his own great coat. At first he was exceed- ingly angry, out soon became reconciled to his situation, and looking about, discovered that we had many bales, and other articles, in the boat, which had been concealed from the people in the kaiyacks, by the coverings being carefully spread over all. He soon began to ask for every thing he saw, and expressed much displeasure on our refusing to comply with his demands : he also, as we afterwards learned, excited the cupidity of others by his account of the inexhausti- ble riches in the Lion ; and several of the younger men endeavoured to get into both our boats, but we resisted all their attempts. k SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 221 Though we had not hitherto observed any of them stealing, yet they showed so much desire to obtain my flag, that I had it furled and put out of sight, as well as every thing else that I thought could prove a tempta- tion to them. They continued, however, to press upon us so closely, and made so many efforts to get into the boats, that I accepted the offer of two chiefs, who said that if they were allowed to come in, they would keep the others out. For a time they kept their word, and the crews took advantage of the respite thus afforded, to endeavour to force the boats towards the river into deeper water. The Reliance floated, but the Lion was immovable, and Lieutenant Back, drop- ping astern, again made his boat fast to the Lion by a rope. At this time one of the Lion's crew perceived that the man whose kaiyack had been upset had a pistol under his shirt, and was about to take it from him, but I ordered him to desist, as I thought it might have been purchased from the Loucheux. It had been, in fact, stolen from Lieutenant Back, and the thief, per- I' I 222 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE M ceiving our attention directed to it, leaped out of the boat, and joined liis countrymen, carrying with him the great coat which Augustus had lent him. The water had now ebbed so far that it was not knee deep at the boats, and the younger men, wading in crowds around us, tried to steal every thing within their reach ; slyly, however, and with so much dexterity as almost to escape detection. The moment this disposition was manifested, I directed the crews not to suffer any one to come alongside, and desired Augustus to tell the two chiefs, who still remained seated in the Lion, that the noise and confusion occa- sioned by the crowd around the boats greatly impeded our exertions ; and that if they would go on shore and leave us for the present, we would hereafter return from the ship, which we expected to meet near this part of the coast, with a more abundant supply of goods. They received this communication with much apparent satisfaction, and jumping out of the boats repeated the speech aloud to their compa* mmm . SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 223 japed ^men, which hat it id the nd US, reach ; ftterity loment irected ) come :ell the i in the occa- boats that if us for return o meet more eceived pparent bouts compa- nions. From the general exclamation of " teyma,^' which followed, and from per- ceiving many of the elderly men retire to a distance, I conceived that they acquiesced in the propriety of the suggestion, and that they were going away ; but I was much deceived. They only retired to concert a plan of attack, and returned in a short time shouting some words which Augustus could not make out. We soon, however, disco- vered their purport, by two of the three chiefs who were on board the Reliance jumping out, and, with the others who hur- ried to their assistance, dragging her towards the south shore of the river. Lieutenant Back desired the chief who remained with him to tell them to desist, but he replied by pointing to the beach, and repeating the word teymtty teyma, with a good-natured smile. He said, however, something to those who were seated in the canoes that were alongside, on which they threw their long knives and arrows into the boat, taking care, in so doing, that the handles and fea- ■irr ■^fM'tm' minimm*'^'*^-t0f^- 2U S. COND JOURNEY TO THE thered ends were turned towards the crew, as an indication of pacific intentions. " As soon as I perceived the Reliance moving under the efforts of the natives, I directed the Lion's crew to endeavour to follow her, but our boat remained fast until the Esquimaux lent fheir aid and dragged her afler the Reliance. Two of the most powerful men, jumping on board at the same time, seized me by the wrists, and forced me i 0 sit between them ; and as I shojk them loose two or three times, a *hird Es- quimaux took his station in front to catch my arm whenever I attempted to lifl my gun, or the broad dagger which hung by my side. The whole way to the shore they kept repeating the word " teyma," beating gently on my left breast with their hands, and pressing mine against their breasts. As we neared the beach, two oomiaks, full of women, arrived, and the " teymas*' and vociferation were redoubled. The Reliance was first brought to the shore, and the Lion close to her a few seconds afterwards. The g crew, Reliance dves, I /our to ist until Iragged he most he same I forced I shojk bird Es- to catch lift my Imng by ore they ' beating r hands, breasts, liaks, full was" and Reliance the Lion •ds. The ' "i • Ah 1 r I '^ i 1 : t m:S' 1,1 i i I f I t'lf ?, I * I J '^j * a ^fclr SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 225 a (=5 '•0 three men who held me now leaped ashore, and those who had remained in their canoes taking them out of the water, carried them to a little distance. A numerous party then drawing their knives, and stripping them- selves to the waist, ran to the Reliance, and having first hauled her as far up as they could, hegan a regular pillage, handing the articles to the women, who, ranged in a row behind, quickly conveyed them out of sight. Lieutenant Back and his crew strenuously, but good-humouredly, resisted the attack, and rescued many things from their grasp ; but they were overpowered by numbers, and had even some difficulty in preserving their arms. One fellow had the audacity to snatch Vivier's knife from his breast, and to cut the buttons from his coat, whilst three stout Esquimaux surrounded Lieu- tenant Back with uplifted daggers, and were incessant in their demands for what- ever attracted their attention, especially for the anchor buttons which he wore on his waistcoat. In this juncture a young chief coming to his aid, drove the assailants away. VOL. IV. Q r^ -I'. i. :*r 226 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE ■ r In their retreat they carried off a writing desk and cloak, which the chief rescued; and then, seating himself on Lieutenant Back's knee, he endeavoured to persuade his countrymen to desist by vociferating * teyma^ teijma^ and was, indeed, very active in saving whatever he could from their de- predations. The Lion had hitherto been beset by smaller numbers, and her crew, by firmly keeping their seats on the cover spread over the cargo, and by beating the natives off with the butt-ends of their mus- kets, had been able to prevent any article oi importance from being carried away. But as soon as I perceived that the work of plunder was going on so actively in the Reliance, I went with Augustus to assist in repressing the tumult; and our bold and