wiiitiiii'i'i'i'ii' UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Jjailin(Jtoii JVleiiiot lal Lil>rai v l'l>i^"« ' ^ A J O U R N E r FROM Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudfon's Bay, TO THE NORTHERN OCEAN. UNDERTAKEN BT ORDER OF THE HUDSON'S BAT COMPANT, FOR THE DISCOVERY OF COPPER MINES, A NORTH WEST PASSAGE, Ss'^. In the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, Sif 1772. By SAMUEL HEARNE. LONDON: Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell: And Sold by T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies, (Succeflbrs to Mr. Cadell,) in the Strand. 1795- W p 0 I 0' "^ A JOURNEY FROM Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudfon's Bay, T O THE NORTHERN OCEAN. UNDERTAKEN BT ORDER OF THE HUDSON'S BAT COMPJNl', FOR THE DISCOVERY OF COPPER MINES, A NORTH WEST PASSAGE, ^c. In the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, ^ 1772. By SAMUEL HEARNE. LONDON: Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell : And Sold by T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies, (Siiccefibrs to Mr. Cadell,) in the Strand. 1795- "^ i T O SAMUEL WEGG, Efq. - Governor, Sir JAMES WINTER LAKE, Deputy Governor, AND THE REST OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE HONOURABLE HUDSON'S BAT COMPANY. HONOURABLE SIRS, A S the following Journey was undertaken at your Requeft and Expence^ I feel it no lefs my Duty than my Inclination to addrefs it to you j hoping that my humble Endeavours to relate, in a plain and unadorned Style, the various Circumftances and Remarks which 6 occurred iv DEDICATION. occurred during that Journey, will meet with your Approbation. I aiT)^ with much Efteem and Gratitude, HONOURABLE SIRS, Your moft obedient, and niofl obliged humble Servant, SAMUEL HEARNE. F ACE. 'i\/TR. Dalrymple, in one of his Pamphlets relating to Hudfon's Bay, has been fo very particular in his ob- fervations on my Journey, as to remark, that I have not explained the conftrudlion of the Quadrant which I had the misfortune to break in my fecond Journey to the North. It was a Hadley's Quadrant, with a bubble at- tached to it for an horizon, and made by Daniel Scatlif of Wapping. But as no inftrument on the fame principle could be procured when I was fetting out on my laft Journey, an old Elton's Quadrant, which had been upwards of thirty years at the Fort, was the only inftrument I could then be provided with, in any refpedl proper for making obfervations with on the land. Mr. Dalrymple alfo obferves, that I only inferted in my laft Journal to tlie Company, one obfervation for the lati- tude, which may be true ; but I had, neverthelefs, fev^ral others during that Journey, particularly at Snow-bird Lake, Thelwey-aza-ycth, and Clowey, excluiive of that mentioned in the Journal taken at Conge-cathav/ha- chaga. But when I was on that Journey, and for fcvcral a > years PREFACE. vcars after, I little thought that any remarks made in it would ever have attraftcd the notice of the Public : if I had, greater pains might and would have been taken to render it more worthy of their attention than it now is. At that time my ideas and ambition extended no farther than to give my employers fuch an account o^ my pro- ceedings as might be fatisfactory to them, and anfwer the purpofe which they had in view ; little thinking it would ever come under the infpedlicn ot fo ingenious and inde- fatigable a geographer as Mr. Dalrymple muft be allowed to be. But as the cafe has turned out otherwife, I have at my leifure hours recopied all my Journals into one book, and in fome inflances added to the remarks I had before made ; not fo much for the information ot thofe who are critics in geography, as far the amufcmcnt of can- did and indulgent readers, who may perhaps feel them- felves in fome meafure gratified, by liaving the face of a country brought to their view, which lias hitherto been. entirely unknown to every European except rayfelf. Nor, will, I flatter myfelf, a defcription of the modes of living,, manners, and cuftoms of the natives, (which, though long Jcnovvn, have never been defcribcd, ; be lefs acceptable to, the curious. I cannnot help obferviag, that I ieel myfcif rather hurt at Mr. Dalrymple' s rejed:ing my latitude in fo peremptory a manner, and in fo great a proportion, as he has done ; becaufe, before I arrived at Conge-cathawhachaga, tlie. Sua PREFACE. Sun did not fet during the whole night : a proof that? I was then to the Northward of the Arclic Circle. 1 may be allowed to add, that when I was at the Copper River, on the eighteenth of July, the Sun's declination was but 2 1°, aad yet it was certainly fome height above the horizon at midnight ; how much, as I did not theri remark, I will not 7iow take upon me to fay ; but it proves that the latitude was confiderably more than Mr. Dal- rymple will admit of. His affertion, that no grafs is to be found on the (rocky) coaft of Greenland farther North than the latitude of 65°, is no proof there fhould not be any in a much higher latitude in the interior parts of North America. For, in the firft place, I think it is more than probable, that the Copper River empties itfelf into a fort of inland Sea, or extenfive Bay, fomewhat like that of Hud- fon's : and it is well known that no part of the coafi: of Hudion's Straits, nor thofe of Labradore, at lead for fome degrees South of them, any more than the Eafl: coaft of Hudfon's Bay, till we arrive near Whale River, have any trees on them ; while the Weft coaft of the Bay in the lame latitudes, is well clothed with timber. Where then is the ground for fuch an aftertion ? Had Mr. Dalrymple confidered this circumftance only, I flatter myfelf he v/ould not fo haftiiy have objeded to woods and grafs being \^z\\ in fnnilar fituations, though in a much higher latitude. Neither can the reafoning which Mr. Dalrymple derives from the error I committed in eftimating the diftance to Cum- berland Houfe, any way affea tlie queftion \mder con- a 2 fideration ; Vm PREFACE. fideratlon ; becaufe that diftance being chiefly in longitude, I had no means of correding it by an obfervation, which was not the cafe here. I do not by any means wifh to enter into a difpiite with, or incur the difpleafure of Mr. Dalrymple ; but thinking, as I do, that I have not been treated in fo liberal a manner as I ought to have been, he will excufe me for endeavour- ing to convince the Public that his objections are in a great meafure without foundation. And having done fo, I fhall quit the difagreeable fubjecl with declaring, that if any part of the following fheets fhould afford amufement to Mr. Dalrymple, or any other ol my readers, it will be the higheft gratification I can receive, and the only recompence I defire to obtain for the hardfhips and fatigue which I un- derwent in procuring the information contained in them. Being well alTurcd that feveral learned and curious gentlemen are in poffefTion of manufcript copies of, or extracls from, my journals, as well as copies of the Charts, I have been induced to make this copy as corredl as pof- fible, and to publifh it ; efpecially as I obferve that fcarcely any two of the publications that contain extracts from my journals, agree in the dates vvhcn I arrived at, or departed from, particular places. To rectify thofe dif- agreements I applied to the Governor and Committee of the Hudfon's Bay Company, for leave to pcrufemy original Journals. This was granted with the grcatcfl affability I and PREFACE. ix and politenefs ; as well as a fight of all my Charts relative to this Journey. With this aiTiftance I have been enabled to redtiiy fome inaccuracies that had, by trufting too much to memory, crept into this copy ; and I now offer it to the Public under authentic dates and the beffc authorities, however widely fome publications may differ from it. I have taken the liberty to expunge fome paffages which were inferted in the original copy, as being no ways interefting to the Public, and feveral others have under- gone great alterations ; fo that, in fa6l, the whole may be faid to be new-modelled, by being blended with a va- riety of Remarks and Notes that were not inferted in the original copy, but which my long reiidence in the country has enabled me to add. The account of the principal quadrupeds and birds that frequent thofe Northern regions in Summer, as well as thofe which never migrate, though not defcribed in a ici- entific manner, may not be entirely unacceptable to the mod fcientific zoologifis ; and to thofe who are unac- quainted with the technical terms uied in zoology, it may perhaps be more ufeful and entertaining, than if I had de- fcribed them in the mofl claffical manner. But I muft not conclude this Preface, without acknowledging, ia the moft ample manner, the affiftance I have received from the perufal of Mr. Pennant's Ardic Zoology ; which has enabled me to give feveral of the birds their proper names ; PREFACE, •names ; for thofe by vvhicli they are known in Hudfon's Bay are purely Indian, and of courfe quite unknown to every European who has not reftded in that country. To conclude, I cannot fufficiently regret the lofs of a confiderable Vocabulary of the Northern Indian Language, containing fixteen folio pages, which was lent to the late Mr. Hutchins, then Correfponding Secretary to the Com- pany, to copy for Captain Duncan, when he went on diicoveries to Hudfon's Bay in the year one thoufand feven hundred and ninety. But Mr. Hutchins dying foon after, the Vocabulary was taken away with the reft of his effedts, and cannot now be recovered ; and memory, at this time, will by no means ferve to replace it. CON- CONTENTS. Tntroduction. - - - Page xxi C H A P. I. Travjhfl'ioiis from my having Prince of Wales^s Foi't on my frf Expe- dition, till our Arrival there again. Set off from the Fortj arrive at Po-co-thee-kif-co River. — One of the Northern Indians defcrts. — Crofs Seal River, and walk on the barren grounds. — Receive v/rong information concerning the diftance of the woods. — Weather begins to be very cold, provifions all expended, and nothing to be got. — Strike to the Weftward, arrive at the woods, and kill three deer. — Set forward in the North Weft quarter, fee the tracks of mulk-oxen and deer, but killed none. — Very lliort of provifions. — Chawchinahaw wants us to return. — Neither he nor his crew contribute to our maintenance. — He influences feveral of the Indians to defert. — Chawchinahaw and all his crew leave us. — Begin our return to the Faftory; kill a few partridges, the tirll meal we had had for feveral days.— -Villany of one of the home Indians and his wife, who was a Northern Indian woman. — Arrive at Seal River, kill tv,'o deer ; partridges plenty. — Meet a ftrange Northern Indian, accompany hira CO 1-is ttnt, ufige received there; my Indians affiil in killing fome beaver. — Proceed toward home, and arrive at the Fort. - i CHAP. IL Tranfaclions from our Arrival at the Factor)', to my leaving it again, and during the Firjl Part of my Second yonrncy, till I had the inif- fortune to break the ^adrant. Tranfaftions at the Faiflory. — Proceed on my fecond journey. — Arrive at Seal River. — Deer plentiful for fome time. — Method of angling fifli under the ice. .^Sct our fifning-nets. — IVrethod of fetting nets undtr the ice. — My guide propcks CONTENTS. ■propofes to (lay till the gcefe fliould begin to fly ; his reafons accepted.— Pitch our tent in the beft manner. — Method of pitching a tent in Winter. — Fifh plentiful for fome time ; grow very fcarce ; in great want of provifions. —Manner of employing my time. — My guide killed two deer. — Move to the olace they were lying at; there kill feveral more deer, and three beavers, — Soon in want of provifions again. — Many Indians join us from the Weft- ward. — We begin to move towards die barren ground. — Arrive at She-than- nee, there fuffer great diftrcfs for want of provifions.— Indians kill two fvvans and three geefe. — Geefe and other birds of pafiage plentiful. — Leave She- than-nee, and arrive at Beralzone. — One of my companions guns burfl:s, and lliatters his left hand. — Leave Beralzone, and get on the barren ground, clear of all woods. — Throw away our fledges and fnow fhoes. — Each perfon takes a load on his back ; my part of the luggage. — Expoied to many hardiliips.— Several days without victuals. — Indians kill three muflc-oxen, but for want of fire are obliged to eat the meat raw.— Fine v/eathcr returns; make a fire; efic6ls of long fafting; ftay a day or two to dry fome meat in the Sun. — Proceed to the Northward, and arrrive at Cathawhachaga ; there find Ibmc tents of Indians. — A Northern Leader called Keelfhies meets us ; fend a letter by him to the Governor. — Tranfaclions at Cathawhachaga ; leave it and pro- ceed to the Northward.— Meet feveral Indians. — My guide not willing to proceed ; his reafons for it. — Many more Indians join us. — Arrive at Doo- bant Whole River. — Manner of ferrying over rivers in the Northern Indian canoes. — No rivers in thofe parts in a ufcful dlreftion for the natives. — Had nearly loft the quadrant and all the powder. — Some refledlons on our fitua- tion, and conduct of tiie Indians. — Find the quadrant, and part of the powder. — Obferve for the latitude. — Quadrant broke. — Refolve to return again to the Fadory. _ . _ p.,ge 1 1 c n A p. III. Tranfi-.Blons from the lime the Sljtadmut icv/s broken^ till I arrived at the FciScry. Several ftrange Indians join us from the Northward. — They plund.'r ir.e of all I had ; but did not plunder the Southern Indians. — My guide plundered. — V,'e begin our return to the I'"a(ftory. — Meet with other Indians, who join X)ur company.— ColkiTt dter-lkins for clothing, but could not get them drclTcd. CONTENTS. drefled. — Suffer much hardfliip from the want of tents and warm dothing.— Mod of the Indians leave us. — Meet with Matonabbee. — Some account of him, and his behaviour to me and the Southern Indians. — We remain in his company fome time. — His obfervations on my two unfuccefsful attempts. — We leave him, and proceed to a place to which he directed us, in order to .make fnow-fhoes and fledges. — Join Matonabbee again, and proceed towards the Fadory in his company. — Ammunition runs fhort. — Myfelf and four Indians fct off poll for the Fadory.^ — Much bewildered in a fnow ftorm ; my dog is frozen to death; we lie inabufli of willows. — Proceed on our journey. — Great difficulty in croffing a jum.ble of rocks.— Arrive at the Fort. Page 47 CHAP. IV. Tranfaclions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort^ and the former Part of our third Expedition^ till our Arrival at Cloivey^ xvhere we built Canoes^ in May ijyi. Preparations for our departure. — Refufe to take any of the home-guard Indians with me. — By fo doing, I offend the Governor. — Leave tiie Fort a third time. — My iiiftruclions on this expedition. — Provifions of all kinds very fcarce. — Arrive at the woods, where we kill fome deer. — Arrive at Ifland Lake. — Matonabbee taken ill. — Some remarks thereon. — Join the remainder of the Indians' families. — Leave Ifland Lake, — Defcription thereof — Deer plentiful. — Meet a ftrange Indian. — Alter our courfe from Weft North Weft to Weil: by South. — Crofs Cathawhachaga River, Coffed Lake, Snow-Bird Lake, and Pike Lake. — Arrive at a tent of ftrangers, who are employed in fnaring deer in a pound. — Defcription of a pound. — Method of proceed- ing.— Remarks thereon. — Proceed on our journey. — Meet with feverai parties of Indians i by one of whom I fenta letter to the Governor at Prince • of Wales's Fort. — Arrive at Thleweyazayeth. — Employment there. — Pro^ ceed to the North North Weft and North. — Arrive at Clowey. — One of the Indian's wives taken in bbour. — Remarks thereon. — Cuftoms obferved by .the Northern Indians on thole occaflons. - - - 60 CHAP. C O N T E N T S„ CHAP. V. Tnififjaious at Cloivij^ and on our Jounicy^ till our Arrival at the Cvpper-7nine River. Several ftrange Indians join us.— Indians employed in building canoes; defcrip- rion and ufe of them. — More Indians join us, to the amount of fome hun- dreds.—Leave Clowey. — Receive intelligence that Keclfhies was near us.— Two young men difpatc.'ied for my letters and goods. — Arrive at Peflicw Lake; crofs part of it, and make a large fmoke. — One of Maconabbee's v-ives elopes. — Some remarks on the natives. — Keelfhies joins us, and de- livers my letters, but die goods were all expended.— A Northern Indian willies to take one of Matonabbce's wives from him ; matters compromifcd, but had like to have proved fatal to my progrefs. — Crofs Peliiew Lake, when I make proper arrangements for the remainder of my journey. — Many In- di:.ns join our party, in order to mal'.e war on the Efquimaux at the C'jpper River. — Preparations made for that purpofe while at Clov,-ey. — Proceed on our journey to the North — Some remarks on the v.'ay. — Crofs Cogead Lake en the ice. — The fun did not fct. — Arrive at Congecathawhachaga. — Find feveral Copper Indians there. — Remarks and tranfaftions during our ftay at Congecathawhachaga. — Proceed on our journey. — Weather very bad. — Ar- rive at the Stoney Mountains. — Some account of them. — Crofs partof Buf- f.do Lake on the ice. — Saw many mufli-oxen. — Defcription of them. — Went with fome Indians to view Grizzle-bear Hill. — Join a ftrange Northern In- dian Leader, called O'lye, in company v.ith fome Copper Iniians. — Their behaviour to me. — Arrive at the Copper-mine River. - - Page 95 CHAP. VL 1ra7:faB'ions at the Copper-mine River, and till loe joined all the IVonien to the South of Cogead Lake. Some Copper Indians join us. — In.hans fend three fpies down the river. — Be- gin my furvey. — Spies return, and give an account of five tents of iifjui- i,,aux. — Indians confult tlic bcft method to fteal on them in die night, and CONTENTS. kill them while afleep. — Crofs the river. — Proceedings of the Indians as they advince towards the Efquimaux tents. — The Indians begin the maflacre while the p^or Efquimaux are afleep, and flay them all.— Much affeded at the fight of one young woman killed clofe to my feet.— The behaviour of the Indians on this occafion. — Their brutifh treatment of the dead bodies. — Seven more tents feen on the oppofite fide of the river.~The Indians harafs them, till they fly to a ihoal in the river for fafcty.— Behaviour of the la- diaris after killing thofe Efquimaux.— Crofs the river, and proceed to the tents on that fide. — Plunder their tents, and deftroy their utenfils.— Continue mv furvey to the river's mouth. — Remarks there. — Set out on my return. — Arrive at one of the Copper-mines.— Remarks on it.— Many attempts made to induce the Copper Indians to carry their own goods to market.— Obftacles to it.— Villany and cruelty of Keeldiies to fome of thofe poor Indians.— Leave the Copper-mine, and walk at an amazing rate till we join the women, by the fide of Cogead Whole.— Much foot- foundered.— The appearance very alarming, but foon changes for the better.— Proceed to the Southward, and join the remainder of the women and children.— Many other Indians arrive with them. - - - " ^^B^ HS CHAP. VII. Remarks from the Time the Women joined us till our Arrival at the Athapiijcozv Lake. Several of the Indians fick.— Method ufed by the conjurers to relieve one man, who recovers.— Matonabbee and his crew proceed to the South Weft.— Moft of the other Indians feparate, and go their refpeftive ways.— Pafs by White Stone Lake.— Many deer killed merely for their fldns.— Remarks tliercon, and on the deer, refpe^fling feafons and places.— Arrive at Point Lake.— One of the Indian's wives being fick, is left behind, to perifn above- ground.— Weather very bad, but deer plenty.— Stay fome time at Point Lake to dry meat, eff.— Winter {'^t in.— Supcrfticious cuftoms obfcrved by my companions, after they had killed the Efquimaux at Copper River.— A violent gale of wind overfets my tent and breaks my quadrant. — Some Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians join us.— Indians propofe to go to the Atha- pufcow Country to kill moofe.— Leave Point Lake, and arrive at the wood's edge.— Arrive at Anawd Lake.— Tranfaftions there.— Remarkable inllance of a man being cured of the palfy by the conjurers.— Leave Anawd Like. . Arrive at the great Athapufcow Lake. - - - 109 b 2 CHAP. CONTENTS, CHAP. VIII. TranfaFtions and Remarks from our Arrival on the South Side of thir Athapnfcow Lakc^ till our Arrival at Prince of Jfales's Fort on Cburchill River. Crofs the Athapufcow Lake. — Defcription of it and its produflions, as far as could be difcovered in Winter, when the fnow was on the ground. — Fifli found in the lake. — Defcription of the buffalo; — of the moofc or elk, and the method of drelling their Ikins. — Find a woman alone that had not fcen a human face for more than feven months. — Her account how flie came to be in that fuuation ; and her curious method of procuring a livelihood. — Many of my Indians wreftled for her. — Arrive at the great Athapufcow River.— Walk along the fide of the River for feveral days, and then ftrike off to the Eaftward. — Difficulty in getting through the woods in many places.— Meet with fome ftrange Northern Indians on their return from the Fort. — Meet more ftrangers, whom my companions plundered, and from whom they took one of their young women. — Curious manner of life which thofe ftrangers lead, and the reafon they gave for roving fo far fi-om their ufual refidence. — Leave the fine level country of the Athapufcows, and arrive at the Stony Hiils of the Northern Indian Country. — Meet fome ftrange Northern Indians, one of whom carried a letter for mc to Prince of Wales's Fort in Marcli one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-one, and now gave m.e an anfwcr to ir, dated twentieth of June following. — Indians begin preparing wood-work and birch-rind for canoes. — The equinoiftial gale very fevere. — Indian method of running die moofe deer down by fpeed of foot. — Arrival at Theeleyaza River. — See fome ftrangers. — The brutahty of my companions. — A tre- mendous gale and fnow- drift. — Meet with more ftrangers ; — remarks on it.— Leave all the elderly people and children, and proceed direftly to the Fort. — Stop to build canoes, and then advance. — Several of the Indians die through hunger, and many others are obliged to decline the journey for want of ?jn- munition. — A violent ftorm and inundation, that forced us to the top of a high hill, where we fuffcied great diftrefs for more than two days.— Kill fe- veral deer. — The Indians method of preferving the fiefh without the afiiftance of flit. — See feveral Indians that were going to Knapp's Bay. — Game of all kinds remarkably plentiful. — Arrive at the Faftory. - Page 247 Q c n A P. CONTENTS. xvii CHAP. IX. A Jloort Defcription of the Northern Indians^ alfo a farther Account of their Country^ Mamfa&ures, Ciifoms, &c. An account of the perfons and tempers of the Northern Indians. — They pofTefs a great deal of art and cunning. — Are very guilty of fraud when in their power, and generally exad more for their furrs than any other tribe of In- dians.— Always diflatisfied, yet have their good qualities. — The men in ge- neral jealous of their wives. — Their marriages. — Girls always betrothed when children, and their reafons for it. — Great care and confinement of young girls from the age of eight or nine years.— Divorces common among thofe people. — The women are lefs prolific than in warmer countries. — Re- markable piece of fuperftition obferved by the women at particular periods. — Their art in making it an excule for a temporary feparation from their huf- bands on any little quarrel.— Reckoned very unclean on thofe occafions. — The Northern Indians frequently, for the want of firing, are obliged to eat their meat raw. — Some through neceflity obliged to boil it in vefltls made of the rind of the birch-tree. — A remarkable dilli among thofe people. — The young animals always cut out of their dams eaten, and accounted a great delicacy. — The parts of generadon of all animals eat by the men and boys.— Manner of pafTing their time, and method of killing deer in Summer with bows and arrows. — Their tents, dogs. Hedges, i3c. — Snow-flioes.— Their paruality to domeilic vermin. — Utmoft extent of tlie Northern Indian country. — Face of the country. — Species of fiOi. — A peculiar kind of mofs ufeful for the fupport of man. — Northern Indian method of catching fifhj either with hooks or nets.— Ceremony obferved when two parties of thofe people meet. — Diverfions in common ufe. — A fingular diforder which attacks fome of thoie people. — Their fjperftition with refpeft to the death of their friends. — Ceremony obferved on thofe occafions. — Their ideas of the firft inhabitants of the world. — No form of religion among them. — Re- marks on that circumftance. — The extreme mifcry to which old age is ex- pofed. — Their opinion of the Aurora Borealis, ifc. — Some account of Ma- tonabbee, and his fervices to his country, as well as to the Iludfon's Bay Com.pany. - - - - Page 304 C PI A P. xviii C O \ T E N T S. CHAP. X, An Account of the principal Quadrupeds found in the Northern Parts of Hud - fon's Bay. The Bufl'alo, Moofe, Mun<-ox, Deer, and Beaver.— A ca- pital Miftake cleared up rcfpefting the We-was-kifli. Animals with Canine Teeth. The Wolf— Foxes of various colours- Lynx, or Wild Cat- Polar, or White Bear— Black Bear— Brown Bear— Wolverene— Otter— JackaHa—Wejack— Skunk— Pine Martin— Ermine, or Stote. Animals with Cutting Teeth. The iMuHc Beaver— Porcupine— Va- rying Hare— American Hare— Common Squirrel— Ground Squirrel— Mice of various Kinds, and the Caftor Beaver. The Pinnated Quadrupeds with fin-like Feet, found in Hudfon's Bay, are but three in number, i-iz. tlie Warius, or Sea- Horfc— Seal— and Sea- Unicorn. The Species of Fifli found in the Salt Water of Hudfon's Bay are alfo few in number; being the Black Whale — White Whale— Salmon— and Kepling. Shell-fifli, and empty Shells of feveral kinds, found on the Sea Coaft near Churchill River. Frogs of various fizes and colours ; alfo a great variety of Grubbs, and other Infefts, always found in a frozen ftate during Winter, but when expofed to the heat of a flow fire, are foon re -animated. An Account of fome of the principal Birds found in the Northern Parts of Hudfon's Bay ; as well thofe that only migrate there in Summer, as thofe that are known to brave the coldeft Winters : Eagles of various kinds — Hawks of various fizes and plumage — White or Snowy Owl — Gray or mottled Owl — Cob-a-dee-cooch — Haven — Cinerious Crow — Wood Pecker — Ruffed Groufe— Pheafant— Wood Partridge- Willow Partridge — Rock Partridge — Pigeon — Red- breafled Thrufn- Grolbeak— Snow Bunting — White-crowned Bunting— Lapland Finch, two forts— Lark — Titmoufe — Swallow — Martin — Hopping Crane— Crown Crane— Bitron — Cariow, two forts — Jack Snipe — Red Godwart— Plover — Black Gullemet — Northern Diver— Black-throated Diver — Red-tliroated Diver— White Gull— Grey Gull~Black-head — Pelican— Goofander — Swans of two fpccies — Common Grey CONTENTS. Grey Goofe — Canada Goofe — White or Snow Goofe — Blue Goofe — Horned Wavy — Laughing Goofe — Barren Goofe — Brent Goofe — Dunter Goofe — ■ Bean Goofe. The fpecies of Water- Fowl ufually called Duck, that refort to thofe Parts annually, are in great variety ; but thofe that are moft efteemed are, the Mallard Duck — Long-tailed Duck — Wigeon — and Teal. Of the Vegetable Produ6lions as far North as Churchill River, particularly the moit ufeful; fuch as the Berry-bearing BuHies, 10?^. Goofeberry — Cran- berry— Heathberry — Dewater-b^rry — Black Currans — Juniper-berry — Par- tridge-berry—Strawberry — Eye-berry — Blue-berry — and a fmall fpecies of Hips. Burridge, Coltsfoot — Sorrel — Dandelion. Wifli-a-capucca — Jackafliey-puck — Mofs of various forts — Grafs of fe- veral kinds — and Vetches. The Trees found fo far North near the Sea, confifb only of Pines — Juni- per— Small Poplar — Bufh-willows — and Creeping Birch. - Page 35S XIX E M R A T A. Page 63 line i6, fcr wo read on. 70 — ult. yjr polcos ctW poles. 89 12, (A A' we. I I 1 12, for Atbnpufco read Ath.ipufcow. 202 1, jVr Noith Weit read South Well. INTRODUCTION. poR many years it was the opinion of all ranks of people, that the Hudfon's Bay Company v/ere averfe to making difcoveries of ev^ery kind ; and being content with the profits of their fmall capital, as it was then called, did not want to increafe their trade. What might have been the ideas of former members of the Com- pany refpeding the firft part of thefe charges I cannot fay, but I am well allured that they, as well as the prefent members, have always been ready to embrace every plau- fible plan for extending the trade. As a proof of thii alTertion, I need only mention the vaft fums of money which they have expended at different times in endeavour- ing to eftablifh fifheries, though without fuccefs : and the following Journey, together with the various attempts: made by Bean, Chriftopher, Johnflon, and Duncan, to find a North Weft pafiage, are recent proofs that the pre- fent members are as defirous of making difcoveries, as they are of extending their trade. That air of myftcry, and affedation of fecrecy, perhaps, which formerly attended fome of the Company's proceed- ings in the Bay, might give rife to thofe conjediures ; and the unfounded aftertions and unjuft afperfions of Dobbs, c Ellis, xxil INTRODUCTION. Ellis, Robfoii, Dragge, and the American Traveller, the only Authors that have written on Hudfon's Bay, and who have all, from motives of intereil or revenge, taken a particular pleafure in arraigning the condud: of the Com- pany, without having any real knowledge of their pro- ceedings, or any experience in their fervice, on which to found their charges, mufl have contributed to confirm the public in that opinion. Moft ot thofe Writers, however, advance fuch notorious abfurdities, that none except thofe who are already prejudiced againfl the Company can give them credit *. Robfon, from his fix years refidence in Hudfon's Bay and in the Company's fervice, might naturally have been fup- pofed to know fomethingof the climate and foil immediately round the Factories at which he refided ; but the whole of his book is evidently written with prejudice, and didiated by a fpirit of revenge, becaufe his romantic and incon- fiftent fchemes were rejecled by the Company. Befides, it is well known that Robfon was no more than a tool in the hand of Mr. Dobbs. The American Traveller, though a more elegant writer, has flill lefs claim to our indulgence, as his allertions are * Since the above was written, a Mr. Unifrcvillc has publilhed an account of Hudfon's Bay, with the fame ill-nature n:. the former Authors; and for no other reafon than that of being difappoinred in fucceeding to a command in the Bay, though there was no vacancy for him. a ""reater INTRODUCTION. a greater tax on our credulity. His faying that he dif- covered feveral large lumps of the fineft virgin copper *, is fuch a palpable falfchood that it needs no refutation. No man, either Englifh or Indian, ever found a bit of copper in that country to the South of the feventy-iirfi: degree of latitude, unlefs it had been accidentally dropped by fome of the far Northern Indians in their way to the Com- pany's Fadory. The natives who range over, rather than inhabit, the large track of land which lies to the North of Churchill River, having repeatedly brought famples of copper to the Company's Fadory, many of our people conjedured that it was found not far from our fettlements ; and as the In- dians informed them that the mines were not very diftant from a large river, it was generally fuppofed that this river muft empty itfelf into Hudfon's Bay ; as they could by no means think that any fet of people, however wander- ing their manner of life might be, could ever traverfe fo large a track of country as to pafs the Northern boundary of that Bay, and particularly without the affiftance of water-carriage. The following Journal, however, v»-ill (hew how much thofe people have been miftaken, and prove alfo the improbability of putting their favourite fcheme of mining into pradice. * American Traveller, page 23, c 2 The XXIU xxlv INTRODUCTION. The accounts of this grand River, which fome have turned into a Strait, together with the famples of copper, were brought to the Company's Faftory at Churcnill Fiver immediately after its firft eftabUfhment, in the year one thoufand feven hundred and fifteen ; and it does not ap- pear that any attempts were made to difcover either the river or mines till the year one thoufand feven hundred and nineteen, when the Company fitted out a fhip, called the Albany Frigate, Captain George Barlow *, and a floop, called * Captain Barlow was Governor at Albany Fort when the French went over land from Canada to befiege it in 1704. The Canadians and their In- dian guides lurked in the neighbourhood of Albany for feveral days before they made the attack, and killed many of the cattle that were grazing in the marlhes. A faithful Home-Indian, who was on a hunting excurfion, difco- vering thofe ftrangers, and fuppofing them to be enemies, immediately returned to the Fort, and informed the Governor of the circumftance, who gave little credit to it. However, every meafure was taken for the defence of the Fort, and orders were given to the Matter of a floop that lay at fome diftance, to come to the Fort with all poiTible expedition on hearing a gun fired. Accordingly, in the middle of the night, or rather in the morning, the French came before the Fort, marched up to the gate, and demanded en- trance. Mr. Barlow, who was then on the watch, told them, that the Governor was afleep, but he would get the keys immediately. The French hearing this, expeifted no oppofition, and rlocked up to the gate as clofc as they could ftand. Barlow took the advantage of this opportunity, and inflead of opening the fj-ate, only opened two portholes, where two i^x-pounders flood loaded with grape ihot, which were inftantly fired. This (.I'fcharge killed great numbers of the French, and among them the Commander, ^"ho was an Irilhman. Such an unexpefted reception made the remamder retire with great preci- pitation ; and the Mailer of the floop hearing the guns, made the bell of his way INTRODUCTION. called the Difcovery, Captain David Vaughan. The fole command of this expedition, however, was given to Mr.^ James Knight, a man of great experience in the Com- pany's fervice, who had been many years Governor at the different Factories in the Bay, and who had made the iirft fettlement at Churchill River. Notwithftanding the experience Mr. Knight might have had of the Com- pany's bufinefs, and his knowledge of thofe parts of the Bay where he had refided, it cannot be fuppofed he was well acquainted with the nature of the bufinefs in which he then engaged, having nothing to diredl him but the flender and imperfcdt accounts which he had received from the Indians, who at that time were little known, and lefs underftood. way up to the Fort ; but fome of the French who lay concealed under the banks of the river killed him, and all the boat's crew. The French retired from this place with reludlance ; for fome of them were heard fliooting in the neighbourhood of the Fort ten days after they v/ere repulfed ; and one man in particular walked up and down the platform leaf'.inf^ from the gate of the Fort to the Launch for a whole day. Mr. Fullarton, who was then Governor at Albany, fpoke to him in French, and offered iiim kind quarters if he chofe to accept them; but to thofe propolals he made no reply, and only fhook his head. Mr, Fullarton then told him, that unlefs he would refign himfelf up as a prifoner, he would moft alTuredly Hioot him ; on which the man advanced nearer the Fort, and Mr. Fullaj lon fnot him out of his chamber window. Perhaps the hardlhips this poor man c.^pccleJ to encounter in his return to Canada, made him prefer death ; but his refuung to receive quarter from fo humane and generous an enemy as the Englilh, is aftonifhing. Thofe XXV xxvi INTRODUCTION. Thofe difad vantages, added to his advanced age, he being then near eighty, by no means difcouraged this bold adventurer ; who was fo prepOiTeifed of his fuccefs, and of the great advantage that would' arife from his difco- veries, that he procured, and took with him, fome large iron-bound chefcs, to hold gold duft; and other valuables, which he fondly flattered himfelf v/ere to be found in thofe parts. The firft paragraph of the Company's Orders to Mr. Knight on this occalion appears to be as follows : '' To Captain James Knight. "SIR, 4th June, 1719, *' From the experience we have had of your abilities " in the management of our affairs, we have, upon your " application to us, fitted out the Albany frigate. Captain " George Barlow, and the Difcovery, Captain Davdd " Vaughan Commander, upon a difcovery to the North - " ward; and to that end have given you power and au- " thority to a6l and do all things relating to the faid " voyage, the navigation of the faid fhip and floop only *' excepted ; and have given orders and inftruclions to our " faid Commanders for that purpofe. " You are, with the firfl; opportunity of wind and *' weather, to depart from Gravefend on your intended INTRODUCTION. xxvU ** voyage, and by God's permiffion, to find out the Straits ** of Anian, in order to difcover gold and other valuable *' commodities to the Northward, ^c. ^c." Mr. Knight foon left Gravefend, and proceeded on his voyage ; but the fhip not returning to England that year, as was expeded, it was judged that file had wintered in Hud- fon's Bay ; and having on board a good flock of provifions, a houfe in frame, together with all necelTary mechanics, and a great alTortment of trading goods, little or no thoughts were entertained of their not being in fafety : but as neither fhip nor floop returned to England in the follow- ing year, (one thoufand feven hundred and twenty,) the Company were much alarmed for their welfare ; and, by their fliip which went to Churchill in the year one thoufmd feven hundred and twenty-one, they fent orders for a floop called the Whale-Bone, John Scroggs Mafter, to go in fearch of them ; but the fhip not arriving in Churchill till late in the year, thofe orders could not be put in exe- cution till the Summer following (one thoufand feven hun- dred and twenty-two). The North Weft coaft of Hudfon's Bay being- little known in thofe days, and Mr. Scroggs finding himfelf greatly embarrafled with fhoals and rocks, returned to Prince of Wales's Fort without making any certain difco- very refpecfting the above fhip or floop ; for all the marks he faw among the Efquimaux at Whale Cove fcarcely 5 amounted INTRODUCTION. amounted to the fpoils which might have been made from a trifling accident, and confequently could not be con- fidered as ligns of a toial fliipwreck. The ftrong opinion which then prevailed in Europe re- fpe6ting the probability of a North Weft pafiagc by the way of Hudfon's Bay, made many conjediure that Mefirs. Knight and Barlow had found that paffage, and had gone through it into the South Sea, by the way of Cali- fornia. Many years elapfed without any other convincing proof occurring to the contrary, except that Middleton, Ellis, Bean, Chriftopher, and Johnfton, had not been able to find any fuch paflage. And notwithftanding a floop was annually fent to the Northward on difcovery, and to trade with the Efquimaux, it was the Summer of one thoufand feven hundred and fixty-feven, before Vv^e had pofitive proofs that poor Mr. Knight and Captain Barlow had been loft in Hudfon's Bvay. The Company were now carrying on a black whale fiftiery, and Marble Ifland was made the place of rendez- vous, not only on account of the commodioufnefs of the harbour, but becaufe it had been obferved that the whales were more plentiful about that ifland than on any other part of the coaft. This being the cafe, the boats, when on the look-out for fifli, had frequent occaflon to row clofe to the ifland, by Vv'hich means they difcovcrcd ■a new harbour near the Eaft end of it, at the head of INTRODUCTION. xxix of which they found guns, anchors, cables, bricks, a fmith's anvil, and many other articles, which the hand of time had not defaced, and which being of no ufe to the natives, or too heavy to be removed by them, had not been taken from the place in which they were originally laid. The remains of the lioufe, though pulled to pieces by the Efquimaux for the wood and iron, are yet very plain to be feen, as alfo the hulls, or more properly fpeaking, the bottoms of the fhip and floop, which lie funk in about five fathoms water, toward the head of the harbour. The figure-head of the fl^ip, and alfo the guns, &^c. were fent home to the Company, and are certain proofs that Meffrs. Knight and Barlow had been loft on that inhofpi- table ifland, where neither ftick nor ftump was to be feen, and which lies near fixteen miles from the main land. Indeed the main is little better, being a jumble of barren hills and rocks, deftitute of every kind of herbage except mofs and grafs ; and at that part, the woods are feverai hundreds of miles from the fea-fide. In the Summer of one thoufand feven hundred and fixty-ninc, while we wevQ profecuting the fifhery, we faw feverai Efquimaux at this new harbour ; and perceiving that one or two of them were greatly advanced in years, our curiofity was excited to afk them fome queftions con- cerning the above fliip and fioop, which we were the better enabled to do by the afliftancc of an Efquimaux, who was then in the Company's fervice as a linguift, and an- nually failed in one of their vefTels in that charader. The d account INTRODUCTION. account which we received from them was full, clear, and imreferved, and the fum of it was to the following purport : When the veffels arrived at this place (Marble iHand) it was VQTj late in the Fall, and in getting them into the harbour, the largeft received much damage ; but on being fairly in, the Englifli began to build the lioufe, their num- ber at that time feeming to be about liity. As loon as the ice permitted, in the tollov/ing Summer, (one thoufand feven hundred and twenty,) the Efquimaux paid them ano- ther vifit, by which time the number of the Englifh was greatly reduced, and thofe that were living feemed very unhealthy. According to the account given by the Efqui- maux they WTre then very bufily employed, but about what they could not eafily defcribe, probably in length- ening the long-boat ; for at a little diftance from the houfe there is now lying a great quantity of oak chips, which have been moft affuredly made by carpenters. Sicknefs and famine occalioned fuch havock amono; the Englifh, that by the fetting in of the fecond Winter their number was reduced to tv/enty. That Winter (one thou- fand feven hundred and twenty) fome of the Efquimaux took up their abode on the oppofite fide of the harbour to that on which the Englifli had built their houfes *, and frequently * I have feen the remains of thofe houfes feveral tiines ; they are on the Weft fide of the liarbourj and in all probability will be difcernible for many years to come. It INTRODUCTION. frequently fupplied them with fuch provifions as they had, which chiefly conlifted of whale's blubber and feafs flefh and train oil. When the Spring advanced, the Ef- quimaux went to the continent, and on their vifitino- Marble Ifland again, in the Summer of one thoufand feven hundred and twenty-one, they only found live of the Englifli alive, and thofe were in fuch diftrefs for pro- vifions that they eagerly eat the feafs flefli and whale's blubber quite raw, as they purchafed it from the natives. This difordered them fo much, that three of them died in a few days, and the other two, though very weak, made a fhift to bury them. Thofe two furvived many days after the reft, and frequently went to the top of an adjacent rock, and earneftly looked to the South and Eaft, as if in expeda- tion of fome veflels coming to their relief. After continu- ing there a confiderable time together, and nothing ap- pearing in fight, they fat down clofe together, and wept bitterly. At length one of the two died, and the other's ftrength was fo far exhaufted, that he fell down and died alfo, in attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The It is rather furprifing, that neither Middleton, Ellis, Chriftopher, Johnflon, nor Garbetj who have all of them been at Marble Ifland, and fome of them often, ever difcovered this harbour ; particularly the lai'c-mentioned gentleman, who aftually failed quite round the ifland in a very fine pleafiint day in the Sum- mer of 1766. But this difcovery was referved for a Mr. Jofeph Stephens ! a man of the leaft merit I ever knew, though he then had the command of a velTel called {he Succels, employed in the whale-fifliery ; and in the year 1769, had the command of the Charlotte given to him, a fine brig of one hundred tonsj when I was his mate. d 2 fculls xxxt xxxli INTRODUCTION". fcuUs and other large bones of thofc two men are now lying above-ground clofe to the houfe. The longeft liver was, according to the Efqniniaux account, always employed in working c f iro.i into implemeiits for them ; probably he was the armourer, or fmith. Some Northern Indians who came to trade at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Spring ol the year one thoufand feven hundred and lixty-eight, oroirght farther accounts of the grand river, as it was called, and aifo feveral pieces of copper, as famples of the produce of the mine near it ; which determined Mr. Norton, who was then Go- vernor at Churchill, to reprefent it to the Company as an affair worthy of their attention ; and as he went that year to England, he had an opportunity of laying all the in- formation he had received before the Board, with his opi- nion thereon, and the plan which he thought moft likely to fucceed in the difcovery of thofe mines. In confe- quence of Mr. Norton's reprefentations, the Committee re- folved to fend an intelligent perfon by land to obferve the longitude and latitude of the river's mouth, to make a chart of the country he might walk through, with fuch remarks as occurred to liim during the Journey ; when I was pitched on as a proper perfon to condud: the expe- dition. By the fhip that went to Churchill in the Sum- mer of one thoufand feven hundred and lixty-nine, the Company fent out fome aftronomical inftruments, very portable, and lit for fuch obfervations as they required me to INTRODUCTION, xnxui to make, and at the fame time requefted me to undertake the Journey, promiling to allow me at my return, a gra- tuity proportionable to the trouble and fatigue I might undergo in the expedition *. I did * The conditions offered me on- this occafion cannot be better exprefled than in the Company's own words, which I have tranfcribed from their private ktter to me, dated 25th May 1769. " From the good opinion we entertain of you, and Mr. Norton's recom- " mendation, we have agreed to raife your wages to £ per annum for " two years, and have placed you in our Council at Prince of Wales's Fort ; *' and we fnould have been ready to advance you to the command of the ■ " Charlotte, according to your requeft, if a matter of more immediate conle- " quence hid not intervened. " Mr. Norton has propofed an inland Journey, far to the North of Church- *' ill, to promote an extenfion of our trade, as well as for the difcovery of " a North Weft Paflage, Copper Mines, &c. ; and as an undertaking of this " nature requires the attention of a perfon capable of taking an obfervation " for determining the longitude and latitude, and alio diftances, and the courfe " of rivers and their depths, we have fixed upon you (efpeciaily as it is re- *' prefented to us to be your own inclination) to conduct diis Journey, with. *' proper affiftants. " We therefore hope you will fecond our expesflations in readily perform- " ing this fervice, and upon your return we fhall wiiUngly make you any ac~ " knowledgment fuitable to your trouble therein. " We highly approve of your going in the Speedwell, to alTuT: on the whale- " filhery laft year, and heartily wifh you health and fuccefs in the prcfent ex-? " pedidon. We rem.ain your loving Friends,. " BiBYE Lake, Dep. Gov. " James Winter Lake, « John Anthony Merle. " Herman Berens. " Egbert Merry. " Joseph Spurrei.. " Samuel Wegg. <■' James Fitz Gerald." T.