active little interpreter rushed among the crowd on shore, and harangued them on their treacherous conduct, until he was ac- tually hoarse. In a short time, however, I was summoned back by Duncan, who called out to me that the Esquimaux had now commenced in earnest to plunder the Lion ; SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 227 ;vriting scued; itenant rsuade erating active leir de- 0 been rew, by 1 cover ing the ir mus- r article L away, le work J in the issist in )ld and ong the lem on was ac- vever, I o called ad now Lion ; and, on my return, I found the sides of the boat lined with men as thick as they could stand, brandishing their knives in the most furious manner, and attempting to seize every thing that was movable ; whilst ano- ther party was ranged on the outside ready to bear away the stolen goods. The Lion's crew still kept their seats, but as it was impossible for so small a number to keep off such a formidable and determined body, several articles were carried off. Our prin- cipal object was to prevent the loss of the arms, oars, or masts, or any thing on which the continuance of the voyage or our per- sonal safety depended. Many attempts were made to purloin the box containing the astronomical instruments, and Duncan, after thrice rescuing it from their hands, made it fast to his leg with a cord, deter- mined that they should drag him away also if they took it. " In the whole of this unequal contest, the self-possession of our men was not more conspicuous than the coolness with which the Esquimaux received the heavy blows a 2 ; r^ h «28 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE dealt to them with the butts of the muskets. But at lengt^t, irritated at being so often foiled in tlicir attempts, several of them jumped on board, and forcibly endeavoured to take the daggers and shot-belts that were about the men's persons ; and I myself was engaged with three of them who were try- ing to disarm me. Lieutenant Back, per- ceiving our situation, and fully appreciating my motives in not coming to extremities, ,had the kindness to send to my assistance the young chief who had protected him, and who, on his arrival, drove my antago- nists out of the boat. I then saw that my creVv were nearly overpowered in the fore part of the boat, and, hastening to their aid, I fortunately arrived in time to prevent George Wilson from discharging the con- tents of his musket into the body of an Esquimaux. He had received a provoca- tion of which I was ignorant until the next day, for the fellow had struck at him with a knife, and cut through his coat and waist- coat ; and it w^as only after the affray was over that I learned that Gustavus Aird, the i iskcts. > often f them voured at were elf was ;re try- k, per- sciating emities, sistance jd him, antago- ;hat my he fore leir aid, prevent he con- \f of an >rovoca- the next n with a d waist- ray was ird, the SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 220 bowman of the Lion, and three of the ReH- ance's crew, had also narrowly escaped from being wounded, their clothes being cut by the blows made at them with knives. No sooner was the bow cleared of one set of marauders than another party commenced their operations at the stern. My gun was now the object of the struggle, which was beginning to assume a more serious com- plexion, when the whole of the Esquimaux suddenly fled, and hid themselves behind the drift timber and canoes on the beach. It appears that by the exertions of the crew the Reli^mce was again afloat, and Lieutenant Back, wisely judging that this was the pro- per moment for more active interference, directed his men to level their muskets, which had produced that sudden panic. The Lion happily floated soon after, and both were retiring from the beach, when the Esquimaux, having recovered from their consternation, put their kaiyacks in the wa- ter, and were preparing to follow us ; but I desired Augustus to say that I would shoot mm \n 230 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE »* / i^ the first man who came within range of our muskets, which prevented them. " It was now about eight o'clock in the evening, and we had been engaged in this harassing contest for several hours, yet the only things of importance which they had carried off were the mess canteen and ket* ties, a tent, a bale containing blankets and shoes, one of the men's bags, and the jib- sails. The other articles they took could well be spared, and they would, in fact, have been distributed amongst them had they remained quiet. The place to which the boats were dragged is designated by the name of Pillage Point. I cannot suf- ficiently praise the fortitude and obedience of both the boats' crews in abstaining from the use of their arms. In the first instance I had been influenced by the desire of pre- venting unnecessary bloodshed, and afler- wards, when the critical situation of my party might have well warranted me in em- ploying more decided means for their de- fence, I still endeavoured to temporize, SIlOR£S OF THE POLAR SEA. 231 e of our k in the in this , yet the hey had ind ket- Lets and the jib- »k could in fact, lem had to which lated by not suf- bedience ing from instance e of pre- id after- 1 of my le in em- their de- imporize, being convinced that as long as the boats lay aground, and we were beset by such numbers, armed with long knives, bows, arrows, and spears, we could not use fire- arms to advantage. The howling of the women, and the clamour of the men, proved the high excitement to which they had wrought themselves ; and I am still of opinion that, mingled as we were with them, the first blood we had shed would have been instantly revenged by the sacrifice of all our lives. " The preceding narrative shows that, bad as the general conduct of the Esqui- maux was, we had some active friends amongst them ; and I was particularly de- sirous of cultivating a good understanding with them, for we were as yet ignorant of the state of the ice at sea, and did not know how long we should have to remain in their neighbourhood. I was determined, how- ever, now to keep them at bay, and to con- vince them, if they made any further at- tempts to annoy us, that our forbearance had proceeded from good-will, and not 2S2 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE from the want of the power to punish them. We had not gone above a quarter of a mile from Pillage Point before the boats again took the ground at the distance of one hun- dred and fifty yards from the shore ; and having ascertained, by the men wading in every direction, that there was no deeper water, we made the boats fast side by side, and remained in that situation five hours. Shortly after the boats had been secured, seven or eight of the natives walked along the beach, and carrying on a conversation with Augustus, invited him t^ a conference on shore. I was at first very unwilling to permit him to go ; but the brave little fellow entreated so earnestly that I would suffer him to land and reprove the Esquimaux for their conduct, that I at length consented, and the more readily, on seeing that the young chief who had acted in so friendly a manner was amongst the number on the beach. By the time that Augustus reached the shore, the number of Esquimaux amounted to forty, and we watched with ^reat anxiety the animated conversation he