^e KKxlv INTRODUCTION. I did not hefitate to comply with the requcft of the Company, and in the November following, when fome Northern Indians came to trade, Mr. Norton, who was then returned to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, en- gaged fuch of them for my guides as he thought were raoft likely to anfwer the purpofe ; but none of them had been at this grand river. I was fitted out with every thing thought neceflary, and with ammunition to ferve two years. I was to be accompanied by two of the Company's fervants, two of the Home-guard * (Southern) Indians, The Company had no fooner perufed my Journals and Charts, than they ordered a handfome fum to be placed to the credit of my account j and in the two firft paragraphs of their letter to me, dated 12th May 1773, they ex- prefs themfelves in the following words ; " Mr. Samuel Hearxe, "SIR, " Your letter of the aSth Aiiguil laft gave us the agreeable pleafure to hear " of your fafe return to our Fa6lory. Your Journal, and tlie two charts you " fent, fufficiendy convinces us of your very judicious remarks. '' We have maturely confidered your great aiTiduity in the various acci- " dents which occurred in your feveral Journies. We hereby return you our *' grateful thanks j and to manifeft our obligation we have confented to allow ^' you a gratuity of /^ for thofe fervices." As a farther proof of tlie Company's being perfcdly fatisfied with my con- duifl: while on that Journey, the Committee unanimoufly appointed me Chief of Prince of Wales's Fort in the Summer of 1775 ; and Mr. Bibye Lake, who was then Governor, and feveral others of the Comniittee, honoured me widi a regular correfpondence as long as they lived. * By the Home-guard Indians we are to underftand certain of the natives who are immediately employed under the protedion of the Company's fervants, jefide on the plantation, and are employed in hunting for the Fadory. 8 and INTRODUCTION. xxxv and a fufficient number of Northern Indians to carry and haul my baggage, provide for me, &'c. But for the better ftating this arrangement, it will not be improper to infert my Inftrudions, which, with fome occafional re- marks thereon, wili throw much light on the following Journal, and be the beft method of proving how far thofe orders have been complied with, as well as Ihevv my rea- fons for nc_^le6ting fome parts as unnecelTary, and the im— pofTibility of putting other parts of them in execution. « ORDERS and INSTRUCTIONS fir Mr. *' Samuel Hearne,^c//7^ on aii Expedition by " Lajtd towards the Latitude yo" Norths in " order to gai?2 a Kiiowledge of the Northern *' Indians Country^ &c. on Behalf of the Ho- " nourable Hudfoii s Bay Co?npa7iyy in the Tear- " 1769' *' Mr, Samuel Hearne, " S I R, *' Whereas the Flonourabie Hudion's Bay Company " have been informed by the report from Indians, that '* there is a great probability of confiderable advan- *' tages to be expedled from a better knowledge of their " country by us, than what hitherto has been obtained; *' and as it is the Company's earnefl; dcdre to embrace " every circumftancc that may tend to the benefit of the " faid Company, or the Nation at large, they have re- ** quefted you to condu6l this Expedition ; and as you " have Ttsxvi INTRODUCTION. ■" have readily confentcd to undertake the prefent Journey, " you are hereby delired to proceed as foon as poflible, *' with WiUiam Ifbefter failor, and Thomas Merriman *' landfman, as companions, they both being willing to " accompany you • alfo two of the Home-guard Southern *' Indians, who are to attend and alTift you during the Journey ; and Captain Chawchinahaw, his Lieutenant Nabyah, and fix or eight of the befl. Northern Indians we can procure, with a fmall part of their families, are to condu6l you, provide for you, and aflift you and your companions in every thing that lays in their power, having particular orders fo to do. " 2dly, Whereas you and your companions arc well " fitted-out with every thing we think neceffary, as alfo " a iiimple of light trading goods ; thefe you are to dif- *' pofe of by way of prefents (and not by way of trade) *' to fuch far-ofF Indians as you may meet with, and to *' fmoke your Calimut * of Peace with their leaders, in *' order to eflablifh a friendfhip with them. You are alfo " to perfuade them as much as poffible from going to v/ar *' with each other, to encourage them to exert themfelves '' in procuring furrs and other articles for trade, and to " affure them of good payment for them at the Com- ■" pany's Fadory. " It is fincerely recommended to you and your compa- *' nions to treat the natives v/ith civility, fo as not to give * The Calimut is a long ornamented flem of a pipe, much in ufe among nil the tribes of Indians who know the ufe of tobacco. It is parricularly ufcd in all cafes of cereniony, either in making v/ar or peace; at all public entertain- nicntSj orations, &c. " them INTRODUCTION. xxxvU " them any room for complaint or difgiill, as they have " ftrid: orders not to give you the leaft offence, but are to " aid and aflift you in any matter you may requeft of them " for the benefit of the undertaking. *' If any Indians you may meet, that are coming to the " Fort, fhould be willing to truft you with either food or " clothing, make your agreement for thofe commodities, " and by them fend me a letter, fpecifying the quantity " of each article, and they fhall be paid according to '' your agreement. And, according to the Company's or- " ders, you are to correfpond with me, or the Chief at " Prince of Wales's Fort for the time being, at all oppor- " tunities : And as you have mathematical inftruments " with you, you are to fend me, or the Chief for the " time being, an account of what latitude and longitude " you may be in at fuch and fuch periods, together with " the heads of your proceedings; which accounts are to be " remitted to the Company by the return of their fhips *. " sdly. The Indians who are now appointed your " guides, are to condud you to the borders of the Atha- " pufcow -f Indians country, where Captain Matonabbee * No convenient opportunity offered during my laft Journey, except one, , - on the lid March 1771 ; and as nothing material had happened during that part of my Journey, I thought there was not any necefllty for fending an ex- tract of my Journal; I therefore only fent a Letter to the Governor, informing him of my fuuation with refpedl to latitude and longitude, and fome account \>f the ufjigc which I received from the natives, &c. t By millake in my former Journal and Draft called Arathapefcow. e . " is -Kxxvui INTRODUCTION. is to meet you * in the Spring of one thoufand feven hundred and feventy, in order to condudl you to a river reprefentcd by the Indians to abound with copper ore, animals of the furr kind, &'c. and which .; faid to be fo far to the Northward, that in the midd. of the Summer the Sun does not fet, and is fuppofed bj, the Indians to empty itfelf into fome ocean. This river, which is called by the Northern Indians Neetha-fan- fan-dazey, or the Far Off Metal River, you are, if poflible, to trace to the mouth, and there determine the latitude and longitude as near as you can ; but more particularly fo if you find it navigable, and that a fettlement can be made there with any degree of fafety, or benefit to the Company. *' Be careful to obferve what mines are near the river, what water there is at the river's mouth, how far the woods are from the fea-fide, the courfe of the river, the nature of the foil, and the produdions of it ; and make any other remarks that you may think will be either necefiary or fatisfadlory. And if the faid river be likely to be of any utility, take pofleffion of it on behalf of the Hudfon's Bay Company, by cutting your * This was barely probable, as Matonabbee at that time had not any in- formation of this Journey being fet on foot, much lefs had he received orders to join me at the place and time here appointed; and had we accidentally met, he would by no means have undertaken the Journey v/ithout firfl going to the Fadtory, and there making his agreement with the Governor; for no Indian is fond of performing any particular fervice fortlie Englifh, without firft knowing what is to be liis reward. At the fame time, had I taken that rout on my out- fet, it would have carried me fome hundreds of miles out of my road. See niy Track on the Map in the Winter 1770, and the Spring 1771. " name INTRODUCTION. - xxj^ name on fome of the rocks, as alfo the date of the * year, month, &'c» * " When you attempt to trace this or any other river, * be careful that the Indians are furniflied with a fufficient * number of canoes for trying the depth of v/ater, the ' ftrength of the current, &'c. If by any unforefeen ' accident or difafter you fhould not be able to reach the ' before-mentioned river, it is earneftly recommended to ' you, if poflible, to know the event of Wager Strait f ; ' for it is reprefented by the laft difcoverers to terminate ' in fmall rivers and lakes. See how far the woods are ' from the navigable parts of it ; and whether a fettle- ' ment could with any propriety be made there. If this ' fliould prove unworthy of notice, you are to take the ' fame method with Baker's Lake, which is the head of * I was not provided with inftruments for cutting on ftone ; but for form- > lake, I cut my name, date of the year, &:c. on a piece of board that had been one of the Indian's targets, and placed it in a heap of ftoncs on a fmall eminence near the entrance of the river, on the South fide. t There is certainly no harm in making out all Inftruftions in the fullell manner, yet it muft be allowed that thofc two parts might hav'.; been omitted with great propriety ; for as neither Middleton, Ellis, nor Chriftopher were able to penetrate far enough up thofe inlets to difcOver any kind of herbage except mofs and grafs, much lefs woods, it was nor likely thofe pares were lb materially altered for the better liiice their times, as to m.'.ke it worth my while to attempt a farther diicov-er_\' of them; and efpr-rially as I had an op- portunity, during my fecond Journey, of proving that the woods do not reach the fea-coaft by fome hundreds of miles in the parallel of Cheflerfield's Inlet. And as the edge of die woods to the Northward always tends to the Weftward^ the diftance fnuft be greatly increafed in tiie latitude of Wager Strait. Th /fe parts have long fince been vifited by the Company's fervants, and are within the known limits of their Charter; confcquciicly require no oti'.-.-r form ol' poflcffion. e 2 *' r*i)\vas;ri';. INTRODUCTION. ** Bowden's or Chefterfield's Inlet*; as alfo with any *' other rivers you may meet with ; and if likely to be of *' any utility, you are to take poflefTion of them, as be- *' fore mentioned, on the behalf of the Honourable Hud- *' fon's Bay Company. The draft of Bowden's Inlet and *' Wager Strait I fend with you, that you may have a better " ideaof thofe places, in cafe of your vifiting them. " 4thly, Another material point which is recommended *' to you, is to find out, if you can, either by your own " travels, or by information from the Indians, whether " there is a paflage through this continent f . It will be * See the preceding Note. f The Continent of America is' much wider than many people imagine, particularly Robfon, who thought that the Pacific Ocean was but a few days journey from the Weft coaft of Hudfon's Bay. This, however, is fo far from being the cafe, that when I was at my greateft Weftern diftance, upward of five hundred miles from Prince of Wales's Fort, the natives, my guides, well knew that many tribes of Indians lay to the Weft of us, and they knew no end to the land in that diredlion ; nor have I met with any Indians, either Northern or Southern, that ever had feen the fea to the Weftward. It is, indeed, well known to the intelligent and well-informed part of the Com- pany's fervants, that an cxtenfive and numerous tribe of Indians, called E-arch-e-thinnews, whofe country lies far Weft of any of the Company's or Canadian fettlements, muft have traffic with the Spaniards on the Weft fide of the Continent; becaufe fome of the Indians who formerly traded to York Fort, when at war with thofe people, frequently found faddles, bridles, mufkets, and many other articles, in their poffeffion, which were undoubtedly of Spanifh manufiidlory. I have feen feveral Indians who have been fo far Weft as to crofs the top of that immenfe chain of mountains which run from North to South of the con- tinent of America. Beyond thofe mountains all rivers run to the Weftward. I muft here obferve, that all the Indians I ever heard relate their excurfions in that country, had invariably got fo far to the South, that they did not experi- ence any Winter, nor the Icaft appearance, of either froft or fnow, though fometimes they have been abfcnt eighteen months, or two years. <« very INTRODUCTION. xVi " very ufeful to clear up this point, if pofTible, in order to " prevent farther doubts from arifing hereafter refpeding " a paffage out of Hudfon's Bay * into the Weftern Ocean, " as hath lately been reprefented by the American Tra- " veller. The particulars of thofe remarks you are to *' infert in your Journal, to be remitted home to the " Company. " If you fhould want any fupplies of ammunition, or " other neceffaries, difpatch fome trufty Indians to the " Fort with a letter, fpecifying the quantity of each " article, and appoint a place for the faid Indians to meet " you again. " When on your return, if at a proper time of the " year, and you iliould be near any of the harbours that " are frequented by the brigantine Charlotte, or the floop " Churchill, during their voyage to the Northward, and " you fliould chufe to return in one of them, you are de- " fired to make frequent fmokes as you approach thofe *' harbours, and they will endeavour to receive you by " making fmokes in anfwer to yours ; and as one thou- *' fand feven hundred and feventy-one will probably be the *' year in which you will return, thcMafters of thofe veffels " at that period fhall have particular orders on that head. * As to a pafTage through tlie continent of America by the way of Hiidlb;;'? Bay, it has fo long been exploded, notwithftanding what Mr. Ellis has urged in its favour, and the place it has found in the vifionary Map of the American Traveller, that any comment on it would be quite unneceffary. My latitude only will be a fufficient proof that no fuch pafTage is in exigence. xlii INTRODUCTION. " It will be pleafing to hear by the firft opportunity, in " what latitude and longitude you meet the Leader Ma- *' tonabbee, and how far he thinks it is to the Copper- *' mine River, as alfo the probable time it may take be- *' fore you can return. But in cafe any thing fhould pre- " vent the faid Leader from joining you, according to <' expedation, you are then to procure the beft Indians *' you can for your guides, and either add to, or diminifh, *' your number, as you may from time to time think moft " neceffary for the good of the expedition. *' So I conclude, wifliing you and your companions " a continuance of health, together with a profperous *' Tourney, and a happy return in fafety. Amen. " MOSES NORTON, Governor. "■ Dated at Prince of Wales's Fort, Churchill " River, Hudibn's Bay, North America, " November 6th, 1769." Ifbefter and Merriman, mentioned in my Inftrudions, adually accompanied me during my firft fhort attempt ; but the Indians knowing them to be but common men, ufed them fo indifferently, particularly in fcarce times, that I was under fome apprehenfions of their being ftarved to death, and I thought my felf exceedingly happy when I gbt them fafe back to the Fadory. This extraordinary behaviour of the Indians made me determine not to take any Europeans with me on my two laft expeditions. With INTRODUCTION. xllli With regard to that part of my Inftrudions which di- rects me to obferve the nature of the foil, the productions thereof, &'c, it mufl: be obferved, that during the whole time of my abfence from the Fort, I was invariably con- fined to ftony hills and barren plains all the Summer, and before we approached the woods in the Fall of the year, the ground was always covered with fnow to a considerable depth ; fo that I never had an opportunity of feeing any of the fmall plants and (lirubs to the Weftward. But from appearances, and the flow and dwarfy growth of the woods, &^c. (except in the Athapufcow country,] there is undoubtedly a greater fcarcity of vegetable produdlions than at the Company's moft Northern Settlement ; and to the Eaftward ol the woods, on the barren grounds, whe- ther hills or vallies, there is a total want of herbage, ex- cept mofs, on which the deer feed ; a {"ew dwarf willows creep among the mofs ; fome wifh-a-capucca and a little grafs may be feen here and there, but the latter is fcarcely fufficient to ferve the geefe and other birds of pafTacre during their fliort flay in thofe parts, though they are al- ways in a flate of migration, except when they are breedino- and in a moultins; flate. In confequence of my complying with the Company's lequeft, and undertaking this Journe)^, it is natural to fup- pofe that every neceffary arrangement was made for the eafier keeping of my reckoning, &'c. under the many in- con veniencies I mufl be unavoidably obliged to labour in fuch an expedition. I drew a Map on a large flcin of parchment, that contained twelve degrees of latitude 5 Nortri, vliv INTRODUCTION. North, and thirty degrees of longitude Weft, of Churchill Fa^lory, and fketched all the Wefl: coaft of the Bay on it, but left the interior parts blank, to be filled up during my journey. I alfo prepared detached pieces on a much larger fcale for every degree of latitude and longitude contained in the large Map. On thofe detached pieces I pricked oil my daily courfes and diftance, and entered all lakes and rivers, ^'c. that I met with ; endeavouring, by a ftri6l enquiry of the natives, to find out the communication of one river with another, as alfo their connexions with the many lakes with which that country abounds: and when opportunity offered, having correded them by obferva- tions, I entered them in the general Map. Thefe and fe- veral other neceffary preparations, for the cafier, readier, and more correctly keeping my Journal and Chart, were alfo adopted ; but as to myfelf, little was required to be done, as the nature of travelling long journies in thofe countries will never admit of carrying even the moft com- mon article of clothing ; fo that the traveller is obliged to depend on the country he paffes through, for that article, as well as for provifions. Amniunition, ufeful iron-work, fome tobacco, a few knives, and other indifpenfable ar- ticles, make a fufficient load for any one to carry that is going a journey likely to laft twenty months, or two years. As that was the cafe, I only took the fhirt and clothes I then had on, one fpare coat, a pair of drawers, and as much cloth as would make me two or three pair of Indian {lockings, which, together with a blanket for bedding, compofed the whole of my flock of clothing. A JOUR^ ^lacel Te I'oiX /'offe 1. J s.,u:,.i„.. .,<,:,. LiRRirA,,tn' . S\ ■iMi- riKAUyK., .1777 ,. J O U R N E Y T O T H E ' NORTHERN OCEAN. C H A p. I. Tranfadions from my leaving Prince of Wales's Fort oa my firft expedition, till our arrival there again. Set off from the Fort. — Arrive at Po-co-ree-kif-co River.— -One of the Northern Indians defert. — Crofs Seal River ^ and walk 07i the barren grounds. — Receive ivrong information coticerning the dijlance of the woods. — Weather begins to be very cold, provifions all expended, and jiothing to be got. — Strike to the Wefward, arrive at the woods, and kill three deer. — Set forward in the North Wejl quarter, fee the tracks of mujk-oxen and deer, but killed none. — Very /hort of provifions. — Chawchinahaw wants us to return. — Neither he nor his crew con- tribute to our 7naintenance. — He iifuences feveral of the Indians to defert. — Chawchinahaw and all his crew leave us. — Begin our return to the fa&ory ; kill a few parti-idges, the frf meal we had had for feveral days. — Villany of one of the home Indians and his wife, who ■ was a Northern Indian woman. — Arrive at Seal River, kill two deer ; partridges plenty. — Meet a flrange Northern Indian, accompany hnn to his tent, ufage received there ; my Indians ajjijl in killing fomc heaver. — Proceed toward home, and arrive at the Fort. ■ AVING made every necefTary arrangement for my de- 1 759. parture on the Hxth of November, I took leave of the S^^^^^i^j^^ Governor, and my other friends, at Prince of Wales's Fort, ^'^*' and. began my journey, under the falute of fevcn cannon. B The \& ^' £-> . ,-jr. do without them. By the fixth, however, the thavi^s were fo 2;eneral, and the fnov/s fo much melted, that as our fnow-fhoes were attended with more trouble than fervice, joth, we all confented to throw them away. Till the tenth, our ilcdges proved ferviceable, particularly in crofling lakes and ponds on the ice ; but that mode ot travelling now growing dangerous on account ot tlie great thaws, we 3 determined NORTHERNOCEAN. 29 determined to throw away our fledges, and every one to take 1 770. a load on his back. June. This I found to be much harder work than the winter carriage, as my part of the luggage confifted of the fol- lowing articles, viz. the quadrant and its fland, a trunk containing books, papers, &c. a land-compafs, and a large bag containing all my wearing apparel ; alfo a hatchet, knives, files, &c. befide feveral fmall articles, intended for prefents to the natives. The aukwardnefs of my load, added to its great weight, which was upward of nxty pounds, and the excellive heat of the weather, rendered walking the m.oft laborious tafk I had ever encountered ; and what confiderably increafed the hardfhip, was the bad- nefs of the road, and the coarfenefs of our lodging, being, on account of the want of proper tents, expofed to the utmofl; feverity of the weather. The tent we had with us was not only too large, and unfi.t for barren ground fervice, where no poles were to be got, but we had been obliged to cut it up for flioes, and each perfon carried his own fliare. Indeed m.y guide behaved both negligently and ungene- roufly on this occafion ; as he never made me, or miy Southern Indians, acquainted with the nature of pitching tents on the barren ground ; v/hich had he done, we could eafily have procured a fet of poles before we heft the woods. He took care, however, to procure a fct for him- felf and his wife ; and when the tent was divided, though he made fliift to get a piece large enough to ferve him for a com- 30 AJOURNEYTOTHE '^11'^' a complete little tent, lie never afked me or my Southern June. Indians to put our heads into it. Befide the inconvenience of being expofed to the open air, night and day, in all weathers, we experienced real diftrefs from the want of victuals. When provilions were procured, it often happened that we could not make a fire, fo that we were obliged to eat the meat quite raw ; which at firft, in the article of fifli particularly, was as little reliflied by my Southern companions as myfelf. Notvvithftanding thefe accumulated and complicated hardfhips, we continued in perfedl health and good fpirits ; and my guide, though a perfect niggard of his provifions, efoecially in times of fcarcity, gave us the Itrongeft af- iurancc of foon arriving at a plentiful country, which would not only aiibrd us a certain fupply of provilions, but where we fhould meet with other Indians, who pro- bably would be willing to carry part of our luggage. This news naturally gave us great confolation ; for at that time the weight of our conftant loads was fo great, that when Providence threw any thing in our way, we could not carry above two days provilions with us, which indeed v\as the chief reafon of our being fo frequently in want. 23 J- From the twentieth to the twenty-third Vv'e walked every day near tvv'cnty miles, without any other fubiiftence than NORTHERN OCEAN. than a pipe of tobacco, and a drink of water when we pleafed : even partridges and gulls, which fome time before were in great plenty, and eafily procured, were now fo fcarce and iliy, that we could rarely get one ; and as to geefe, ducks, &c. they had all flown to the Northward to breed and molt. Early in the morning of the twenty -third, we fet out as ufual, but had not walked above feven or eip"ht miles be- fore we faw three mufk-oxen grazing by the fi.de of a fmall lake. The Indians immediately went in purfuit of them; and as fome of them v/ere expert hunters, they foon killed the whole of them. This w^as no doubt very fortunate; but, to our great mortification, before we could get one of them fkinned, fuch a fall of rain came on, as to put it quite out of our power to make a fire ; which, even in the fineft weather, could only be made of mofs, as we were near an hundred miles from any woods. This wis poor comfort for people who had not broke their {-"aft for four or five days. Neceffity, however, has no lav/; and having; been before initiated into the method of eatinp- raw meat, we were the better prepared for this repaft: but this was by no m.eans fo well relifired, either by me or the Southern Indians, as either raw venifon or raw fifh had been : for the flefh of the mufk-ox is not only coarfe and tough, but fmells and taftes fo ftrong of mufk as to make it very difagreeable when raw, though it is tolerable eating when properly cooked. The weather continued (o remark- 31 32 AJOURNEYTOTHE remarkably bad, accompanied with conilant heavy rain, fnow, and fleet, and our neccffities were fo great by the time the weather permitted us to make a fire, that we had nearly eat to the amount of one buffalo quite raw. Notwithftanding I muftcred up all my philofophy on this occaflon, yet I mufl confefs that ray fpirits began to fail me. Indeed our other misfortunes were greatly aggravated by the inclemency of the weather, which was not only cold, but fo very wet that for near three days and nights I had not one dry thread about me. When the fine weather returned, we made a fire, though it was only of mofs, as I have already obferved ; and having got my cloaths dry, all things feemed likely to go on in the old channel, though that was indifferent enough j but I endeavoured, like a faiior after a ftorm, to forget pad misfortunes. None of our natural wants, if we except thirft, are fo •diftreffmg, or hard to endure, as hunger ; and in wan- dering fituations, like that which I now experienced, the • hardfiiip is greatly aggravated by the uncertainty witJi re- fped to its duration, arid the means moft proper to be ufed to remove it, as well as by the labour and fatigue we muff neceflarily undergo for that purpofe, and the difap- pointments which too frequentb/ fruflrate our bcft con- certed plans and mofc flrcnuous exertions : it not only enfeebles the body, but depreffes the fpirits, in fpite of everv NORTHERN OCEAN. 3 every effort to prevent it. Befides, for want of ad:ion, the ^77°- ftomach fo far lofes its digeftive powers, that after long faft- June? ing it refumes its office with pain and reludance. During this Journey I have too frequently experienced the dread- ful effedls of this calamity, and more than once been re- duced to fo low a flate by hunger and fatigue, that when Providence threw any thing in my way, my ftomach has fcarcely been able to retain more than two or three ounces, without producing the moft oppreflive pain. Another difagreeable circumftance of long fafting is, the extreme difficulty and pain attending the natural evacuations for the firft time; and which is fo dreadful, that of it none but thofe who have experienced can have an adequate idea. To record in detail each day's fare lince the com- mencement of this journey, would be little more than a dull repetition of the fame occurrences. A fufficient idea of it may be given in a few words, by obferving that it may juftly be faid to have been either all feaft- ing, or all famine : fometimes we had too much, fcldoni juft enough, frequently too little, and often none at all. It will be only neceflary to fay that we have fafted many times two whole days and nights ; twice upwards of three days ; and once, while at She-than-nee, near (qxqw days, during which we tafted not a moutliful of any thing, except a few cranberries, water, fcraps of old leather, and burnt bones. On thofe prefling occafions I liave frequently fcen the Indians examine their wardrobe, F which ■^ 34 A JOURNEY TO THE which confifted chiefly of fkin- clothing, and conflder what part could befl: be fpared ; fometimes a piece of an old, half-rotten deer fkin, and at others a pair of old ilioes, were facriiiced to alleviate extreme hunger. The relation of fuch uncommon hardfhips may pdhips gain little credit in Europe; while thofe who are cor:verfant with the hiftory of Hudfon's Bay, and who are thoroughly acquainted with the diftrefs which the natives of the country about it frequently endure, may ccnflder them as no more than the common occurrences of an Indian life, in which they are frequently driven to the neceflity of eatinp- one another *. Knowing * It is the general opinion of the Southern Indians, that when any of their tribe have been driven to the neceflity of eating human flefh, they become fo fond of it, that no perfon is fafe in their company. And though it is well known they are never guilty of making this horrid repaft but when driven to it by necefiTity, yet thofe who have made it are not only fhunned, but fo uni- verfally detelled by all who know them, that no Indians will tent with them, and they are frequently murdered flily. I have feen feveral of thofe poor wretches who, unfortunately for them, have come under the above defcrlp- tion, and though they were perfons much efteemed before hunger had driven them to this aft, were afterward fo univerfally defpifed and neglefted, that a fmile never graced their countenances : deep melancholy has been feated on their brows, while the eye moft expreflively fpoke the diftates of the heart, and feemed to fay, " Why do you defpife me for my misfortunes ? the period " is probably not far diftant, when you may be driven to the like necefficy !'* In the Spring of the year 1775, v/hen I was building Cumberland Houfe, an Indian, whofe name was Wapoos, came to the fctdement, at a time when fifteen tents of Indians were on the plantations: they examined him very minutely, and found he had come a confiderablc way by himfelf, without a gun, OF ammunition. This made many of them conjefture he had met with, and killed, fome perfon by the way; and this was the more eafily credited, fron^ NORTHERN OCEAN. 3; Knowing that our conftant loads would not permit us to carry much proviiions with us, we agreed to continue a day or two to refrefh ourfelves, and to dry a little meat in the fun, as it thereby not only becomes more portable, but is always ready for ufe. On the twenty-lixth, all 26th. that remained of the mufk-ox fleih being properly dried and fit for carriage, we began to proceed on our journey Northward, and on the thirtieth of June arrived s^*''- at a fmall river, called Cathawhachaga, which empties itfelf into a large lake called Yath-kyed-whoie, or White Snow Lake. Here we found feveral tents of Northern Indians, who had been fome time employed fpearing deer in their canoes, as they crofTed the above mentioned little river. Here alfo we met a Northern Indian Leader, or Captain, called Keelfhies, and a fmall party of his crew, who were bound to Prince of Wales's Fort, with furs from the care he took to conceal a bag of provinons, v/hich he had brouglit with him, in a lofty pine-tree near the houfe. Being a ftranger, I invited him in, though I faw he had nothing for trade ; and during that interviev.-, fome of the Indian women examined his bag, and gave it as their opinion that the meat it contained was human flcfli : in con- fequence, it was not without the interference of fome principal Indians, v/hofe liberality of fentiment was more extenfive than that in the others, the poor creature faved his life. Many of the men cleaned and loaded their guns ; others had their bows and arrows ready ; and even the -.vomcn took poiTeffion of the hatchets, to kill this poor inoffenfive wretch, for no crime but that of travelling about two liundred miles by himfclf, unafilfted by fire-arms for fupport in his journey. F 2 *ind 36 A JOURNEY TO THE 1770. and other commodities for trade. When KeelfKies was July, made acquainted with the intent of my journey, he readily offered his fervice to bring me any thing from the Fadory that wc were likely to ftand in need of; and though we were then in latitude 63° 4' North, and longitude 7° 12 Weft from Churchill, yet he promifed to join us again, at a place appointed by my guide, by the fetting in of the Winter. In confcquence of this offer, I looked over our ammunition and other articles ; and finding that a little powder, fhot, tobacco, and a few knives, were likely to be of fervice before the journey could be completed, I determined to fend a letter to the governor of Prince of Wales's Fort, to advife him of my fituation, and to defire him to fend by the bearer a certain quantity of the above articles ; on which Keelfliies and his crew proceeded on their journey for the Fadory the fame day. Cathawhachaga was the only river we had (etn fince the breaking up of the ice that we could not ford ; and as we had not any canoes with us, we were obliged to get ferried acrofs by the ftrange Indians. When we ar- rived on the North fide of this river, where the Indians refided, my guide propofed to flop fome time, to dry and pound fome meat to take with us ; to which I readily con- fented. We alfo fet our fifhing-nets, and caught a con- fiderable quantity of very fine fi£h ; fuch as tittemeg, barbie, &c. The NORTHERN OCEAN. 37 The number of deer which croffed Cathawhachaga, during our ftay there, was by no means equal to our ex - pedations, and no more than juft fufficient to fupply our prefent wants ; fo that after waiting feveral days in fruit- kfs expectation, we began to prepare for moving ; and accordingly, on the fixth of July, we fet out, though 6th. we had not at that time as much vi<5luals belonging to our company as would furniHi us a fupper. During our ftay here, we had each day got as much fifli or fledi as was fufEcient for prefent expenditure ; but, being in hopes of better times, faved none. Before we left Cathawhachaga, I made feveral obfervations for the latitude, and found it to be 63** 4' North. I alfo brought up my journal, and filled up my chart to that time. Every thing being now ready for our departure, my guide informed me that in a few days a canoe would be abfolutely neceflary, to enable us to crofs fome unford- able rivers v/hich we fhould meet, and could not avoid. This induced me to purchafe one at the eafy rate of a fingle knife, the full value of which did not exceed one penny. It muft be obferved, that the man who fold the canoe had no farther occafion for it, and was glad to take what he could get ; but had he been thoroughly ac- quainted with our necefiities, he mod: affuredly would have had the confcience to have afked goods to the amount of ten beaver fkins at leafl. Th IS 3B A JOURNEY TO THE This additional piece of luggage obliged me to engage another Indian ; and we were lucky enough at that time to meet with a poor forlorn fellow, who was fond of the office, having never been in a much better ftate than that of a bcaft of burthen. Thus, provided with a canoe, and, a man -to carry it, we left Cathawhachaga, as has been obferved, on the fixth of July, and continued our courfe to the North by Weft, and North North Weft; and that night put up by the ftde of a fmall bay of White Snow Lake, where we angled, and caught feveral fine trout, fome of which weighed not lefs than fourteen or fixteen pounds. In the night heavy rain came on, which con- 9th. tinued three days ; but the ninth proving fine weather, and the fun difplaying his beams very powerfully, we dried our clothes, and proceeded to the Northward. To- ward the evening, however, it began again to rain fo ex- ceffively, that it was with much difficulty we kept our powder and books dry. ?7th. On the fjventeenth, v/e faw many mufk-oxen, feveral of which the ^ndians killed ; when we agreed to ftay here a day or two, to dry and pound * fome of the carcafes to take with us. The flefh of any animal, when it is thus pre- pared, is not only hearty food, but is always ready for * To prepare meat m this manner, it requires no farther operation than cutting the lean parts of the animal into thin flices, and drying it in the fun, or by a flow firCj till, after beating it between two ftones, it is reduced to a coarfc powder. i]fe, NORTHERN OCEAN. 39 life, and at the fame time very portable. In moft parts 1770. of Hudfon's Bay it is known by the name of Thew-hagonj July. but amongft the Northern Indians it is called Achees. Having prepared as much dried flefh as we could tranf- port, we proceeded to the Northward ; and at our de- parture left a great quantity of meat behind us, which we could neither eat nor carry away. This was not the firft time we had fo done ; and however wafteful it may appear, it is a practice fo common among all the Indian tribes, as to be thought nothing of. On the tvven.y-fecond, we met feveral ftrangers, whom we joined. ^jj. in purfuit of the deer, &c. which were at this time fo plentiful, that wc got every day a fufficient number for our fupport, and indeed too frequently killed feveral merely for the tongues, marrow, and fat. After we had been feme time in company with thofe Indians, I found that my guide feemed to hefitate about proceeding any taithev ; and that he kept pitching his tent backvvard and forward, from place to place, after the deer, and the reft of the Indians. On my a{l:ing him his reafon for fo doing; he anfwered, that as the year was too far advanced to admit of our arrival at the Copper- mine River that Summer, he thought it more adviiable to pafs the Winter with fome of the Indians then in com- pany, and alleged that there could be no fear of our ar- riving at that river early in the Summer of one thou- land feven hundred and feventy-one. As I could not pretend 4<> A JOURNEY TO THE 1770* pretend to contradid: him, I was entirely reconciled to July. his propofal; and accordingly we kept moving to the Weftward with the other Indians. In a {qw days, many others joined us from different quarters ; fo that by the 30th. thirtieth of July we had in all above feventy tents, which did not contain lefs than fix hundred perfons. Indeed our encampment at night had the appearance of a fmall town; and in the morning, when we began to move, the whole ground (at leaft for a large fpace all round) feemed to be alive, with men, women, children, and dogs. Though the land was entirely barren, and deftitute of every kind of herbage, except wifh-a-capucca * and mofs, yet the deer were fo numerous that the Indians not only killed as many as were fufficient for our large number, but often feveral merely for the fkins, marrow, Jkc. and left the carcales to rot, or to be devoured by the wolves, foxes, and other beafts of prey. In our way to the Weftward we came to feveral rivers, which, though fmall and of no note, were fo deep as not to be fordable, particularly Doo-baunt River f. On thofe occafions only, we had recourfe to our canoe, which, though of the common iize, was too fmall to carry more * Wilh-a-capucca is the name given by the natives to a plant which is found all over the country bordering on Hudfon's Bay ; and an infufion of it is ufed as tea by all the Europeans fettled in that country. f This river, as well as all others deferving that appellation which I crofled during this part of my journey, ran to the Eaft and North Eaft ; and both them and the lakes were perfectly frefh, and inhabited by fifh that are well known never to frequent lilt water. than NOR T II E R N O G R A N. 41 than two perfons ; one of v/hom always lies down at full ^77^- length for fear of making the canoe top-heavy, and the AuguR, other lits on his heels and paddles. This method of fer- rying over rivers, though tedious, is the mof!: expeditious v/ay thefe poor people can contrive ; for they are fome- times obliged to carry their canoes one hundred and fifty, or two hundred miles, without having occalion to make ufe of them ; yet at times they cannot do vi'ithout them ; and were they not very fmall and portable, it v/ould be impoflible for one man to carry them, which they are often obliged to do, not only the diftance above mentioned, but even the whole Summer. . The perfon I engaged at Cathawhachaga to carry my ^th. canoe proving too weak for the tafk, another of my crew M^as obliged to exchange loads with him, which feemed perfectly agreeable to all parties ; and as we walked but fliort days journies, and deer were very plentiful, all things went on very fmoothly. Nothing material happened till the eighth, when we were near lofing the quadrant and stij, all our powder from the following circumftance : the fellov/ who had been releafed from carrying the canoe proving too weak, as hath been already obferved, had, alter the exchange, nothing to carry but my powder and his ovv'n trifles ; the latter were indeed very inconiiderable, not equal in nze and weight to a foldier's knapfack. As I intended to have a little fport with the deer, and knowing his load to be much lighter than mine, I gave him the quadrant G r,nd A JOURNEY TO THE and fl-and to carry, which he took without the leafl: hefi- tation, or feeming ill-will. Having thus eafeu myfclf for the prefent of a heavy and cumberfome part of my load, I fet out early in the morning with fome of the Indian men ; and after walking about eight or nine miles, fiw, from the top of a high hill, a great number of deer feed- ino- in a neiehbourino; valley : on which we laid down our loads and ereded a flag, as a fignal for the others to pitch their tents there for the night. We then purfued our hunt- ing, which proved very fuccefsiul. At night, however, when we came to the hill where vv^e had left our baggage, I found that only part of the Indians had arrived, and that the man who had been entrufted with my powder and quadrant, had fet off another way, with a fmall party of Indians that had been in our company that morning. The evening being far advanced, v/e were obliged to defer going in fearch of him till the morning, and as his track could not be eafily difcovered in the Summer, the South- ern Indians, as well as myfelf, were very uneafy, fearing we had loft the powder, which was to provide us with food and raiment the remainder of our journey. The very uncourteous behaviour of the Northern Indians then in company, gave me little hopes of receiving ailiftance from them, any longer than I had wherewithal to reward them for their trouble and expence ; for during the whole time I had been with them, not one of them had offered to give me the leaft morfel of viduals, without afking fomething in exchange, which, in general, was three times the value of what NORTHERNOCEAN. 43 what they could have got for the fame articles, had they car- 1 77°- ried them to the Fadory, though feveral hundred miles Auguit. diftant. So inconsiderate were thofe people, that wherever they met me, they always expelled that I had a great affortment of goods to relieve their neceffities ; as if I had brought the Company's warehoufe with me. Some of them wanted guns; all wanted ammunition, iron-work, and tobacco; many were folicitous for medicine ; and others preffcd me for different articles of clothing : but when they found I had nothing to fpare, except a few nick-nacks and gevv^ - gaws, they made no fcruple of pronouncing me a " poor " fervant, noways like the Governor at the Fa6lory, who, " they faid, they* never faw, but he gave them fomething *' ufeful." It is fcarcely pollible to conceive any people fo void of common underftanding, as to think that the fole intent of my undertaking this fatiguing journey, was to carry a large affortment of ufeful and heavy implements, to give to all that flood in need of them ; but many or them would afk me for v/hat they wanted with the fime freedom, and apparently with the fime hopes of fuccefs, as if they had been at one of the Company's Fadioiies, Others, with an air of more generolity, oftered me furs to trade with at the fame ftandard as at the Fadlory ; Vv^th- out confidering how unlikely it was that I fliould increafe the enormous weight of my load with articles which could be of no more ufe to me in my prefent fituation than they were to themfelves. G 2 . This 44 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E This unaccountable behaviour of the Indians occasioned much ferious rePiecPdon on my part; as it {hewed plainly hov/ little I had to expe6l if I fliould, by any accident, be reduced to the neceffity of depending upon them for fupport ; fo that, though I laid me down to reft, fleep was a ftranger to me that night. The following beau- tiful lines of Dr. Young I repeated above an hundred times : *' Tired Nature's fweet reftorer, balmy Sleep; " He, like the world, his ready vifit pays " Where fortune fmiles; the wretched he forfakes : " Swift on his downy pinions flies from wee, '' And ligiits on lids uafuUy'd with a tear." Night Thouc hts. pth. After paffmg the night in this melancholy manner, 1 got up at day-break, and, with the two Southern Indians, fet out in queft of our deferter. Many hours elapfed in fruitiefs fearch after him, as we could not difcover a linele track in the direftion which we were informed he had taken. The day being almoft fpent without the leaft appearance of fuccefs, I propofed repairing to the place where I had delivered the quadrant to him, in hopes of feeing fome track in the mofs that might lead to the way the Indians were gone whom our deferter had accom- panied. On our arrival at that place, we found they had ftruck down toward a little river which they had croiTed the morning before ; and there, to our great joy, we found the quadrant and the bag of powder lying on the top of a high ftone, but not a human being v/as to be feen. On N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 45 examining the powder, we found that the bag had been opened, and part of it taken out ; but, notwithftanding our lofs was very confiderable, we returned with light hearts to the place at which we had been the night before, where we found our baggage fafe, but all the Indians gone ; they had, however, been fo conliderate as to fet up marks to dire6l us what courfe to fteer. By the time we had adjufted our bundles, the day was quite fpcnt; feeing, however, a fmoke, or rather a fire, in the di- redlion we were ordered to fteer, we bent our way towards it ; and a little after ten o'clock at night came up with the main body of the Indians ; when, after refrefliing ourfelves with a plentiful fupper, the firll morfel we had tafted that day, we retired to reft, v/hich I at leaft enjoyed, with better fuccefs than the preceding night. In the morning of the eleventh we proceeded on to the Weft, and Weft by South ; but on the twelfth did not move. This gave us an opportunity of endeavouring to afcertain the latitude by a meridian altitude, when wc found the place to be in 63° 10' North nearly. It proving rather cloudy about noon, though exceeding fine weather, I let the quadrant ftand, in order to obtain the latitude more exadly by two altitudes ; but, to my great mortification, while I was eating my dinner, a fudden guft of wind blev/ it down ; and as the ground where it ftood was very 46 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1770. very floney, the bubble, the fight-vane, and vernier, were Auguft. entirely broke to pieces, which rendered the inftrument ufelefs. In confequence of this misfortune I refolved to return again to the Fort, though we were then in the la- titude of 63° 10'' North, and about 10^ 40' Weft longi- tude from Churchill River. CHAP. NORTHERN OCEAN. 47 CHAP. III. Tranfadlions from the Time the Quadrant was broken, till I arrived at the Factory. Several Jlrange Indians join us from the Northward. — They plundered tue of all I had; but did not plunder the Southc?'n Indians, — My guide plundered. — We begin our return to the FaBory. — Aleet ivith other Indians, ivho join our company. — ColleB deer-fins for clothing, but could not get them dreffed. — Suffer much hardfoip from the ivant of tents and ivarm clothing. — Mofl of the Indians leave us. — Meet with Matonabbee. — Some account of him, and his behaviour to me and the Southern Indians. — We remain in his company fome time. — His ohferva- tions on my two uifucccffd attempts. — We leave him, and proceed to a place to which he dire£fed us, in order to make fnow-foes and f edges, — yoi?i Matonabbee again, and proceed tow^ards the FaElory in his com- pany.— A^nmunition runs fjort. — Myfelf and four Indians ft ff p^-f fr the FaBory. — Much bewildered in a fnoiv Jlorm ; my dog is frozen to death; we lie in abufh of willow) s. — Proceed on our journey. — Great difficulty in croff.ng a jumble of rocks.-~- Arrive at the Fort. 'T' H E day after I had the misfortune to break the qua- 1770. ■■■ drant, feveral Indians joined me from the Northward, ''"X^xT^ fome of whom plundered me and my companions of '^"^ almoft every ufeful article we had, among which was my gun ; and notwithflanding we were then on the point of returning to the Fadlory, jti^ as one of my companions' guns was a little out of order, the lof> v/as likely to be fevcrely I ua. 48 A J O a R N E Y T O T H E feverelv felt; but it not being in my power to recover it acrain, we were oblio;ed to reft contented. Notbino- can exceed tbe cool deliberation of tliofe vil- lains ; a committee of tbem entered my tent "^. The ringleader feated bimfelf on my left-band. They fird begged me to lend tbem my fkipertogan f to fill a pipe of tobacco. After imoking two or tbree pipes, they aflccd me for fjveral articles which I had not, and among others for a pack of cards ; but on my anfwTring that i had not any of the articles they mentioned, one of them put his hand on my baggage, and aflced if it was mine. Before I could anfwer in the affirmative, he and the reft of his companions [fix in number) had all my treafure fprcad on the ground. One took one thing, and another another, till at Liil: nothing was left but the empty bag, which they permitted me to keep. At length, coniidcring that, though I was going to the Fadory, I fboidd want a knife to cut my viftu.d' , an awl to mend my flioes, and a needle to mend my other clothing, they rcaddy gave me thefe articles, though not without making me underftand that I ought to look upon * This only confifted of three walking-fticks ftuck into the ground, and a blanket thrown over tiicm. t Skipertogan is a fmall bng that contains a flint and Red, aifo a pipe and tobacco, as well as touchwood, &c. for making a fire. Some of thclc bags may be called truly elegant; being richly ornamented with beads, porcupine- quills, morfe-hair, &c. a work always pn !';umcd by the women; and they .are, with much propriety, greatly eftceracd by moft Europeans for the neat- nefs of their workmanfnip. . 2 it NORTHERN OCEAN. it as a great favour. Finding them poflefTed of fo much generofity, I ventured to foHcit them for my razors ; but thinking that one would be fufficicnt to fliave me during my pafTage home, they made no fcruple to keep the other ; luckily they chofe the worfl. To complete their generofity, they permitted me to take as much foap as I thought vv^ould be fufficient to wafh and fhave me during the remainder of my journey to the Fa6tory. They were more cautious in plundering the Southern Indians, as the relation of fuch outrages being com- mitted on them might occaiion a war between the two nations ; but they had nothing of that kind to dread from the Englifh. However, the Northern Indians had ad- drefs enough to talk my home-guard Indians out of all they had : fo that before we left them, they were as clean fwept as myfelf, excepting their guns, fome ammunition, an old hatchet, an ice-chiflel, and a file to fliarpen them. It may probably be thought ftrange that my guide, who was a Northern Indian, fhould permit his countrymen to commit fuch outrages on thofe under his charge; but being a man of little note, he was fo far from being able to proted us, that he was obliged to fubmit to nearly the fame outrage himfclf. On this occafion he aflumed a great air of generofity ; but the fad was, he gave freely what it was not in his power to proted, H Early JO A JOURNEY TO THF o 177°' Early in the morning of the nineteenth, I fet out on my Auguit. return, in company with feveral Northern Indians, who were bound to the Factory with furrs and other commo- dities in trade. This morning the Indian who took my gun, returned it to me, it being of no ufe to him, having no ammunition. The weather for fome time proved line, and deer were very plentiful; but as tne above ravagers had materially lightened my load, by taking every thing from me, except the quadrant, books, &c. this part of my journey was the eaiicfl and moft pleaiant of any 1 had experienced fince my leaving the Fort. In our way wc frequently met with other Indians, fo that fcarcely a day pafied without our feeing feveral fmokes made by other ftrangers. Many of thofe v/e met joined our party, having furrs and other commodities for trade. 3in:. 'YliQ deer's hair being now of a proper length far cloth- ing, it was neceflary, according to the cuflom, to procure as many of their flvins, while in feafon, as would make a a fuit of warm clothino; for the Winter : and as each grown perfon requires the prime parts of from eight to eleven ot thofe fkins (in proportion to their fize) to make a complete fuit, it muft naturally be fuppofed that this addition to my burden was very confiderable. My load, however cumbcrfome and heavy, was yet very bear- September, able; but, after I had carri- d it Icvcral weeks, it proved, of no fervice ; for we had not any v/omcn properly belonging to our company, confequently had not any perfon NORTHERN OCEAN. 51 perfon to dreis them; and (o uncivil were the other In- 1770- dians, that they would neither exchange them for others September. of an inferior quality already dreffed, nor permit their women to drefs them for us, under pretence that they were always employed in the like duty for themfclves and families, which was by no means the cafe ; for many of them had fufficient time to have done every little fervice of that kind that we could have required of them. The truth was, they were too well informed of my po- verty to do any a6ls of generolity, as they well knew I had it not then in my power to reward them for their trouble. I never faw a fet of people that poffeffed fo little humanity, or that could view the diftreffes of their fellow-creatures with fo Kttle feeling and unconcern ; for though they feem to have a great afte6lion for their wives and children, yet they will laugh at and ridicule the diftrefs of every other perfon who is not immediately re- lated to them. This behaviour of the Indians made our Htuation very difagrceable ; for as the fall advanced, we began to feel the cold very feverely for want of proper clothing. We fiiffered alfo greatly from the inclemency ol the weather, as we had no tent to flielter us. My guide was en- tirely exempted from all thofe inconveniences, having procured a good v/arm fuit of clothing ; and, as one oi his wives had long before joined our party, he Vv'as pro- vided with a tent, and every other neceflary confiftent H 2 with S2 A JOURNEY TO THE 177°' with their manner of living: but the old fellow was To September far fioni interefting himfelf in our behalf, that he had, for fome time before, entirely withdrawn from our company j and though he then continued to carry the greateft part of- our little remains of ammunition, yet he did not con- tribute in the fmallefl degree towards our fupport. As deer, however, were in great plenty, I felt little or no inconve- nience from his negled: in this refped:. i-th. Provifions ftill continued very plentiful; which was a fingular piece of good fortune, and the only circum- ftance which at this time could contribute to our hap- pinefs or fafety ; for notwithftanding the early feafon of the year, the weather was remarkably bad and feverely cold, at leafl it appeared fo to us, probably from having no kind of fkin-clothing. In this forlorn flate we con- tinued our courfe to the South Eaft ; and, to add to the gloominefs of our fituation, moil of the Northern In- dians who had been in our company all the hrfl: part of the fall, were by this time gone a-head, as we could not keep up with them for want of fnow-flioes. aoth. In the evening of the twentieth, we were joined from the Weftward by a famous Leader, called Matonabbee, men- tioned in my inftrudlions ; who, with his followers, or gang, was alfo going to Prince of Wales's Fort, with furrs, and other articles for trade. This Leader, when a youth, refided feveral years at the above Fort, and was not NORTHERN OCEAN. S3 770. not only a perftd: mafter of the Southern Indian language, but by being frequently with the Company's fervants, had September acquired fev-ral words of Englifh, and v/as one of the men who brought the lateft accounts of the Coppermine River; and it was on his information, added to that of one J-dot-le-ezey, '^who is fince dead,) that this expedi- tion was fet on foot. The courteous beliaviour of this ftranger ftruck me very fcnfibly. As foon as he was acquainted v/ith our diftrefs, he got fuch ficins as Vv^e had with us dreiTed for the South- ern Indians, and furnidied me v/ith a good warm fuit of otter and other Hzms : but, as it v/as not in his power to provide us with fnow-flioes, being then on the barren ground,! he directed us to a little river which he kncvv^, and where there was a imall range of woods, which, though none of the beft, would, he faid, furnifli us with temporary fnow-fliocs and fledges, that might materially ailKl: us during the remaining part pi our journey. Vv'e oaober. fpent feveral nights in company with this Leader, tliough we advanced towards the Fort at tlie rate of tea or tv/elve miles a day ; and as proviiions abounded, he made a rrand feafl for me in the Southern Indian ilile, vv^here there was plenty of good eating, and the whole concluded with fing- ing and dancing, after the Southern Indian ftyle and manner. In this arnulement my home-guard Indians bore no inconfiderable part, as they were both men of fome 8 conlequence 54 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E confequence when at home, and well knov/n to Matonab- bee : but among the other Northern Indians, to whom they were not known, they were held in no eilimation ; which indeed is not to be wondered at, when we confider that the value of a man among thofe people, is always pro- portioned to his abilities in hunting ; and as mv two In- dians had not exhibited any great talents that way, the Northern Indians fliewed them as much refped: as they do in common to thofe or very moderate talents among them- felvcs. During my converllition with this Leader, he afked me very ferioully, If I v/ould attempt another journey for the difcovcry ol the Copper-mines ? And on my anfwering in the affirmative, provided I could get better guides than I had hitherto been furniflied with, lie laid he would readily engage in that fervice, provided the Governor at the Fort would employ him. In anfuer to this, I allured him his offer would be gladly,, accepted ; and as I hid already ex- perienced every hardfliip that v/as likely to accompany any future trial, I was determined to complete the difcovery, even at the rifque of life itfelf. Matonabbee afTured me, that by the accounts received from his own countrymen, the Southern Indians, and myfelf, it was very probable I might not experience fo niuch hardfliip during the whole journey, as I had al eady felt, though fcarcely advanced one third part of the journey. He NORTHERN OCEAN. ^^ He attributed all our misfortunes to the mircondud: of my 1 77' • guides, and the very plan we purfued, by the dcfire of the oaober. Govtnior, m not taking any women with us on this jour- ney, was, he faid, the principal thing that occafioned all our wants : " for, faid he, when all the men arc heavy ' laden, they can neither hunt nor travel to any confider- ' able diftance j and in cafe they meet with fuccefs in ' hunting, who is to carry the produce of their labour ? ' Women, added he, were miade for labour ; one of ' them can carry, or haul, as much as two men can do. ' 1 hey alio pitch our tents, make and mend our cloth- ' ing, keep us v/arm at night ; and, in facl, there is ' no fucli thing as travelling any confiderable diPcance, ' or for any length ol time, in this country, without ' their afTiftance." " Women, faid he again, though ' they do every thing, are maintained at a trifling ex- ' pence ; for as they always fland cook, the very licking ' oi their fingers in fcarce times, is fuiiicient for their ' fubfiftence." This, however odd it may appear, is but too true a defcription of the fituation oi vvcmen in this country : it is at leafi: fo in appearance ; for the women always carry the proviiions, and it is more than probable they help themfelves when the men are not prclcnt. Early in the morning of the twenty-third, I ixruck out „^j of the road to the Eaftvvard, with my tv/o companions and two or three Northern Indians, whde Matonabbee and his crew continued their courie to the Faclory, promiang to 111. ^6 A JOURNEY TO THE to walk fo flow that we might come up with them again; and in two days we arrived at the place to which we were diredcd. We went to work immediately in making fnow- llioe frames and Hedges ; but notwithftanding our utmoft endeavours, we could not complete them in Icfs than four November days. On the firft of November we again proceeded on our journey toward the Factory; and on the fixth, came up with Matonabbce and his gang : after which we proceeded on together feveral days ; when I found my new acquaint- ance, on all occafions, the moft fociable, kind, and fenfible Indian I had ever met with. He was a man well known, and, as an Indian, of univerfal knowledge, and gene- rally refpeded. Deer proved pretty plentiful for fome time, but to my great furprife, when I wanted to give Matonabbee a little ammunition for his own ufe, I found that my guide, Con- reaquefc, v/ho had it all under his care, had fo embezzled or othervv-ays expended it, that only ten balls and about three pounds of powder remained ; io that long before we arrived at the Fort we were obliged to cut up an ice-chiffcl into fquare lumps, as a fubftitute for ball. It is, hov/ever, rather dangerous fning lumps of iron out of fuch llight barrels as are brought to this part of the world for trade. Thefc, though light and handy, and of courfe well adapted ror the ufe of both Englifli a^id Indians in long journies, and ot fuiiicient ftrength for leaden fnot or ball, are not flrong enough for this N O R T FI E R N O C E A N. 57 this kind of fhot ; and ftrong fowling-pieces wovdd not 1770- only be too heavy for the laborious ways of hunting in November. this country, but their bores being fo much larger, would require more than double the quantity of ammunition that fmall ones do; which, to Indians at Icaft, mufl be an object of no inconfiderable importance, I kept company with Matonabbee till the twentieth, at 2otii. which time the deer began to be fo fcarcc that hardly a frefh track could be feen ; and as we were then but a few days walk from the Fort, he advifed me to proceed on with all fpeed, while he and his companions followed at leifure. Accordingly, on the twenty-iirft, I fet out 21(1. poft-hafce, accompanied by cne ot the home-guard (Southern) Tribe, and three Northern Indians. That night we lay on the South fide of Egg River ; but, long before day-break the next morning, the weather became (o bad, with a violent gale of wind from the North Weft, and fuch a drift of fnow, that we could not have a bit of lire : and as no good v/oods were near to alford us flielter, we agreed to proceed on our way ; cfpecially as the wind was on our backs, and though the weather was bad near the furface, we could frequently fee the moon, and fome- times the ftars, to dired: us in our courfe. In this iitua- tion we continued walkin? the v/hole day, and it was not till after ten at ni'T^ht that v/c could iind tlic fniallefi: tuft of woods to put up in; for thougli we well knew we muft have paffcd by fevcral hummocks of Hirubby woods I that 58 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E 1770. that might have afforded us fome flielter, yet the whid November, blcw fo hard, and the fnow drifted To exceffively thick, that we could not fee ten yards before us the whole day. Be- tween feven and eight in the evening my dog, a valuable brute, was frozen to death ; fo that his fledge, which was a very heavy one, I was obliged to haul. Between nine and ten at night we arrived at a fmall creek, on which we walked about three quarters of a mile, when we came to a large tuft of tall willows, and two or three fets of old tent-poles. Being much jaded, we determined not to pro- ceed any farther that night ; fo we went to work, and made the befl defence againft the weather that the fitua- tion of the place and our materials would admit. Our labour confifled only in digging a hole in the fnow, and fixing a few deer-lkins up to windward of us : but the mofl difficult talk was that of making a fire. When this was once accomplifhed, the old tent-poles amply fupplied us with fewel. By the time we had finifhed this bufinefs, the weather began to moderate, and the drift greatly to •abate ; fo that the moon and the Aurora Borealis fhone out with great fplendor, and there appeared every fymp- tom of the return of fine weather. After eating a plentiful iupper of venifon, therefore, of which we had a fufficient flock to laft us to the Fort, we laid down and got a little ^3^- flcep. The next day proving fine and clear, though ex- ceffively fharp, we proceeded on our journey early in the morning, and at night lay on the South Eafl: fide of Seal River. "We (hould Iiave made a much longer day's jour- nev. NORTHERN OCEAN. 59 ney, had we not been greatly embarrafied at felting out, i??^- by a jumble of rocks, which we could not avoid without November. going greatly out of our way. Here I muft obferve, that we were more than fortunate in not attempting to leave the little creek where we had fixed our habitation the preceding night, as the fpot where we lay v/as not more than two or three miles diftant from this dangerous place ; in which, had we fallen in with it in the night, we muft unavoidably have been bewildered, if we had not all perilhed ; as notwithftanding the advantage of a clear day, and having ufed every pofllble precaution, it was with the utmoft difficulty that we crolTed it without broken limbso Indeed it would have been next to an impoffibility to have done it in the night. The twenty-fourth and twenty- fifth proved fine clear 2^th. weather, though excefiively cold ; and in the afternoon of 2sth. the latter, we arrived at Prince of Wales's Fort, after having been abfent eight months and twenty-two days, on a fruitlefs, or at Icaft an unfuccefsfiil journey. I 2 CHAP. Co A J O U R N E y T O T H E CHAP. IV. Tfanfaclions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort, and the former Part of our third Expedition, till our Arrival at Clowey, where we built Canoes, in May 1 7 7 1 . Preparations for our departure. — Rcfufc to take any of the home-guard Indians ivith me. — By fo doing, I offend the Governor. — Leave the Fort a third time. — My infruElions on this expedition. — Provifions of all kinds very farce. — Arrive at the "woods., inhere ive kill fome deer. — Ar- rive at If and Lake. — Matonabbee taken ill. — Sonie remarks thereon. — Join the remainder of the Indians^ families. — Leave If and Lake. — De- fcription thereof — Deer plentiful. — Meet a f range Indian. — Alter our courfe from Wef North Wef to Wef by South. — Crofs Cathaivhachaga River, Coffed Lake, Sno%v-Bird Lake, and Pike Lake. — Arrive at a tent f f rangers, who arc employed infnaring deer in a pound. — Defription of the pound. — Method of proceeding. — Remarks thereon. — Proceed on cur journey. — Meet ivith fever al parties of Indians ; by one of lahojn I fnt a Letter to the Governor at Prince of JVales^s Fort. — Arrive at Phlezveyaz-ayeth. — Employment there. — Proceed to the North North JVif and North. — Arrive at Clowey. — One of the Indiati's wives taken in labour. — Retnarks thereon. — Cufoms objerved by the Northern In- dians on thofe oecafous. x'j-jo. ^~\^ ^^y arrival at the Fort, 1 informed the Governor, of '^^^^^j^ ^^ Matonabbee's being fo near. On the twenty-eighth s8th. of November he arrived. Notwithftanding the many difficulties and hardfhips which I had undergone during my two unfuccefsful attempts, I v/as fo far from being folicited NORTHERNOCEAN. 6i folicited on this occafion to vmdertake a third excurfion, 1770- that I willingly offered my fervice ; which was readily ac- November. cepted, as my abilities and approved courage, in perfe- vering under difficulties, were thought noways inferior to the tafk. I then determined to engage Matonabbee to be my guide; to which he readily confented, and with a freedom of fpeech and corredlnefs of language not commonly met with among Indians, not only pointed out the reafons which had occafioned all our misfortunes in my two former attempts, but defcribed the plan he intended to purfue ; which at the fame time that it was highly latisfa&ory to me, did honour to his penetration and judgment ; as it proved him to be a man of extenlivc obiervation with refpecl to times, feafons, and places ; and well qualified to explain every thing that could contribute either to facilitate or re- tard the cafe or progrefs of travelling in thofe dreary parts of the world- ' • ' Having engaged Matonabbee, therefore, as my guid:-, I began to make preparations for our departure; but Mr. Norton, the Governor, having been very fully occupied in trading with a large body of Indians, it Vv'as the feventh December ot December before 1 could obtain from him my difpatches. ' It may not be improper to obfcrvc, that he again wanted to force feme of the home-guard Indians (who v/ere his 62 AJOURNEYTOTHE 177°' Iiis own relations *} into our company, merely with a view Deeember, that they might engrofs all the credit of taking care of me * Mr. Norton was an Indian ; he was born at Prince of Wales's Fort, but had been in England nine years, and confidering the Imall fum which was expended in his education, had made fome progrefs in literature. At his re- turn to Hudfon's Bay he entered into all the abominable vices of his countrymen. He kept for his own ufe five or fix of the fineft Indian girls which he could fele61:; and notwithftanding his own uncommon propenfity to the fair fex, took every means in his power to prevent any European from having inter- courfe with the women of the country ; for which purpofe he proceeded to the moft ridiculous length. To his own friends and country he was fo partial, that he fet more value on, and fliewed more refpefl to one of their favourite dogs, than he ever did to his firfl: officer. Among his miferable and ignorant countrymen he paffed for a proficient in phyfic, and always kept a box of poifon, to adminifter to thofe who refufed him their wives or daughters. With all thefe bad qualities, no man took more pains to inculcate virtue, morality, and continence on others; always painting, iii the moft odious co- lours, the jealous and revengeful difpofition of the Indians, vhen any attempt was made to violate the chaftity of their wives or daughters. Ledures of this kind from a man of eftablifhed virtue might have had fome effctl ; but when they came from one who was known to live in open defiance of every law, human and divine, tliey were always heard with indignation, and confidered as the hypocritical cant of a fclfifn debauchee, who wilhed to engrofs every woman in the country to himfelf. His apartments were not only convenient but elegant, and always crowded widi favourite Indians : at night he locked th.e doors, and put the keys under his pillow ; fo that in the morning his dining-room was generally, for the want of neceflary conveniencies, worfe than a hog-ftye. As he advanced in years his jealoufy increafcd, and he aftualiy poifoned two of his women bec.aufe he thought them partial to other objecls more fuitable to their ages. He was ti moft notorious fmuggler; but though he piit many thoufands into the pockets of the Captains, he fcldom put a fliilling into his own. 7 An NORTHERN OCEAN. ' 6y me during the journey ; but I had found them of fo little i??'^- ufe in my two former attempts, that I abfolutely refufed Decembsr. them ; and by fo doing, offended Mr. Norton to fuch a degree, that neither time nor abfence could ever after- wards eradicate his diflike of me ; fo that at my return he ufed every means in his power to treat me ill, and to render my life unhappy. However, to deal with candour on this occaiion, it muft be acknowledged to his honour, that whatever our private animoQties might have been, he did not fuffer them to interfere with public bufinefs ; and I was fitted out with ammunition, and every other article which Matonabbee thought could be wanted. I was alfo furnifhed, as before, with a fmall affortment of light trading goods, as prefents to the far diftant Indians. At laft I fucceeded in obtaining my inRrudions, which were as follows : An inflammation in his bowels occafioned his death on the 29th of De- cember 1773 ; and though he died in the moft eyxruciating pain, he retained his jealoufy to the lafti for a few minutes before he expired, happening to fee an officer laying hold of the hand of one of his women who was ilanding by the fire, he bellowed out, in as loud a voice as his fituation would admit, " God *' d — n you for a b h, if I live I'll knock out your brains." A few minutes after making this elegant apoflrophe, he expired in the greatell agonies that can poffibly be conceived. This I declare to be the real charafler and manner of life of the late Mr, Mofcs Norton. *' Orders 64 AJOURNEYTOTHE Orders ar.d Instructions for Mr. Samuel '''■ Hearne, going on his third Expedition to the " North of Churchill River ^ in quefl of a North) " TF'efi Fajjage^ Copper Mines ^ or any other thing ' • that may be ferviceable to the BritiJJj Nation in general.^ or the Hiidfon'' s Bay Compa7iy i?t par- ticular \ in the year 1770. 6 '"'• Mr. Samuel Hearne, "SIR, " As you have offered your fervlce a third thue to go " ill (carch of the Copper Mine River, 8cc. and as Ma- " tonabbee, a leading Indian, Vv^ho has been at thofe " parts, is willing to be your guide, we have accordingly " eno;ao;ed him for that fervice : but having no other *' inftrument on the fame conRru6lion with the quadrant " you had the misfortune to break, we have furniflied " you with an Elton's quadrant, being the moft proper " inflrument we can now procure for making obferva- " tlons on the land. ^'^ The above 'Leader, Matonabbee, and a fev/ of his *' beft men, which he has feledled lor that purpofe, are *' to provide for you, afTift you in all things, and con- *' dud you to the Copper Mine River; v/here you muft " be NORTHERN OCEAN. 63 " be careful to obferve the latitude and longitude, alfo ^77°- *' the courfe of the river, the deprh of the water, the December. " fituation of the Copper Mines, &c. but your firft in- " ftrudlions, of November iixth, one thoufand feven hun- *' dred and Hxty-nine, being fufficiently full, we refer *' you to every part thereof for the better regulation of " your condufl during this journey. " As you and your Indian companions are fitted out " with every thing that we think is neceflary, (or at lead *' as many ufeful articles as the nature of travelling in " thofe parts will admit of,) you are hereby defired to *' proceed on your journey as foon as pofiible ; and your " prefent guide has promifed to take great care of you, *' and condud: you out and home with all convenient " fpeed. " I conclude with my beft wifhes for your health and " happinels, together with a fuccefsful journey, and a " quick return in fifety. Amen. " (Signed) Moses Norton, Governor. *' Dated at Prince of Wales's Fort, " yth December, 1770." On the feventh of December I fet out on my third .^j^ journey; and the weather, coni^di^r'ng the feafon of the year, was for fome days pretty mild. O ^e of Matonab- bee's wives being ill, occaf ■ ned us to v/alk fo flow, that K it 66 A JOURNEY TO THE i77<^' it Wcis tlic thirteenth before we arrived at Seal River; at December, whicli time t'/. o men and their wives left us, Vv'hole loads, when added to thole of the remainder of my crew, made a very material dilference, efpecially as Matonabbee's wife- "was fo ill as to be obliged to be hauled on a fledge. £3 CD Finding deer and all other game very (carcc, and not knowing how long it might be before we could reach any place where they were in greater plenty, the Indians walked as far each day as their loads and other circum- i(5th. fiances would conveniently permit. On the fixteeiith, we arrived at Eggr River, where Matonabbee and the refl of my crew had laid up fome provilions and other neceffaries, when on their journey to the Fort.. On going to the place where they thought the provilions had been care- fully fecured from all kinds of wild bcafls, they had the- mortification to find that fome of their countrymen, with whom the Governor had firfl traded and difpatched from the Fort, had robbed the ftore of every article, as well as of fome of their moft ufeful implements. This lofs was more feve rely felt, as there was a total want of ev^ery kind of game; and the Indians, not expeOing to meet with fo great a difappointment, had not ufed that oeconomy in the expenditure of the oatmeal and other provifions w^hicli they had received at the Fort, as they probably would have done, had they not relied firmly on finding a fupply at this place. This difappointment and lofs was borne by the Indians witli the greateft fortitude ; and I did not hear one NORTHERN OCEAN. 6-7 one of them breathe the leafl hmt of revenge in cafe they ^77^- fliould ever difcover the offenders : the only effe great quantities of ne\v-fvvallo\ved fruit, before it has undergone any change in the ftomach, and immediately renews its rcpaft with as much eagernefs as before. Notwithftanding tlie Northern Indians are at times fo voracious, yet they bear hunger with a degree of iortitude which, as Mr. Ellis juftly obferves of the Southern Indians, *' is much caller to admire, than to imitate." I have more than once feen the Northern Indians, at the end of three or four days fading, as merry and jocofe on the fub- ied, as if they had voluntarily impofed it on themfelvcs ; and would afk each other in the plainefl terms, and in the merrieft mood, If they had any inclination for an intrigue with a ftrange woman ? I mud acknowledge that examples of this kind were of infinite fcrvice to me, as they tended to keep up my fpirits on thofe occafions, whh a degree of fortitude that v/ouid have been impollible for me to have done had the Indians behaved in a contrary manner, and exprefied any apprehenlion of ftarving. 31ft, Early in the morning of the thirty-firft, wc con- tinued our journey, and walked about fourteen miles to the Weflward on Ifland Lake, v/here we fixed our refidence ; but Matonabbee was at this time (o ill as to be obliged to be hauled on a fledge the whole day. The next NORTHERN OCEAN. 71 next morning, however, he fo flir recovered as to be ca- '^ll^- pable of walking ; when we proceeded on to the Weft January and Weft by North, about ftxtcen miles farther on the fame Lake, till we arrived at two tents, which con- tained the remainder of the wives and families of my guides, who had been waiting there for *"he return of their huft)ands from the Fort. Here we found only two men, though there were upvvard of twenty women and child- ren ; and as thofe two men had no gun or ammunition, they had no other method of fupporting thcmfelvcs and the women, but by catching fifli, and fnaring a few rabbits : the latter were fcarce, but the former were cafily caught in confiderable numbers either with nets or hooks. The fpecies of fifh generally caught in the net's arc tittemeg, pike, and barbie ; and the only forts caught v^ ith hooks are trout, pike, burbut, and a fmall filh, erroneoufly called by the Englifh tench : the Southern Indians call it the toothed tittemeg, and the Northern Indians call it faint eah. They are delicate eating ; being nearly as firm as a perch, and generally very fat. They feldom exceed a foot in kngth, and in fliape much refemblc a gurnard, except that of having a very long broad fin on the back, like a p^rch, but this fin is not armed with fimilar fpikes. The fcales are large, and of a footy brown.. They are generally moft efteemed when broiled or roaftcd with the fcales on, of courfe the ikin is not eaten. As ^3 A JOURNEY TO THE 1771. As the Captain fMatonabbee] and one man were indif- T^ul^ pofed, we did not move on the fecond of January ; but 3d. early in the morning of the third fet out, and walked about feven miles to the North Weftward, £ve of which were on the above mentioned Lake ; when the Indians having killed two deer, we put up lor the night. Ifland Lake (near the center) is in latitude 60° 4.5' North, and 102° 25' Weftiongitude, from London ; and is, at the part we crofied, about thirty five miles wide : but from the North Eaft to the : outh Weft it is much larger, and entirely full of iflands, fo near to each other as to make the whole Lake refemble a jumble of Terpentine rivers and creeks ; and it is celebrated by the natives as abounding with great plenty of fine filli during the begin- ning of the Winter, At different parts of this Lake moft part of the wives and families of thofe Northern Indians who vifit Prince of Wales's Fort in Odober and Novem- ber orenerally refide, and wait for their return ; as there is little fear of their being in want of provifions, even with- out the afliftance of a gun and ammunition, which is a point of real confequence to them. The Lake is plenti- fully fupplied with water from feveral fmall rivulets and creeks which run iito it at the South Vv^eft; end; and it empiies itfelf by means of other fmall rivers which run to tilt. ' ■ orth Lail, the principal of which is Nemace-a- feepee-a-fifli, Oi Litdc Fifh River. Many of the iilands, as NORTHERN OCEAN. as well as the main land round this Lake, abound v/itli dwarf woods, chiefly pines ; but in fome parts intermixed with larch and fmall birch trees. The land, like all the reft which lies to the North of Seal River, is hilly, and full of rocks ; and though none of the hills are high, yet as few of the woods grow on their fummits, they in general fhew their fnowy heads far above the woods which grow in the vallies, or thofe which are fcattered about their lides. After leaving Ifland Lake, we continued our old courfe between the Weft and North Weft, and travelled at the eafy rate of eight or nine miles a day. Proviftons of all kinds were fcarce till the fixteenth, when the Indians killed twelve deer. This induced us to put up, though early in the day ; and finding great plenty of deer in the neighbourhood of our little encampment, it was agreed by all parties to remain a few days, in order to dry and pound fome meat to make it lighter for carriage. Having, by the twenty- fecond, provided a fufficient 22d. ftock of provifion, properly prepared, to carry with us, and repaired our fledges and fnow-flioes, we again purfued our courfe in the North Weft quarter ; and in the afternoon fpoke with a ftranger, an Indian, who had one of Mato- nabbee's wives under his care. He did not remain in our com- pany above an hour, as he only fmoked part of a few pipes with his friends, and returned to his tent, which could not L be 73 74 AJOURNEYTOTHE be far diftant from the place where we lay that night, as the woman and her two children joined us next morning, before we had taken down our tent and made ready for movino'. Thofe people were the iirft ftrangers whom we had met iince we left the Fort, though we had travelled feveral hundred miles ; which is a proof that this part of the country is but thinly inhabited. It is a truth well known to the natives, and doubtlefs founded on experi- ence, that there are many very extenfive tradis of land in thofe parts, which are incapable of affording fupport to any number of the human race even daring the fliort time they are pafTmg through them, in the capacity of migrants, from one place to another ; much lefs are they capable of affording a conftant fupport to thofe who might wifh to make them their fixed refidence at any feafon of the year. It is true, that few rivers or lakes in thofe parts are entirely deftitute of fifh ; but the un- certainty of meeting with a fufficient fupply for any con- fiderable time together, makes the natives very cautious how they put their whole dependance on that article, as it has too frequently been the means of many hundreds being ftarved to death. 23d, By the twenty-third, deer were fo plentiful that the In- dians feemed to think that, unlefs the feafon, contrary to expeftation and general experience, fhould prove unfa- vourable, there would be no fear of our being in want of provifions NORTHERN OCEAN. 75 provlfions during the reft of the Winter, as deer had always ^ll^- been known to be in great plenty in the direction which January. they intended to walk. On the third of February, we continued our courfe February. to the Weft by North and Weft North Weft, and were fo '^^' near the edge of the woods, that the barren ground was in ftght to the Northward. As the woods trended away to the Weft, we were obliged to alter our courfe to Weft by South, for the fake of keeping among them, as well as the deer. In the courfe of this day's walk we faw fe- veral ftrangers, fome of whom remained in our company, while others went on their refpedive ways. On the ftxth, we crofted the main branch of Catha- 6th. whachaga River ; which, at that part, is about three quar- ters of a mile broad ; and after walking three miles farther, came to the ftde of Cofled Whole, or Partridge Lake ; but the day being far fpent, and the weather exceflivcly cold, w^e put up for the night. Early in the morning of the feventh, the weather being •^. ferene and clear, we fet out, and crofted the above mentioned Lake; which at that part is about fourteen miles wide; but from the South South Weft to North North Eaft is much larger. It is impoftible to defcribe the intenfenefs of tJtic cold which we experienced this day ; and the difpatch we made in crofting the lake is almoft incredible, as it was L 2 performed yG AJOURNEYTOTIIE 1 771' performed by the grcatefc part of my crev/ in Icfs than February, two hours ; though fomc of the women, who were heavy laden, took a much longer time. Several of the Indians were much frozen, but none of them more dilagreeably fo than one of Matonabbee's wives, whofe thighs and but- tocks were in a manner incrufled with frofl: ; and when thawed, feveral blifters arofe, nearly as large as flieeps' blad- ders. The pain the poor woman fuftered on this occafion was greatly aggravated by the laughter and jeering of her companions, who fiid that flie was rightly ferved for belt- ino- her clothes fo high. I muft acknowledge that I was not in the number of thofe who pitied her, as I thought fhe took too much pains to fliew a clean heel and good leo- ; her garters being always in light, which, though by no means confidered here as bordering on indecency, is by far too airy to withftand the rigorous cold of a fe- vere winter in a high Northern latitude. I doubt not that the laughter of her companions was excited by iimilar ideas. When we got on the Weft fide of Partridge Lake we continued our courfe for many days toward the Wefl by South and Weft South Weft ; when deer were fo plentiful, and the Indians killed fuch vaft numbers, that notwith- ftanding we frequently remained three, four, or five days in a place, to eat up the fpoils of our hunting, yet at our departure we frequently left great quantities of good meat behind us, which we could neither eat nor carry with us. This NORTHERN OCEAN. This condudt is the more excufable among people vvhofe wandering manner of life and contradled ideas make every thing appear to them as the effc6l of mere chance. The great uncertainty ot their ever vifiting this or that part a fecond time, induces them to think there is nothing either wrong or improvident in living on the befl: the country will afford, as they are pailmg through it from place to place ; and they feem willing that thofe who come after them fhould take their chance, as they have done. On the twenty-firft, we croffed The-whole-kyed 21ft. Whoie, or Snowbird Lake, which at that part was about twelve or thirteen miles wide,^ though from North to South it is much larger. As deer were as plentiful as before, we expended much time in killing and eating them. This Matonabbee affured me was the befl: way we could em- ploy ourfelves, as the feafon would by no means permit us to proceed in a diredl line for the Copper-mine River ; but when the Spring advanced, and the deer began to draw out to the barren ground, he would then, he faid, proceed in fuch a manner as to leave no room to doubt of our arrival at the Copper-mine River in proper time. On the fecond of March, we lay by the fideof Whool- March dyah'd Whoie or Pike Lake, and not far from Doo-baunt Whoie River. On the next day we began to crofs the above 3d. men toned Lake, but after walking feven miles on it to the Weft South Weft, we arrived at a large tent of Northern Indians, n ^S AJOURNEYTOTHE Indians, who had been living there from the beginning of the Winter, and had found a plentiful fubfiftence by catching deer in a pound. This kind of employment is performed in the following manner : When the Indians delign to impound deer, they look, out for one of the paths in which a number of them have trod, and which is obferved to be ftill frequented by them. When thcfe paths crofs a lake, a wide river, or a barren plain, they are found to be much the beft for the purpofe ; and if the path run through a clufter of woods, capable of affording materials for building the pound, it adds confiderably to the commodioufnefs of the fituation. The pound is built by making a ftrong Rnce with brufhy trees, without obferving any degree of regularity, and the work is continued to any extent, according to the pleafure of the builders. I have feen fome that were not lefs than a mile round, and am informed that there are others ftill more extenfive. The door, or entrance of the pound, is not larger than a common gate, and the infide is fo crowded with fmall counter-hedges as very much to re- femble a maze ; in every opening of which they fet a fnare, made with thongs of parchment deer-fkins well twifted together, which are amazingly ftrong. One end of the fnare is ufually made faft to a growing pole ; but if no one of a fufficient fize can be found near the place where the fnare is fet, a loofe pole is fubftituted in its room, which is always of fuch fize and length that a deer cannot drag it far NORTHERN OCEAN. 