i:-; SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 233 them, a mile i again le hun- e; and ling in deeper >y side, ours. Bcured, 1 along irsation ference ling to ? fellow I suffer mx for sented, lat the 3ndly a on the eached limaux d with tion he carried on with them. On his return he told us that its purport was as follows : — * Your conduct,* said he, * has been very bad, and unlike that of all other Esquimaux. Some of you even stole from me, your coun- tryman, but that I do not mind; I only regret that you should have treated in this violent manner the white people, who came solely to do you kindness. My tribe were in the same unhappy state in which you now are, before the white people came to Churchill, but at present they are supplied with every thing they need, and you see that I am well clothed ; I get all that I want, and am very comfortable. You can- not expect, after the transactions of this day, that these people will ever bring goods to your country again, unless you show your contrition by returning the stolen goods. The white people love the Esqui- maux, and wish to show them the same kindness that they bestow upon the Indians : do not deceive yourselves, and suppose that they are afraid of you ; I tell you they are not, and that it is entirely owing to their I 1 1 234 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE i ; e humanity that many of you were not killed to-day ; for they have all guns, with which tliey can destroy you either when near or at a distance. I also have a ^un, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen, I would have been the first to have revenged his death.* " The veracity of Augustus was beyond all question with us: such a speech, deli- vered in a circle of forty armed men, was a remarkable instance of personal courage. We could perceive, by the shouts of ap- plause with which they filled the pauses in his harangue, that they assented to his argu- ments, and he told us that they had ex- pressed great sorrow for having given us so much cause of offence, and pleaded, in miti- gation of their conduct, that they had never seen white people before, that every thing in our possession was so new to them, and so desirable, that they could not resist the temptation of stealing, and begged him to assure us that they never would do the like again, for they were anxious to be on terms of friendship with us, that they might par-^ SHORES OP THE POLAR SEA. 235 take of the benefits which his tribe derived from their intercourse with the white peo^ pie. I told Augustus to put their sincerity to the teat by desiring them to bring back a large kettle and the tent, which they did, together with some shoes, having sent for them to the island whither they had been conveyed. Ailer this act of restitution, Augustus requested to be permitted to join a dance to which they had invited him, and he was, for upwards of an hour, engaged in dancing and singing with all his might in the midst of a company who were all armed with knives, or bows and arrows. He after- wards told us that he was much delighted on finding that the words of the song, and the different attitudes of the dances, were precisely similar to those used in his own country when a friendly meeting took place with strangers. Augustus now learned from them that there was a regular ebb and flow of the tide in this bay, and that when the sun came round to a particular point there would be water enough to float the boats, if we kept along the western shore. This ♦I 236 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE communication relieved me from much anxiety, for the water was perfectly fresh, and from the flood-tide having passed un- perceived whilst we were engaged with the Esquimaux, it appeared to us to have been subsiding for the preceding twelve hours, which naturally excited doubts of our being able to eflect a passage to the sea in this direction. " The Esquimaux gradually retired as the night advanced ; and when there were only a few remaining, two of our men were sent to a fire which they had made, to pre- pare chocolate for the refreshment of the party. Up to this period we remained seated in the boats, with our muskets in our hands, and keeping a vigilant look out on Augustus and the natives around him. As they had foretold, the Vvater began to flow about midnight, and by half past one in the morning of the 8th it was sufficiently deep to allow of our dragging the boats forward to a part where they floated. We pulled along the western shore about six miles, till the appearance of the sky bespoke SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 237 much fresh, 3d un- ith the e been hours, r being in this ired as •e were sn were to pre- of the mained kets in >ok out d him. tgan to ast one iciently i boats L We ?ut six espoke the immediate approach of a gale ; and we had scarcely landed before it came on with violence, and attended with so much swell to compel us to unload the boats and as drag them upon the beach. ** The whole party having been exhausted by the labour and anxiety of the preceding twenty-four hours, two men were appointed to keep watch, and the rest slept until eleven o'clock in the morning, when we began to repair the dpiiage which the sails and rig- ging had sustained from the attempts made by the Esquimaux to cut away the copper thimbles. We were thus employed when Lieutenant Back espied, through the haze, the whole body of the Esquimaux paddling towards us. Uncertain of the purport of their visit, and not choosing to open a con- ference with so large a body in a situation so disadvantageous as our present one, we hastened to launch the boats through the surf, and load them with our utmost speed ; conceiving that when once fairly afloat, we could keep any number at bay. We had scarcely pulled into deep v/ater before some '.< 238 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE '. %l hi 9 of the kaiyacks had arrived within speaking distance, and the man in the headmost one, holding out a kettle, called aloud that he wished to return it, and that the oomiak, which was some distance behind, contained the things that had been stolen from us, which they were desirous of restoring, and receiring in return any present that we might be disposed to give. I did not deem it prudent, however, for the sake of the few things in their possession which we re- quired, to hazard their whole party collect- ing around us, and, therefore, desired Au- gustus to tell them to go back : but they continued to advance until I fired a ball ahead of the leading canoe, which had the desired effect — the whole party veering round, except four, who followed us for a little way, and then went back to join their companions. " I have been minute in my details of our proceedings with these Esquimaux, for the purpose of elucidating the character of the people we had to deal with ; and I feel that the account would be incomplete without SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 239 peaking ost one, that he oomiak, mtained rom us, ing, and that we ot deem ' the few we re- coUect- red Au- 3ut they a a baU had the veering us for a )in their s of our for the T of the feel that without the mention, in this place, of some commu^* nications made to us in the month of August following, which fully explained the motives of their conduct. We learned that, up to the time that the kaiyack was upset, the Esquimaux were actuated by the most friendly feelings towards us, but that the fellow whom we had treated so kindly after the accident, discovering what the boats contained, proposed to the younger men to pillage them. This suggestion was buzzed about, and led to the conference which the old men held together when I desired them to go away, in which the robbery was de- cided upon, and a pretty general wish was expressed that it should be attended with the total massacre of our party. Providen- tially a few suggested the impropriety of including Augustus ; and for a reason which could scarcely have been imagined. * If we kill him,' said they, *no more white people will visit our lands, and we shall lose the opportunity of getting another supply of their valuable goods ; but if we spare him, he can be sent back with a story i^Kf.M 240 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE which we shall invent to induce another party of white people to come among us.