79 far before it gets entangled among the other woods, which i77i. are all left ftanding except what is found neceffary for March. making the fence, hedges, &c. The pound being thus prepared, a row of fmall brufh- wood is ftuck up in the fnow on each fide the door or entrance ; and thefe hedge-rows are continued along the open part of the lake, river, or plain, where neither ftick nor ftump befides is to be feen, which makes them the more diftindly obferved. Thefe poles, or brufli-wood, are generally placed at the diftance of fifteen or twenty yards from each other, and ranged in fuch a manner as to form two fides of a long acute angle, growing gradually wider in proportion to the diftance they extend from the entrance of the pound, which fometimes is not Icfs than two or three miles ; while the deer's path is exadly along the middle, between the two rows of brufii-wood. Indians employed on this fervice always pitch their tent on or near to an eminence that affords a commanding pro- fped of the path leading to the pound ; and when they fee any deer going that way, men, women, and child- ren walk along the lake or river-fide under cover of the woods, till they get behind them, then ftep forth to open view, and proceed towards the pound in the form of a crefcent. The poor timorous deer finding them- felves purfued, and at the fame time taking the two rows of bfufliy poieQs to be two ranks of people flationcd 3 ^o So AJOURNEYTOTHE to prevent their paffing on either fide, run ftraight for- ward in the path till they get into the pound. The In- dians then clofe in, and block up the entrance with fome brufliy trees, that have been cut down and lie at hand for that purpofe. The deer being thus enclofcd, the women and children walk round the pound, to prevent them from breaking or jumping over the fence, while the men are employed fpearing fuch as are entangled in the fnares, and fliooting with bows and arrows thofe which remain loofe in the pound. This method of hunting, if it deferve the name, is fome- times fo fuccefsful, that many families fubfift by it with- out having occafion to move their tents above once or twice during the courfe of a whole winter ; and when the Spring advances, both the deer and Indians draw out to the Eaftward, on the ground which is entirely barren, or at leaft what is fo called in thofe parts, as it neither pro- duces trees or flirubs of any kind, fo that mofs and fome little grafs is all the herbage which is to be found on it. Such an eafy way of procuring a comfortable main- tenance in the Winter months, (which is by far the worft time of the year,) is wonderfully well adapted to the fup- port of the aged and infirm, but is too apt to occafion a habitual indolence in the young and a6live, who fre- quently fpend a whole Winter in this indolent man- ner : and as thofe parts of the country are almoft def- titute of every animal of the furr kind, it cannot be fup- pofed NORTHERN OCEAN. pofed that thofe who indulge themfelves in this indolent method of procuring food can be mafters of any thing for trade ; whereas thofe who do not get their livelihood at fo eafy a rate, generally procure furrs enough during the Winter to purchafe a fufFicient fupply of ammunition, and other European goods, to lafl them another year. This is nearly the language of the more induftrious among them, who, of courfe, are of mofi: importance and value to the Hudfon's Bay Company, as it is from them the furrs are procured which corapofe the greatefl part of Churchill trade. But in my opinion, there cannot exift a ftronger proof that mankind was not created to enjoy hap- pinefs in this world, than the condud; of the miferable beings who inhabit this wretched part of it ; as none butr the aged and inlirm, the women and children, a few of the more indolent and unambitious part of them, will fubmit to remain in the parts where food and clothing are procured in this eafy manner, becaufe no animals are produced there whofe lurrs are valuable. And what do the more induftrious gain by giving themfelves all this addi- tional trouble ? The real wants of thefe people are few, and eafily fapplied ; a hatchet, an ice-chilTcl, a file, and a knife, are ail that is required to enable tliem, with a little induftry, to procure a coml-ortable livelihood ; and thofe who endeavour to poficfs more, arc always the iv.oPi un- happy, and may, in fad:, be laid to be only flares and carriers to the reft, whofe ambition never leads theni to any thing beyond the means of procuring foRTHERN OCEAN. CHAP. V. Tranfacfllons at Clowey, and on our Journey, till our Arrival at the Copper-mine River. Several Jlravgc Indians join us. — hidians employed hu'ilding canoes ; de- fcription and life of them. — More Indians join 7is, to the amount of fome hundreds.- — Leave Clowey. — Receive intelligence that Keclfljiss •was near us. — Tivo young 7nen difpatched for my letters and goods.— Arrive at Pcffjew Lake ; crofs part of it, and make a large fmoke. — One of Matonabbec' s zvives elopes. — Some remarks on the natives, — Kecl- fhies joins us, and delivers my letters., but the goods nacre all expended. — A Northern Indian ivijljes to take one of Matonabbec' s zvives from him ; matters compromfcd, but had like to have proved fatal to my progrefs. — Crofs PcJJjew Lake, when I make proper arrangements for the remainder of my journey. — Many Indians join our party, in order to make "war on the Efquimaux at the Copper River. — Preparations viade for that purpofe •while at Clowey. — Proceed on our journey to the North. — Some remarks on the way. — Crofs Cogead Lake on the ice. — The Sun did. Jiot fet. — Arrive at Congecathawhachaga. — Find feveral Copper Indians there. — Remarks and traifadions during our fay at Congecathawhachaga. — Proceed on our journey. — Weather very bad. — Arrive at the Stoucy Mountains. — Some account of them. — Crofs part of Buffalo Lake on the ice. — Savj many mufk-oxen. — Defcription of them. — Went with fome Indians to view Griz%le-bear Hill. — Join a flraiige Northern Indian Leader, called O'lye, in company •with fome Copper Indians. — Their behaviour to me, — Arrive at the Copper-mine River. 'TP H E Lake Clowey is not much more than twelve -*- miles broad in the widefl: part. A fmall river which runs into it on the Weft fide, is faid by the Indians to join the Athapufcow Lake. 2 On 9S 96 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1771- On our arrival at Clowey on the third of May, we May found that the Captain's brother, and thofc who were fen t ^ ' a-head with him from Theley-aza River, had only got there two days before us , and, on account of the weather, had not made the leaft progrefs in building the canoe, the plan of which they had taken with them. The fame day we got to Clowey feveral other Indians joined us from different quarters, with intent to build their canoes at the fame place. Some of thofe Indians had refided within four or five miles, to the South Eaft of Clowey all the Winter ; and had procured a plentiful livelihood by fnaring deer, in the manner which has been already de- fcribed. Immediately after our arrival at Clowey, the Indians began to build their canoes, and embraced every conve- nient opportunity for that purpofe : but as warm and dry weather only is fit for this bufinefs, which was by no means the cafe at prefent, it was the eighteenth of May (8th. before the canoes belonging to my party could be com- ipth. pleted. On the nineteenth we agreed to proceed on our journey ; but Matonabbee's canoe meeting with fome damage, which took near a whole day to repair, we were detamed till the twentieth. 20th. Thofe veflcls, thoup^b niade of the fame materials with the canoes of the Southern Indians, differ from them both in {hape and conflrudion ; they are alio much fmaller and lighter, NORTHERN OCEAN. 97 lighter ; and though very flight and (imple in their con- ftru(5tion, are neverthelefs the beO: that could poiTibly be contrived for the ufe of thofe poor people, who are fre- quently obliged to carry them a hundred, and fometimes a hundred and fifty miles at a time, without having occa- fion to put them into the water. Indeed, the chief ufe of thefe canoes is to ferry over unfordable rivers; though fometimes, and at a few places, it mufl; be acknowledged, that they are of great fervice in killing deer, as they enable the Indians to crofs rivers and the narrow parts of lakes ; they are alfo ufcful in killing fwans, geefe, ducks, &c. in the moulting feafon. All the tools ufed by an Indian in building his canoe, as well as in making his fnow-fhoes, and every other kind of wood-work, confifl of a hatchet, a knife, a file, and an awl ; in the ufe of which they are fo dextrous, that every thing they make is executed with a neatnefs not to be excelled by the moft expert mechanic, ailifted with every tool he could wiih. In fhape the Northern Indian canoe bears fome rcfcnv- blance to a weaver's fhuttle ; being flat-bottomed, with ftraight upright fides, and fharp at each end , but the ftcrn is by tar the widefi part, as there the baggage is genera! Iv laid, and occafionally a fecond pcrfon, vv'hoalv.avs lies down at full length in the bottom of thx canoe. In this man- ner they carry one another acroi^ rivers and the narrow O parts A JOURNEY TO THE parts of lakes in thofe little vefTels, which feldom exceed twelve or thirteen feet in length, and are from twenty- inches to two feet broad in the wideft part. The head, or fore part, is unneceffarily long, and narrow ; and is all covered over with birch-bark, which adds confider- ably to the weight, without contributing to the burthen of the vefTel. In general, thefe Indians make ufe of the Ungle paddle, though a few hav double ones, like the Efquimaux : the latter, however, are feldom ufed, but by thofe who lie in wait to kill deer as they crofs rivers and narrow lakes *. During our ftay at Clowey we were joined by upward of two hundred Indians from different quarters, moft of whom built canoes at this place ; but as I was under the protedlion of a principal man, no one offered to moleft * See Plate IV. where Fig. A reprefents the bottom of the canoe, Fig. B being the fore-part. Fig. C is the complete frame of one before it is covered with the bark of the birch-tree : it is reprefented on an artificial bank, which the natives raife to build it on. Fig. D is an end-view of a fet of timbers, bent and lafhed in their proper fhape, and left to dry. Fig. E is the repre- fentation of a complete canoe. Fig. F reprefents one of their paddles. Fig. G a fpear with which they kill deer; and Fig. H, their mode of carrying the canoe. The following references are to the feveral parts of the canoe : Fig. C. I. The ftem. 2. The ftern-poft. 3. Two forked fticks fupporting the ftem and ftern-poft. 4. The gunwales. 5. Small rods placed between the timbers and birch-back that covers them, 6. The timbers. 7. The keelfon. 8. Large ftones placed there to keep the bottom fteady till the fides are fewed on. -. r fd &- O NORTHERN OCEAN. . 99 me, nor can I fay they were very clamorous for any thing I had. This was undoubtedly owing to Matonabbee's in- forming them of my true fituation ; which was, that 1 had not, by any means, fufficient neceffaries for myfelf, much lefs to give away. The few goods which I had with me were intended to be referved for the Copper and Dog- ribbed Indians, who never vifit the Company's Faclories. Tobacco was, however, always given away ; for every one of any note, who joined us, expected to be treated with a few pipes, and on fome occafions it was fcarcely poflible to get off without prefenting a few inches * to them ; which, with the conftant fupplies which I was obliged to furnifh my »own crew, decreafed that article of my ftock fo faft, that notwithftanding I had yet advanced fo fmall a part of my journey, more than one half of my ftore was expended. Gun-powder and fhot alfo were articles commonly afked for by moft of the Indians we met ; and in general thefe were dealt round to them with a liberal hand by my guide Ma- tonabbee. I muft, however, do him the juftice to ac- knowledge, that what he diftributed was all his own, which he had purchafed at the Fadiory; to my certain knowledge he bartered one hundred and fifty martins' fkins for powder only ; befides a great number of beaver, and other furrs, for fhot, ball, iron-work, and tobacco, purpofely to give away among his countrymen ; as ' he had certainly as many of thefe articles given to him as were, in * The tobacco ufed in Hudfon's Bay is the Brafil tobacco j which is twifted into the form of a rope, of near an inch diameter, and then wound into a hr^e roll j from which it is taken by mcafures of length, for the natives. O 2 his NORTHERN OCEAN. 99 me, nor can I fay they were very clamorous for any thing I had. This was undoubtedly owing to Matonabbee's in- forming them of my true iituation ; which was, that 1 had not, by any means, fufficient neceflaries for myfelf, much lefs to give away. The few goods which I had with me were intended to be referved for the Copper and Dog- ribbed Indians, who never vifit the Company's Faciories. Tobacco was, however, always given away ; for every one of any note, who joined us, expected to be treated with a fcv/ pipes, and on fome occafions it was fcarcely poflible to get off without prefenting a few inches * to them ; which, with the conftant fupplies which I was obliged to furnifh my X)wn crew, decrcafed that article of my flock fo faft, that notwithftanding I had yet advanced fo fmall a part of my journey, more than one half of my ftore was expended. Gun-powder and fhot alfo were articles commonly afked for by moft of the Indians we met ; and in general thefe were dealt round to them with a liberal hand by my guide Ma- tonabbee. I muft, however, do him the juftice to ac- knowledge, that what he diftributed was all his own, which he had purchafed at the Fadory; to my certain knowledge he bartered one hundred and fifty martins' fkins for powder only ; befides a great number of beaver, and other furrs, for fhot, ball, iron- work, and tobacco, purpofely to give away among his countrymen ; as he had certainly as many of thefe articles given to him as were, in * The tobacco ufed in Hudfon's Bay is the Brafil tobacco ; which is twifted into the form of a rope, of near an inch diameter, and then wound into a hr^e roll j from which it is taken by mcafurcs of length, for the natives. O 2 his iOO A TOURNEY TO THE >77^' his opinion, fufficicnt for our fupport during our journey out and home. •^% Matonabbee's canoe having been repaired, on the twen- tieth we left Clowey, and proceeded Northward. That morning a fmall gang of ftrangers joined us, who informed my guide, that Captain Kcelfhies was within a day's walk to the Southward. Keelfliies was the man by whom 1 had fent a letter to Prince of Wales's Fort, from Catha- whachaga, in the beginning of July one thoufand feven hundred and feventy ; but not long after that, having the misfortune to break my quadrant, I was obliged to return to the Fort a fecond time; and though we £i\v many fmokes, and fpoke with feveral Indians on my return that year, yet he and I miffed each other on the barren ground, and I had not feen or heard of him Unce that time. As Matonabbee was defirous that I fhould receive my letters, and alfo the goods I had written for, he difpatched two of his young men to bring them. We continued sift- our journey to the Northward ; and the next day faw feveral large fmokes at a great diftance to the Eaftward on the barren ground, which were fuppofed to be made by fome parties of Indians bound to Prince of Wales's Fort with furrs and other commodities for trade.. ■j2d. On the twenty-fccond and twenty-third, we proceeded to the North, at the rate of fourteen or fifteen miles a-day; and in the evening of the latter, got clear of all t.ie NORTHERN OCEAN. loi the woods, and lay oa the barren ground. The fame ^77'- evening the two young men who were fent for my let- May. ters, &c. returned, and told me that Keclihies had pro- mifed to join us in a few days, and deliver the things to me with his own hand. The twenty-fourth proved bad and rainy weather, fo 24th, that we only walked about feven miles, when finding a few blafted ftumps of trees, we pitched our tents. It was well we did fo, for toward night we had exceflively bad weather, with loud thunder, ftrong lightning, and heavv rain, attended with a very hard gale of wind from the South Weft ; toward the next morning, however, the wind veered round to the North Weft, and the weather became intenfejy cold and frofty. We walked that day about eight miles to the Northward, when we were obliged to put up, being almoft benumbed with cold. There we found a rew dry ftumps, as we had done the day before, which ferved us for fewel *« The. * I have obferved, during my feveral journies In thofe parts, that all tlie way ro the North of Seal River the edge of the wood is faced with old withered ftumps, and trees which have been blown down by the wind. They are moftly of the fort which is called here Juniper, but were fcldom of any confiderable fize. Thofe blafted trees are found in fome parts to extend to the diflance of twenty miles from the living woods, and detached patches of them are much farther off; which is a proof that the cold has been incrcafing in thofe parts for fome ages. Indeed, fome of the older Northern Indians have alTured me, that they have heard tlieir fathers and grandfathers fav, they remembered the greatefi: part of thofe places where the trees are now blafted and dead, in a floiirifhing T02 Ma 26t(l. A JOURNEY TO THE The weather on the twenty-fixth was fo bad, with fnow Ti^ and thick drifting fleet, that wc did not move ; but the next morning proving fine and pleafant, we dried our things, and walked about twelve miles to the Northward ; moft of the way on the ice of a fmall rivTr which runs into Pefhew Lake *. We then faw a fmoke to the South- ward, which we judged to be made by Keelfhies, fo we put up for the night by the fide of the above-mentioned Lake, where I expeded we fliould have waited for his 23th. arrival ; but, to my great furprize, on the morrow we again fet forward, and walked twenty-two miles to the Northward on Pefhew Lake, and in the afternoon pitched our tents on an ifland, where, by my defire, the Indians made a large fmoke, and propofed to ftay a day or two for Captain Keelfhies. In the night, one of Matonabbee's wives and another woman eloped : it was fuppofed they went off to the Eaftward, in order to meet their former hufbands, from floiirifliing ftate ; and that they were remarkable for abounding with deer. It is a well-known fa6t, that many deer are fond of frequenting thofe plains where the juniper trees abound near barren grounds, particularly in fine wea- ther during the Winter; but in heavy gales of wind they either take fhelter in the thick woods, or go out on the open plains. The Indians, who never want a reafon for any thing, fay, that the deer quit the thin ftraggling woods during the high winds, becaufe the nodding of the trees, when at a confidcrable dif- tance from each other, frightens them; but in the midft of a thick foreft, the conftant ruftling of the branches lulls them into fecurity, and renders them an eafy prey to a (kilful hunter. * Probably the fame with Partridge Lake in the Map. 2 whom NORTHERN OCEAN. 103 whom they had been fometime before taken by force. This affair made more noife and buftle than I could have fuppofed ; and Matonabbee feemed entirely difcon- certed, and quite inconfolable for the lofs of his wife. She was certainly by far the handfomeft of all his flock, of a moderate fiz. , and had a fair complexion ; fhe ap- parently pofleffed a mild temper, and very engaging man- ners. In fad:, fhe feemed to have every good quality that could be expefted in a Northern Indian woman, and that could render her an agreeable companion to an inhabit- ant of this part of the world. She had not, however, appeared happy in her late fltuation ; and chofe rather to be the fole wife of a fprightly young fellow of no note, (though very capable of maintaining her,) than to have the feventh or eighth fhare of the affcdion of the greateft man in the country. I am forry to mention an incident which happened while we were building the canoes at Clowey, and which by no means does honour to Matonabbee : it is no lefs a crime than that of having ac- tually ftabbcd the hufband of the above-mentioned girl in three places ; and had it not been for timely afliftancej would certainly have murdered him, for no other reafon than becaufe the poor man had fpoken difrcfpedfully of him for having taken his wife away by force. The cool deliberation with which Matonabbee committed this bloody adion, convinced me it had been a long premeditated de- fign ; for he no fooner heard of the man's arrival, than he opened one of his wives' bundles, and, w4th the greateft compofure^ 104 A JOURNEY TO THE 1771. JSltii compofure, took out a new long box-handled knife, went into the man's tent, and, without any preface whatever, took him by the collar, and began to execute his liorrid defign. The poor man anticipating his danger, fell on his face, and called for afliftance ; but before any could be had he received three wounds in the back. For- tunately for him, they all happened on the fliouldcr-blade, fo that his life was fpared. When Matonabbee returned to his tent, after committing this horrid deed, he fat down as compofedly as if nothing had haj-tpened, called for water to wafh his bloody hands and knife, fmoked his pipe as ufual, feenied to be perfedly at eafe, and afked if I did not think he had done right ? It has ever been the cuftom among thofe people for the men to wreftle for any woman to whom they are attached ; and, of courfe, the ftrongeft party always carries off the prize. A weak man, unlcfs he be a good hunter and well- beloved, is feldom permitted to keep a wife that a ftronger man thinks worth his notice : for at any time when the wives of thofe ftrong wreftlers are heavy-laden either with furrs or provifions, they make no fcriiple of tearing any other man's wife from his bofom, and making her bear a part of his luggage. This cnflom prevails throughout all their tribes, and caufes a great fpivit of emulation among their youth, who are upon all cccahons, from tlieir childhood, trying their ftrength and fKill in wreftling. This enables them to proted: their property, and particularly their wives, from NORTHERNOCEAN. 105 from the hands of thofe powerful ravifhers ; fome of whom make almoft a livelihood by taking what they pleafe from the weaker parties, without making them any return. Indeed, it is reprefented as an a6l of great generofity, if they condefcend to make an unequal exchange ; as, in general, abufe and infult are the only return for the lofs which is fuftained. The way in which they tear the women and other pro- perty from one another, though it has the appearance of the greateft brutality, can fcarcely be called fighting. I never knew any of them receive the leaft hurt in thefe ren- contres ; the whole bufinefs confifts in hauling each other about by the hair of the head ; they are {eldom known either to ftrike or kick one another. It is not uncommon, for one of them to cut off his hair and to greafe his ears, immediately before the contell begins. This, however, is done privately; and it is fometimes truly laughable, to lee one of the parties ftrutting about with an air of great importance, and calling out, " Where is he ? Why does ** he not come out ?" when the other will bolt out with a clean fhorned head and greafed ears, ruih on his anta- gonift, feize him by the hair, and though perhaps a much weaker man, foon drag him to the ground, while the ftronger is not able to lay hold on him. It is very frequent on thofe occafions for each party to have fpies, ' to watch the other's motions, which puts them more on a footing of equality. For want of hair to pull, they P feize io6. A J 0 LT R N E Y TO THE 1771- feize each other about the v/aift, with legs wide extended, Mjy. aiid try their ftrength, by endeavouring to vie who can £rll: throw the other down. On thefe wreftling occafions the ftanders-by never at- tempt to interfere in the conteft ; even one brother ofFers not to aflifl: another, unlefs it be with advice, which, as it is always delivered openly on the field during the con- teft, may, in fad, be faid to be equally favourable to both parties. It fometimes happens that one of the VvTcftlers is fuperior in ftrength to the other ; and if a woman be the caufe of the conteft, the weaker is fre- quently unwilling to yield, notwithftanding he is greatly overpowered. When this happens to be the cafe, the re- lations and friends, or other bye-ftanders, will fometimes join to perfuade the weaker combatant to give up the conteft, left, by continuing it, he fhould get bruifed and hurt, without the leaft probability of being able to ■ protect what he is contending for. I obferved that very few of thofe people were diftatisfied with the wives which had fallen to their lot, for whenever any confiderable number of them were in company, fcarcely a day pafted without fome overtures being made for eontefts of this kind ; and it was often very unpleafmt to me, to fee the objed: of the conteft fitting in penfive filence watching her fate, while her hufband and his rival were contending'- for the prize. I have indeed not only felt pity for thofe poor v/retched vidims, but the utmoft indignation, when I have NORTHERN OCEAN. have feen them won, perhaps, by a man. whom they mor- tally hated. On thofe occafions their grief and reliidlance to follow their new lord has been {o great, that the bufi- nefs has often ended in the greateft brutality ; for, in the ftruggle, I have feen the poor girls ftripped quite naked, and carried by main force to their new lodgings. At other times it was pleafant enough to fee a fine girl led ofF the field from a huiband fhe difliked, with a tear in one eye and a finger on the other : for cuflom, or delicacy if you pleafe, has taught them to think it necefiary to whimper a little, let the change be ever fo much to their inclination. I have throughout this account given the women the appellation of girls, which is pretty applicable, as the objefts of conteft are generally young, and without any family : few of the men chufe to be at the trouble of maintaining other people's children, except on particular occafions, which will be taken notice of hereafter. Some of the old men, who are famous on account of their fuppofed fkill in conjuration, have great influence in perfuading the rabble from committing thofe outrages ; but the humanity of thefe fages is feldom known to ex- tend beyond their own families. In defence of them they will exert their utmoft influence ; but when their own relations are guilty of the fame crime, they feldom inter- fere. This partial conduct creates fome fecret, and fe- veral open enemies ; but the generality of their neigh- bours are deterred, through fear or fuperflition, from exe- P 2 cutinj 107 ,o8 A JOURNEY TO THE 1771- cutin"- their revenge, and even from talking difrefped- "^laTT^ fully of them, unlefs it be behind their backs ; which is a vice of which almofl: every Indian in this country, without exception, is guilty. Notwithftanding the Northern Indians are fo covetous, and pay fo little regard to private property as' to take every advantage of bodily ftrength to rob their neighbours, not only of their goods, but of their wives, yet they are, in other refpedls, the mildeft tribe, or nation, that is to be found on the borders of Hudfon's Bay : for let their affronts or loffes be ever fo great, they never will feek any other revenge than that of wreftling. As for murder, which is fo common among all the tribes of Southern In- dians, it is feldom heard of among them. A murderer is fhunned and detefted by all the tribe, and is obliged to wander up and down, forlorn and forfaken even by his own relations and former friends. In that refped a mur- derer may truly be compared to Cain, after he had killed his brother Abel. The cool reception he meets with by all who know him, occafions him to grow melancholyj and he never leaves any place but the whole company fay,. " There goes the murderer!" The women, it is true, fome- times receive an unlucky blow from their hufbands for mifbehaviour, which occafions their death ; but this is thought nothing of: and for one man or woman to kill another out of revenge, or through jealoufy, or on any other account, is fo extraordinary, that very tew are now 2 exifting. NORTHERN OCEAN. 109 exifting who have been guilty of it. At the prefent mo- i77i< ment I know not one, btfide Matonabbee, who ever made u^ an attempt of that nature ; and he is, in every ether refpeit, a man oi fuch univerfal good fenfe, and, as an Indian, of fuch great humanity, that I am at a lofs how to account for his having been guilty of fuch a crime, unlefs it be by his having lived among the Southern Indians fo long, as to become tainted with their blood-thirfty, revengeful, and vindidlive difpofition. Early in the morning of the twenty-ninth, Captain 29th. Keelfhies joined us. He delivered to me a packet of let- ters, and a two-quart keg of French brandy ; but afiured -me, that the powder, jQiot, tobacco, knives, &c. which he received at the Fort for me, were all expended. He endeavoured to make fome apology for this, by faying, that fome of his relations died in the Winter, and that he had, according to their cuftom, thrown all his own things away ; after which he was obliged to have recourfe to my ammunition and other goods, to fupport himfelf and a numerous family. The very aifeding manner in which he related this ftory, often crying like a child, was a great proof of his extreme forrow, which he wifhed to per- fuade me arofe from the recoUedion of his havino- em~ bezzled fo much of my property ; but I was of a differ- ent opinion, and attributed his grief to arife from the remembrance of his deceafed relations. However, as a fmail recompence for my lofs, he prcfcnted me with four ready- no AJOURNEYTOTHE ready-drefied moofe-ikins, which was, he faid, the only retribution he could then make. The moofe-fldns, though not the twentieth part of the value of the goods which lie had embezzled, were in reality more acceptable to mc, than the ammunition and the other articles would have been, on account of their great ufe as fhoe-lcather, which at that time was a very fcarce article with us, whereas we had plenty of powder and fhot. On the fame day that Keelfhies joined us, an Indian man, who had been fome time in our company, infifted on taking one of Matonabbee's wives from him by force, un- lefs he complied with his demands, which were, that Matonabbee fhould give him a certain quantity of ammu- nition, fome pieces ol iron-work, a kettle, and feveral other articles; every one of which, Matonabbee was obliged to deliver, or lofe the woman ; for the other m.an far ex- celled him in ftrength. Matonabbee was more exafperated on this occafion, as the fame man had fold him the woman no longer ago than the nineteenth of the preceding April. Having expended all the goods he then pofTeffed, however, he was determined to make another bargain for her ; and as ■fhe was what may be called a vakiable woman in their eflimation ; that is, one who was not only tolerably per- fonable, but reckoned very fl-dltul in manufailiiring the different kinds of leather, Hans, and furrs, and at the fame time very clever in the performance of every other -domeflic duty required of the fex in this part of the world 3 NORTHERN OCEAN. m world; Matonabbee was more unwilling to part with her, 1771. efpecially as he had fo lately fufFered a lofs of the fame May. kind. This difpute, which was after fome hours decided by- words and prefents, had like to have proved fatal to my expedition ; for Matonabbee, who at that time thought himfelt as great a man as then lived, took this afi'ront fo much to heart, efpecially as it was offered in my prefence, that he almoft determined not to proceed any farther to- ward the Copper-mine River, and was on the point of ftriking off to the Weftward, with an intent to join the Athapufco Indians, and continue with them : he being perfedly well acquainted with all their leaders, and moft of the principal Indians of that country, from whom, during a former relidcnce among them of feveral years, he faid he had met with more civility than he ever did from his own countrymen. As Matonabbee feemed rcfolutely bent on his delign, I had every reafon to think that my third expedition would prove equally unfuccefsful with the two former. I was not, however, under the leaft ap- prehenlion for my own fafety, as he promifed to take me with him, and procure me a paffage to Prince of Wales's Fort, with fome of the Athapufcow Indians, who at that time annually viftted the Fadlory in the way of trade. After waiting till I thought Matonabbee's paflion had a little abated, I ufed every argument ot which I was mafter in favour of his proceeding on the journey ; afluring him nx>t 112 AJOURNEYTOTHE not only of the future efteem of the prefent Governor of Prince of Wales's Fort, but alfo of that of all his fucceffors as long as he lived ; and that even the Hudfon's Bay Com- pany themfelves w^ould be ready to acknowledge his afli- duity and perfeverance, in conduding a buiinefs v\4iicli had fo much the appearance of proving advantageous to them. After fome converfation of this kind, and a good deal of intreaty, he at length confented to proceed, and promifed to make all pofiible hafte. Though it was then late in the asth. afternoon, he gave orders for moving, and accordingly we walked about feven miles that night, and put up on ano- ther ifland in Pefliew Lake. The preceding afternoon the Indians had killed a few deer ; but our number was then fo great, that eight or ten deer would fcarcely afford us all a tafte. Thefe deer were the firft we had feen iince our leaving the neighbourhood of Thelewey-aza-yeth ; fo that we had lived all the time on the dried meat which had been prepared before we left that place in April. -cth. The thirtieth proved bad, rainy weather; we walked, however, about ten miles to the Northward, when we arrived on the North fide of Pefhew Lake, and put up. Here Matonabbee immediately began to make every ne- cefiary arrangement for facilitating the execution of our defign ; and as he had promifed to make all pofTible hafle, he thought it expedient to leave moft of his wives and all his children in the c?.re cf feme Indians, then in our company, who had his orders to proceed to the North- ward NORTHERN OCEAN. ward at their leifure ; and who, at a particular place ap- pointed by him, were to wait our return from the Copper- mine River. Having formed this refolution, Matonabbee feledled two of his young wives who had no children, to accompany us ; and in order to make their loads as light as poffible, it was agreed that we fhould not take more ammunition with us than was really neceffary for our fup- port, till we might expedl again to join thofe Indians and the women and children. The fame meafures were alfo adopted by all the other Indians of my party ; particu- larly thofe who had a plurality of wives, and a number of children. As thefe matters took fome time to adjuft, it was near nine o'clock in the evening of the thirty-firft before we 31 ft. could fet out ; and then it was with much diiliculty that Matonabbee could perfuade his other wives from fol- lowing him, with their children and all their lumber ; for fuch was their unwillingnefs to be left behind, that he was obliged to ufe his authority before they would confent, confequently they parted in anger ; and we no fooner began our march, than they fet up a moft woeful cry, and con- tinued to yell moft piteoufly as long as we were within hearing. This mournful fcene had fo little cfFed: on my party, that they walked away laughing, and as merry as ever. The few who exprelTed any regret at their de- parture from thofe whom they were to leave behind, con- Q^ fined ir4 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E fined their regard wholly to their children, particularly to the youngeft, fcarcely ever mentioning their mother. Though it was fo late when we left the women, we walked about ten miles that night before we flopped. In our way we faw many deer ; feveral of which the Indians killed. To talk of travelling and killing deer in the middle of the night, may at firft view have the appearance of romance ; but our wonder will fpeedily abate, when it is confidered that we were then to the Northward of 64° of North latitude, and that, in confequence of it, though the Sun did not remain the whole night above the horizon, yet the time it remained below it was fo iTiort, and its de- preffion even at midnight fo fmall at this feafon of the year, that the light, in clear weather, was quite fufiicient for the purpofe both of walking, and hunting any kind of game. It ihould have been obferved, that during our flay at Cl'owey a great number of Indians entered into a com- bination wich thofe of my party to accompany us to the Copper-mine River ; and with no other intent than to murder the Efquimaux, who are underflood by the Copper Indians to frequent that river in confiderable numbers- Tliis fcheme, notwithflanding the trouble and fatigue, as well as danger, with which it mufl be obvioufly at- tended, was neverthelefs fo univerfally approved by thofe people, that for feme time almoft every man who ioined us NORTHERN OCEAN. 115 us propofed to be of the party. Accordingly, each vo- lunteer, as well as thofe who were properly of my p^i'ty, prepared a target, or fhield, before we left the woods oi Clowey. Thofe targets were compofed of thin boards, about three quarters of an inch thick, two feet broad, and three feet long ; and were intended to ward off the arrows of the Efquimanx. Notwithftanding thefe preparations, when we canie to leave the women and children, as has been already mentioned, only fixty volunteers would go with us; the reft, who were nearly as many more, though they had all prepared targets, reflefting that they had a great diftance to walk, and that no advantage could be expeded from the expedition, very prudently begged to be excufed, faying, that they could not be fpared for fo long a time from the maintenance of their wives and families ; and particularly, as they did not fee any then in our company, who feemed willing to encumber themfelves with fuch a charge. This feemed to be a mere evafion, for I am clearly of opinion that poverty on one fide, and avarice on the other, were the only impediments to their joining our party; had they pofTeffed as many European goods to fquander away among their countrymen as Matonabbee and thofe of my party did, in all probability many might have been found who would have been glad to have accompanied us. When I was acquainted with the intentions of my companions, and faw the warlike preparations that were carrying on, I endeavoured as much as poiTible to perfuade 0^2 them 1,6 A JOURNEY TO THE them from putting their inhuman defign into execution ; but fo far were my intreaties from having the wifhed-for effe6l, that it was concluded I was actuated by cowardice ; and they told mc, with great marks of deridon, that I was afraid of the Efquimaux. As I knew my per- fonal fifety depended in a great meafure on the favourable opinion they entertained of me in this refped:, I was obliged to change my tone, and replied, that I did not care if they rendered the name and race of the Efquimaux extindt ; adding at the fame time, that though I was no enemy to the Efquimaux, and did not fee the neceffity of attack- ing them without caufe, yet if I fKould find it neceffary to do it, for the proteftion of any one of my company, my own fafety out of the queftion, fo far from being afraid of a poor defencelefs Efquimaux, whom I defpifed more than feared, nothing fhould be wanting on my part to protedl all who were with me. This declaration was received with great fatisfadlion ; and I never afterwards ventured to interfere with any of their war-plans. Indeed, when I came to conlider ferioufly, I faw evidently that it was the higheft folly for an individual like me, and in my fitua- tion, to attempt to turn the current of a national preju- dice which had fubfifted between thofe two nations from the earlieft periods, or at leaft as long as they had been acquainted with the exiftence of each other. jr.ne Having got rid of all the women, children, dogs, heavy baggage, and other incumbrances, on the iirft of June we purfued NORTHERN OCEAN. purfued our journey to the Northward with great fpeed ; but the weather was in general fo precarious, and the fnow, fleet, and rain fo frequent, that notwithftanding we em- braced every opportunity which offered, it was the lix- teenth of June before we arrived in the latitude of 67° 30', i6th where Matonabbee had propofed that the women and children fhould wait our return from the Copper-mine River. In our way hither we crofTed feveral lakes on the ice ; of which Thoy-noy-kyed Lake and Thoy-coy-lyned Lake were the principal. We alfo croffed a few inconliderable creeks and rivers, which were only ufeful as they furnifhed a fmall fupply of fifh to the natives. The weather, as I have before obferved, was in general dilagreeable, with a great deal of rain and fnow. To make up for that in- convenience, hovi^ever, the deer were fo plentiful, that the Indians killed not only a fufficient quantity for our daily iupport, but frequently great numbers merely for the fat, marrovv', and tongues. To induce them to delifl from this practice, I often intcrefiied myfelf, and endeavoured, as much as poffible, to convince them in the cleareft terms of which I was mafter, of the great impropriety of fuch wafte ; particularly at a time ol the year when tlieir fkins could not be of any ufe for clothing, and when the anxiety to proceed on our journey vv^ould not permit us to ftay long enough in one place to eat up half the fpoils of their hunting. As national cuftoms, however, are not eafily 7 over- iiS A JOURNEY TO THE overcome, my rcmonftrances proved ineffectual ; and I was alv/ays anfwered, that it was certainly right to kill plenty, and live on the beft, when and where it was to be got, for that it would be inipoflible to do it where every thing was fcarce : and they infilled on it, that kill- ing plenty of deer and other game in one part of the country, could never make them fcarc:^r in another. In- deed, they were fo accuftomed to kul every thing that •came within their reach, that few o[ them could pafs by a fmall bird's neft, without flaying the young ones, or de- ftroying the eggs. ioth. From the feventeenth to the twentieth, we walked be- tween fev^enty and eighty miles to the North Weft and North North Weft ; the greater part of the way by Cogead Lake; but the Lake being then frozen, we crofted all the creeks and bays of it on the ice. :jII. On the twenty-firft we had bad rainy weather, with fo thick a fog that we could not fee our way : about ten o'clock at night, however, it became fine and clear, and the Sun ftione very bright; indeed it did not fet all that night, which was a convincing proof, without any obferva- tion, that we were then confiderably to the North of the Ar6lic Polar Circle. 22d. As foon as the fine weather began, we fet out and walked about kven or eight miles to the Northward, when we came NORTHERN OCEAN. 119 came to a branch of Conge-ca-tha-wha-chaga River ; on i??^' the North fide of which we found feveral Copper Indians, June. who were affembled, according to annual cuftom, to kill deer as they crofs the river in their little canoes. The ice being now broken up, we were, for the firft time this Summer, obliged to make ufe of our canoes to ferry acrofs the river ; which would have proved very te- dious, had it not been for the kindnefs of the Cop- per Indians, who fent all their canoes to our affiflance. Though our number was not much Icfs than one hundred and fifty, we had only three canoes, and thofe being of the common fize, could only carry two perfons each, without baggage. It is true, when water is fmooth, and a raft of three or four of thefe canoes is well fecured by poles laflied acrofs them, they will carry a much greater weight in proportion, and be much fafer, as there is fcarcely a pollibility of their overfetting ; and this is the general mode adopted by the people of this country in croiT- ing rivers when they have more than one canoe with them. Having arrived on the North fide of this river, we found that Matonabbee, and feveral others in our com- pany, were perfonaily acquainted with moft of the Copper Indians whom we found there. The latter fecmed highly pleafed at the interview with our party, and endeavoured, by every means in their power, to convince our company of their readinefs to ferve us to the utmoft ; fo that by the. time I20 A JOURNEY TO THE time we had got our tents pitched, the ftrangers had pro- vided a large quantity of dried meat and fat, by way of a feaft, to which they invited moft of the principal Indians who accompanied me, as well as Matonabbee and myfelf, who were prefented with fome of the very beft. It is natural to fuppofe, that immediately after our ar- rival the Copper Indians would be made acquainted with the nature and intention of our journey. This was no fooner done than they exprefled their entire approbation, and many of them feemed willing and defirous of giving every aillflance ; particularly by lending us feveral canoes, which they aflured us would be very ufeful in the remaining part of our journey, and contribute both to our eafe and dif- patch. It muft be obferved, that thefe canoes were not entirely entrufted to my crew, but carried by the owners the-mfelves who accompanied us ; as it would have been very uncertain where to have found them at our return from the Copper River. Agreeably to my infl:ruW . V> 3^.?^%t. A StttUc p/'Eiigiish ScilMiIos,/r(7 Air/Beg-i'i NORTHERN OCEAN. 