* This argument prevailed at the time; but after the interviews with Augustus at the dance, they retired to their island, where they were so much inflamed by the sight of the valuable articles which they had obtained, that they all, without exception, regretted that they had allowed us to escape. While in this frame of mind the tinoke of our fire being discovered, a con- sultation was immediately held, and a very artful plan laid for the destruction of the party, including Augustus, whom they con- ceived to be so firmly attached to us that it was in vain to attempt to win him to their cause. They expected to find us on shore ; but to provide against the boats getting away if we should have embarked, they caused some kettles to be fastened conspi- cuously to the leading kaiyack, in order to induce us to stop. The kaiyacks were then to be placed in such a position as to hamper the boats, and their owners were to keep us in play until the whole party had come up. mother . mg us.* le; but at the , where le sight ey had ceptioD) us to lind the I, a con- i a very a of the liey con- s that it to their shore ; getting id, they conspi- »rder to lere then hamper keep us me up, SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 241 when the attack was to commence. Through the blessing of Providence, their scheme was frustrated." After this, the exploring party met witb no interruption from the natives, with whom they had frequent intercourse as they pro- ceeded along the coast, sometimes meeting with very numerous parties, taking the precaution, however, of keeping the boats afloat, as far as it was possible, whenever they approached their st ions. It was observed that the arther they ad- vanced to the westwara the native Esqui- • maux bore a nearer resemblance to those well-known Tartar features, of high cheek bones and small elongated eyes : — " Every man had pieces of bone or shells thrust through the septum of his nose ; and holes were pierced on each side of the under lip, in which were placed circular pieces of ivory, with a large blue bead in the centre, similar to those represented in the drawings of the natives on the N. W. coast of America, in Kotzebue's Voyage. These ornaments were so much valued, that they declined VOL. IV. R 242 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE selling them ; and when not rich enough to procure beads or ivory, stones and pieces of bone were substituted. These perfora- tions are made at the age of puberty ; and one of the party, who appeared to be about fourteen years old, was pointed out, with delight, by his parents, as having to undergo the operation in the following year. He was a good-looking boy, and we could not fancy his countenance would be much im- proved by the insertion of the bones or stones, which have the effect of depressing the under lip, and keeping the mouth open." With regard to the women, Captain Franklin observes. " Their own black hair is very tastefully turned up from behind to the top of the head, and tied by strings of white and blue beads, or cords of white deer-skin. It is divided in front, so as to form on each side a thick tail, to which are appended strings of beads that reach to the waist. The women were from four feet and a half to four and three-quarters high, and generally fat. Some of the younger females, and the SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 243 igh to pieces jrfora- r; and about L, with tidergo . He lid not ch im- nes or ressing open." "aptain stefuUy of the id blue It is ch side Strings The half to nerally and the children, were pretty. The lady whose por- trait adorns this work, was mightily pleased at being selected by Lieutenant Back for his sketch, and testified her joy by smiles and many jumps. The men, when sitting for their portraits, were more sedate, though not less pleased, than the females ; some of them remarked that they were not hand- some enough to be taken to our country." Having passed the first range of the Rocky Mountains, and between it and the second, a large river, at least two miles broad, was observed to empty itself into the Polar Sea, afler coming, as the Esqui- maux informed them, from a distant part of the interior. Near to Herschel's Island, in latitude 69° 33' N. longitude 139° 3' W., was another river, which they call the Mountain Indian River. Here they fell in with a party of Esquimaux, who traded up that river and to the westward with their countrymen, who obtain their goods from white people, and which Capt. Franklin had no doubt, from the appearance of the articles, were of Russian manufacture. There is r2 2U SECOND JOURNEY TO THE [/ll li another large river, to which they gave the name of Clarence : they found among the drift timber on the beach a pine-tree, seven feet and a quarter in girth and thirty-six feet long, and many others were seen of not much inferior size, which must have grown considerably to the southward. From the moment the expedition left the mouth of the Mackenzie River scarcely a day passed that the atmosphere was not, at some portion of it, so loaded with fog as to hide every object that was distant only a few miles, and sometimes so dense as to prevent them from seeing one end of the boat from the other. This state of the air is undoubtedly, of all others, the most hazardous for boat navigation in an icy sea. On the former expedition to the eastward of the Coppermine River they had generally clear weather ; here a clear blue sky was a rare phenomenon. Captain Franklin asks, ** whence arises this difference?" and an- swers it, as we think, satisfactorily enough. By reason of the low and swampy land that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the i! SHORES OF TII£ POLAR SEA. 245 ire the ig the seven ty-six of not grown eft the ■cely a not, at g as to only a \ as to of the the air ; most cy sea. vard of inerally ^ was a n asks, nd an- mough. ind that and the sea coast — the very shallow sea washing that coast, which at the distance of three or four miles, in some places, was found to be scarcely deep enough to float their boats — and the numerous masses of ice brought down by the northerly winds, and grounded everywhere along this low coast — there is a constant exhalation of moisture during the summer months, which the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains prevents being carried away, and which is therefore condensed into a thick fog. It was the 16th of August before the boats had reached the half-way point be- tween the Mackenzie River and Icy Cape. At this early period the young ice began to form at night on the pools of fresh water ; the summer, if a constant succession of north- erly gales and fogs could be so called, wa» nearly at an end, as experience on a former voyage had taught Franklin to conclude. He had then witnessed at a day later, and at two degrees more southerly, the com- mencement of severe storms of wind and snow, and found that, in the course of ano- \ . . ■{ 2ify SECOND JOURNEY TO THE ther fortnight, winter had fairly set in with all its severity. The sun had now begun to sink below the horizon; the temperature rarely exceeded 37° of Fahrenheit ; the autumnal flight of geese and other birds had com- menced ; the deer were hastening from the coast; no Esquimaux had recently made their appearance, and no longer any indica- tion of winter-houses, to denote this part of the coast to be frequented by these people — in whom, as recent experience had taught, IJtJe reliance can be placed with safety. Under all these circumstances, one course only was left for Franklin to pursue. " Till our tedious detention at Foggy Island, we had no doubt of ultimate suc- cess ; and it was with no ordi\iary pain that I could now bring myself even to think of relinquishing the great object of my ambi- tion, and of disappointing the flattering con- fidence that had been reposed in my exer- tions. But I had higher duties to perform than the gratification of my own feelings ; and a mature consideration of all the above matters forced me to the conclusion, that SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 247 with all to sink I rarely tumnal 1 com- om the r made indica- part of people taught, safety. course Foggy ite sue- ain that think of y ambi- ing con- ly excr- perform ieelings ; le above on, that we had reached the point, beyond which perseverance would be rashness, and our best efforts would be fruitless. In order to put the reader completely in possession of the motives which would have influenced me, had I been entirely a free agent, I have mentioned them without allusion to the clause in my Instructions which directed me to conunence my return on the 15 th or 20th of August, * if, in consequence of slow progress, or other unforeseen accident, it should remain doubtful whether we should be able to reach Kotzebue's Inlet the same season.* " In the evening I communicated my de- termination to the whole party ; they re- ceived it with the good feeling that had marked their conduct throughout the voy- age, and they assured me of their cheerful acquiescence in any order I should give. The readiness with which they would have prosecuted the voyage, had it been ad- visable to do so, was the more creditable, because many of them had their legs swelled and inflamed from continually wading in 248 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE ice-cold water while launching the boats, not only when we accidentally run on shore, but every time that it was requisite to em- bark or to land upon this shallow coast. Nor were these symptoms to be overlook ed in coming to a determination ; for though no one who knows the resolute disposition of British sailors ci^ i be surprised at their more than readiness jto proceed, I felt that it was my business to judge of their capa- bility of so doing, and not to allow myself to be seduced by their ardour, however honourable to them and cheering to me." It was fortunate he came to this resolu- tion. Captain Beechey, who proceeded one hundred and twenty miles beyond Icy Cape, arrived on the 24th of August at a low sandy spot, extending so far to the northward, as to make it impossible to pro- ceed round it; and the weather was so tempestuous, that it was with the utmost difficulty that officer's barge got back to Kotzebue Sound, to rejoin the Blossom. " Could I have known, (says Franklin,) or by possibility imagined, that a party from SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 249 boats, shore, ;o em- coast, look ed hough osition t their lit that capa- myself )wever ne." resolu- ceeded id Icy st at a to the to pro- was so utmost ack to om. mkhn,) ty from the Blossom had been at the distance of only one hundred and sixty miles from me, no difficulties, dangersj or discouraging cir- cumstances should have prevailed on me to return: but taking into account the uncer- tainty of all voyages in a sea obstructed by ice, I had no right to expect that the Blos- som had advanced beyond Kotzebue Inlet, or that any party from her had doubled Icy Cape. It is useless now to speculate on the probable result of a proceeding which did not take place ; but I may observe, that, had we gone forward as soon as the weatlicr permitted, namely, on the 18th, it is scarcely possible that any change of circumstances could have enabled us to overtake the Blos- som's barge."* ♦ Captain Franklin adds, in a note, " I have re- cently learned, by letter from Captain Beechey, that the barge turned back on the 25th of August, having been several days beset by the ice. He likewise in- forms me, that the summer of 1827 was so unfavour- able for the navigation of fhe iiorthern coast of Ame- rica, that the Blossom did not roach so high a latitude as in the preceding year ; nor could his boat get 3o far to the east of Icy Cape, by one hundred milea. 250 SECOND JOURNEY TO llIK The distance of the coii^l trace^^i wesit- ward from the mouth of tli» Mcsckenzie, was three hundred and seventy-four miles, without discovering in all that space one harbour in which a ship could find shelter. It is, in fact, one cf the most dreary, miser- able, and uninteresting portions of sea- coast to be found in any part of the world. On their return the party had to en- counter a more severe gale than any which occurred in their advance. " As the afternoon wore away, gloomy clouds gathered in the northwest ; and at six a violent squall came on from that quar- ter, attended with snow and sleet. The gale increased with rapidity ; in less than ten minutes the sea was white with foam, and such waves were raised as I had never before been exposed w in a boat. The spray and sea broke over us incessantly, and it w& ^v th difficulty that we could keep free by baiuig. Our little vessels went through the water with great velocity under The natives, he ays, were numerous, and, in some instances, ill-disposed." r i SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, 251 miles, ce one shelter, miser- f sea- world, to en- j which gloomy and at it quar- The ;ss than h foam, i never . The ssantly, Id keep Is went y under in some a cloae-reefed sail, hoisted about thref feet up th(* main-mast, and proved themselves to be very buoyant. Their small size, however, and the nature of their construc- tion, necessarily adapted for the navigation of shallow rivers, unfitting them for with- standing the sea then running, we were in imminent danger of foundering, I therefore resolved on making for the shore, as the only means of saving the party, although I was aware, that, in so doing, I incurred the hazard of staving the boats, there being few places on this part of the coast where there was sufficient beach under the broken cliffs. The wind blowing along the land, we could not venture on exposing the boat's