1G3 The tide was then out ; but I judged from the marks which I faw on the edge of the ice, that it flowed about twelve or fourteen feet, which will only reach a little way within the river's mouth. The tide being out, the water in the river was perfedlly frefh ; but 1 am certain of its being the fea, or fome branch of it, by the quantity of whalebone and feal-fkins which the Efquimaux had at their tents, and alfo by the number of feals which I faw on the ice. At the mouth of the river, the fea is full of iflands and fhoals, as far as I could fee with the afllllance of a good poeket telefcope. The ice was not then broke up, but was melted away for about three quarters of a mile from the main fhore, and to a little diflance round the iflands and flioals. By the time I had completed this furvey, it was about one in the mornino; of the eio;hteenth ; but in thofe hio;h is:h. latitudes, and at this feafon of the year, the Sun is always at a good height above the horizon, fo that we had not only day-light, but fun-fhine the whole night : a thick fog and drizzling rain then came on, and finding that neither the river nor fea were likely to be of any ufe, I did not think it worth while to wait for fair weather to determine the latitude exadly by an obfervation ; but by the extraordi- nary care I took in obferving the courfcs and diflances when I walked from Congecathawhachaga, where I had two good obfervations, the latitude may be depended upon within twenty miles at the utmoft. For the fake of form, Y 2 however, i64 A JOURNEY TOTHE however, after having had fome confultation with the In- dians, I ereded a mark, and took pofieflion of the coaft, on behalf of the Hudfon's Bay Company. . Having finlfhed this bufmefs, we fet out on our return, and walked about twelve miles to the South by Eaft, when we flopped and took a little fleep, which was the firft time that any of us had clofed our eyes from the fifteenth inftant, and it was now fix o'clock in the morning of the eighteenth. Here the Indians killed a mufk-ox, but the mofs being very wet, we could not make a iire, fo that we were obliged to eat the meat raw, which was intolerable, as it happened to be an old beaft. Before I proceed farther on my return, it may not be improper to give fome account of the river, and the country adjacent ; its productions, and the animals which con- ftantly inhabit thofe dreary regions, as well as thofe that only migrate thither in Summer, in order to breed and rear their young, unmolcfted by man. That I may do this to better purpofe, it v/ill be neceifary to go back to the place Vv'here I lirft came to the river, which was about forty miles from its m.outh. Beiide the ftunted pines already mentioned, there are fome tufts of dv/arf willows ; plenty of Wifhacumpuckey, (as the Englifli call it, and which they ufe as tea) ; fome jacka- NORTHERN OCEAN. jackafheypuck, wh'cli the natives ufe as tcbacco ; and a few cranberry and heathberry bujQi>.s ; but not the leaft appearance of any fruit. The woods grow gradually thinner and fmaller as you approach the fea ; and the laft little tuft of pines that I faw is about thirty miles fiom the mouth of the river, fo- that we meet with nothing between that fpot and the fea- fi.de but barren hills and marfhes. The general courfe of the river is about North by Eaft; but in fome places it is very crooked, and its breadth varies from twenty yards to four or five hundred. The banks are in general a folid rock, both fides of which cor- refpond fo exactly with each other, as to leave no doubt that the channel of the river has been caufed by fome ter- rible convulfion of nature ; and the ftream is fupplicd by a variety of little rivulets, that ru Pn down the fides of the hills, occafioned chiefly by the melting of the fnow. Some of the Indians (i^y^ that this river takes its rife from the North Weft fide of Large White Stone Lake, which is at the diflance of near three hundred miles on a ftraight line ; but I can fcarcely think that is the cafe, unlefs there be many inter- vening lakes, which are fupplied by the vaft quantity of water that is collected in fo great an extent of hilly and mountainous country: for were it otherwife, I fiiould imagine that the multitude of fmall rivers, which mufl; empty themfelves into the main ftream in the courfe of fa i66 A JOURNEY TO THE 1771. great a diftance, would have formed a much deeper July. and ftronger current than I dilcovered, and occafioned an annual deluge at the breaking up of the ice in the Spring, of which there was not the leaft appear- ance, except at Bloody Fall, where the river was con- tracted to the breadth of about twenty yards. It was at the foot of this fall that my Indians killed the Efquimaux ; which was the reafon why I dirlinguiflied it by that appel- lation. From this fall, which is about eight miles from the fea-fide, there are very few hills, and thofc not high. The land betv/een them is a ftiff loam and clay, which, in fome parts, produces patches of pretty good grafs, and in others tallilli dwarf willows : at the foot of the hills alfo there is plenty of fine fcurvy-grafs. The Efquimaux at this river are but low in ftature, none exceeding the middle fize, and though broad fet, are neither well-made nor ftrong bodied. Their com- plexion is of a dirty copper colour ; lome of the women, however, are more fair and ruddy. Their drefs much re- fembles that of the Greenlanders in Davis's Straits, except the women's boots, which are not fliffened out with whale- bone, and the tails of their jackets are not more than a foot long. Their arms and fifhing-tackle are bows and arrows, fpears, lances, darts, &c. which exa(?:ly refemble thofe made ufe of by the Efqumiaux in Hudion's Straits, and which NORTHERN OCEAN. V/liIch have been well defcribed by Crantz * -, but, for want of good edge-tools, are far inferior to them in work- manfaip. Their arrows are cither fhod with a triangular piece of black ftone, like flate, or a piece of copper ; but moft commonly the former. The body of their canoes is on the fame conflrudlion as that of the other Efquimaux, and there is no unneceffary prow-projeclion beyond the body of the veflcl ; thefe, like their arms and other utenfils, are, for the want of better tools, by no means fo neat as thofe I have feen in Hudfon's Bay and Straits. The double-bladed paddle is in univerfal ufe among all the tribes of this people. Their tents are made of parchment deer-fkins in the liair, and are pitched in a circular form, the fame as thofe of the Efquimaux in Hudfon's Bay. Thefe tents are un- doubtedly no more than their Summer habitations, for I faw the remains of two miferable hovels, which, from the fituation, the ftrudure, and the vaft quantity of bones, old fhoes, fcraps of fkins, and other rubbifh lying near them, had certainly been fome of their Winter retreats. Thefe houfes were Htuated on the South fide of a hill ; one half of them were under-ground, and the upper parts clofely fet round with poles, meeting at the top in a conical form, like their Summer-houfes or tents. Thefe tents, * See Flift, of Greenland, vol. i. p. 132—156. when i6S A JOURNEY TO THE when inhabited, had undoubtedly been covered with {kins ; and in Winter entirely overfpread with the fnow-drift, which muil have greatly contributed to their warmth. They were fo fmall, that they did not contain more than fix or eight perfons each ; and even that number of any other people would have found them but miferable habitations. Their houfehold furniture chiefly confifts of ftone kettles, and wooden troughs of various fizes ; alfo diflies, fcoops, and fpoons, made of the buffalo or mufk-ox horns. Their kettles are formed of a pepper and liilt coloured ftone ; and though the texture appears to be very coarfc, and as porous as a drip-ftone, yet they are pertedtly tight, and will (ound as clear as a China bovvd. Some oi thofe kettles are fo large as to be capable of containing five or fix gallons ; and though it is impofiiblc thcfc poor people can perrorm this arduous work with any other tools than harder ftoncs, yet they are by far fupeiior to any that I had ever feen in Hudfon's Bay ; every one ol: them being ornamented with neat mouldino;s round the rim, and fome of the laro-e ones with a kind of flute-work at each corner. In fiiapc they were a long fquare, fom -thing wider at the top than bottom, like a knife-tray, and flrong handles of the folid flone were left at each end to lift them up. Their hatchets are made of a thick lump of copper, about five or fix inc'is long, and from one and a half to two inches fquare ; they are bevelled away at one end like a mortice- N O R T H E R N O C E A N. iSc, mortlce-cliilTel. This is laflied into the end of a piece of wood about twelve or fourteen inches long, in fuch a man- ner as to aft like an adze : in general they are applied to the wood like a chiiTel, and driven in with a heavy club, inflead of a mallet. Neither the weight of the tool jior the fharpnefs of the metal will admit of their being handled either as adze or axe, with any degree of fuccefs. The men's bayonets and women's knives are alfo made of copper; the former are in fhape like the ace of fpades, with the handle of deers horn a foot long, and the latter exadly refemble thofe defcribed by Crantz. Samples of both thefe implements I formerly fent home to James Fitz- gerald, Efq. then one of the Hudfon's Bay Committee. Among all the fpoils of the twelve tents which my com- panions plundered, only two fmall pieces of iron were found; one of which was about an inch and a half long, and three eighths of an inch broad, made into a woman's knife; the other was barely an inch long, and a quarter of an inch wide. This laft was rivetted into a piece of ivory, fo as to form a man's knife, known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Mokeatogga?i^ and is the only inftrument ufed by them in fliaping all their wood- work. Thofe people had a fine and numerous breed of dogs, with iharp ered ears, fharp nofes, bufliy tails, &c. ex- Z adly •i^ A JOURNEY TO THE a£lly like thofe feen among the Efquimaux in Hudfon's Bay and Straits. They were all tethered to ftones, to pre- vent them, as I fuppofc, from eating the fifh that were' fpread all over the rocks to dry. I do not recoiled: that my companions killed or hurt one of thofe animals ; but after we had left the tents, they often wiHied they had taken fome of thofe fine dogs with them. Though the drefs, canoes, utenfils, and many other articles belonging to thefe people, are very fimilar to thofe of Hudfon's Bay, yet there is one cuftom that pre- vails among them — namely, that of the men having all the hair of their heads pulled out by the roots — which pronounces them to be of a different tribe from any hitherto feen either on the coafl: of Labradore, Hudfon's Bay, or Davis's Straits. The women wore their hair at full length, and exadly in the fame ftile as all the other Efquimaux women do whom I have feen. When at the fea-fide, (at the mouth of the Copper River,) befides feeing many feals on the ice, I alfo obferved feveral flocks of fea-fov/1 flying about the fhores; fuch as, gulls, black-heads, loons, old wives, ha-ha-vvie's, dunter geefe, arctic gulls, and willicks. In the adjacent ponds alfo were fome fwans and geefe in a moulting ftate, and in the marflies fome curlews and plover; plenty of hawks-eyes, (i. e. the green plover,) and fome yellow-legs ; alfo feveral other fmall birds, that viflt thofe Northern parts in the Spring N O R T H E R N O C E A N. lyi Spring to breed and moult, and which doubtlefs return Southward as the fall advances. My reafon for this conjec- ture is founded on a certain knowledge that all thofe birds migrate in Hudfon's Bay; and it is but reafonable to think that they are lefs capable of withftanding the rigour of fuch a long and cold Winter as they mufi: necelTarily ex- perience in a country which is fo many degrees within the Arctic Circle, as that is where I now faw them. That the mufk-oxen, deer, bears, wolves, wolvarines, foxes, Alpine hares, white owls, ravens, partridges, ground- fquirrels, common fquirrels, ermins, mice, &c. are the conftant inhabitants of thofe parts, is not to be doubted. In many places, by the fides of the hills, where the fnow lay to a great depth, the dung of the mufk-oxen and deer was lying in fuch long and continued heaps, as clearly to point out that thofe places had been their much-frequented paths during the preceding Winter. There were alfo many other fimilar appearances on the hills, and other parts, where the fnow was entirely thawed away, without any print ot a foot being vifible in the mofs ; which is a certain proof that thefe long ridges of dung maft have been dropped in the fnow as the beafts were pafling and repafTmg over it in the Winter. There are likewife fimilar proofs that the Alpine hare and the partridge do not migrate, but remain there the whole year : the latter we found in conlidcr- able flocks among the tufts of willows which grow near the fea. , . Z 2 It ,72 AJOURNEYTOTHE 177I* It is perhaps not generally known, even to the curious, July. therefore may not be unworthy of obfervation, that the dung of the mufk-ox, though fo large an animal, is not larger, and at the fame time fo near the fhape and colour of that of the Alpine hare, that the difference is not eafily diftinguifhed but by the na,tives, though in general the quantity may lead to a difcovery of the animal to which it belongs. I did not fee any birds peculiar to thofe parts, except what the Copper Indians call the *' Alarm Bird," or " Bird of Warning." In iize and colour it refembles a Cobadekoock, and is of the owl genus. The name is faid to be well adapted to its qualities ; for when it perceives any people, or beaft, it direds its way towards them im- mediately, and after hovering over them fome time, flies round them in circles, or goes a-head in the fame di- redion in which they walk. They repeat their vifits fre- quently; and if they fee any other moving objeds, fly al- ternately from one party to the other, hover over them for fome time, and make a loud fcreaming noifc, like the crying of a child. In this manner they are faid fome- times to follow paiTengers a whole day. The Copper In- dians put great confidence in thofe birds, and fay they are frequently apprized by them of the approach of ftrangers, and conduced by them to herds of deer and mufk-oxen ; which, without their afliflance, in all probability, they never could have found. The NORTHERN OCEAN. The Efquimaux feem not to have imbibed the fame opinion of thofe birds ; for if they had, they muft have been apprized of our approach toward their tents, becaufe all the time the Indians lay in ambufh, (before they began the maffacre,) a large flock of thofe birds were continually flying about, and hovering alternately over them and the tents, making a noife fufficient to awaken any man out of the foundeft lleep. After a fleep of five or fix hours we once more fet out, and walked eighteen or nineteen miles to tlie South South Eaft, when we arrived at one of the copper mines, which lies, from the river's mouth about Soutli South Eaft, diftant about twenty-nine or thirty miles. This mine, if it deferve that appellation, is no more than an entire jumble of rocks and gravel, which has been rent many ways by an earthquake. Through thefe ruins there runs a fmall river ; but no part of it, at the time I was there, was more than knee-deep. The Indians who were the occafion of my undertaking this journey, reprefented this mine to be fo rich and va- luable, that if a fadory were built at the river, a fiiip might be ballafted with the oar, inftead of ftone ; and that with the fame eafe and difpatch as is done with, ftones at Churchill River. By their account the hills were entirely compofed of that metal, all in handy lumps, like a heap »7J 1^4 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E a lieap of pebbles. But their account differed fo much from the truth, that I and almoft all my companions ex- pended near four hours in fearch of fome of this metal, with fuch poor fuccefs, that among us all, only one piece of any fize could be found. This, however, was remark- ably good, and weighed above four pounds *. I believe the copper has formerly been in much greater plenty ; for in many places, both on the furfacc and in the cavities and crevices of the rocks, the ftones are much tinged with verdigrife. It may not be unworthy the notice of the curious, or undeferving a place in my Journal, to remark, that the Indians imagine that every bit of copper they find re- fembles feme objeta in nature ; but by what I faw of the large piece, and fome fmaller ones which were found by my companions, it requires a great fhare of invention to make this out. I found that different people had dif- ferent ideas on the fubjed, for the large piece of copper above mentioned had not been found long before it had twenty different names. One fliying that it refembled this animal, and another that it reprcfented a particular part of another ; at laft it was generally allowed to re- femble an Alpine hare couchant : for my part, I muff con- fefs that I could not fee it had the leaft refemblance to any thing to which they compared it. It would be endlefs to * This piece of Copper is now in the pofTcfnon of the Hudfon's Bay Company. enumerate NORTHERN OCEAN. 175 enumerate the different parts of a deer, and other ani- mals, which the Indians fay the beft pieces of copper re- femble : it may therefore be fufficient to fay, that the largeft pieces, with the feweft branches and the leaft drofs, are the beft for their ufe ; as by the help of fire, and two ftones, they can beat it out to any fhape they wifh. Before Churchill River was fettled by the Hudfon's Bay Company, which was not more than fifty years previous to this journey being undertaken, the Northern Indians had no other metal but copper among them, except a fmall quan- tity of iron-work, which a party of them who vifited York Fort about the year one thoufand feven hundred and thir- teen, or one thoufand feven hundred and fourteen,, pur- chafed ; and a i^cw pieces of old iron found at Churchill River, which had undoubtedly been left there by Captain Monk. This being the cafe, numbers of them from all quar- ters ufed every Summer to refort to thefe hills in fearch of copper ; of which they made hatchets, ice-chiflels, bayonets, knives,^ awls, arrow-heads, &c. * The many paths * There is a flrange tradition among thofe people, that the firft perfon who difcovered thofe mines was a woman, and that fhe conduftcd them to the place for feveral years; but as fhe was the only woman in company, fome of the men took fuch liberties with her as made her vow reveng;e on them ; and fhe is faid to have been a great conjurer. Accordingly when the men had loaded themfelves with copper, and were going to return, fhe refufcd to ac- company them, and faid fhe would fit on the mine till fhe funk into the ground, and that the copper fhould fink with her. The next year, when the men went for more copper, they found her funk up to the waift, though ftlll alivcj, lyg A J O U R N E Y T O T H E paths that had been beaten by the Indians on thefe oc- cafions, and which are yet, in many places, very perfedt, efpecially on the dry ridges and hills, is furprifmg ; in the vallies and marfliy grounds, however, they are moftly grown over with herbage, (o as not to be difcerned. The Copper Indians fet a great value on their native metal even to this day ; and prefer it to iron, for almoft every ufe except that of a hatchet, a knife, and an awl : for thefe three neceffary implements, copper makes but a very poor fubftitute. When they exchange copper for iron-work with our trading Northern Indians, which is but feldom, the flandard is an ice-chiffel of copper for an ice-chiffel of iron, or an ice-chiffel and a few arrow- heads of copper, for a half-worn hatchet ; but when they barter furrs with our Indians, the ejftabliflied rule is to give ten times the price for every thing they purchafe that is given for them at the Company's Fadtory. Thus, a hatchet that is bought at the Factory for one beaver-fkin, or one cat-fkin, or three ordinary martins' fkins, is fold to alive, and the quantity of copper much decreafed ; and on their repeating jhcir vifit the year following, fhe had quite difappeared, and all the principal part of the mine with her; fo that after that period nothing remained on the furface but a few fmall pieces, and thofe were fcattered at a confiderable dif- tance from each other. Before that period they fay the copper lay on the furface in fuch large heaps, that the Indians had nothing to do but turn it over, and pick fuch pieces as would beft fuit the different ufes for which they in- tended it, 5 thofe NORTHERN OCEAN. thofe people at the advanced price of one thoufand per cent. ; they alfo pay in proportion, for knives, and every other fmaller piece of iron-work. For afmall brafs kettle of two pounds, or two pounds and a half v/eight, they pay fixty martins, or twenty beaver in other kinds of . furrs *. If the kettles are not bruifed, or ill-ufcd in any other refpe<5l, the Northern traders have the confcience at times to exadl fomething more. It is at this extravagant price that all the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians, who traffic with our yearly traders, fupply themfelves with iron-work, &c. From thofe two tribes our Northern Indians ufed formerly to purchafe moft of the furrs they brought to the Company's Fa6lory ; for their own country pro- duced very few of thofe articles, and being, at that time, at war with the Southern Indians, they were prevented from penetrating far enough backwards to meet with many animals of the furr kind; fo that deer-fkins, and * What Is meant by Beaver in other kind of furrs, muft be underftood as follows : For the eafier trading with the Indians, as well as for the more cor- re6lly keeping their accounts, the Hudfon's Bay Company have made a full- grown beaver-fkin the flandard by which they rate all other furrs, according to their refpecftive values. Thus in feveral fpecics of furrs, one fkin is valued at the rate of four beaver flcins ; fome at three, and others at two ; whereas thofe of an inferior quality are rated at one ; and thofe of iiill lefs value con- fidered fo inferior to that of a beaver, that from fix to twenty of their ll-cins are only valued as equal to one beaver fl^in in the way of trade, and do not fetch one-fourth of the price at the London market. In this manner the term " Made Beaver" is to be underftood. A a fuch ijS A JOURNEY TO THE 1771- fucli furrs as they could extort from the Copper and Dog- ""Tuf"^ ribbed Indians, compofed the whole of their trade ; which, on an average of many years, and indeed till very lately, feldom or ever exceeded Hx thoufand Made Beaver per a?inmn. At prefent happy it is for them, and greatly to the advantage of the Company, that they are in perfed: peace, and live in friendfhip with their Southern neighbours. The good effed: of this harmony is already fo vifible, that .. within a few years the trade from that quarter has increafed many thoufands of Made Beaver annually ; fome years even to the amount of eleven thoufand Ikins *. Befide the * Since this Journal was written, the Northern Indians, by annually vifiting their Southern friends, the Athapufcow Indians, have contradted the fmall-pox, which has carried off nine-tenths of them, and particularly thofe people who compofed the trade at Churchill Faftory. The few furvivors follow the ex- ample of their Southern neighbours, and all trade with the Canadians, who are fettled in the heart of the Athapufcow country : fo that a very few years has proved my fhort-fightrdnefs, and that it would have been much more to the advantage of the Company, as well as have prevented the depopulation of the Northern Indian country, if they had ftill remained at war with the Southern tribes, and never attempted to better their fituation. At the fame time, it is impoffible to fay what increafe of trade might not, in time, have arifen from a coi.ftant and regular traffic with the different tribes of Copper and Dog- ribbed IndLins. But having been totally neglefted for feveral years, they have now funk into their original barbarifm and extreme indigence ; and a war has enfued between the two tribes, for the fake of the few remnants of iron-work which was left among them ; and the Dog-ribbed Indians were fo numerous, and fo fuccefsful, as to deftroy almoft the whole race of the Copper Indians. While NORTHERN OCEAN. the advantage arinng to the Company from this increafe, the poor Northern Indians reap innumerable benefits from a fine and plentiful country, with the produce of which thev annually load themfelves for trade, without giving the leait offence to the proper inhabitants. Several attempts have been made to induce the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians to viiit the Company's Fort at Churchill River, and for that purpofe many prefents have been fent, but they never were attended with any fuccefs. And though feveral of the Copper Indians have vifited Churchill, in the capacity of fervants to the Northern Indians, and were generally fent back loaded with prefents for their countrymen, yet the Northern Indians always plundered them of the whole foon after they left the Fort. This kind of treatment, added to the many incon- veniencies that attend fo long a journey, are great obftacles in their way ; otherwife it would be as pofTible for them to bring their own goods to market, as for the Northern In- dians to go fo far to purchafe them on their own account, While I was writing this Note, I was informed by feme Northern Indians, that the few which remain of the Copper tribe have found their way to one of the Canadian ho'jfes in the Athapufcow Indians country, where they get fuppHed with every thing a: lefs, or about half the price they were formerly obliged to give; fo that the few furviving Northern Indians, as well as the Hudfon's Bay Company, have now lofb every fnadow of any future trade from that quarter, unlcfs the Company will eftablifn a lettlement with the Athapufcow country, and underfel! the Canadians. A a 2 "^ and i8o A JOURNEY TO THE and have the fame diftance to bring them as the firfl pro- prietors would have had. But it is a political fcheme of our Northern traders to prevent fuch an intercourfe, as it would greatly leffen their confequence and emolument. Superftition, indeed, will, in all probability, be a lafting barrier again ft thofe people ever having a fettled communi- cation with our Fadtory ; as few of them chufe to travel in countries fo remote from their own, under a pretence that the change of air and provilions (though exad:ly the fame to which they are accuftomed) are highly prejudicial to their health ; and that not one out of three of thofe who have undertaken the journey, have ever lived to return. The firft of thefe reafons is evidently no more than grofs fuperftition ; and though the latter is but too true, it has always been owing to the treachery and cruelty of the Northern Indians, who took them under their pro- te<3:ion. It is but a few years fince, that Captain Keelfhies, who is frequently mentioned in this Journal, took twelve of thefe people under his charge, all heavy laden with the moft valuable furrs ; and long before they arrived at the Fort, he and the reft of his crew had got all the furrs from thern, in payment for proviftons for their fupport, and obliged them to carry the furrs on their account. On their arrival at Prince of V/ales's Fort, Keelfliies laid claim to great merit for having brought thofe ftrangers, fo NORTHERN OCEAN. tSt {o richly laden, to the Fadory, and afTured the Governor that he might, in future, exped: a great increafe in trade from that quarter, through his intereft and afliduity. One of the ftrangers was dubbed with the name of Captain, and treated accordingly, while at the Fort ; that is, he was dreffed out in the befh manner ; and at his departure, both himfelf and all his countrymen were loaded with prefents, in hopes that they would not only repeat the vilit themfelves, but by difplaying fo much generofity, many of their countrymen would be induced to accom- pany them. There feems to be great propriety in the condu6t of the Governor * orr this occalion ; but however well-intended, it had quite the contrary efFedl, for Keelfliies and the reft of his execrable gang, not content Vvdth fliaring all the furrs thofe poor people had carried to the Fort, deter- mined to get alfo all the European goods that had been given to them by the Governor. As neither Keelfliies nor any of his gang had the courage . to kill the Copper Indians, they concerted a deep-laid fcheme for their de- ftrudtion; which v/as to leave them on an ifland. With this view, wh:.rL they got to the propofed fpot, the North- ern Indians took care to have all the baggage belonging to the Copper Indians ferried acrofs to the main, and having firipped them of fucli parts, of their clothing as they * Mr. Mofcs Norcon, thought iga AJOURNEYTOTHE 1771. thought worthy their notice, went off with all the canoes, '' July. leaving them all behind on the iiland, where they periflied for want. When I was on my journey to the Fort in June one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-two, I faw the bones of thofe poor people, and had the foregoing account from my guide Matonabbee ; but it was not made known to the Governor for fome years afterward, for fear of prejudicing him againft Keelfhies. A fimilar circumflance had nearly happened to a Copper Indian who accompanied me to the Fort in one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-two : after we were all ferried acrofs Seal River, and the poor man's bundle of furrs on the South-fide, he was left alone on the oppolite fhore ; and no one except Matonabbee would go over for him. The wind at that time blew fo hard, that Matonabbee ftripped himfelf quite naked, to be ready for fwimming in cafe the canoe fhould overfet ; but he foon brought the Copper Indian fafe over, to the no fmall mortification of the wretch who had the charge of him, and who would gladly have poffcffcd the bundle of furrs at the expence of the poor man's life. . When the Northern Indians returned from the Fadory that year, the above Copper Indian put himfelf under the protection of Matonabbee, who accompanied him as far North as the latitude 64°, where they fiw fome Copper Indians, among whom was the young man's father, into whofe NORTHERN OCEAN. 183 whofe hands Matonabbee delivered him in good health, i77i' with all his goods fafe, and in good order. juiy. Soon after we had left the Copper-mine, there came on a thick fog with rain, and at intervals heavy fliowers of fnow. This kind of weather continued for fome days ; and at times it was fo thick, that we were obliged to flop for feveral hours together, as we were unable to fee our way, and the road was remarkably rocky and intricate. At three o'clock in the morning of the twenty-fecond, azd. Matonabbee's brother and one of the Copper Indians, who had been firft difpatched a-head from Congecatha- whachaga, overtook us. During their abfence they had not difcovered any Indians who could have been ferviceable to my expedition. They had, however, been at the Cop- per River, and feeing fome marks fet up there to direft them to return, they had made the befl: of their way, and had not flept from the time they left the river till they joined us, though the diftance was not lefs than a hundred miles. When they arrived we were afleep, but we foon awakened, and began to proceed on our journey. That day we walked forty-two miles ; and in our way paffed Buffalo Lake : at night, we put up about the middle of the Stony Mountains. The weather was exceflively hot and fultry, On A JOURNEY TO THE On the twenty- third, the v;eather continued much the fame as on the preceding day. Early in the morning we fet out, and walked forty-five miles the firri: day, during which the Indians killed feveial line fat buck deer. 24tii. About one o'clock in the morning of the twenty- fourth, we flopped and took a little refrefhment, as v/e had alfo done about noon the preceding day ; but the Indians had been fo long from their wives and families, that they pro- mifed not to fleep till they faw them, efpecially as we were then in fight of the hills of Congecathav/hachaga, where we had left the laifl of them. After refling about an hour, we proceeded on our way, and at fix in the morning arrived at Congecathawhachaga ; when, to our gr jat difap- pointment, we found that all our women had got fet acrofs the river before the Copper Indians left that part ; fo that when we arrived, not an Indian was to be found, except an old man and his family, who had arrived in our ab- fence, and was waiting at the croffing-place with fome furrs for Matonabbee, who was fo nearly related to the old man as to be his fon-in -law, having one of his daughters for a wife. The old man had another with him, who was alfo oftered to the great man, but not accepted. Our flay at this place may be faid to have been of very iliort duration ; for on feeing a large fmoke to the Southward, we immediately croffcd the river, and walked towards it, 6 when NORTHERN OCEAN. i8j when we found that the women had indeed been there fome days before, but were gone ; and at their departure had fet the mofs on fire, which was then burning, and occafioned the fmoke we had feen. By this time the afternoon was far advanced ; we purfued, however, our courfe in the direction which the women took, for their track we could eafily difcover in the mofs. Vv^e had not gone far, before we faw another fmoke at a great diftance, for which we fhaped our courfe ; and, notwithftanding we redoubled our pace, it was eleven o'clock at night before we reached it ; when, to our great mortification, we found it to be the place where the women had flept the night before; having in the o-th. morning, at their departure, fet fire to the mofs which was. then burning. The Indians, finding that their wives were fo near as to be within one of their ordinary day's walk, which fcl- dom exceeded ten or twelve miles, determined not to reft till they had joined them. Accordingly we purfued our courfe, and about two o'clock in the morning of the the twenty-fifth, came up with fome of the women, who had then pitched their tents by the fide of Cogead Lake. From our leaving the Copper-mine River to this time v/e had travelled fo hard, and taken fo little reft by the way, that my feet and legs had fwelled confiderably, and I had becom.e quite ftifi at the ankles. In this fituation I had Bb fo iB6 A J O U II N E y T O T H E 177^- fo little power to direct my feet when v/alking, that I "^ly. frequently knocked them againft the fiones with Rich force, as not only to jar and diforder them, but my legs alfo ; and the nails of my toes were bruifed to inch a degree, that feveral of them icftered and dropped oft. To add to this mifhap, the (kin was entirely chafed oir from the tops of both my feet, and between every toe ; fo that the fand and gravel, which I could by no means exclude, irritated the raw parts fo much, that for a v/hole day before we arrived at the women's tents, I left the print of my feet in blood almoft at every ftep I took. Several of the In- dians began to, complain that their feet alfo were fore ; but, on examination, not one of them was the twentieth part in fo bad a Rate as mine. This being the iirft time i had been in fuch a Situation, or feen any body foot-foundered, I was much alarmed, and under great apprehenlions for the confequences. Though I was but little fatigued in body, yet the excru- ciating pain I fufFered when walking, had fuch an effe- tion, in one of my hunting excurfions, I accidentally came acrofs the conjurer as he was fitting under a bufli, feverai miles from the tents, where he was bufily employed fliaping a piece of wood exadly like that part which ftuck out of his mouth after he had pretended to fwaliow the remainder of the piece. The fl:iape of the piece which I faw him making was this, ^ ; which exadly refembled the forked end of the main piece, the fliape of which was this, I I I ^1^. So that v/hen his attendants had con- cealed the main piece, it was cafy for him to ftick tlie fmall point into his mouth, as it was reduced at the fmall end to a proper fize for the purpofe. Similar N O R T H E R N O C £ A N. 21; Similar proofs may eafily be urged againft his fwallow- ing the bayonet in the Summer, as no perfon lefs ignorant than themfelves can pollibly place any belief in the reality of thofe feats ; yet on the whole, they muft be allowed a confiderable fhare of dexterity in the performance of thofe tricks, and a wonderful deal of perfeverance in what they do for the relief of thofe whom they undertake to cure. Not long after the above performance had taken place, fome of the Indians began to afk me what I thought of it. As I could not have any plea for faying that I v/as far off, and at the fame time not caring to affront them by hinting my fufpicions of the deceit, I was fome time at a lofs for an anfwer : I urged, however, the impoffibility of a man's fwallowing a piece of wood, that v/as not only much longer than his whole back, but nearly twice as broad as he could extend his mouth. On which fome of them laughed at my ignorance, as they v/ere pleafcd to call it ; and faid, that the fpirits in waiting fwailowed, or other wife concealed, the ftick, and only left the forked end apparently flicking out of the conjurer's mouth. My guide, Matonabbee, with all his other good fenfe, was fo bigotted to the reality of thofe performances, that he af- fured me in the ftrongeft terms, he had feen a man, who was then in company, fwallow a child's cradle, with as much eafe as he could fold up a piece of paper, and put it into his mouth ; and that when he hauled it up again, not the F f mark 2i8 AJOQRNEYTOTHE 1771. mark of a tooth, or of any violence, was to be difcoverecJ November, about it. This ftory (o far exceeded the feats which I had feen with the bayonet and board, that, for the fake of keeping up the farce, I began to be very inqui{itive about the fpirits which appear to them on thofe occafions, and their form ; when I was told that they appeared in various fhapes, for almofl every conjurer had his peculiar attend- ant ; but that the fpirit which attended the man who pre- tended to fwallow the piece of wood, they faid, generally appeared to him in the fhape of a cloud. This I thought very a-propos to the prefent occaflon ; and I m-uft confefs that I never had fo thick a cloud thrown before my eyes before or {ince ; and had it not been by accident, that I faw him make a counterpart to the piece of wood faid to be fwallowed, I fhould have been ftill at a lofs how to ac- count for fo extraordinary a piece of deception, performed hy a man who was entirely naked. As foon as our conjurer had executed the above feat, and entered the conjuring-houfe, as already mentioned, five other men and an old woman, all of whom were great profeffors ot that art, ftripped themfelves quite naked and followed him, when they foon began to fuck, blow, ling, and dance, round the poor paralytic ; and continued fo to do for three days and four nights, without taking the leaft reft or refrcflmicnt, not even fo much as a drop of water, Whea NORTHERN OCEAN. When thefe poor deluding and deluded people came out of the conjuring-houfe, their mouths were fo parched with thirfl as to be quite black, and their throats fo fore, that they were fcarcely able to articulate a (ingle word, except thofe that ftand for^y^i- and 710 in their language. After fo long an abftinence they were very careful not to eat or drink too much at one time, particularly for the firft day ; and indeed fome of them, to appearance, were almoft as bad as the poor man they had been endeav^ou ring- to relieve. But great part of this was feigned ; for they lay on their backs with their eyes fixed, as if in the ago- nies of death, and were treated like young children ; one perfon fat conflantly by them, moiftening their mouths with fat, and now and then giving them a drop of water. At other times a fmall bit of meat was put into their mouths, or a pipe held for them to fmoke. This farce only lafted for the firft day ; after which they feemed to be perfeftly well, except the hoarfenefs, which continued for a confiderable time afterwards. And it is truly won- derful, though the ftridefl: truth, that when the poor iick man was taken from the conjuring-houfe, he had not only recovered his appetite to an amazing degree, but was able to move all the fingers and toes of the fide that had been fo long dead. In three weeks he recovered fo far as to be capable of walking, and at the end of fix weeks went a hunting for his family. He was one of the perfon s * par- * His name was Cof-abyagh, the Northern Indian name for the Rock Partridge. F f 2 ticularly 219 A JOURNEY TO THE ticularly engaged to provide for mc during my joiirney ; and after his recovery from this dreadful diiorder, accom- panied me back to Prince of Wales's Fort in June one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-two ; and iincc that time he has frequently vifited the Faftory, though he never had a healthy look afterwards, and at times feemed troubled with a nervous complaint. It may be added, that he had been formerly of a remarkable lively difpofition ; but after his laft illnefs he always appeared thoughtful, fometimes gloomy, and, in fad, the diforder feemed to have changed his whole nature ; for before that dreadful paralytic ftroke^ he was diftinguifhed for his good-nature and benevolent difpofition ; was entirely free from every appearance of avarice; and the whole of his wiflies feemed confined within the narrow limits of poffefling as many goods as were abfolutely neceffary, with his own induftry, to enable him to fupport his family from feafon to feafon ; but after this event, he was the moft fraftious, quarrelfome, difcon- tented, and covetous wretch alive. Though the ordinary trick cf thefe conjurers may be eafily detcd;jd, and juftly exploded, being no more than the tricks ot common jugglers, yet the apparent good effect of their Ir.bours on the fick and dileafed is not fo ealily accounted for. Perhaps the implicit confidence placed in them by the fick may, at times, leav^e the mind fo perfedly at refl, as to caufe the diforder to take a fa- vourable turn ; and a few fuccefstul cafes are quite fuf- ficient to eftablifh the do6tor's charadler and reputation : 3 But NORTHERNOCEAN. 221 Bit how this coniidcration could operate in the cafe I have 1771- juft mentioned I am at a lofs to fiy ; fuch, however, was November, the fad, and I leave it to be accounted for by others. When thefc jugglers take a diflike to, and threaten a fecret revenge en any perfon, it often proves fatal to that perfon j as, from a firm bcjief that the conjurer has power over his . life, he permits the very thoughts of it to prey on his fpirits, till by degrees it brings on a diforder which puts an end to his exiftence * : and fometimes a threat of this kind * As a proof of this, Matonabbee, (who always thought me pofTefled of this art,) on his arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Winter of 17783 informed me, that a man whom I had never feen but once, had treated him in fuch a manner that he was afraid of his life ; in confequence of which he prefTed me very much to kill him, though I was then fcveral hundreds of miles diftant. On which, to pleafe this great man to whom I owed fo much, and not expefting that any harm could poffibly arife from it, I drew a rough flcetch of two human figures on a piece of paper, in the attitude of wredling : in tlie hand of one of them, I drew the figure of a bayonet pointing to the bread of the other. This is me, faid I to Matonabbee, pointing to the figure which was holding the bayonet ; and the other, is your enemy. Oppofirc to thofc figures I drew a pine-tree, over which I placed a large human eye, and out of the tree projeftcd a human hand. This paper I gave to Matonabbee, with inft) udions to make it as publicly known as poffible. Sure enough, the fol- lowing year, when he came in to trade, he informed me that the man was dead, though at that time he was not lefs than tliree hundred miles from Prince Wales's Fort. He aiTured me that the man was in perfe£l health when he "heard of my defign againft him ; but almoll immediately afterwards became quite gloomy, and refufing all kind of fuftenance, in a very few days died. Alter this I was frequently applied to on the fame account, both by Mato- nabbee and other leading Indians, but never thought proper to comply v.ich their requefts; by which means I not only preferved the credit I gained on the firft attempt, but always kept them in awe, and in fome degree of refpe t and obedience 222 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1771- kind caufes the death of a whole family ; and that without Novanber. any blood being flied, or the leaft apparent moleftation being offered to any of the parties. Having dried as many fifli and filli-roes as we could con- veniently take with us, we once more packed up our December fl-gres, and, on the firft day of December, fet out, and continued our courfe to the South Weft, leaving Anaw'd Lake on the South Weft. Several of the Indians being out of order, we made but fhort days journies. From the firft to the thirteenth, we walked along a courfe of fmall lakes, joined to each other by fmall rivers, or creeks, that have communication with Anaw'd Lake. In our way we caught daily a few fifh by angling, and faw many beaver houfesj but thefe were generally in fo difficult a fituation, and had fo many ftones in the com- pofttion of them, that the Indians killed but {cWj and that at a great expence of labour and tools. i3tli. On the thirteenth, one of the Indians killed two deer, which were the firft that we had feen fince the twentieth obedience to me. In faft, ftrange as it may appear, it is almoft abfolutely neceflary that the chiefs at this place fliould profefs fomething a little fiiperna- tural, to be able to deal with thofe people. The circumftance here recorded is a fa£l well known to Mr. William Jefferfon, who fucceeded me at Churchill Faftory, as well as to all the officers and many of the common men who were at Prince of Wales's Fort at the time. of N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 2^23 of Odober. So that during a period of near two months, 1771. we had lived on the dried meat that we had prepared at December Point Lake, and a few fifh ; of which the latter was not very coniiderable in quantity, except what v/as caught a.t Anaw'd Lake. It is true, we alfo caught a few rabbits, and at times the wood-partridges were fo plentiful, that the Indians killed confiderable numbers of them with their bows and arrows ; but the number of mouths was fo great, that all which was caught from our leaving Point Lake, though, if enumerated, they might appear very confiderable, would not have afforded us all a bare fubdftence ; for though I and fome others experienced no real want, yet there .were many in our company who could fcarcely be faid to live, and would not have exifted at all, had it not been for the dry meat we had with us. When we left the above-mentioned lakes we ihapcd a courfe more to the Southward, and on the twenty-fourth, 241!:. arrived at the North fide of the great Athapufcow Lake. In our way we faw many Indian deer, and beaver v/ere very plentiful, many of which the Indians killed ; but the days were fo lliort, that the Sun only took a circuit of a few points of the compafs above the horizon, and did not, at its greatefl altitude, rife half-way up the trees. The brilliancy of the Aurora Borealis^ however, and of the Stars, even without the affiftance of the Moon, made fome amends for that deficiency ; for it was frequently fo light ail night, that I could fee to read a very fmall print. The 224 A JOURNEY TO THE The Indians make no difference between night and day wlien they are hunting of beaver ; but thofe ?ioSiurnal lights are always found infufficient for the purpofe of hunting deer or moofe. I do not remember to have met with any travellers into hic^h Nortliern latitudes, who remarked their having heard the Northern Lights make any noife in the air as they vary their colours or poiition ; which may probably be owing to the want of perfed; iilence at the time they made their ob- fervations on thofe meteors. I can pofitively affirm, that in ftill nights I have frequently heard them make a ruftling and crackling noife, like the waving of a large flag in a frefli pale of wind. This is not peculiar to the place of which I am now writing, as I have heard the fame noife very plain at Churchill River ; and in all probability it is only for want of attention that it has not been heard in every part of the Northern hemifphere where they have been known to fhine with any confiderable degree of luftre. It is, however, very probable that thefe lights are fometimes much nearer the Earth than they are at others, according to the ftate of the atmofphere, and this may have a great effed on the found : but the truth or falfehood of this conjedure I leave to the determinations of thofe who are better fkiiled in natural philofophy than I can pretend to be. Indian deer (the only fpecies found in thofe parts, cx- ceot the moofe) are fo much larger than thofe which fre- quent NORTHERN OCEAN. 225 qiient the barren grounds to the North of Churchill River, that a fmall doe is equal in fize to a Northern buck. The hair of the former is of a fandy red during the Winter ; and their horns, though much fcronger, are not fo long and branchy as are thofe of the latter kind. Neither is the flefli of thofe deer fo much efteemed by the North- ern Indians, as that of the fmaller kind, which inhabit the more Eaftern and Northern parts of the country. Indeed, it mufh be allowed to be much coarfer, and of a different flavour ; inafmuch as the large Lincolnfhire mutton differs from grafs lamb. I muft acknowledge, however, that I always thought it very good. This is that fpecies of deer which are found fo plentiful near York Fort and Severn River. They are alfo at times found in confiderable num- bers near Churchill River ; and I have feen them killed as far North, near the fea-fi"de, as Seal River : But the fmall Northern Indian deer are feldom known to crofs Churchill River, except in fome very extraordinary cold feafons, and when the Northern winds have prevailed much in the preceding fall ; for thofe vifits are always made in the Winter. But though I own that the flefh of the large Southern deer is very good, I m.uft at the fame time con- fefs that the flefli of the fmall Northern deer, whether buck or doe, in their proper feafon, is by far more deli- cious, and the flnefl: I have ever eaten, either in this country or any other ; and is of that peculiar quality, that it never cloys. I can affirm this from my own experience ; G g for, 426 A JOURNEY TO THE 1 77 1. for, after living on it entirely, as it may be faid, for twelve December, or eighteen months fiicceflively, I fcarcely ever wiflied for a change of food ; though when fifh or fowl came in my way, it was very agreeable. The beaver being (o plentiful, the attention of my com- panions was chiefly engaged on them, as they not only furnifbed delicious food, but their fkins proved a valuable acauifition, being a principal article of trade, as well as a ferviceable one for clothing, &'c. The iituation of the beaver-hoiifes is various. Where the beavers are numerovis they are found to inhabit lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as thofe narrow creeks which connedl the numerous lakes with which this country abounds ; but the tv/o latter arc generally chofen by them when the deoth of water and other circumftances are fuit- able, as they have then the advantage of a current to convey wood and other neceffaries to their habitations, and becaufe, in general, they are more difficult to be taken, than thofe that are built in (landing water. There is no one particular part of a lake, pond, river, or creek, of which the beavers make choice for building their houfes on, in preference to another ; for they fome- times build on points, fometimcs in the hollow of a bay, and often on fmall iHands ; they always chufe, however, thofe NORTHERN OCEAN. 227 thofe parts that hav^e fucli a depth of water as %viil refifl: 1771. the froft in Winter, and prevent it from freezing to the December. bottom. The beaver that build their hoiifes in fmall rivers or creeks, in which the water is liable to be drained off when the back fupplies are dried up by the froft, are wonder- fully taught by inftind: to provide againft that evil, by making a dam quite acrofs the river, at a convenient dif- tance from their houfes. This I look upon as the mod curious piece of workmanfhip that is performed by the beaver ; not fo much for the neatnefs of the work, as for its ftrength and real fcrvice ; and at the fame time it difcovers fuch a degree of fagacity and foreiight in the animal, of approaching evils, as is little inferior to that of the human fpecies, and is certainly peculiar to thofe animals. The beaver-dams differ in fiiape according to the nature of the place in which they are built. If the water in the river or creek have but little motion, the dam is almofl flraight ; but when the current is more rapid, it is always made with a connderable curve, convex toward the fl:ream».. The materials made ufe of in thofe dams are drift-wood, green willows, birch, and poplars, if they can be got; , alfo mud and ftoncs, intermixed in fuch a manner as muft evidently contribute to the ftrength of the dam ; but in thefc dams there is no other order or method obferved, ex- G g 2 cept az8 A JOURNEY TOTHE 1 77^« cept that of the work being carried on with a regular fweep, Ki^uiber. and all the parts being made of equal flrengih. In places which have been long frequented by beaver undifturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a folid bank, capable of refifting a great force both of watar and ice ; and as the willow, poplar, and birch generally take root and flioot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular-planted hedge, which I have feen in fome places {o tall, that birds have built their nefts among the branches. Though the beaver which build their houfes in lakes and other ftanding waters, may enjoy a fufficient quantity of their favourite element without the afliftance of a dam, the trouble of getting wood and other neceffaries to. their habitations without the help of a current, muft in fome meafure counterbalance the other advantages which are reaped from fuch afituation ; for it mufl: be obfervedj.that the beaver v/hich build in rivers and creeks, always cut their wood above their houfes, fo that the current, with little trouble, conveys it to the place required. The beaver- houfes are built of the fame materials as their dams, and are always proportioned in fize to the nun'iber ol inhabitants, which leldom exceed four old, and lix or eight young ones ; though, by chance, I have fcen above double that number. Thefe NORTHERN OCEAN, 229 Thefe houfes, though not altogether unworthy of ad- 1771- miration, fall very fhort of the general defcription given December. of them ; for inftead of order or regulation bei-^.g ob- ferved in rearing them, they are of a much ruder ft.u6lure than their dams. Thofe who have undertaken to defcribe the infide of beaver-houfes, as having feveral apartments appropriated to various ufes; fuch as eating, ileeping, flore-houfes for pro- vifions, and one for their natural occafions, &'c. muft have been very little acquainted with the fubje£t ; or, which is ftill worfe, guilty of attempting to impofe on the credulous, by reprefenting the greateft falfehoods as real fa6ls. Many years conftant refidence among the In- dians, during which I had an opportunity of feting feveral hundreds of thofe houfes, has enabled me to affirm that every thing of the kind is entirely void of truth ; for, notwithftanding the fagacity of thofe animals, it has never been obferved that they aim at any other conveniencies in their houfes, than to have a dry place to lie on ; and there they ufually eat their viduals, which they occalion- ally take out of the water. It frequently happens, that fome of the large houfes are found to have one or more partitions, it they dcferve that appellation ; but that is no more than a part of the main building, left by the fagacity of the beaver to iup- port the roof. On fuch occafions it is common for thofe different 230 A JOURNEY TO THE different apartments, as fome are pleafed to call them, to have no communication with each other but by water ; fo that in faft they may be called double or treble houfes, rather than different apartments of the fame houfe. I have feen a large beaver-houfe built in a fmall ifland, that had near a dozen apartments under one roof: and, two or three of thefe only excepted, none of them had any com- munication with each other but by water. As there were beaver enough to inhabit each apartment, it is more than probable that each family knew its own, and always en- tered at their own door, without having any farther con- nedion with their neighbours than a friendly intercourfe ; and to join their united labours in ere6ling their feparate ha- bitations, and building their dams where required. It is difficult to fay whether their intereft on other occadons was anyways reciprocal. The Indians of my party killed twelve old beaver, and twenty-hve yoimg and halt-grown ones out of the houfe above mentioned ; and on examination found that fcveral had efcapcd their vigilance, and could not be taken but at the expence of more trouble than would be fufficient to take double the number in a lefs difficult fituation *. Travellers \'\'ho affcrt that the beaver have two doors to their houfes, one on the land-fidc, and the other next the * The difficulty here alluded to, v/as the numherlefs vaults the beaver had in the fides of the pond, and the immenfc thickncfs of the houfe in fome parts. water. N 0 R T H E R N O C E A N. 231 water, Teem to be lefs acquainted with thofe animals than ^77^- others who aflign them an elegant fuite of apartments. December. Such a proceeding would be quite contrary to their manner of life, and at the fame time would render their houfes of no ufe, either to proted: them from their enemies, or guard them againft the extreme cold in Winter. The quiquehatches, or wolvereens, are great enemies to the beaver ; and if there were a paffage into their houfes on the land-fide, would not leave one of them alive where- ever they came. I cannot refrain from fmiling, when I read the accounts of different Authors who have written on the oeconomy of thofe animals, as there feems to be a conteft between them, who fhall moft exceed in fidlion. But the Compiler of the Wonders of Nature and Art feems, in my opinion, to have Succeeded bed in this refped: ; as he has not only Golleded all the fictions into which other writers on the fubje6l have run, but has fo greatly improved on them, that little remains to be added to his account of the beaver, befide a vocabulary of their language, a code of their lav/s, and a fketch of their religion, to make it the moH com- plete natural hiflory of that animal which can pofiibly be offered to the public. There cannot be a greater irapofiticn, or indeed a groffer infult, on common underftanding, than the wifh 7 ''^^ A JOURNEY TO THE to make us believe the ftories of fome of the v/orks afcribed to the beaver ; and though it is not to be fappofed that the compiler of a general v^^ork can be intimately acquainted vv^ith every fubjeft of which it may be neceffary to treat, yet a very moderate fhare of underftanding is furely fuf- ficient to guard him againft giving credit to fuch mar- vellous tales, hov/ever fmoothly they may be told, or however boldly they may be afferted, by the romancing traveller. To deny that the beaver is poffelTed of a very conlider- able degree of fagacity, would be as abfurd in me, as it is in tliofe Authors who think they cannot allow them too much. I fhall willingly grant them their full fhare ; but it is im- poilible for any one to conceive how, or by what means, a beaver, whofe full height when {landing ered does not exceed two feet and a half, or three feet at moft, and whofe fore-paws are not much larger than a half-crown piece, can " drive ftakes as thick as a man's leg into the " ground three or four feet deep." Their " wattling thofe " ftakes with twigs," is equally abfurd ; and their " plaif- " tering the infide of their houfes with a compofition of " mud and ftrav/, and fvvimming with mud and flones on " their tails," are dill more incredible. The form and fize of the animal, notwithftanding all its fagacity, will not admit of its performing fuch feats ; and it would be as impoflible for a beaver to ufe its tail as a trowel, except on the furface of the ground on which it walks, as it would N O R t H E R N O C E A N. 23$ would have been for Sir James Thornhill to have painted 1771- the dome of St. Paul's cathedral vi^ithout the afliftance of DccenTb^ fcaffolding. The joints of their tail will not admit of their turning it over their backs on any occadon what- ever, as it has a natural inclination to bend downwards; and it is not without fome confiderable exertion that they can keep it from trailing on the ground. This being the cafe, they cannot fit ered; like a fquirrel, which is their common pofture ; particularly when eating, or when they are cleaning themfelves, as a cat or fquirrel does, without having their tails bent forward between their legs ; and which may not improperly be called their trencher. So far are the beaver from driving ftakes into the ground when building their houfes, that they lay moft of the wood crofswife, and nearly horizontal, and without any other order than that of leaving a hollow or cavity in the middle ; when any unnecefTary branches projeft inward, they cut them off with their teeth, and throw them in among the •reft, to prevent the mud from falling through the roof. It is a miftaken notion, that the wood- work is firfl: com- pleted and then plaiftered ; for the whole of their houfes, as well as their dams, are from the foundation one mafs of wood and mud, mixed with ftones, if they can be pro- cured. The mud is always taken from the edge of the bank, or the bottom of the creek or pond, near the door of the houfe ; and though their fore-paws are fo fmall, yet it is held clofe up between them, under their throat, H h that A JOURNEY TO THE that they cany both mud and ftones j while they always Decmb^ drag the wood with their teeth. All their work is executed in the night ; and they are fo expeditious in completing it, that in the courfe of one night I have known them to have colledled as much mud at their houfes as to have amounted to fome thoufands of their little handfuls ; and when any mixture of grafs or flraw has appeared in it, it has been, mofb afluredly, mere chance, owing to the nature of the ground from which they had taken it. As to their defignedly making a compofition for that purpofe, it is entirely void of truth. It is a great piece of policy in thofe animals, to cover, or plaifter, as it is ufually called, the outfide of their houfes every fall with frefh mud, and as late as pofTible in the Autumn, even when the froft becomes pretty fevere ; as by this means it foon freezes as hard as a ftone, and pre- vents their common enemy, the quiquehatch, from dif- turbing them during the Winter. And as they are fre- quently feen to walk over their work, and fometimes to give a flap with their tail, particularly when plunging into the water, this has, without doubt, given rife to the vulgar opinion that they ufe their tails as a trowel, with which they plaifter their houfes ; whereas that flapping of the tail is no more than a cuftom, which they always preferve, even when they become tame and domeftic, and more par- ticularly fo when they are ftartled. 5 Their NORTHERN OCEAN. 235 Their food chiefly confifts of a large root, fomething refembling a cabbage-ftalk, which grows at the bottom of the lakes and rivers. They eat alfo the bark of trees, particularly that of the poplar, birch, and wiiiow ; but the ice preventing them from getting to the land in Winter, they have not any barks to feed upon during that feafon, except that of fuch flicks as they cut down in Summer, and throw into the water oppofite the doors of their houfes ; and as they generally eat a great deal, the roots above mentioned conftitute a chief part of their food during the Winter, In Summer they vary their diet, by eating various kinds of herbage, and fuch berries as grow near their haunts during that feafon. When the ice breaks up in the Spring, the beaver al- ways leave their houfes, and rove about the whole Sum- mer, probably in fearch of a more commodious Situation; but in cafe of not fucceeding in their endeavours, they return again to their old habitations a little before the fall of the leaf, and lay in their Winter flock of woods. They feldom begin to repair the houfes till the froil commences, and never finilh the outer-coat till the cold is pretty fevere, as hath been already mentioned. When they fhift their habitations, or when the Increafe of their number renders it neceflfary to make fome addition to their houfes, or to eredl new ones, they begin felling H h 2 the 236 AJOURNEYTOTHE tlie wood for thefe purpofes early in the Summer, but feldom begin to build till the middle or latter end of Auguft, and never complete their houfes till the cold weather be fet in. Notwithftanding what has been fo repeatedly reported of thofe animals affembling in great bodies, and jointly ereding large towns, cities, and commonwealths, as they have fometimes been called, I am confident, from many circumftances, that even where the greatejft numbers of beaver are fituated in the neighbourhood of each other, their labours are not carried on jointly in the ere£lion of their different habitations, nor have they any reciprocal intereft, except it be fuch as live immediately under the fame roof ; and then it extends no farther than to build or keep a dam which is common to feveral houfes. In fuch cafes it is natural to think that every one who receives be- nefit from fuch dams, fhould aflift in eredling it, being fenfible of its utility to all. Perfons who attempt to take beaver in Winter fhould be thoroughly acquainted with their manner of life, other- wife they will have endlefs trouble to effedt their purpofe, and probably without fuccefs in the end ; becaufe they have always a number of holes in the banks, which ferve them as places of retreat when any injury is offered to their houfes; and in general it is in thofe holes that they are taken. When NORTHERNOCEAN. 23 When the beaver which are fituated in a fmall river of 1771. creek are to be taken, the Indians fometimes find it ne- uJiJI^ ceflary to ftake the river acrofs, to prevent them from paffing ; after which, they endeavour to find out all their holes or places of retreat in the banks. This requires much pradlice and experience to accomplifh, and is performed in the following manner : Every man being furnifhcd with an ice-chifel, lafhes it to the end of a fmall ftaiT about four or five feet long ; he then walks along the edge of the banks, and keeps knocking his chifels againfi: the ice. Thofe who are well acquainted with that kind of work well know by the found of the ice w^hen they are oppofite to any of the beavers' holes or vaults. As foon as tliev fufpedl any, they cut a hole through the ice big enough to admit an old beaver ; and in this manner proceed till they have found out all their places of retreat, or at leafl as many of them as poflibie. While the principal men are thus employed, fome of the underftrappers, and the wo- men, are bufy in breaking open the houfe, which at times is no eafy talk ; for I have frequently knov/n thefe houfcs to be five and fix feet thick ; and one in particular, v/as more than eight feet thick on the crown. When the beaver find that their habitations are invaded, they fly to their holes in the banks for fiieltcr ; and on being perceived by the Indians, which is eafily done, by attending to the motion of the water, they block up the entrance with flakes of wood, and then haul the beaver out of its hole, either by hand, if they can reach it, or v/ith a large hook made 238 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1771- made for that purpofe, which is faftened to the end of a December. loilg fllck. In this kind of hunting, every man has the fole right to all the beaver caught by him in the holes or vaults ; and as this is a conftant rule, each perfon takes care to mark fuch as he difcovers, by flicking up the branch of a tree, or fome other diftinguifhing poft, by which he may know them. All that are caught in the houfe alfo are the pro- perty of the perfon who finds it. The fame regulations are obferved, and the fame procefs ufed in taking beaver that are found in lakes and other ftanding waters, except it be that of ftaking the lake acrofs, which would be both unneceffary and impoflible. Taking beaver-houfes in thefe fituations is generally at- tended with lefs trouble and more fuccefs than in the former. The beaver is an animal which cannot keep under water long at a time j fo that when their houfes are broke open, and all their places of retreat difcovered, they have but one choice left, as it may be called, either to be taken in their houfes or their vaults : in general they prefer the latter ; for where there is one beaver caught in the houle, many thoufands are taken in their vaults in the banks. Sometimes they are caught in nets, and in the Summer very frequently in traps. In Winter they are very fat and delicious ; NORTHERNOCEAN. 239 delicious; but the trouble of rearing their young, the ^77^- thinnefs of their hair, and their conftantly roving from Deccmbcrr place to place, with the trouble they have in providing againft the approach of Winter, generally keep them very poor during the Summer feafon, at which time their ilelh is but indifferent eating, and their fkins of fo little value, that the Indians generally finge them, even to the amount of many thoufands in one Summer. They have from two to five young, at a time. Mr. Dobbs, in his Account of Hudfon's Bay, enumerates no lefs than eight different kinds of beaver ; but it muft be underftood that they are all of one kind and fpecies : his diftindions arife wholly from the different feafons of the year in which they are killed, and the different ufes to which their fkins are ap- plied, which is the fole reafon that they vary fo much in value. Jofeph Lefranc, or Mr. Dobbs for him, fays, that a sood hunter can kill fix hundred beaver in one feafon, and Id ' can only carry one hundred to market. It that was really the cafe in Lefranc' s time, the canoes muft have been much fmaller than they are at prefent ; for it is well known that the generality of the canoes which h.a.VQ vifited the Company's Fadlories for the laft forty or fifty years, are capable of carrying three hundred beaver-fliins with great eafe, exclufive of the Indians luggage, pro- vifions, &'c* If 240 AJOURNEYTOTHE If ever a particular Indian killed fix hundred beaver in one Winter, (which is rather to be doubted,) it is more than probable that many in his company did not kill twenty, and perhaps fome none at all ; (o that by diftri- buting them among thofe who had bad fuccefs, and others who had no abilities for that kind of hunting, there would be no neceflity of leaving them to rot, or for fmging them in the fire, as related by that Author. During my refi- dence amonsr the Indians I have known fome individuals kill more beaver, and other heavy furrs, in the courfe of a Winter, than their wives could manage ; but the overplus was never wantonly deflroyed, but always given to their relations, or to thofe who had been lefs fuccefsful ; fo that the whole of the great hunters labours were always brought to the Fadory. It is indeed too frequently a cuftom among the Southern Indians to fmge many otters, as well as beaver ; but this is feldom done, except in Summer, when their ikins arc of fo little value as to be fcarcely worth the duty ; on which account it has been always thought im- politic to encourage the natives to kill fuch valuable ani- mals at a time when their fkins are not in feafon. The white beaver, mentioned by Lefranc, are fo rare, that inftead of being " blown upon by the Company's Fadors," as he aflerts, I rather doubt whether one-tenth of them ever faw one during the time of their refidence in this country. In the courfe of twenty years experience in the countries about NORTHERN OCEAN. 341 aLout Hudfon's Bay, though I travelled fix hundred miles to the "Weft of the fea-coaft, I never faw but one white beaver-fKin, and it had many reddifh and brown hairs along the ridge of the back, and the fides and belly were of a glofly filvery white. It was deemed by the Indians a great curiofity ; and I offered three times the ufual price for a few of them, if they could be got ; but in the courfe of ten years that I remained there afterward, I could not procure another ; which is a convincing proof there is no fuch thing as a breed of that kind, and that a vari- ation from the ufual colour is very rare. Black beaver, and that of a beautiful glofs, are not un- common : perhaps they are more plentiful at Churchill than at any other Fadlory in the Bay ; but it is rare to get more than twelve or fifteen of their fkins in the courfe of one year's trade. Lefranc, as an Indian, muft have known better than to have informed Mr. Dobbs that the beaver have from ten to fifteen young at a time j or if he did, he muft have deceived him wilfully : for the Indians, by killing them in all ftages of geftation, have abundant opportunities of afcertaining the ufual number of their olTspring. I have {ctn fome hundreds of them killed at the feafons favour- able for thofe obferva^ions, and never could difcover more than fix young in one female, and that only in two in- I i ftances ; 242 A JOURNEY TO THE 1 771* fiances ; for the ufual number, as I have before obferved, December. is from tWO tO fivC. Befides this unerrmg method of afcertaining the real number of young which any animal has at a time, there is another rule to go by, with refpedl to the beaver, which experience has proved to the Indians never to vary or de- ceive them, that is by dilTedion ; for on examining the womb of a beaver, even at a time when not with young, there is always found a hardifh round knob for every young fhe had at the laft litter. This is a circumftance I have been particularly careful to examine, and can affirm it to be true, from real experience. Moft of the accounts, nay I may fay all the accounts now extant, refpe^ting the beaver, are taken from the authority of the French who have relided in Canada ; but thofe accounts differ fo much from the real ftate and ceco- nomy of all the beaver to the North of that place, as to leave great room to fufped: the truth of them altogether. In the firft place, the affertion that they have two doors to their houfes, one on the land-lide, and the other next the water, is, as I have before obferved, quite contrary to faft and common fenfe, as it would render their houfes of no ufe to them, either as places of fhelter from the incle- mency of the extreme cold in Winter, or as a retreat from their common enemy the quiquehatch. The only thing 10 that NORTHERN OCEAN. 243 that could have made M. Du Pratz, and other French 177X. writers, conjedlure that fuch a thing did exift, muft have Decembe been from having feen fome old beaver-houfes which had been taken by the Indi -ns ; for they are always obliged to make a hole in one (ide of the houfe before they can drive them out ; and it is more than probable that in fo mild a climate as Canada, the Indians do generally make thofe holes on the land-fide *, which without doubt gave rife to the fuggeftion. In refpe6l to the beaver dunging in their houfes, as fome perfons affert, it is quite wrong, as they always plunge into the water to do it. I am the better enabled to make this affrtion, from having kept feveral of them till they became fo domtiticated as to anfwer to their name, and follov thofe to whom they were accuftomed, in the fame manner as a dog would do; and they were as much pie? fed at being fondled, as any animal I ever faw. I had a houfe builc for them, and a fmall piece of water before the door, into which they always plunged when they wanted tc> eafe nature; and their dung being of a light fubftance, immediately rifes and floats on the furface, * The Northern Indians think that the fagacity of the beaver diredls them to make that part of their houfe which fronts the North much thicker than any other part, with i. view of defending themlelves from the cokl v/iads wliich ge- nerally blow from that quarter during the Winter ; and for this reafon the Northern Indians generally break open that fide of the beaver-houfes which cxadtly front the South. I i 2 then 244 A JOURNEY TO THE then fcparates and fubfides to the bottom. When the Winter fets in fo as to freeze the water folid, they ftill continue their ciiftom of coming out of their houfe, and dunging and making water on the ice ; and when the weather was fo cold that I was obliged to take them into my houfe, they always went into a large tub of water which I fet for that purpofe : fo that they made not the leaft dirt, though they were kept in my own iitting- room, where they were the conftant companions of the Indian women and children, and were fo fond of their company, that when the Indians were abfent for any con- siderable time, the beaver difcovered great figns of un- eafinefs, and on their return fhewed equal marks of plea- fure, by fondling on them, crawling into their laps, lay- ing on their backs, fitting ered: like a fquirrel, and be- having to them like children who fee their parents but feldom. In general, during the Winter they lived on the fame food as the women did, and were remarkably fond of rice and plum-pudding : they would eat partridges and frefh venifon very freely, but I never tried them with fifh, though I have heard they will at times prey on them. In fa6l, there are few of the granivorous animals that may not be brought to be carniverous. It is well known that our domeftic poultry will eat animal food : thoufands of geefe that come to London market are fat- tened on tallow-craps ; and our horfes in Hudfon's Bay would not only eat all kinds of animal food, but alfo drink freely of the wafh, or pot-liquor, intended for the hogs. NORTHERN OCEAN. hogs. And we are afiured by the mofl: authentic Authors, tliat in Iceland, not only black cattle, but alfo the llieep, are almoft entitely fed on fifh and filli-bones during the Winter feafon. Even in the Ifles of Orkney, and that in Summer, the fheep attend the ebbing of the tide as re- gular as the Efquimaux curlew, and go down to the fliorc which the tide has left, to feed on the fea-weed. This, however, is through neceility ; for even the famous Illand of Pomona * will not afford them an exiftence above high- water- mark. With refpefb to the inferior, or flave-beaver, of which fome Authors fpeak, it is, in my opinion, very difficult for thofe who are beft acquainted with the oeconomy of this animal to determine whether there are any that de- ferve that appellation or not. It fometimes happens, that a beaver is caught, which has but a very indifferent coat, and which has broad patches on the back, and fhoulders almoft wholly without hair. This is the only foundation for aflerting that there is an inferior, or flave-beaver, among them, And when one of the above defcription is taken, it is perhaps too haftily inferred that the hair is worn off from thofe parts by carrying heavy loads : whereas it is moft probable that it is caufed by a difordcr that attacks them fomewhat fimilar to the mange ; for * This being the largeft of the Orkney Iflands, is called by the Inhabitants rfie Main La.nd. were 245 246 A JOURNEY TOTHE were that falling off of the hair occafioncd by perform- inof extra labour, it is natural to think that inftances of it would be more frequent than there are j as it is rare to fee one of them in the courfe or feven or ten years. I have feen a whole houfe of thofe animals that had nothing on the furface of their bodies out the fine ibft down ; all the long hairs having molted off. This and every other deviation from the general run is undoubtedly owing to fome particular diforder. CHAP. NORTHERN OCEAN. C FI A P. VIII. Tranfadions and Remarks from our Arrival on the South Side of the Athapufcow Lake, till our Arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort on Churchill River. Crofs the Athapiifcoiv Lake. — Defcriptmi of it and its produHiotis^ as far as could be difcovered in Winter, when the fnow was ofi the ground. Fijlj found in the lake. — Defcription of the buffalo; — of the nioofe or elk, and the method of dreffing their fkins. — Find a wotnan alone that had 7iot feen a human face for more than feven iiionths. — Her account boiv foe came to be in that fituaticn ; a7id her curious method of pro- curing a livelihood. — Many of my Indians wrefled for her. — Arrive at the Great Athapufcow River. — Walk along thef.de of the River for feveral days, and thenfrike off to the Eafivard. — Difficulty in getting through the woods in many places. — Meet ivith fome f range Northern Indians on their return from the Fort. — Meet more fratigers , whom my companions plundered, and from whom they took one of their young women Curious matmer of life which thofe f rangers lead, and the reafon they gave for roving fo far from their ufual rcfidence. — Leave the fine level country of the Athapufcows, and arrive at the Stony Hills tf the Northern Indian Country. — Meet feme f range Northern Indians, one of IV horn carried a letter for me to Prince of Wales'' s Fort, in March one thouf and feven hundr'ed and feventy-one, and noiv gave ?ne an an- fwer to it, dated tiventieth of fune following. — Indians begin preparing wood-work and birch-rind for canoes. — The equinoctial gale very fevere. — Indiati inethod rf runniig the moofe deer down by fpeed of foot. — Arrival at Theeleya%a River. — See fome f rangers. — The brutality of my companions. — A tremendous gale aiid fnow-dr-ift . — Meet with ynorc f rangers ; — remarks on it. — Leave all the elderly pcrple and children. n^S A JOURNEY TO THE and proceed d'lreSlly to the Fo?~t. — Stop to build canoes, and then advance. — Several of the Indians die through hunger, and many others are obliged to decline the journey for -want of ammunition. — A violent florm and inundation, that forced us to the top of a high hill, -where ive fuf- fered great di/lrefs for more than two days. — Kill fever al deer. — The Indians method of preferving the fcfi without the afjifance of fait. — Seefevcral Indians that were going to Knapp''s Bay. — Game of all kinds remarkably plentiful. — Arrive at the FaElory. AFTER expending fome days in hunting beaver, we proceeded to crofs the Athapufcow Lake ; but as we had loft much time in hunting deer and beaver, which were very plentiful on fome of the iilands, it was the «th. ninth of January before we arrived on the South fide. This lake, from the beft information which I could get from the natives, is about one hundred and twenty leagues long from Eaft to Weft, and twenty wide from North to South. The point where we crofted it is faid to be the narroweft. It is full of iftands ; moft of v/hich are clothed with fine tall poplars, birch, and pines, and are well ftocked with Indian deer. On fome of the large iftands we alfo found feveral beaver ; but this muft be underftood only of fuch iftands as had large ponds in them ; for not one beaver-houfe was to be feen on the margin of any of them. The lake is ftored with great quantities of very fine ftfti ; particularly between the iftands, which in fome parts rkUL> ir J. Soitnd^r^ sculpt Al^"]mTE:R MEW iiti 3^8 A JOURNEY TO THE and proceed dircSlly to the Fort. — Stop to build canoes^ and then advance, — Several of the Indians die through hunger^ and many others are obliged to decline the journey for want of ammu?iition. — J. violent form and inundation, that forced us to the top of a high hill, where wefuf- fered great difrcfs for more than two days. — Kill fever al deer. — The Indians method of preferving the fefo without the affflance of fait. — See fever al Indians that were going to Knapp's Bay. — Game of all kinds remarkably plentiful, — Arrive at the FaHory. AFTER expending fome days in hunting beaver, we proceeded to crofs the Athapufcow Lake ; but as we had loft much time in hunting deer and beaver, which were very plentiful on fome of the iflands, it was the 9tH- ninth of January before we arrived on the South iide. This lake, from the beft information which I could get from the natives, is about one hundred and twenty leagues long from Eaft to Weft, and twenty wide from North to South. The point where we crofted it is faid to be the narroweft. It is full of iftands ; moft of which are clothed with fine tall poplars, birch, and pines, and are well flocked with Indian deer. On fome of the large iflands we alfo found feveral beaver ; but this muft be underftood only of fuch iftands as had large ponds in them ; for not one beaver-houfe was to be feen on the margin of any of them. The lake is ftored with great quantities of very fine fifh \ particularly between the ifiarids, which in fome parts 1 O-Wl^AKS^li^SAA^f-USJUt^M, 177.1 NORTHERN OCEAN. parts are fo dole to each other as to form very narrow channels, tike little rivers, in vi^hich I found (when angling for fifh) a conliderable current fetting to the Eaftward. The fifh that are common in this lake, as vrell as in moft of the other lakes in this country, are pike, trout, perch, barbie, tittameg, and methy ; the two laft are names given by the natives to two fpecies of fifh which are found only in this country. Befides thefe, we alfo caught another kind of fifh, which is faid by the Northern Indians to be peculiar to this lake ; at leafl none of the fame kind have been met with in any other. The body of this fifh much refembles a pike in fhape ; but the fcales, which are very large and ftiff, are of a beautifully bright filver colour : the mouth is large, and fituated like that of a pike ; but when open, much refembles that of a fturgeon ; and though not provided with any teeth, takes a bait as ravenoufly as a pike or a trout. The fizes we caught were from two feet long to four feet. Their flefh, though delicately white, is very foft, and has fo rank a tafte, that many of the Indians, except they are in abfolute want, will not eat it. The Northern Indians call this fifh Shees. The trout in this lake are of the largeft fize I ever faw : fome that were caught by my companions could not, I think, be lefs than thirty-five or forty pounds weight. Pike are alfo of an incredible fize in this extenfive water ; here they are feldom mo- K k IcPted, 259 AJOURNEYTOTHE 1772. lelled, and have multitudes of fmaller fifli to prey upon. January. If I fiy that I have feen feme of thefe fifh that were up- wards of forty pounds weight, I am fure I do not exceed the truth. Immediately on our arrival on the South iide of the Athapufcow Lake, the fcene was agreeably altered, from an entire jumble of rocks and hills, for fuch is all the land on the North Ude, to a fine level country, in which there was not a hill to be feen, or a ftone to be found ; fo that fuch of my companions as had not brafs kettles, loaded their fledges with ftones from fome of the laft iflands, to boil their viduals with in their birch-rind kettles, which will not admit of being expofed to the fire. They therefore heat fliones and drop them into the water in the kettle to make it boil. Buffalo, moofe, and beaver were very plentiful ; and we could difcover, in many parts through which we paffed, the tracks of martins, foxes, quiquehatches, and other animals of the furr kind ; fo that they were by no means fcarce : but my companions never gave themfelves the leaft trouble to catch any of the three laft mentioned animals ; for the buffalo, moofe, and beaver engaged all their at- tention ; perhaps principally fo on account of the excel- lency of their flefh ; whereas the flefh of the fox and qui- quehatch are never eaten by thofe people, except when they are in the greateft diftrefs, and then merely to fave life. NORTHERN OCEAN. 251 life. Their reafons for this fhall be given in a fubfequent 1772- part of my Journal. January. The buffalo in thofe parts, I think, are in general much larger than the Englifh black cattle ; particularly the bulls, which, though they may not in reality be taller than the largeft fize of the Englifh oxen, yet to me always appeared to be much larger. In fad, they are fo heavy, that when fix or eight Indians are in company at the ikinning of a large bull, they never attempt to turn it over while entire, but when the upper fide is fkinned, they cut off the leg and fhoulder, rip up the belly, take out all the inteftines, cut off the head, and make it as light as poffible, before they turn it to fkin the under fide. The fkin is in fome places of an incredible thicknefs, par- ticularly about the neck, where it often exceeds an inch. The horns are fhort, black, and almofl flraight, but very thick at the roots or bafe. The head of an old bull is of a great fize and weight indeed : fome which I have (cen v/ere fo large, that I could not without difficulty lift them from the ground * ; * It is remarked by Mr. Catefby, in his defcription of this animal, that no man can lift one of their heads. I'hofe I law in the Athapufcow country are fuch as I have defcribed; and I am aiTured by the Company's fervants, as well as the Indians who live near Hudfon's Houfe, that the bufFalos there are much fmaller; fo that the fpecies Mr. Catclty law, or wrote of, muft have been much larger, or have had very large heads ; for it is well known that a man of any tolerable flrength can lift two and a half, or three hundred pounds weight. I think that the heads ol his buHalos are too heavy for the bodies, as the bodies of thofe I faw in rhe Ar!i:ipnfcow country appear to have been of equal weight with his. K k 2 but 252 A JOURNEY TO THE but the heads of the cows are much fmaller. Their tails are, in general, about a foot long, though fome appear to be, excluUve of the long brufh of hair at the end, longer. The hair on the tails of the bulls is generally of a fine gloffy black ; but the brufh at the end of the cows' tails is always of a rufty brown, probably owing to being ftained with their urine. The hair of the body is foft and curled, fomewhat approaching to wool ; it is generally of a fandy brown, and of an equal length and thicknefs all over the body : but on the head and neck it is much longer than it is on any other part. The Indians, after reducing all the parts of the fkin to an equal thicknefs by fcraping, drefs them in the hair for clothing ; when they are light, foft, warm, and durable. They alfo drefs fome of thofe fkins into leather without the hair, of which they make tents and fhoes ; but the grain is remarkably open and fpungy, by no means equal in goodnefs to that of the fkin of the moofe : nor am I certain that the curriers or tanners in Europe could manu- fadlure thefe fkins in fuch a manner as to render them of any confiderable value ; for, to appearance, they are of the fame quality with the fkins of the mufk-ox, which are held in fo little eftimation in England, that when a number of them was fent home from Churchill Fadory, the Company iffued out orders the year following, that unlefs they could be purchafed from the Indians at the rate of four ikiru NORTHERN OCEAN. 