side to the sea by hauling directly in, but, edging away with the wind in that quarter, we most providentially took the ground in a favourable spot. The boats were in- stantly filled with the surf, but \\\ey were unloaded and dragged up without ha ing sustained any material damage. Impre cd with a sense of gratitude for the signal de- liverance we had experienced on this and 25^ SECOND JOURNEY TO THE Other occasions, we assembled in the even- ing to offer up praise and thanksgiving to the Almighty." On the 21st of September this western expedition reached Fort Franklin, where they had the happiness of meeting all their friends, the eastern detachment under Dr. Richardson having arrived on the 1st, after a most successful voyage, at which we must now take a passing glance. Dr. Richardson was much more fortunate tlian the western party in the nature of the navigation he had to perform, and of the coast between the mouths of the two rivers. It is a voyage of about five hundred miles, ;vhich he accom.plished between the 4th of July and the 8th of August. The Esqui- maux they met with on various parts of the coast, as well as on the islands formed by the reaches of the Mackenzie River, were more liumerous, more peaceable, and, apparently, more wealthy, than those to the westward ; but, like all savage nations, they missed no opportunity of stealing, while carrying on barter, whatever they could lay hands on.. SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 253 However, with the exception of one party, who had about fifty kaiyacks, no violence was attempted. This exception was occa- sioned by the boats grounding, when an attack, similar to that on FrankHn, was made, but immediately repelled by the show of fire-arms, the use of which the aggressors appeared perfectly to understand, the result, no doubt, of experience acquired in contests with the neighbouring Indians. Their winter-huts are of a superior hind ; they are met with in whole villages, con- structed of driftwood trees, planted gene- rally in the sand with the roots uppermost. " These villages," says Dr. Richardson^ " when seen through a hazy atmosphere, frequently resembled a crowd of people) and sometimes we fancied they were not unlike the spires of a town appearing above the horizon." The size and quantity of this timber is quite surprising. One straight log of spruce fir is mentioned, thirty feet long, seven feet in circumference at the small end, and twelve a short distance above the root. " There is such an abundance of 254 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE I drift-timber," says Dr. Richardson, " on al- most every part of the coast, that a suffi- cient supply of fuel for a ship might easily be collected ; and," he adds, *- should the course of events ever introduce a steam- vessel into those seas, it may be important to know that, in coasting the shores between Cape Bathurst and the Mackenzie, fire- wood sufficient for her daily consumption may be gathered." The following is the description of an Esquimaux village, in which was one very curious building : — " The large building for an assembly- room was, in the interior, a square of twenty- seven feet, having the log-roof supported on two strong ridge poles, two feet apart, and resting on four upright posts. The floor in the centre, formed of split logs, dressed and laid with great care, was surrounded by a raised border about three feet wide, which was, no doubt, meant for seats. The walls, three feet high, were inclined outwards, for the convenience of leaning the back against them, and the ascent to the door, which was on the south side, was formed of logs. The K SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 255 * on al- a sufli- t easily lid the steam- portant between , fire- imption is the [age, in sembly- twenty- >rted on lart, and floor in {sed and ed by a e, which le walls, ards, for c against hich was gs. The outside, covered with earth, had nearly a henTiispherical form, and round its base there were ranged the skulls of twenty-one whales. There was a square hole in the roof, and the central log of the floor had a basin-shaped cavity, one foot in diameter, which was, perhaps, intended for a lamp. The general attention to comfort in the construction of the village, and the erection of a building of such magnitude, requiring an union of purpose in a considerable number of people, are evidences of no small progress towards civilization. Whale skulls were conflmed to the large building, and to one of the dW^U- ing-houses, which had three or four placed round it. Many wooden trays, and hand- barrows for carrying whale-blubber were lying on the ground, most of them in a state of decay." One more extract respecting this people, and we have done with them. '' The females, unlike those of the Indian tribes, had much handsomer features than the men; and one young woman of the party would have been deemed pretty even 2.5G SECOND JOURNEY TO THE in Europe. Our presents seemed to render them perfectly happy, and they danced with such ecstasy in their slender hoats, as to incur, more than once, great hazard of being overset. A bundle of strings of beads being thrown into an oomiak, it was caught by an old woman, who hugged the treasure to her breast with the strongest expression of rapture, while another elderly dame, who had stretched out her arms in vain, became the very picture of despair. On my explaining, however, that the pre- sent was for the whole, an amicable division instantly took place ; and to show their gratitude, they sang a song to a pleasing air, keeping time with their oars. They gave us many pressing invitations to pass the night at their tents, in which they were joined by the men ; and to excite our libe- rality the mothers drew the children out of their wide boots, where they are accustomed to carry them ::alied, and holding them up, begged beads for them. Their entreaties were, for a time, successful ; but being de- sirous of getting clear of our v isitors before SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 257 to render need with ats, as to [\azard of strings of ak, it was ugged the J strongest her elderly er arms in of despair, at the pre- ihle division show their i a pleasing )ars. They ions to pass ch they were !ite our libe- lildren out of e rxcustoned ling them up, eir entreaties but being de- isitors before breakfast-time, we at length told them that our stock was exhausted, and they took leave." On the 8th of August, the party reached the mouth of the Coppermine River, after a prosperous, and, as it appears, a pleasant excursion, the weather being generally fine, and the atmosphere clear, differing altoge- ther from that which the western expedition had to encounter. The following para- graph, from Dr. Richardson's Journal, st ites what is so highly creditable to Lieut. Kf't,- dall, that it would be unjust to withhold it. " The completion of our sea voyage so early in the season was a subject of mutual congratulation to us all ; and to Mr. Ken- dall and myself it was particularly gratifying to behold our men still fresh and vigorous, and ready to commence the laborious march across the barren grounds, with the same spirit that they had shown in overcoming the obstacles which presented themselves to their progress by sea. We all felt that the comfort and ease with which the voy- age had been performed were greatly owing VOL. IV, a IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 bilM |25 m 12.2 I 2.0 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation <«N? #> \ :\ V \ <^ V'.