25: fkins for one beaver, they would not anfwer the expence 1772. of fending home ; a great proof of their being of very January. little value. The bufFalos chiefly delight in wide open plains, which in thofe parts produce very long coarfe grafs, or rather a kind of fmall flags and ruflies, upon which they feed; but when purfued they always take to the woods. They are of fuch an amazing ftrength, that when they fly through the woods from a purfuer, they frequently brufli down trees as thick as a man's arm ; and be the fnow ever fo deep, fuch is their ftrength and agility that they are enabled to plunge through it fafter than the fwifteft Indian can run in fnow-flioes. To this I have been an eye-wit- nefs many times, and once had the vanity to think that I could have kept pace with them ; but though I was at that time celebrated for being particularly fleet of foot in fnow-fhoes, I foon found that I was no match for the buffalos, notwithftanding they were then plunging through fuch deep fnow, that their bellies made a trench in it as large as if many heavy facks had been hauled through it. Of all the large beafts in thofe parts the buffalo is eafleft to kill, and the moofe are the moft difficult ; neither are the deer very eafy to come at, except in windy weather : indeed it requires much pradice, and a great deal of pa- tience, to flay any of them, as they will by no means fuffer a direct approach, unlefs the hunter be entirely fheltered by woods or willows. The flefli of the buffalo 2 is 254 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E 1772. is exceedingly good eating; and fo entirely free from any January, difagrceablc fmell or tafte, that it refembles beef as nearly as pofTible : the flefli of the cows, when fome time gone with calf, is efteemed the fineft ; and the young calves, cut out of their bellies, are reckoned a great delicacy in- deed. The hunch on their backs, or more properly on their flioulders, is not a large flefliy lump, as fome fuppofe, but is occafioned by the bones that form the withers being continued to a greater length than in moft other animals. The ilefh which furrounds this part being fo equally inter- mixed with fat and lean, is reckoned among the niceft bits. The weight, however, is by no means equal to what has been commonly reported. The tongue is alfo very delicate ; and what is mofi; extraordinary, when the beads are in the pooreft ftate, which happens re- gularly at certain feafons, their tongues are then very fat and fine ; fome fay, fatter than when they are in the beft order : the truth of which, I will not confirm. They are fo efteemed here, however, that many of them are brought down to the Company's Fadlory at York as prefcnts, and are efteemed a great luxury, probably for no other reafon but that they are far-fetched ; for they are by no means fo large, and I think them not fo fine, as a neat's tongue in England. The moofe deer is alfo a lary;e bcaft, often cxccedinp- the largeft horfe both in height and bulk ; but the length of the legs, the bulk of the body, the fliortnefs of the neck, and N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 255 and the uncommon length of the head and ears, without 1772. any appearance of a tail, make them have a very auk ward January." appearance. The males far exceed the females in fize, and differ from them in colour. The hair of the male, which is long, hollow, and foft, like that of a deer, is at the points nearly black, but a little way under the fur- face it is of an afh-colour, and at the roots perfedly white. The hair of the female is of a fandy brown, and in fome parts, particularly under the throat, the belly, and the flank, is nearly white at the furface, and moft delicately fo at the root. Their legs are fo long, and their necks fo fhort, that they cannot graze on level ground like other animals, but ■ are obliged to brouze on the tops of large plants and the leaves of trees during the Summer ; and in Winter they always feed on the tops of willows, and the fmall branches of the birch-tree ; on which account they are never found during that feafon but in fuch places as can afford them a plentiful fupply of their favourite food : and though they have no fore-teeth in the upper-jaw, yet I have often leen willows and fmall birch-trees cropped by them, in the fame manner as if they had been cut by a gardener's fheers, though fome of them were not fmaller than common pipe- flems ; they feem particularly partial to the red v^illow. In Summer they are generally found to frequent the banks of rivers and lakes, probably with no other view than 256 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E 1772. than to have the benefit of getting into the water, to avoid "jl^ary. the innumerable multitudes of mufkettos and other flies that pefter them exceedingly during that feafon. There is alfo a variety of v^^ater-plants, of which the moofe are very fond, and which are adapted to their neceffities in a pecu- liar manner during the Summer feafon, as they can eafily brouze on them when nearly emerged in water, to avoid the torment of the flies. The head of the moofe is, as I have obferved, remark- ably long and large, not very unlike that of a horfe ; but the nofe and noftrils are at Icaft twice as large. The ears are about a foot long, and large ; and they always ftand creel. Their faculty of hearing is fuppofed to be more acute than either their fight or fcent ; which makes it very difficult to kill them, efpecially as the Indians in thofe parts have no other method of doing it but by creeping after them, among the trees and bufiies, till they get within gun-fhot ; taking care always to keep to leeward of the moofe, for fear of being overheard. In Summer, when they frequent the margins of rivers and lakes, they are often killed by the Indians in the water, while they are crofilng rivers, or fvvimming from the main to ifiands, ^c. When purfued in this manner, they are the moff inof- fcnfive of all animals, never making any refi fiance j and the young ones are fo fimple, that I remember to have ((^cn an Indian paddle his canoe up to one of them, and take jt by the poll without the leaft oppofition ; the poor harmlefs NORTHERN OCEAN. 557 \ harmlefs animal feeming at the fame time as contented 1772. along-fi.de the canoe, as if fwimming by the fide of its januaryi. dam, and looking up in our faces with the fime fearlefs innocence that a houfe-lamb would, making ufe of its fore-foot almoft every inftant to clear its eyes of muf- kettoes, which at that time were remarkably numerous. I have alfo feen women and boys kill the old moofe in this fituation, by knocking them on the head with a hatchet ; and in the Summer of one thoufand kven hun- dred and feventy-five, when I was on my paffage from Cumberland Houfe to York Fort, two boys killed a fine buck moofe in the water, by forcing a ftick up its funda- ment ; for they had neither gun, bow, nor arrows with them. The common deer are far more dangerous to ap- proach in canoes, as they kick up their hind legs with fuch violence as to endanger any birch-rind canoe that comes within their reach ; for which reafon all the Indians who kill deer upon the water are provided with a long ftick that will reach far beyond the head of the canoe. The moofe are alfo the eafieft to tame and domefticate of any of the deer kind. I have repeatedly feen them at Churchill as tame as flieep *, and even more fo ; for they * The moofe formerly fent to his Majefly was from that place, A young male was alfo put on board the fliip, but it died on tlie paflage, othcrwife ic is probable they might have propagated in this country. L i would 25$ AJOURNEYTOTHE 1772. would follow their keeper any diftance from home, and January, at his Call rctum with him, without the leaft trouble, or ever offering to deviate from the path *. The ilefli of *he moofe is very good, though the grain is but coarfe, and it is much tougher than any other kind of venifon. The nofe is mofl: excellent, as is alfo the tongue, though by no means fo fat and delicate as that of the common deer. It is perhaps worth remarking, that the livers of the moofe are never found, not even at any time of the year ; and, like the other deer, they have no gall. The fat of the inteftines is hard, like fuet ; but all the external fat is foft, like that of a breaft of mutton, and when put into a bladder, is as fine as marrow. In this they differ from all the other fpecies of deer, of which the external fat is as hard as that of the kidnies. * Since tlie above was written, the fame Indian that brought all the above- mentioned young moofe to the Fadtory had, in the year 1777, ^^'^'^ others, fo tame, that when on his paflage to Prince of Wales's Fort in a canoe, the moofe always followed him along the bank of the river ; and at night, or on any other occafion when the Indians landed, the young moofe generally came and fondled on them, in tlie fame manner as the moft domeftic animal would have done, and never otrered to ftray from the tents. Unfortunately, in croiUng a deep bay in one of the lakes, (on a fine day,) all the Indians that were not interefted in the fife-landing of thofe engaging creatures, paddled from point to point; and the man that owned them, not caring to go fo far about by himfelf, accompanied the otliers, in hopes they would follow him round as ufual ; but at night the young moofe did not arrive ; and as the howling of fome wolves was heard in diat quarter, it was fuppofed they had been devoured by them, as they were never afterward fcen. 7 The 4 NORTHERN OCEAN. 259 The moofe in all their adlions and attitudes appear 1772. very uncouth, and when dijFturbedj never run, only make ^januaryT* a kind of trot, which the length of their legs enables them to do with great fwiftnefs, and apparently with much eafe ; but were the country they inhabit free from under-wood, and dry under-foot, fo that horfemen and dogs might follow them, they would become an eafy prey, as they are both tender-footed and fhort-winded : But of this more hereafter *. The fkins of the moofe, when drefled by the na- tives, make excellent tent-covers and fhoe- leather ; and in fa6t every other part of their clothing. Thefe, like the {kins of the buffalo, are of very unequal thicknefs. Some of the Indian women, who are acquainted with the manufadlure of them, will, by means of fcraping, render them as even as a piece of thick cloth, and when well dreffed they are very foft ; but not being dreffed in oil, they always grow hard after being wet, unlcfs great care be taken to keep rubbing them all the time they are drying. The fame may be faid of all the Indian-dreffed leather, except that of the wewafkifli, which will wafli as well as fhammoy- leather, and always preferve its foftnefs. * Mr. Du Pi-f.tz, in his defcription of this animal, fays, it is never found farther North than Cape Breton and Nova Scotia; but I have feen them in great numbers in the Athapufcow Countiy, which cannot be much Ihort of 60" North latitude. L 1 2 The 26o A JOURNEY TO THE 177^- The female moofe nevxr have any horns, but the males January, havc tlicm of a piodigious fize and weight, and very dif- ferent in fliape from thofe of the common deer. The extremity of each horn is palmated to the fize of a com- mon {hovel, from which a few fliort branches fhoot out ; and the fhaft of the horn is frequently as large as a com- mon man^s wrift. They £hed them annually like the com- mon deer. The horns of the moofe are frequently found to exceed fixty pounds weight ; and their texture, though of a large fize and of fuch rapid growth, is much harder than any other fpecies of deer-horns in thofe parts. Though the ilefh of the moofe is efteemed by moft Indians both for its flavour and fubftance, yet the North- ern Indians of my crew did not reckon either it or the flelli of the buffalo fubflantial food. This I fhould think entirely proceeded from prejudice, efpecially with refped: to the moofe ; but the flefh of the buffalo, though fo fine to the eye, and pleafing to the tafte, is fo light and eafy ot digeftion, as not to be deemed fubflantial food by any Indian in this country, either Northern or Southern. The moofe have from one to three young at a time, and generally bring them forth in the latter end of April, or beginning of May. Soon after our arrival on the South-fide of Athapufcow Lake, Matonabbee propofed continuing our courfe in the South NORTHERN OCEAN. 261 South Weft quarter, in hopes of meeting fome of the 1772- Athapufcow Indians ; becaufe I vviflied, if pofTible, to January purchafe a tent, and other ready-dreffed fkins from, them ; as a fupply of thofe articles would at this time have been of material fervice to us, being in great want both of tents and fhoe-leather : and though my companions were daily killing either moofe or buffalo, the weather was fo ex- ceflively cold, as to render drefting their (kins not only very troublefome, but almoft impradicable, efpecially to the generality of the Northern Indians, who are not well acquainted with the manufadlure of that kind ot leather. To drefs thofe fkins according to the Indian method, a lather is made of the brains and fome of the fofteft fat or marrow of the animal, in which the fkin is well foaked, when it is taken out, and not only dried by the lieat of a fire, but hung up in the fmoke for feveral days ; it is then taken down, and well foaked and waflied in warm water, till the grain of the fkin is perfedly open, and has imbibed a fufficient quantity of water, after which it is taken out and wrung as dry as pofiible, and then dried by the heat of a flow fire ; care being taken to rub and ftretch it as long as any moifture remains in the Ikin. By this fimple method, and by fcraping them afterwards, fome of the moofe (kins are made very delicate both to the eye and the touch. On nth. ^62 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E 1772. On the eleventh of January, as fome of my companions 'January"' Were hunting, they favv the track of a ftrange fnow-fhoe, which they followed ; and at a confiderable diftaruce came to a little hut, where they difcovered a young woman fitting alone. As they found that fhe underftood their language, they brought her with them to the tents. On examination, fhe proved to be one of the Weftern Dog- ribbed Indians, who had been taken prifoner by the Atha- pufcow Indians in the Summer of one thoufand feven hundred and feventy ; and in the following Summer, when the Indians that took her prifoner were near this part, fhe had eloped from them, with an intent to return to her own country ; but the diftance being fo great, and having, after fhe was taken prifoner, been carried in a canoe the whole way, the turnings and windings of the rivers and lakes w^ere fo numerous, that (he forgot the track ; fo fhe built the hut in which we found her, to protect her from the weather during the Winter, and here (lie had relided from the firft fetting; in of the fall. From her account of the moons pafl: fince her elope- m.ent, it appeared that fhe had been near feven months without feeing a human face ; during all which time fhe had fupported herfelf very well by fnaring partridges, rabbits, and fquirrels ; flie had alfo killed two or three beaver, and fome porcupines. That fhe did not feem to have been in want is evident, as fhe had a fmall flock of provifions NORTHERN OCEAN. 263 provifions by her when flie was difcovered ; and was in good health and condition, and I think one of the fineft women, of a real Indian, that I have ken in any part of North America. The methods pradifed by this poor creature to procure a livelihood were truly admirable, and are great proofs that neceflity is the real mother of invention. When the few deer-finews that fhe had an opportunity of taking with her were all expended in making fnares, and fewing her clothing, flie had nothing to fupply their place but the finews of the rabbits legs and feet ; thefe flie twifted together for that purpofe with great dexterity and fuccefs. The rabbits, &'c. which fhe caught in thofe fnares, not only furnifhed her with a comfortable fubfiftence, but of the fl<:ins fhe made a fuit of neat and warm clothing for the Winter. It is fcarcely poffible to conceive that a perfon in her forlorn lituation could be fo compofed as to be capable of contriving or executing any thing that was not abfolutely neceffary to her exiftence ; but there were fufficient proofs that (he had extended her care much far- ther, as all her clothing, belide being calculated for real fervice, fhewed great tafte, and exhibited no little variety of ornament. The materials, though rude, were very curi- oufly wrought, and fo judicioufly placed, as to make the whole of her garb have a very pleafmg, though rather ro- mantic appearance. Her 264 A JOURNEY TO THE Her leifure hours from hunting had been employed in twifting the inner rind or bark of willows into fmall lines, like net-twine, of which (he had fome hundred fathoms by her ; with this fhe intended to make a fifhing- net as foon as the Spring advanced. It is of the inner bark of willows, twifted in this manner, that the Dog- ribbed Indians make their fifliing-nets ; and they are much perferable to thofe made by the Northern Indians *. Five or fix inches of an iron hoop, made into a knife, and the fhank of an arrow-head of iron, which ferved her as an awl, were all the metals this poor woman had with her when fhe eloped ; and with thefe implements flie had made herfelf complete fnow-fhoes, and feveral other ufeful articles* Her method of making a fire was equally fingular and curious, having no other materials for that purpofe than two hard fulphurous flones. Thefe, by long fridion and hard knocking, produced a few fparks, which at length commu- nicated to fome touchwood; but as this method was attend- ed with great trouble, and not always with fuccefs, fhe did * Tlie Norchern Indians make their fifning-nets witli fmall thongs cut from raw deer-fliins -, which when dry appear very good, but after being foaked in watei- fome time, grow fo foft and fiippery, that when large fifli ftrike the net, the hitches are very apt to flip and let them efcape. Befide this incon- venience, tJiey are very liable to rot, unlefs they be frequently taken out of the water and dried. not N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 265 not fu£Fer her fire to go out all the Winter. Hence we may conclude that fhe had no idea of producing fire by friction, in the manner pradtifed by the Efquimaux, and many other uncivilized nations ; becaufe if fhe had, the above-mentioned precaution would have been unnecefTary. The finguiarity of the circumflance, the comelinefs of her perfon, and her approved accomplirtiments, occafioned a ftrong conteft between feveral of the Indians of my party, who fhould have her for a wife ; and the poor girl was ac- tually won and loft at wreftling by near half a fcore dif- ferent men the fame evening. My guide, Matonabbee, who at that time had no lefs than feven wiv^es, all women grown, befides a young girl of eleven or twelve years old, would have put in for the prize alfo, had not one of his wives made him afhamed of it, by telling him that he had al- ready more wives than he could properly attend. This piece of fatire, however true, proved fatal to the poor girl who dared to make fo open a declaration ; for the great man,* Matonabbee, who would willingly hav^e been thought equal to eight or ten men in every refped, took it as fuch an affront, that he fell on her with both hands and feet, and bruifed her to fuch a degree, that after lingering fome time fhe died. When the Athapufcow Indians took the abov^c Dot^- ribbed Indian woman prifoner, they, according to the uni- vcrfal cuftom of thofe favages, furprifed her and her party in M m the 266 A J O (J R N E Y T O T H E the night, and killed every foul in the tent, except herfelf and three other young women. Among thofe whom they killed, were her father, mother, and hufband. Her young child, four or five months old, fhe concealed in a bundle of clothing, and took with her undifcovered in the night ; but when fhe arrived at the place where the Athapufcow Indians had left their wives, (which was not far diftant,) they began to examine her bundle, and finding the child,, one of the women took it from her, and killed it oa the fpot. This laft piece of barbarity gave her fuch a difguft to thofe Indians, that notwithftanding the man who took care of her treated her in every refped: as his wife, and was, fhe faid, remarkably kind to, and even fond of her ;, fo far v/as fhe from being able to reconcile herfelf to any. of the tribe, that fhe rather chofe to expofe herfelf to mifery and want, than live in eafe and affluence among perfons who had fo cruelly murdered her infant*. The poor * It is too common a cafe with mofl of the tribes of Southern Indians For the women to defire their hufbands or friends, when going to war, to bring them a flave, that they may have the pleafure of kilHng it ; and fome of thefe inhuman women will accompany their hufbands, and murder the women and children as faft as their huibands do the men. When I was at Cumberland Houfe, (an inland fettlement that I eftabliflied for the Hudfon's Bay Company in the year 1774,) I was particularly ac- quainted with a very young lady of this extraordinary turn ; who, wlien I defired fome Indians that were going to war to bring me a young flavc, which I intended to have brought up as a domeftic, Wili\ was equally defirous that one might N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 267 poor woman's relation of this fhocking ftory, which flie 1772, dtlivered in a very affedling manner, only excited laughter January. among the favages of my party. In a converfation with this woman foon afterward, flie told us, that her country lies fo far to the Weft ward, that fhe had never feen iron, or any other kind of metal, till fhe was taken prifoner. All of her tribe, fhe obferved, made their hatchets and ice-chifels of deer's horns, and their knives of ftones and bones ; that their arrows were fhod with a kind of flate, bones, and deer's horns ; and the inftruments which they employed to make their Vv^ood- work were nothing but beavers' teeth. Though they had frequently heard of the ufeful materials which the nations or tribes to the Eaft of them were fupplied with from the Englifti, fo far were they from drawing nearer, to be in the way of trading for iron-work, &^c. that they were obliged to retreat farther back, to avoid the Atha- pufcow Indians, who made furprifing flaughter among them, both in Winter and Summer. On the fixteenth, as we were continuing our courfe in n^th. the South Weft quarter, we arrived at the grand Atha- might be brought to her, for the cruel purpofe of murdering it. It is fcarcely pofTible to exprefs my aftonilhment, on hearing fuch an extraordinary requeft made by a young creature fcarcely fixteen years old; however, a<; loon as I recovered from my furprife, I ordered her to leave the fetrlement, which fhe did, with thofe who were going to war; and it is therefore jM'obable fne might not be difappointed in her requcll. The next year I was ordered to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, and therefore never fav.' her afterv.'ard. M m 2 pufcow ,6S AJOURNEYTOTHE pufcow River, which at that part is about two miles wide, and empties itfelf into the great lake of the fame name we had fo lately crofl'ed, and which has been al- ready defcribed. The woods about this river, particularly the pines and poplars, are the talleft and llouteft I have feen in any part of North America. The birch alfo grows to a confider- able iize, and fome fpecies of the willow are likewife tall ; but none of them have any trunk, like thofe in England. The bank of the river in moft parts is very high, and in fome places not lefs than a hundred feet above the or- dinary furface of the water. As the foil is of a loamy quality, it is very fubjed: to moulder or wafh away by heavy rains, even during the fhort Summer allotted to this part of the globe. The breaking up of the ice in the Spring is annually attended with a great deluge, when, I am told, it is not uncommon to fee whole points of land wafhed away by the inundations ; and as the wood grows clofe to the edge of the banks, vaft quantities of it are hurried down the ftream by the irreliftibie force of the w^ater and ice, and conveyed into the great lake already mentioned ; on the fliores and iflands ol which, there lies the greatePc quan- tity of drift wood I ever faw. Some of this wood is large enough to make mafts for the largeft fhips that are built. The banks of the river in general are fo {keep as to be in- accelTible to either man or beaft, except in fome flacks, or fruUeys, that have been wore down by heavy rains, back- waters. N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 269 waters, or dejuges ; and even thofe flacks are, for the mod '77-- part, very difficult to afcend, on account of the number January, of large trees which lie in the way. There are feveral low iflands in this river, which are much frequented by the moofe, for the fake of the fine willows they produce, which furnifh them with a plentiful fupply of their favourite food during the Winter. Some of thofe iflands are alfo frequented by a number of rabbits ; but as larger game could be procured in great plenty, thofe fmall animals were not deemed worthy our notice at prefent. Befide the grand river already mentioned, there are fe- veral others of lefs note, which empty themfelves into the great Athapufcow Lake : There are alfo feveral fmall rivers and creeks on the North Eaft fide of the Lake that carry ofi" the fuperfluous waters, fome of which, after a variety of v.'indings through the barren grounds to the North of Churchill River, arc lofl in the marfiies and low grounds, while others, by means of many fmall chan- nels and rivulets, are difcharged into other rivers and lakes, and at laft, doubtlefs, find their way into Hudfon's Bay. Thefe rivers, though numberlefs, are all fo iull of fhoals and ftones, as not to be navigable for an Indian canoe to any confiderable diftance ; and if they were, it Vv'ould be of little or no ufe to the natives, as none of them lead within feveral hundred miles of ChurchiJl River. Ao-ree- A JOURNEY TO THE Agreeably to Matonabbee's propofal, we continued our courfe up the Athapufcow River for many days, and though we paffed feveral parts which we well knew to have been the former Winter-haunts of the Athapufcow Indians, yet we could not fee the leaft trace of any of them having been there that feafon. In the preceding Sum- mer, when they were in thofe parts, they had fet lire to the woods ■, and though many months had elapfed from that time till our arrival there, and notwithftanding the fnow was then very deep, the mofs was ftill burning in many places, which at firft deceived us very much, as we took it for the fmoke of ftrange tents ; but after going much out of our way, and fearching very diligently, we could not difcover the leaft track of a ftranger. Thus difappointed in our expedations of meeting the Southern Indians, it was refolved (in Council, as it may be called) to expend as much time in hunting buffalo, moofe, and beaver as we could, fo that we might be able to reach Prince of Wales's Fort a little before the ufual time of the fliips arrival from England. Accordingly, after having walked upwards of forty miles by the fide of Athapufcow 27th. River, on the twenty- feventh of January we flruck off to the Eailward, and left the River at that part where it begins to tend due South. In confequence of this determination of the Indians, we continued our couiie to the Eaftward ; but as game of all kinds was very plentiful, we made but fhort days journies, NORTHERN OCEAN. 271 journles, and often remained two or three days in one place, to eat up the fpoils or produce of the chace. The woods through which we were to pafs were in many places fo thick, that it was neceflliry to cut a path before the women could pafs with their fledges ; and in other places fo much of the woods had formerly been fct on fire and burnt, that we were frequently obliged to walk farther than we otherwife fliould have done, before we could find green brufh enough to floor our tents. From the fifteenth to the twenty-fourth of February, Februarv we walked along a fmall river that empties itfelf into '^' ~^'' the Lake Clowey, near the part where we built canoes in May one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-one. This little river is that which we mentioned in the former part of this {ournal, as having communication Vvith the Athapufcow Lake : but, from appearances, it is of no confequence whence it takes its rife, or where it empties itfelf, as one half of it is nearly dry three-fourths of the year. The intervening ponds, however, having fuf- ficient depth of water, are, we may fuppofe, fivourable fituations for beaver, as many of their houfcs are to be found in thofe parts.. On the twenty-fourth, a flrange Northern Indian leader, -i''^- called Thlew-fa-nell-ie, and feveral of his followers, joined us from the Eaftward. This leader prefented Isiatonabbee and myfelf with a foot ot tobacco each, and a two-quart 2-2 AJOURNEYTOTHE ke772. and many others who were with me, long before morning jMajr. in a puddle of water, occafioned by the heat of our bodies melting the fnow. ^i. The fecond proved fine pleafant weather, with warm funfhine. In the morning, having dried all our clothing, we proceeded on our journey. In the afternoon we arrived at the part at which my guide intended we fhould build our canoes ; but having had fome difference with his countrymen, he altered his mind, and determined to pro- ceed to the Eaflward, as long as the feafon would permit, before he attempted to perform that duty. Accordingly, j^i- on the third, we purfued our way, and as that and the fol- lowing day were very cold, which made us walk brifkly, we were enabled to make good days' journies ; but the fifth was fo hot and fultry, that we only walked about thirteen miles in our old courfe to the Eafl by North, and then halted about three-quarters of a mile to the South of Black Bear Hill ; a place w^hich I had feen in the Spring cf one thoufand feven hundred and fcventy-one. 6th. On the fixtli, the weather was equally hot with the preceding day ; in the morning, hovvever, we moved on eleven miles to the Eaft, and then met feveral ftrange Indians, who informed us that a few others, who had a tolerable cargo of iurrs, and were going to the Fadlory that Summer, v/cre not far diftant. On NORTHERN OCEAN. 289 On receiving this intelligence, my guide, Matonabbee, '^11-- fent a meilenger to defire their company. This was foon May. complied with, as it is an imiverfal pradlice with the In- dian Leaders, both Northern and Southern, when going to the Company's Factory, to ufe their- influence and intereft in canvaffing for companions ; as they find by experience that a large gang gains them much refped:. Indeed, the generality of Europeans who reiide in thoic; parts, being utterly unacquainted with the manners and cuftoms of the Indians, have conceived fo high an opinion of thofe Leaders, and their authority, as to imagine that all who accompany them on thofe occaiions are entirely devoted to their fervice and command all the year; but this is fo far from being the cafe, that the authority of thofe great men, when abfent from the Company's Fac- tory, never extends beyond their own family; and the trii^ing refpedl which is fliown them by their countrymen during their refidence at the Fadory, proceeds only from motives of intereft. The Leaders have a very difagreeable ta(k to perform on thofe occafions ; for they are not only obliged to be the mouth-piece, but the beggars for all their friends and re- lations for whom they have a regard, as wxU as for thofe whom at other times they have reafon to fear. Thofe un- unwelcome ccmmiffions, which are impofed on tliem by their followers, joined to their own defire of being thought men of great confequ.ence and intereft v/ith the Englilli, p p make i9o A JOURNEY TO THE make them very troublefome. And if a Governor deny them any thing which they afk, though it be only to give away to the moft worthlefs of their gang, they immedi- ately turn fulky and impertinent to the higheft degree ; and however rational they may be at other times, are im- mediately diverted of every degree of reafon^ and raife their demands to fo exorbitant a pitch, that after they have received to the amount of five times the value of all the furrs they themfelves have brought, they never ceafe begging during their ftay at the Fa6lory ; and, after all, few of them go away thoroughly fatisfied *. After * As a proof of this afTcrtion I take the liberty, though a little foreign to the narrative of my journey, to infert one inftance, out of many hundreds of the kind that happen at the different Factories in Hudfon's Bay, but perhaps no where fo frequendy as at Churchill. In O(5lober 1776, my old guide, Ma- tonabbee, came at the head of a large gang of Northern Indians, to trade at Prince of Wales's Fort ; at which time I had the honour to command it. When the iifual ceremonies had pafled, I drefied him out as a Captain of the firft rank, and alfo clothed his fix wives from top to toe : after which, that is to fay, during his ftay at the Faftory, which was ten days, he begged I'ewen lieutenants' coats, fit'tcen common coats, eighteen hats, eighteen fhirts, eight guns, one hundred and forty pounds weight of gunpowder, with fhot, ball, and flints in proportion; together with many hatchets, ice-chifTels, files, bayo- r.cts, knives, and a great quantity of tobacco, cloth, blankets, combs, looking- glafles, ftockings, handkerchiefs, &c. befides numberlefs fmall articles, fuch as av/ls, needles, paint, fteels, &c. in all to the amount of upwards of fcven hundred beaver in tlie way of trade, to give away among his follov/crs. This was cxclufive of his own prefent, which confiikd of a variety of goods to the value of four hundred beaver more. But the moll extraordinary of his demands was twelve pounds of powder, twenty-eight pounds of fhot and ball, four pounds of tobacco, fome articles of clothing, and K.veral pieces of iron- work, &c. to give to two men who had hauled his tent and other lumaer the preceding NORTHERN OCEAN, After flopping four days at this place, Matonabbee, and all the Indians who were to accompany me to the Fort, agreed to leave the elderly people and young children here, in the care of fome Indians who were capable of providing for them, and who had orders to proceed to a place called Cathawhachaga, on the barren grounds, and there wait the return ot their relations from the Fadlory. Matters of this kind being fettled, apparently to the entire fatisfadlion of all parties, we refumed our journey on the eleventh of mi. May, and that at a much brifker pace than w^e could pro- bably have done when all the old people and young children were with us. In the afternoon of the fame day we met fome other Northern Indians, who were alfo going to the Fort with furrs ; thofe joined our party, and at night we all pitched our tents by the fide of a river that empties itfelf into Doo-baunt Lake. This day all of us threw awav our fnow-flioes, as the ground was fo bare in mod: places as not to require any fuch afliftance ; but fledges were oc- cafionally ferviceable for fome time, particularly when we walked on the ice of rivers or lakes. preceding Winter. This demand was fo very unreafonable, that: I made Ibme •fcruple, or at lead hefitated to comply with it, hinting that he was the perfon who ought to liuisfy thofe men for their fervices ; but I was foon anfwered. That he did not exped. to have been denied Juch a trifle as that was ; and for the future he would carry his goods where he could get his ov,'n price for them. On my afking him where that was ? he replied, in a very infolcnt tone, ■** To the Canadian Traders." I v.'as glad to comply with liis demands -. and J here infert the aaecdote, as a fpcciuif n of an Indian's confcicace. P p 2 Tlie 191 -9 A JOURNEY TO THE Tlic weather on the twelfth was fo exceedingly hot and fultry, and the water fo deep on the top of the ice of the above-mentioned river, as to render walking on it not only ^'cry troublefomc, but dangerous ; fo after advancing about five miles we pitched our tents, and the warm v/eather being likely to continue, the Indians immedi- ately began to build their canoes, w4iich were com- pleted with fuch expedition, that in the afternoon of the isth. eighteenth we again fet forward on our journey, but the day being pretty far fpent, w^e only walked about four miles, and put up for the night. • - !9th. The morning of the nineteenth was fine pleafant wea- ther ; and as all the water was drained off from the top of the ice, it rendered v/alking on it both fafe and eafy ; accordingly we fet out pretty early, and that day v/alked upwards of twenty miles to the Eaft North Eaft on the above-mentioned river. The next day proved fo cold, th^at after walking about fifteen miles, we were obliged to put up ; for having left Doo-baunt R.iver, we were frequently obliged to wade above the knees through fwamps of mud, water, and wet fnow ; which froze to our ftockings and fhoes in fuch a thick cruft, as not only rendered walking very laborious, but at the fame tim.e fubjeded us to the danger of having our legs and feet frozen. .jjft, The weather on the twenty-firfl was more fevere than on the preceding day ; but the fwamps and ponds being 3 , by 293 NORTHERN OCEAN. by that time frozen over, it was tolerable walking: we 1772. proceeded therefore on our journey, but the wind blew fo M.iy frefh, that we had not walked fixteen miles, before we found that thofe who carried the canoes could not poITibly keep up with us, fo that we put up for the night. In the courle of this day's journey we crofTed the North Weft Bay of Wholdyah'd Lake ; which, at that part, is called by the Northern Indians A Naw-nee-tha'd Whoie. This day feveral of the Indians turned back, not being able to proceed for want of provilions. Game of all kinds indeed "were fo fcarce, that, except a few geefe, nothing had been killed by any of our party, from our leaving the women and children on the eleventh inftant, nor had we feen one deer the whole way. The twenty-fecond proved more moderate, when all s^d." our party having joined, we again advanced to the North Eaft, and after walking about thirteen miles, the Indians killed four deer. Our number, however, had nov/ fo increafed, that four fmall Northern deer would fcarcely afford us all a fingle meal. The next day we continued onr journey, generally 23 j. walking in the North Eaft quarter ; and on the twenty- 25tJi. fifth, crofted the North bay of They-hole-kye'd Whoie, or Snow-bird Lake ; and at night got clear of all v/oods, and lay on the barren ground. The fame day feveral of the Indians ftruck off another way, not being able to pro- ceed ''J94 A JOURNEY TO THE ceed to the Fort for want of ammunition. As we had for fome days paft made good journies, and at the fame time were all heavy-laden, and in great diftrefs for pro- vifions, fome of my companions wer-e fo weak as to be obliged to leave their bundles of furrs * ; and many others were fo reduced as to be no longer capable of proceeding with us, having neither guns nor ammunition ; fo that their whole dependence for fupport was on the fifli they might be able to catch ; and though fiili was pretty plen- tiful in moft of the rivers and lakes hereabout, yet they were not always to be depended on for fuch an immediate fupply of food as thofe poor people required. Though I had at this time a fufficient flock of ammu- nition to ferve me and all my proper companions to the Fort, yet fclf- prefer vation being the firft law of Nature, it was thought advifable to referve the greatefl; part of it for our own ufe ; efpecially as geefe and other fmaller birds were the only game now to be met with, and which, in times of fcarcity, bears hard on the articles of powder and fhot. Indeed moft of the Indians who adually accompanied me the whole way to the Fadory had fome little ammunition remaining, which enabled them to travel in times of real fcarcity better than thofe whom we left behind ; and though * All the furrs thus left were properly fecured in caves and crevices of the rocks, fo as to withftand any attempt that might be made on them by beafts of prey, and were well fliielded from tlic weathers fo that, in all probability, few ef them were lolt. we NORTHERN OCEAN. we afTifted many of them, yet feveral of their women died for want. It is a melancholy truth, and a difgrace to the little humanity of which thofe people are poflefled, to think, that in times oi want the poor women always come off fhort ; and when real diilrefs approaches, many of them are permitted to ftarve, when the males are amply provided for. The twenty-fixth was fine and plealant. In the morn- 26rii, ing we fet out as ufual, and after walking about five miles, the Indians killed three deer ; as our numbers were greatly lefTened, thefe ferved us for two or three meals, at a fmall expence of ammunition. In continuing our courfe to the Eaftward, we croficd 3cth, Cathawhachaga River, on the thirtieth of May, on the ice, which broke up foon after the Lift perfon had croffed it. We had not been long on the Eaft fide of the river before we perceived bad weather near at hand, and began to make every preparation for it which our fituation would admit ; and that was but very indifferent, being on entire barren ground. It is true, we had complete fets of Sum- mer tent-poles, and fuch tent-cloths as are generally ufed by the Northern Indians in that feafon ; thefe were ar- ranged in the beft manner, and in fuch places as were moft likely to afford us fhelter from the threatening florm. The rain foon began to defce nd in fuch torrents as to make the river overflow to fuch a degree as foon to convert our firft place 296 AJOURNEYTOTHE place of retreat into an open fea, and oblige us in the middle of the night to all'emble at the top of an adjacent hill, where the violence of the wind would not permit us to pitch a tent ; fo that the only fl:ielter we could obtain was to take the tent-cloth about our fhoulders, and fit with our hacks to the wind ; and in this fituation we we were obliged to remain without the leafl: refrefhment, June ^[\i (■i;^^ mornins; of the third of Tune : in the courfe of which time the v/ind fhifted all round the compafs, but the bad weather ftill continued, fo that we were con- ftantly obliged to fliift our poiition as the wind changed. The weather now became more moderate, though there was ftill a frefh gale from the North Weft, with hard froft and frequent fhowers of fnow. Early in the morn- ing, however, we proceeded on our journey, but the wet and cold I had experienced the two preceding days fo be- numbed my lower extremities, as to render walking for fome time very troublefome. In the courfe of this day's journey we faw great numbers of geefe Hying to the South- ward, a few of v/hich v.e killed ; but thefe were very difproportionate to the number of mouths we had to feed, and to make up for our long fafting. 8 til. From that time to the eighth we killed every day as many geefe as were fufficient to preferve life ; but on that day we perceived plenty of deer, five of which the In- dians killed, which put us all into good fpirits, and the number NORTHERN OCEAN. number of deer we then faw afForded great hopes of more plentiful times during the remainder of our journey. It is almoft needlefs to add, that people in our diftrefled fitu- ation expended a little time in eating, and flicing fome of the flefli ready for drying ; but the drying it occafioned no delay, as we faftened it on the tops of the women's bundles, and dried it by the fun and wind while we were walking ; and, ftrange as it may appear, meat thus pre- pared is not only very fubftantial food, but pleafant to the tafte, and generally much efteemed by the natives. For my own part I muft acknowledge, that it was not only agreeable to my palate, but after eating a meal of it, I have always found that I could travel longer v/ithout victuals, than after any other kind of food. All the dried meat prepared by the Southern Indians is per- formed by expofing it to the heat of a large fire, which foon exhaufts all the fine juices from it, and when fuf- ficiently dry to prevent putrefaction, is no more to be com- pared with that cured by the Northern Indians in the Sun,, or by the heat of a very flow fire, than meat that has been boiled down for the fake of the foup, is to that which is only fufficiently boiled for eating : the latter has all the juices remaining, which, being eafily difTolved by the heat and moifture of the ftomach, proves a ftrong and nourifhing food ; whereas the former being entirely de- prived of thofe qualities, can by no means have an equal claim to that charader. Moft of the Europeans, however, jwe fonder of it than they are of that cured by the Nortli- Qjl cm 297 2.,S A JOURNEY TO THE ern Indians. The fame may be faid of the lean parts of the bcaftj which are firft dried, and then reduced into a kind of powder. That done by the Northern Indians is entirely free from fmoke, and quite foft and mellow in the mouth ; whereas that which is prepared by the Southern tribes is generally as bitter as foot with fmoke, and is as hard as the fcraps of horn, &'c. which are burnt to make hardening for the cutlers. I never knew, that any Eu- ropean was fo fond of this as they are of that made by the Northern Indians. 9th. On the ninth, as we were continuing our courfe to the Faftory, which then lay in the South Eafl quarter, we faw feveral fmokes to the North Eaft, and the fame day fpoke with many Northern Indians, who were going to Knapp's Bay to meet the Churchill floop. Several of thofe Indians had furrs with them, but having fome time before taken up goods on truft at Prince of Wales's Fort, were taking that method to delay the payment of them. Defrauds of this kind have been pradlifed by many of thofe people with great fuccefs, ever fince the furr-trade has been eflablifhed with the Northern Indians at Knapp's Bay ; by which means debts to a condderable amount are annually loft to the Company, as well as their Governor in the Bay. Being delirous of improving every opportunity that the fine weather afforded, we did not lofe much time in con- verfation with thofe Indians, but proceeded on our courfe I to NORTHERN OCEAN. 