^-^ 33 WIST MAIN STRBIT WUSTIR.N.Y. MSIO (716) •73-4503 C" ^.. to the judicious and plentiful provision of stores and food which Captain Franklin had made for us ; and gratitude for his care mingling with the pleasure excited by our success, and directing our thoughts more strongly to his party, the most ardent wishes were expressed that they might prove equally fortunate. The correctness of Mr. Kendall's reckoning was another source of pleasure. Having been deprived of the aid of chronometers, by the breaking of the two intended for the eastern detachment of the Expedition, during the intense winter cold, our only resource for correcting the dead reckoning was lunar observations, made as frequently as opportunities offered ; yet when we approached the Coppermine River, Mr. Kendall's reckoning differed from the position of that place, as ascertained on Captain Franklin's former Expedition, only twenty seconds of time, or about two miles and a half of distance, which is a very trifling difference when the length of the voyage and the oiiier circumstances are taken into consideration. The distance between SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 259 ovision of anklin had r his care :ed by our ights more ient wishes ight prove less of Mr. jr source of id of the aid g of the two ment of the winter cold, ng the dead )ns, made as )ffered; yet jrmine River, red from the certained on sedition, only out two miles a very trifling f the voyage gs are taken Unce between Point Separation and the mouth of the Coppermine River, by the route we pursued, is nine hundred and two statute miles." Though geographical discovery was the first object of Franklin's expedition, the officers engaged in it were eminently quali- fied to collect materials and make obser- vations on all subjects connected with science. In the winter evenings, at Fort Franklin, Dr. Richardson delivered a course of lectures to the party on practical geology, from which most of them gathered a gene- ral knowledge of what specimens of earths and rock it was desirable to collect. Cap- tain Franklin is an admirable navigator, and fully acquainted with every kind of instru- ment for astronomical, meteorological and magnetical purposes. Commander Back is no mean draughtsman, as the numerous and well-executed prints in the volume, all taken from his drawings, sufficiently testify ; and Lieut. Kendall draws charts in a very supe- rior manner. The result of their scientific labours are chiefly thrown into an Appen- dix, but incidental notices are interspersed s 2 -•»" U'i 2G0 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE throughout the narrative. Of these a few instances are selected. In various parts of the coast bituminous shale was noticed, which in two or three places was on fire, giving out much smoke. Dr. Richardson informs the general reader, that the shale takes fire in consequence of its containing a considerable quantity of sulphur, in a state of such minute division, that it very readily attracts oxygen from the atmosphere ; and the combustion is rendered more lively by the presence of bitumen. A coast situated so hiffh within the Arctic circle cannot be expected to furnish either an ample or luxuriant Flora. The following is a summary of the vege- table products of that part of the coast visited by Dr. Richardson. " We noticed on the coast about one hundred and seventy phcenogamousy or flowering plants, being one-fifth of the num- ber of species which exist fifteen degrees of latitude farther to the southward. The grasses, bents, and rushes, constitute only one-fifth of the number of species on the \ SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 261 ese a few ituminous or three ;li smoke, •al reader, quence of uantity of e division) ^gen from ibustion is ►resence of iiigh within ytpected to riant Flora. the vege- ' the coast about one gamouSi or of the num- n degrees of vard. The nstitute only .ecies on the coast, but the two former tribes actually cover more ground than all the rest of the vegetation. The cruciferous, or cross-like tribe, afford one-seventh of the species, and the compound flowers are nearly as nume- rous. The shrubby plants that reach the sea-coast are the common juniper, two species of willow, the dwarf birch {betula glandulosa), the common alder, the hippo- phae, a gooseberry, the red bearberry (arbutus uva urs'ij, the Labrador tea plant {ledum palustre), the Lapland rose (rhodo- dendron lapponicum)f the bog whortleberry (vacinium uliginosum), and the crawberry {emretrum nigrum). The kidney-leaved oxyria grows in great luxurience there, and occasionally furnished us with an agreeable addition to our meals, as it resembles the garden sorrel in flavour, but is more juicy and tender. It is eaten by the natives, and must, as well as many of. the cress-like plants, prove an exceUent corrective of the gross, oily, rancid, and frequently putrid meat, on which they subsist. The small bulbs of the Alpine bistort {polygonum vivi^ lULM ■me' 262 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE -^i f *i parum\ and the long succulent, and sweet roots of many of the astragalece^ which grow on the sandy shores, are eatable ; but we did not learn that the Esquimaux were acquainted with their use. A few clumps of white spruce-fir, with some straggling black spruces and canoe birches, grow at the distance of twenty or thirty miles from the sea, in sheltered situations, on the banks of rivers." Captain Franklin has inserted a brief account of a journey made into the Rocky Mountains by Mr. Drummond, the assistant botanist, which is extremely interesting, as showing the hardships to which these " cul- lers of simples" voluntarily expose them- selves for the sake of adding one or two new specimens of plants to the thirty or forty thousand species already known. Thus, in the midst of snow, and without a tent, sheltered only from the inclemency of the weather by a hut built of the branches of trees, and depending for subsistence from day to day on a solitary Indian hunter, *' I obtained," says the amiable and enthusiastic SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 1263 id sweet p, which ble; but aux were kV clumps traggling grow at liles from the banks i a brief he Rocky e assistant resting, as lese "cul- ose them- ne or two thirty or y known. without a iemency of e branches itence from hunter, " I enthusiastic Mr. Drummond, " a few mosses ; and, on Christmas day, I had the pleasure of find- ing a very minute gymnostoinumy hitherto imdescribed." We shall not, we hope, be classed with those who see nothing but food for merriment in such devotion — in the true heroism of science. The following passage may afford some idea of a winter thus passed at the feet of the Rocky Mountains. " Soon after reaching our wintering- ground, provisions became very scarce, and the hunter and his family went off in quest of animals, taking with them tlie man who had charge of my horses to bring me a supply as soon as they could procure it. / remained alone for the rest of the winter^ except when my man occasionally visited me with meat ; and I found the time hang very heavy, as I had no books, and nothing could be done in the way of collecting specimens of natural history, I took, however, a walk every day in the woods, to give me some practice in the use of snow shoes. The winter was very severe, and much snow fell until the end of March, when it averaged six feet in i 2G4 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE depth ; in consequence of this, I lost one of my horses, and the two remaining ones be- came exceedingly poor. The hunter was still more unfortunate, ten of his young colts having died." This modest man of science says ** nothing could be done;" we are informed, how- ever, that his collections in these mountains amounted to about fifteen hundred species of plants, one hundred and fifty birds, fifty quadrupeds, and a considerable number of insects. Dr. Richardson and his party were not less industrious ; the number of specimens collected is immense, and the drawings of them by Lieutenant Kendall so faithful, that we understand the Treasury have consented to afford pecuniary assistance in bringing them before the public. In the meantime, we have in the Appendix several valuable scientific documents. The " topographical and geological notices" employ fifty-eight pages, and specimens of rock and organic remains are referred to as high as to num- ber 1032. Many tables are given of the one of nes be- er was ng colts nothing I, how- )untains species ds, fifty iiiber of rere not lecimens wings of iful, that jnsented bringing eantime, valuable graphical fty-eight organic to num- n of the SHORES OF THE POLAR 5»EA. 265 teniperatut^i of the air; the duration and direction of the winds ; of the velocity of sound, &c. We liave '* a register of pheno- mena connected with the progress of the seasons, kept at Fort Frankhn;" and a me- teorological journal for that and other places in the course of the route. The lowest temperature witnessed in North America was on the 7th of February, of the second winter passed on the shores of Bear Lake. At eight in the morning, the mercury in the thermometer descended to 58° below zero; it had stood at — 57.5°, and — 57.3° in the course of that and the preceding day ; between the 5th and the 8th, its general state was from — 48° to —'52°, though it occasionally rose to— 43°. At the temperature of —52.2°, Mr. Kendall froze some mercury, in the mould of a pistol- bullet, and fired it against a door at the dis- tance of six paces. A small portion of the mercury penetrated to the depth of one- eighth of an inch, but the remainder only just lodged in the wood. The extreme ft6G SECOND JOURNEY TO THE 1 1 i height of the the mercury in the tube was from 71° at noon to 73"^ at three o'clock. In the course of experiments made with the magnetic needle, Captain Franklin comes to the conclusion, that the deviation of the needle is affected by changes in the weather ; in a gale of wind or a snow storm, always considerably so ; but remains stationary during their continuance. He observes, " During this month I noticed that on several occasions the magnetic needle oscil- lated when I approached it in a dress of water-proof cloth, although it remained sta- tionary when others of the party examined it in their ordinary garments. The water- proof dress probably acted by exciting elec- tricity in the body, although this opinion is rather contradicted by the fact of a fur cap, which had been rubbed by the hand until it affected the gold-leaf electrometer, pro- ducing no change in the needle, and my approach to the electrometer not causing the gold-leaf to expand." The numerous observations made by Cap- SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 267 ube was :lock. ide with in comes n of the veather ; , always tationary erves, that on lie oscil- dress of lined sta- pxamined le water- ting elec- jpinion is a fur cap, id until it iter, pro- , and my >t causing le by Cap- tain Franklin and his party, during two long winters, as to the influence which the aurora borealis exerts on the direction of the mag- netic needle, have put this disputed point beyond all question. The conclusion is at variance with that which Captains Parry and Foster arrived at, from their observation at Port Bowen, — those officers being of opi- nion that tlie aurora does not influence the motion of the needle ; but Captain Franklin, we think, has satisfactorily explained this discrepancy. He states that it required brilliant and active coruscations almost in- variably before a deflection of the needle was observable; — that to render it so they should appear through a hazy atmosphere, and that the prismatic colours should be exhibited in the beams of arches. When, on the contrary, the atmosphere remained clear, and the aurora presented a steady, dense light, and without motion, the needle remained unaffected. Now, it appears, that at Port Bowen the aurora was without much motion in its parts, and never exhibited the vivid prismatic colours, or the rapid streams 2G8 SECOND JOURNEY TO Till: T « i h I 1 of light, which are constantly recorded in the registers kept at Fort Franklin. Hence Captain Franklin infers, what we alwayu supposed to be the case, from the feebleness of the electric fluid in very high latitudes, that the parallel of G5° N. is more favour- able for the frequency, the brilliancy, and the activity of this phenomenon, than those higher latitudes of 70° or 80°. It may be recollected, that Captain Parry in his second voyage crossed the line from east to west, or, in other words, passed from one side to the other of the magnetic pole, whose position he was thus enabled to compute pretty nearly. Captain Franklin, for eight successive months, appears to have paid a constant and minute attention to the variation of the needle, having noted down not only the daily but almost hourly varia- tions ; the result of which, as compared with that of Captain Parry, is not only interest- ing but highly important, as fixing almost to a point the present position of the mag- netical pole. , " The position of the magnetic pole, as SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 269 relet! in Hence alwayii ebleness ititiules, favour- ncy, and lan those Lin Parry line from J, passed magnetic nabled to Franklin, •s to have ion to the >ted down rly varia- )ared with ^ interest- ng almost the mag- computed from our observations l)y Pro- fessor Barlow, is in 09° 16' north latitude, and 98° 8' west longitude, and by the obser- vations of Captain Parry in lat. 70° 43' north long. 98° 51' west, its mean place being in lat. 70° 0' north, long. 98° 31' west, which is between Port Bowen and Fort Franklin; the former being situated in lat. 73° 14' north, long. 88° 54' west, and the latter in G5° 12' north, long. 123° 12' west. It appears, therefore, that for the same months, at the interval of only one year, Captain Parry and myself were making hourly observations on two needles, the north ends of which pointed almost directly towards each other, though our actual dis- tance did not exceed eight hundred and fifty-five geographical miles ; and while the needle of Port Bowen was increasing its westerly direction, ours was increasing its easterly, and the contrary, — the variation being west at Port Bowen and east at Fort Franklin ; a beautiful and satisfactory proof of the solar influence on the daily varia- pole, as tkon n IW I f tONDON : PHINTKU BY C. ROWORTil, BtXL YAltU, TLUI'LE BAR. I Aitli,