299 to the South Eaft, while they continued theirs to the 1772. North Eaft. June. - For many days after leaving thofe people, we had the good fortune to meet with plenty of provifions ; and as the weather was for a long time remarkably fine and plea- fant, our circumftances were altered fo much for the better, that every thing feemed to contribute to our happinefs, as if defirous to make fome amends for the fevere hunger, cold, and exceflive hardfhips that we had fuffered long before, and which had reduced us to the greateft mifery and want. Deer was fo plentiful great part of the way, that the Indians killed as many as were wanted, without going out of their road ; and every lake and river to which we came feemed willing to give us a change of diet, by affording us plenty of the fineft fifh, which we caught either with hooks or nets. Geefe, partridges, gulls, and many other fowls, which are excellent eating, were alfo in fuch plenty, that it only required ammunition, in fkilful hands, to have procured as many of them as we could defire. The only inconvenience we now felt was from frequent fhowers ,of heavy rain ; but the intervals between thcfe fhowers being very warm, and the Sun fhining bright, that difficulty was eafily overcome, efpecially as the belly was plentifully fupplied with excellent viAuals. Indeed the Qjl 2 very 300 A JOURNEY TO THE very thoughts of being once more arrived fo near home,^ made me capable of encountering every difficulty, even if it had been hunger itfelf in the moft formidable fhape. .8ih. On the eighteenth, we arrived at Egg River, from- vvhich place, at the felicitation of my guide Matonab- bee, I fent a letter pofl-hifte to the Chief at Prince of Wales's Fort, advifmg bin of my being fo far advanced on my return. The weather at this time was very bad and rainy, which caufed us to lofe near a whole day ; but upon the fine weather returning, we again proceeded at our ufual rate of eighteen or twenty miles a day, fome- , times more or lefs, according as the road, the weather, and other circumftances, would admit. Deer now began to be not quite fo plentiful as they had been, though we met with enough for prefent ufe, which ' was all we wanted, each perfon having as much dried meat as he could conveniently carry, befides his furrs and other necefiary baggage. ?6th. Early in the morning of the twenty-fixth we arrived at Seal River * \ but the wind blowing right up it, made fo * Mr. Jeremie is very incorre6t in his account of the fituation of this River, and its courfe. It is not eafy to guefs, whether the Copper or Dog- ribbed Indians be the nation he calls Platjcctez de Ch'iens : if it be tiie former, he is much miftaken; for they have abundance of beaver, and other animals of the furr kind, in their country : and if th< latter, he is equally wrong tx) aliert N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 301 fo great a fea, that we were obliged to wait near ten hours before we could venture to crofs it in our little canoes. In aflert that they have copper-mines in their country; for neither copper nor any other kind of metal is in ufe among them. Mr. Jeremie was not too modeft when he faid, (fee Dobbs's Account of Hudfon's Bay, p. 19.) " he couldnot fay any thing pofitively in going farther " North ;" for in my opinion he never was fo far North or Weft as he pre- tends, otherwife he would have been more correal in his defcription of thofe parts. The Strait he mentions is undoub:edly no other than what is now called Chefterfield's Inlet, which, in fome late and cold feafons, is not clear of ice the whole Summer : for I will affirm, that no Indian, either Northern or Southern, ever faw either Wager Water or Repulfe Bay, except the two men who accompanied Captain Middleton ; and though thofe men were felecled from fome hundreds for their univerfal knowledge of thofe parts, yet they knew nothing of the coaft fo far North as Marble liland. As a farther proof, that no Indians, except the Efquimaux, ever frequent fuch high latitudes, unlefs at a great diftance from the fea, I muft here mention, that fo late as the year 1763, when Captain Chriftopher went to furvey Chef- terfield's Inlet, though he was furniflied with the moft intelligent and ex- perienced Northern Indians that could be found, they did not know an inch, of the land to the North of Whale Cove. Mr. Jeremie is alio as much miftaken in what he fays concerning Ciuirchill River, as he was in the direction of Seal River ; for he fays that no woods were found but in fom.e iflands which lie about ten or twelve miles up the river. At the time he wrote, which was long before a fetdement v.'s made there, wood was in great plenty on both fides the river ; and that witnin five miles of where Prince of Wales's Fort now ftands. But as to the iflands of which he fpeaks, if they ever exifted, they have of late years moft afTuredly difappeared ; for fince the Company have had a fettlemenc on that river, no one ever faw an ifland. in it that produced timber, or wood of any defcription, within forty miles 302 AjOURNEYTOTHE In the afternoon the weather grew more moderate, fo that we were enabled to ferry over the river ; after which we rcfumed our journey, and at night pitched our tents in fome tufts of willows in fight of the woods of Po-co-thee-kis-co River, at which we arrived early in the morning of the twenty-eighth ; but the wind again blowing very hard in the North Eaft quarter, it was the afternoon of the igili. twenty-ninth before we could attempt to crofs it. Juft at the time we were crofling the South branch of Po-co-thee-kis-co River, the Indians that were fent from Egg River with a letter to the Chief at Churchill, joined us on their return, and brought a little tobacco and fome other articles which I had defired. Though it was late in the afternoon before we had all croffed the river, yet we walked that evening till after ten o'clock, and then put up on one of the Goofe-hunting Iflands, as they are generally called, about ten miles from the Fadory. The next morning I arrived in good health at Prince of Wales's Fort, after having been abfent eighteen months and twenty- miles of the Fort. But the great number of ftumps now remaining, from which, in all probability, the trees have been cut for firing, are fufficient to prove that when Cliurchill River was firft fettled, wood was then in great plenty ; but in the courfe of feventy-fix years refidence in one place, it is natural to fuppofe it was much thinned near the Settlement. Indeed for fome years pafb common fewel is fo fcarce near that Fadory, tliat it is the chief employment ot moft; of the fervants for upward of fcven months in the year, to procure as much wood as will fupply the fires for a Winter, and a little timber for necefTary repairs. tliree NORTHERN OCEAN. 303 three days on this laft expedition ; but from my firft fet- i??^- ting out with Captain Chawchinaha, it was two years junu feven months and twenty-four days. Though my difcoveries are not likely to prove of any material advantage to the Nation at large, or indeed to the Hudfon's Bay Company, yet I have the pleafure to think that I have fully complied with the orders of my Mafters, and that it has put a final end to all difputes con- cerning a North Weft Paflage through Hudfon's Bay. It will alfo wipe off, in fome meafure, the ill-grounded and unjuft afperfions of Dobbs, Ellis, Robfon, and the Ame- rican Traveller ; who have all taken much pains to con- demn the condud; of the Hudfon's Bay Company, as being averfe from difcoveries, and from enlarging their trade» CHAP, S^A- A TOURNEY TO THE CHAP. IX. A fhort Defcription of the Northern Indians, alfo a farther Account of their Country, Manufadures, Cuf- toms, &'c. Jn account of the perjons and tempers of the Northern hd'ians. — They poffefs a great deal of art and ciinnhig. — Are very guilty of fraud ivhen in their power y and generally cxa6l more for their furrs than any other tribe of Indians. — Always difatisfed, yet have their good qualities. — The men in general jealous of their wives. — Their mar^ riages. — Gii'ls always betrothed -when children^ and their reafons for it, — Great care and cotfineiJient of yotmg girls from the age of eight or 7iine years old. — Divorces common among thofe people. — The women are lefs prolific than in warmer countries. — Rema?-kable piece of fipcrfition obferved by the women at particular periods. — Their art in making it cm excufe for a temporary fepa ration fro7n their hufbands on a?iy little quarrel. — Reckoned very unclean on thofe occaftons. — The Northern Indians frequently, for the want of firing, are obliged to eat their ?neat raw. — Some through neceffity obliged to boil it in vcffcls made of the rind of the birch-tree. — A remarkable difio among thofe people. — The young animals always cut out of their dams eaten, and accounted a great delicacy. — The parts of generation of all animals eat by the men and boys. — Manner of pqjfwg their time, and method of killing deer in Summer with bows and arrows. — Their tents, dogs, ficdges, &c. — Snow-fhoes. — Thtir partiality to domdfiic vermin. — Utmofi extent of the Northern Indian country. — Face of the country. — Species offifij. — A peculiar kind of mofs iff id for the fupport of man.- — Northern In- dian method of catching fifh, either with hooks or nets. — Ceremony obferved when two parties of thofe people meet. — Diverfions in common ufe^'^-^A fingular diforder which attacks feme of thofe people. — Their fuper- NORTHERN OCEAN. 305 fuperjlitlon iv'ith rcfpcSl to the death of their ffiends. — Ceremony oh- ferved on thofe occafions. — 'Their ideas of the fifi inhabitants of the •world. — No form of religion among them. — Remarks on that circnm- fance, — 'The extrcTue mifcry to "which old age is expofed. — Their opinion of the Aurora Borealis, &c. — Some Account of Matonabbee^ and his fervices to his country^ as zvcll as to the Hudfons Bay Company. S to the perfons of the Northern Indians, ihey are in general above the middle fize j well-proportioned, ftrong, and robuft, but not corpulent. They do not pof- fefs that adivity of body, and livelinefs of difpofition, which are fo commonly met with among the other tribes of Indians who inhabit the Weft coaft of Hudfon's Bay. Their complexion is fomewhat of the copper caft, in- clining rather toward a dingy brown ; and their hair, like all the other tribes in India, is black, ftrong, and ftraight *. Few of the men have any beard ; this feldom makes its appearance till they are arrived at middle-age, and then is by no means equal in quantity to what is obferved on the faces of the generality of Europeans; the little they have, however, is exceedingly ftrong and briftly. Some of them take but little pains to eradicate their beards, though it is conftdered as very unbecoming ; and thofe * I have feen feveral of the Southern Indian men who were near fix feet high, preferve a fingle lock of their hair, that, when let down, would trail on the ground as they walked. This, however, is but feldom feen; and fome have fufpedled it to be falfe; but I have examined the hair of feveral of them, and found it to be real, R r who J 6 AJOURNEYTOTHE who do, have no other method than that of pulling it out by the roots betwen their fingers and the edge of a blunt knife. Neither fex have any hair under their armpits, and very little on any other part of the body, particularly the women ; but on the place where Nature plants the hair, I never knew them attempt to eradicate it. Their features are peculiar, and different from any other tribe in thofe parts ; for they have very low fore- heads, fmall eyes, high cheek-bones, P^oman nofes, full cheeks, and in general long broad chins. Though few of either fex are exempt from this national fet of features, yet Nature feems to be more ftri^l in her obfervance of it among the females, as they feldom vary fo much as the men. Their fkins are foft, fmooth, and polifhed ; and when they are dreffed in clean clothing, they are as free from an offenfive fmell as any of the human race. Every tribe of Northern Indians, as well as the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians, have three or four parallel black ftrokes marked on each cheek ; which is performed by entering an awl or needle under the fkin, and, on drawing it out again, immediately rubbing powdered charcoal into the wound. Their difpofitions are in general morofe and covetous, and they feem to be entirely unacquainted even with the Dame of gratitude. They are for ever pleading poverty, «; even NORTHERN OCEAN. €ven among thenifelves ; and when they vilit the Fadtory, there is not one of them who has not a thoufand wants. When any real diflreffed objeds prefent themfelves at the Company's Fadory, they are always relieved with viduals, clothes, medicines, and every other neceffary, grata ; and in return, they inftrud every one of their countrymen how to behave, in order to obtain the fame charity. Thus it is very common to fee both men and women come to the Fort half-naked, when either the fevere cold in Winter, or the extreme troublefomenefs of the flies in Summer, make it neceflary for every part to be covered. On thofe occafions they are feldom at a lofs for a plauflble ftory, which they relate as the occafion of their diftrefs, (whether real or pretended,) and never fail to interlard their hiftory with plenty of fighs, groans, and tears, fometimes afFedl- ing to be lame, and even blind, in order to excite pity. Indeed, I know of no people that have more command of their pafTions on fuch occaflons ; and in this refpecft the women exceed the men, as I can affirm with truth I have feen fome of them with one flde of the face bathed in tears, while the other has exhibited a figniiicant fmile. Falfe pretences for obtaining charity are fo common among thofe people, and fo often deteded, that the Governor is frequently obliged to turn a deaf ear to m.any who apply for relief ; for if he did not, he might give away the whole of the Company's goods, and by degrees all the Northern R r 2 trib® 307 3oS A JOURNEY TO THE tribe would make a trade of begging, inftead of bringing furrs, to purchafe what they want. It may truly be faid, that they poiTefs a confiderable degree of deceit, and are very complete adepts in the art of flattery, which they never fpare as long as they find that it conduces to their intereft, but not a moment longer. They take care always to feem attached to a new Governor, and flatter his pride, by telling him that they look up to him as the father of their tribe, on whom they can fafely place their depend- ance ; and they never fail to depreciate the generofity of his predeceflTor, however extenflve that might have been, however humane or diflnterefted his condudt ; and if af- perfing the old, and flattering the new Governor, has not the defired efl*edl in a reafonable time, they reprefent him as the worft of charaders, and tell him to his face that he is one of the moft cruel of men ; that he has no feeling for the diftrefies of their tribe, and that many have perifhed for want of proper affiftancc, (which, if it be true, is only owing to want of humanity among themfelves,) and then they boaft of having received ten times the favours and pre- fents from his predeceflbr. It is remarkable that thofe are mofl lavifli in their praifes, who have never either deferved or received any favours from him. In time, however, this language alfo ceafes, and they are perfedly reconciled to the man whom they would willingly have made a I'ool, and [ay^ '^ he is no child, and not to be deceived by *^ them," They NORTHERN OCEAN. They differ fo much from the reft of mankind, that harfh uncourteous ufage feems to agree better with the generality of them, particularly the lower clafs, than mild treat- ment ; for if the lead refped: be fliewn them, it makes them intolerably infolent ; and though fome of their leaders may be exempt from this imputation, yet there are but few even of them who have fenfe enough to fet a proper value on the favours and indulgences which are granted to them while they remain at the Company's Fa6lories, or elfewhere within their territories. Experience has con- vinced me, that by keeping a Northern Indian at a dif- tance, he may be made ferviceable both to himfelf and the Company ; but by giving him the leaft indulgence at the Factory, he will grow indolent, inadlive, and trouble- fome, and only contrive methods to tax the generoHty of an European. The greatefh part of thefe people never fail to defraud.. Europeans whenever it is in their power, and take every method to over-reach them in the way of trade. They will difguife their perfons and change their names, in order to defraud them of their lawful debts, which they are foraetimes permitted to contradl at the Company's Fadory; and all debts that are outftanding at the fuc- ceilion of a new Governor are entirely loft, as they always declare, and bring plenty of witnefles to prove, that they v/ere paid long before, but that their names had been for- gotten to be ftruck out of the book. 2 o Notwith- 309 310 A JOURNEY 1 O T H E Notwithftanding all thofe bad qualitieSj they are the mildeft tribe of Indians that trade at any of the Com- pany's fettlements ; and as the greatefc part of them are never heated with liquor, are alv/ays in their fenfes, and never proceed to riot, or any violence beyond bad languao-e. The men are in general very jealous of their v/ives, and I make no doubt but the fame fpirit reigns among the Vv^omen ; but they are kept fo much in awe of their hufbands, that the liberty of thinking is the greateft pri- vilege they enjoy. The prefence oi a Northern Indian man ftrikes a peculiar av/e Into his wives, as he always affumes the fame authority over them that the maRcr of a family in Europe ufually does over his domeilic fervants. Their marriages are not attended with any ceremony j all matches are made by the parents, or next of kin. On thofe occafions the women feem to have no choice, but implicitly obey the will of their parents, who al- ways endeavour to marry their daughters to thofe that feem moft likely to be capable of maintaining them, let their age, perfon, or difpoHtion be ever fo defpi- cable. The girls are always betrothed when children, but never to thofe of equal age, which is doubtlefs found policy with people in their fituation, where the exiflence of a family depends NORTHERN OCEAN. 311 depends entirely on the abilities and induflry of a fingle man. Children, as they juftly obferve, are fo liable to alter in their manners and difpoHtion, that it is impofTible to judge from the adlions of early youth what abilities they may pofTefs when they arrive at puberty. For this rca- fon the girls are often fo difproportionably matched for age, that it is very common to fee men of thirty-five or forty years old have young girls of no more than ten or twelve, and fometimes much younger. From the early age of eight or nine years, they are prohibited by cuftom from joining in the mod innocent amufements with chil- dren of the oppofite fcx ; fo that when fitting in their tents, or even when travelling, they are watched and guarded with fuch an unremitting attention as cannot be exceeded by the moft rigid difcipline of an IingliOi board- ing-fchool. Cuftom, however, and conftant example, make fuch uncommon reftraint and confinement fit light and eafy even on children, whofe tender ages feem better adapted to innocent and cheerful amufements, than to be cooped up by the fide of old women, and conftantly em- ployed in Icraping fkins, mending fi:ioes, and learning other domeftic duties neceiTary in the care of a family. Notwithftanding thofe uncommon reftraints on the yourn^ girls, the condudl of their parents is by no means uniform or confiftent with this plan ; as they fet no bounds to their converfation, but talk, before them, and even to them, on the moft indelicate fubjeds. As their ears are accuftomed to 312 A JOURNEY TO THE. to fuc!i language from their earliell youth, this has by no means the fame effedt on them, it would have on girls born and educated in a civilized country, where every care is taken to prevent their morals from being contaminated by obfcene converfation. The Southern Indians are flill lefs delicate in converfation, in the prefence or their children. The women among the Northern Indians are in general more backward than the Southern Indian women ; and though it is well known that neither tribe lofe any time, thofe early connexions are feldom produdive of children for fome years. Divorces are pretty common among the Northern In- dians ; fometimes for incontinency, but more frequently for want of what they deem neceffary accomplifhments, or for bad behaviour. This ceremony, in either cafe, confifts of neither more nor lefs than a good drubbing, and turning the woman out of doors ; telling her to go to her paramour, or relations, according to the nature of her crime. Providence is very kind in caufmg thefe people to be lefs prolific than the inhabitants of civilized nations ; it is very uncommon to fee one woman have more than five or fix children ; and thefe are always born at fuch a diftance from one another, that the youngeft is generally two or three NORTHERN OCEAN, three years old before another is brought into the world. Their eafy births, and the ceremonies which take place on thofe occafions, have ah-eady been mentioned -, I Ihall therefore only obferve here, that they make no iife of cradles, like the Southern Indians, but only tie a lump of mofs between their legs ; and always carry their chil- dren at their backs, next the fkin, till they are able to walk. Though their method of treating young children is in this refpeft the mofl uncouth and awkward I ever faw, there are few among them that can be called deformed, and not one in fifty who is not bow-legged. There are certain periods at which they never permit the women to abide in the fame tent with their hufbands. At fuch times they are obliged to make a fmall hovel for themfelves at fome diftance from the other tents. As this is an univerfal cuftom among all the tribes, it is alfo a piece of policy with the women, upon any difFerence v/itli their hufbands, to make that an excufe for a temporary feparation, when, without any ceremony, they creep out (as is their ufual cuftom on thofe occafions) under the eves of that fide of the tent at v/hich they liappen to be fittino; • for at thofe times they are not permitted to go in or out througli the door. This cuftom is fo generally prevalent among the women, that 1 have frequently known fome of the fulky dames leave their hufbands and tent for four or five days at a time, and repeat the tarce twice or thrice in a month, while the poor men have never fufpedled the deceit, or if they S f have. .13 3t4 A JOURNEY TO THE have, delicacy on their part has not permitted them to enquire into the matter. I have known Matonabbee's handfome wife, who eloped from him in May one thou- fand feven hundred and feventy-one, live thun-nardy, as as they call it, (that is, alone,) for feveral weeks together, under this pretence ; but as a proof he had fome fufpi- cion, (lie was always carefully watched, to prevent her from giving her company to any other man. The South- ern Indians are alfo very delicate in this point ; for though thev do not force their wives to build a feparate tent, they never lie under the fame clothes during this period. It is, hov/ever, equally true, that the young girls, when thofe fymptoms make their firfl appearance, generally go a little dillance from the other tents for four or five days, and at their returA wear a kind of veil or curtain, made of beads, for fome time after, as a mark of modefty ; as they are then coniidered marriageable, and of courfe are called women, though fome at thofe periods are not more than thirteen, while others at the age of fifteen or fixteen have been reckoned as children, though apparently arrived at nearly their full growth. On thofe occafions a remarkable piece of fuperflition prevails among them ; women in this fituation are never permitted to v/alk on the ice of rivers or lakes, or near the part where the m.en are hunting beaver, or where a fifli- incr-net is let, for fear of averting their fuccefs. They "CD ^ J are alfo prohibited at thoie times from partaking of the head N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 315 head of any animal, and even from walking in, or crofling the track where the head of a deer, moofe, beaver, and many other animals, have lately been carried, either on a fledge or on the back. To be guilty of a violation of this cuftom is conddered as of the greateft importance; becaufe they firmly believe that it would be a means of preventing the hunter from having an equal fuccefs in his future excurfions. Thofe poor people live in fuch an inhofpitable part of the globe, that for want of firing they are frequently obliged to eat their vidiuals quite raw, particularly in the Summer feafon, while on the barren ground ; but early cuftom and frequent necefiity make this pra6licc fo fa- miliar to them, that fo far from finding any inconveni- ence arife from it, or having the leafl: diflike to it, they frequently do it by choice, and particularly in the article of fifli ; for when they do make a pretence of drelling it, they feldom warm it through. I have irequently made one of a party who has fit round a frefli-killed deer, and afiifted in picking the bones quite clean, when I thought that the raw brains and many other parts were exceedingly good ; and, however ftrange it may appear, I muft beftow the fame epithet on hali-raw fifli : even to this day I give the preference to trout, falmon, and the brown tittemeg, when they are not warm at the bone. S f 2 • The 3i6 AJOURNEYTOTHE The extreme poverty of thofe Indians in general will not permit one half of them to purchafe brafs kettles from the Company; fo that they are ftill imder the neceillty of continuing their original mode of boiling their victuals in large upright veffels made of birch-rind. As thofe veileis will not admit of being expofed to the iire, the Indians, to fupply the defect, heat ftones red-hot and put them into the water, which foon occaiions it to boil ; and by having a conftant fucceffion of hot ftones, they may con- tinue the proccfs as long as it is necefiary. This method of cooking, though very expeditious, is attended with one great evil : the victuals which are thus prepared are full of fand; for the ftones thus heated, and then im- merged in the water, are not only liable to fhiver to pieces, but many of them being of a coarfe gritty nature, fall to a mafs of gravel in the kettle, which cannot be prevented from mdxing with the vid:uals which are boiled in it. Be- {ides this, they have feveral other methods of preparing their food, fuch as roafting it by a ftring, broiling it, ^c . ; but thefe need no farther defcription. The moft remarkable difh among them, as well as all the other tribes of Indians in thofe parts, both Northern and Southern, is blood mixed with the half-digefted food which is found in the deer's ftomach or paunch, and boiled up with a fufficient quantity of water, to make it ol- the confiftcnce of peafe-pottage. Some fitt and fcraps of N O R T H E R N O G E A N. y; ot tender flefh arc alfo flired fmall and boiled with it. To vender this diili more palatable, they have a method gI mixing the blood with the contents of the ftomach in the paunch itfelf, and hanging it up in the heat and fmoke of the fire for feveral days ; which puts the whole mafs into 'a ftate of fermentation, and gives it fuch an agreeable acid taftc, that were it not for prejudice, it might be eaten by thofe who have the niceft palates. It is true, fome people with delicate ftomachs would not be eafily perfuaded to partake of this dilh, efpecially if they law it drefled ; for moft of the fat which is boiled in it is firfh chewed by the men and boys, in order to break the globules that con- tain the fat ; by which means it all boils out, and mixes with the broth : whereas, if it were permitted to remain as it came from the knife, it would ftill be in lumps, like fuet. To dojuftice, however, to their cleanlinefs in this particular, I muft obferve, that they are very careful that neither old people with bad teeth, nor young children, have any hand in preparing this difli. At firft, I muft acknowledge that I was rather (hy in partaking of this mefs, but when I was fufficiently convinced of the truth of the above remark, I no longer made any fcruple, but always thought it exceedingly good. The ftomach of no other large animal befidc the deer- is eaten by any of the Indians that border on Fludfon's Bay. In Winter, when the deer feed on fine white mofs, the contents of the ftomach is fo much efleemed by them, that A JOURNEY TO THE tliat I have often feen them fit round a deer where It was killed, and eat it warm out of the paunch. In Summer the deer feed more coarfely, and therefore this difh, if it deferve that appellation, is then not fo much in favour. The young calves, fawns, beaver, &'c, taken out of the bellies of their mothers, are reckoned moft delicate food ; and I am not the only European who heartily joins in pronouncing them the greateft dainties that can be eaten. Many gentlemen who have ferved w^th me at Churchill, as well as at York Fort, and the inland fettlements, will readily agree with me in afferting, that no one who ever got the better of prejudice fo far as to tafte of thofe young ani- mals, but has immediately become exceffively fond of them ; and the fame may be faid of young gecfe, ducks, ^c, in the fliell. In fad;, it is almoft become a proverb in the Northern fettlements, that whoever wifhes to know what is good, muft live with the Indians. The parts of generation belonging to any beafl they kill, both male and female, are ahvays eaten by the men and boys ; and though thofe parts, particularly in the males, are generally very tough, they are not, on any account, to be cut with an edge-tool, but torn to pieces v/ith the teeth ; and when any part ot them proves too tough to be mafticated, it h thrown into the fire and burnt. For the Indians believe firmly, that ii a dog fhould eat any part of them, it would have the fame effed on their 7 fviCccfs NORTHERN OCEAN. fuccefs in hunting, that a woman crofling their hunting- track at an improper period would have. The fame ill- fuccefs is fuppofed alfo to attend them it a woman eat any of thofe parts. They are alfo remarkably fond of the womb of the bufFalo, elk, deer, &'c. which they eagerly devour with- out waOiing, or any other procefs but barely ftroking out the contents. This, in fome of the larger animals, and efpecially when they are fome time gone with young, needs no defcription to make it fufficiently difgufting ; and yet I have known fome in the Company's fervice remarkably fond of the diih, though I am not one of the number. The womb of the beaver and deer is well enough, but that of the moofe and buffalo is very rank, and trulv difgufting *. Our * The Indian method of preparing this unaccountable difh is by throwing the filthy bag acrofs a pole direftly over the fire, the fmoke of which, they fay, much improves it, by taking off the original flavour ; and when any of it is to be cooked, a large flake, like as much tripe, is cut off and boiled for a few minutes; but the many large nodes with which the infide of the womb is ftudded, make it abominable. Thefe nodes arc as incapable of being divefted of moifture as the ilcin of a live eel ; bu: v,!ien boiled, much re- femble, both in fhape and colour, the yolk of an egg, and arc fo called by the natives, and as eagerly devoured by them. The tripe of the buffalo is exceedingly good, and the Indian method of jcooking it infinitely fuperior to that praftifed in Europe. When opportunity will permit, they v/adi it tolerably clean in cold water, llrip off all the honey- comb, and only boil it about half, or three-quarters of an hour : in diat time 3J9 JiO A JOURNEY TO THE Our Northern Indians who trade at the Fadtory, as well as all the Copper tribe, pafs their whole Summer on the barren ground, where they generally find plenty of deer ; and in fome of the rivers and lakes, a great abundance of fine fifli. Their bows and arrows, though their original weapons, are, fince the introduftion of fire-arms among them, be- come of little ufe, except in killing deer as they walk or run through a narrow pafs prepared for their reception, where feveral Indians lie concealed for that purpofe. This method of hunting is only pradicable in Summer, and on the barren ground, where they have an extenfive profpeft, and can fee the herds of deer at a great diftance, as well 3.S difcover the nature of the country, and make every ne- it is iufEciently done for eating; and chough rather tougher than what is pre- ,pared in England, yet is exceedingly pleallint to the tafte, and muft be much more nourifhing than ti-ipe that has been fokcd and Icrub-bed in many hot ^vaters, and then boiled for ten or twelve hours. The lelTer Romach, or, as fome call it, tlic many-folds, either af bufi'aloj moofc, or deer, are ufually cat raw, and are very goodj but that of the moofe, iinlefs great care be taken in 'Wafliing it, is rather bitter, owing to t!xe nature of their food. The kidneys of both moofe and buffalo are ufually eat raw by the Southern Indians ; for no fooncr is one of thofe beafts killed, than the hunter rips up its belly, thrufts in his arm, fnatches out the kidneys, and eats them warm, be- fore the animal is quite dead. They alfo at times put their mouths to the wound the ball has made, .and fuck tlie blood ; which they fay quenches thirll", and is verv nourifliinG;. ceffi ary NORTHERN OCEAN. 321 • ceflary arrangement for driving them through thiC narrovT defiles. This method of hunting is performed in the fol- lowing manner : When the Indians fee a herd of deer, and intend to hunt them with bows and arrows, they obferve which way the wind blows, and always get to leeward, for fear of being fmelled by the deer. The next thing to which they at- tend, is to fearch for a convenient place to conceal thofe who are appointed to fhoot. This being done, a large bundle of flicks, like large ramrods, (which they carry with them the whole Summer for the purpofe,) are ranged in two ranks, fo as to form the two fides of a very acute angle, and the fticks placed at the diftance of fifteen or twenty yards from each other. When thofe neceffary arrange- ments are completed, the women and boys feparate into , two parties, and go round on both fides, till they form a crefcent at the back of the deer, which are drove right forward ; and as each of the fticks has a fmall flag, or more properly a pendant, faftened to it, which is eafily waved to and fro by the wind, and a lump of mofs ftuck on each of their tops, the poor timorous deer, probably taking them for ranks of people, generally run ftraight forward between the two ranges of fticks, till they get among the Indians, who lie concealed in fmall circular iences, made with loofe ftones, mofs, &'c. When the deer approach very near, the Indians wlio are thus concealed ftart up and fhoot ; but as the deer generally pafs along at T t ' full .,22 A J O U Pv N E Y TO THE full [r)ccd, few Indians have time to flioot more than oiie- or two arrows, unlefs the herd be very large. This method of hunting is not always attended with- cqual fuccefs ; for fometimes after the Indians have been at the trouble of making places of fhelter, and arrangir/g the flao--fticks, &'c. the deer will make off another way, before the v/omen and children can furround them. At other times I have feen eleven or twelve of them killed with one volley of arrows ; and if any gun-men attend on thofe occafions, they are always placed behind the other Indians, in order to pick up the deer that efcape the bow- men. By thefe means I have feen upwards of twenty fine deer killed at one broadiide, as it may be termed. Though the Northern Indians may be faid to kill a great number of deer in this manner during the Summer, yet they have fo far loft the art of fhooting with bows and arrows, that I never knew any of them who could take thofe weapons only, and kill either deer, moofe, or buf- falo, in the common, wandering, and promifcuous method of hunting. The Southern Indians, though they have been much longer ufed to fire-arms, are far more expert with the bow and arrow, their original weapons. The tents made ufe of by thofe Indians, both in Sum- mer and Winter, are generally compofed of deer-fkins in the hair; and for convenience of carriage, are always made NORTHERN OCEAN. made in fmall pieces, feldom exceeding five buck-fkins in one piece. Thefe tents, as alfo their kettles, and Tome other lumber, are always carried by dogs, which are trained to that fervice, and are very docile and trailable. Thofe animals are of various fizes and colours, but all of the fox and wolf breed, with fharp nofes, full brufliy tails, and fharp ears ftanding ered:. They are of great courage when attacked, and bite fo fliarp, that the fmalleft cur among them will keep feveral of our largeft Englifli dogs at bay, if he can get up in a corner. Thefe dogs are equally willing to haul in a fledge, but as few of the men will be at the trouble of makino; fledi^es for them, the poor women are obliged to content themfelves with lefTening the bulk of their load, more than the weight, by making the dogs carry thefe articles only, which are always lafhed on their backs, much after the fame manner as packs are, or ufcd formerly to be, on pack-horfes. In the fall of the year, and as the Winter advances, thofe people few the fkins of the deers legs together in the iliape of long portmanteaus, which, when hauled on the fnow as the hair lies, are as flippery as an otter, and ferv.e them as temporary fledges while on the barren ground ; but when they arrive at any woods, they then make proper fledges, with thin boards of the larch-tree, generally knov/n in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Juniper. T t 2 Thofe 324 A JOURNEY TO THE Tliofc fledges are of various fizes, according to the flrength of the perfons who are to haul them : fome I have feen were not lefs than twelve or fourteen feet long, and fifteen or fixteen inches wide, but in general they do not exceed eight or nine feet in length, and twelve or fourteen inches in breadth. The boards of which thofe fledges are compofed are not more than a quarter of an inch thick, and feldom exceed five or fix inches in width ; as broader would be very un- handy for the Indians to work, who have no other tools than an ordinary knife, turned up a little at the point, from which it acquires the name of Bafe-hoth among the Northern Indians, but among the Southern tribes it is called Mo-co-toggan. The boards are fewed together with thongs of parchment deer-fkin, and feveral crofs bars of wood are fewed on the upper fide, which ferv^es both to fi:rengthen the fledge and fecure the ground-lafhing, to which the load is always faftened by other fmaller thongs, or flripes of leather. The head or fore-part of the fledge is turned up {o as to form a fcmi-circle, of at leaft fif- teen or twenty inches diameter. This prevents the car- riage from diving into light fnow, and enables it to flide over the inequalities and hard drifts of fnow which are conflantly met with on the onen plains and barren grounds. The trace or draught-line to thofe fledges is a double firing, or flip of leather, made fiifl: to the head ; and the bight is put acrofs the fhoulders of the pcrfon who 4 hauls NORTHERN OCEAN, hauls the fledge, fo as to reft againft the breaft. This contrivance, though fo fimple, cannot be improved by the moft ingenious collar- maker in the world. Their fnov^^fhoes differ from all others made ufe of in thofe parts ; for though they are of the galley kind, that is, fharp-pointed before, yet they are always to be worn on one foot, and cannot be fhifted from fide to fide, like other fnow-fiioes ; for this reafon the inner-fide of the frames are almoft ftraight, and the outer-fide has a very large fweep. The frames are generally made of birch- wood, and the netting is compofed of thongs of deer- ikin ; but their mode of filling that compartment where the foot refts, is quite different from that ufed among the Southern Indians. Their clothing, which chiefly confifts of deer /kins in the hair, makes them very fubjedt to be loufy ; but that is fo far from being thought a difgrace, that the beft among them amufe themfelves with catching and eating thefe vermin ; of which they are fo fond, that the produce of a loufy head or garment affords them not only pleafing amufement, but a delicious repaft. My old guide, Matonabbee,. was fo re- markably fond of thofe little vermin, that he frequently fet five or fix of his ftrapping wives to work to loufc their hairy deer-flcin fliifts, the produce of which being alwajs very confiderable, he eagerly received with both hands, and licked them in as fafl, and with as good a grace, as any ^zG A JOURNEY TO TH:E -any European epicure would the mites in a cheefe. He ©ften alliired me that fuch amufement was not only very pleafing, but that the objeds of the fearch were very good ; for which I gave him credit, telling him at the fame time, tliat though I endeavoured to habituate myfelf to every other part of their diet, yet as I was but a fojourner among them, I had no inclination to accuftom myfelf to fuch dainties as I could not procure in that part of the v/orld where I was mofl inclined to refide. The Southern Indians and Efquimaux are equally fond of thofe vermin, which are fo deteftable in the eyes of an European ; nay, the latter have many other dainties of a iimilar kind ; for belide making ufe of train-oil as a cordial and as fauce to their meat, I have frequently {'^tn them eat a whole handful of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows. It is their conflant cuftom to eat the 'filth that comes from the nofe ; and when their nofes bleed by accident, they aiv/ays lick the blood into their ■mouths, and fwallow it. The track of land inhabited by the Northern Indians is very extenfive, reaching from the fifty-ninth to the fixty- eighth degree of North latitude ; and from Eaft to Weft is upward of five hundred miles wide. It is bounded by Churchill River on the South ; the Athapufcow Indians' Country on the Weft ; the Dog-ribbed and Copper Indians .Country on the North ; and by Hudfon's .Bbv on the Eaft. The NORTHERN OCEAR 527 The land throughout that whole track of country is fcarcely any thing but one folid mafs of rocks and ftones, and in moft parts very hilly, particularly to the Weftward, among the woods. The furface, it is very true, is in moft places covered with a thin fod of mofs, intermixed with the roots of the Wee-fa-ca-pucca, cranberries, and a few other in*- figniiicant flirubs and herbage ; but under it there is in ge- neral a total want of foil, capable of producing any thing except what is peculiar to the climate. Some of the marfhes, indeed, produce feveral kinds of grafs, the growth of which is amazingly rapid ; but this is dealt out with fo fparing a hand as to be barely fufficient to ferve the geefe, fwans, and other birds of pailage, during their mi- grations in the Spring and Fall, while they remain in a moulting ftate.. The many lakes and rivers with which this part of the country abounds, though they do not furnifh the natives with water-carriage, are yet of infinite advantage to them; as they afford great numbers of fi£h, both in Summer and Winter. The only fpecies caught in thofe parts are trout, tittameg, (or tickomeg,) tench, two forts of barbie, (called by the Southern Indians Na-may-pith,) burbot, pike, and a few perch. The four former are caught in all parts ot this country, as well the woody as the barren; but the three latter are only caught to the Weflvvard, in fuch lakes and rivers as are fituated among the woods ; and though feme of thcfe rivers lead to the barren ground, yet the three ■a tB A J O U Pv N E Y T O T H E tliree lafi: mentioned fpecies of fifh are feldom caught beyond the edge of the woods, not even in the Summer fcafon. There is a black, hard, crumply mofs, that grows on the rocks and large ftones in thofe parts, which is of in- finite fervice to the natives, as it fometimes furnifhes them with a temporary fubfiftence, v^hen no animal food can be procured. This mofs, when boiled, turns to a gummy confiftence, and is more clammy in the mouth than fago ; it may, by adding either mofs or water, be made to almoft any confiftence. It is fo palatable, that all who tafle it generally grow fond of it. It is remarkably good and pleafing when ufed to thicken any kind of broth, but it is generally mofl: efteemed v/hen boiled in fifh- liquor. The only method pradlifcd by thofe people to catch lilh. either in Winter or Summer, is by angling and fet- ting nets ; both of which methods is attended with much fuperfcition, ceremony, and unneceflary trouble ; but I will endeavour to defcribe them in as plain and brief a a manner .as poffible. When they make a ntw fifliing-net, which is alv/ays compofed of fmall thongs cut from raw deer-flcins, they take a i^umbcr of birds bills and feet.; and tie them, a little apart from each other, to the head and foot rope of the net, and at the four corners generally fallen fome of the toes and jaws of the otters and jackafhes. The birds ft-ct and NORTHERN OCEAN. and bills made choice of on fuch occafions are generally thofe of tlie laughing goofe, wavey, (or white goofe,) gulls, loons, and black-heads ; and Linlefs fome or ail of thefe be faftened to the net, they will not attempt to put it into the water, as they firmly believe it would not catch a fingle fifli. A net thus accoutred is fit for fetting whenever occafion requires, and opportunity offers ; but the firil fifli of whatever fpecies caught in it, are not to be fodden in the water, but broiled whole on the fire, and the flefii care- fully taken from the bones without diflocating one joint ; after which the bones are laid on the fire at full length and burnt. A ftrid: obfervance of thefe rules is fuppofed to be of the utmoft importance in promoting the future fuccefs of the new net ; and a neglect of them would render it not worth a farthing *. When they fifh in rivers, or narrow channels that join two lakes together, they could frequently, by tying two, three, or more nets together, fpread over the whole breadth of the channel, and intercept every fizabie fifli that paffed ; but inftead of that, they fcatter the nets at a confiderable didance from each other, from a fuperfti- * They frequently fell new nets, which have not been wet more than once or twice, becaufe they have not been fuccefsfiil. Thofe nets, when foked in water, are eafily opened, and then niai;e mod excellent heel and toe netting for fnow-flioes. In general it is far fuperior to the netting cut by tlic Southern Indian women, and is not larger than common net-twine, U u tious 329 33^ A JOURNEY TO THE tious notion, that were they kept clofe together, one net would be jealous of its neighbour, and by that means not one of them would catch a fingle fifli. The methods ufed, and ftri£lly obferved, when angling, are equally abfurd as thofe I have mentioned ; for when they bait a hook, a compofition of four, five, or fix ar- ticles, by way of charm, is concealed under the bait, which is always fewed round the hook. In fad, the only bait ufed by thofe people is in their opinion a compofition of charms, inclofed within a bit of fifh-fkin, fo as in fome meafure to refemble a fmall fifh. The things ufed by way of charm, are bits of beavers tails and fat, otter's vents and teeth, muflc-rat's guts and tails, loon's vents, fquirrel's tefticles, the cruddled milk taken out of the fiomach of fucking fawns and calves, human hair, and numberlefs other articles equally abfurd. Every mafter of a family, and indeed almoft every other perfon, particularly the men, have a fmall bundle of fuch trafh, which they always carry with them, both in Sum- mer and Winter ; and without fome of thofe articles to put under their bait, few of them could be prevailed upon to put a hook into the water, being fully perfiiaded that they may as well fit in the tent, as attempt to angle without fuch afiiftance. They have alfo a notion that fifli of the fame fpecies inhabiting different parts of the country, are fond of different things j fo that almofi: every 4 lake NORTHERN OCEAN. lake and river tliey arrive at, obliges them to alter the com- pofition of the charm. The iame rule is obferved on broiliiis: the firft fruits of a new hook that is ufed for a new net ; an old hook that has already been fuccefsful in catching large fifh is cfteemed of more value, than a handful of nev/ ones which have never been tried. Deer alfo, as well as fidi, are very numerous in many parts of this country ; particularly to the North of the lixtieth degree of latitude. Alpine hares are in feme parts of the barren ground pretty plentiful, where alfo fome herds of mufk-oxen are to be met with ; and to the Weftward, among the woods, there are fome rabbits and partridges. With all thofe feeming fources of plenty, however, one half of the inhabitants, and perhaps the other half alfo, are frequently in danger of being ftarved to death, owing partly to their want of CEConomy ; and moft of thefe fcenes of diftrefs happen during their jour- nies to and from Prince of Wales's Fort, the only place at which they trade. When Northern Indians are at the Fadlory, they are very liable to fteal any thing they think will be fervice- able; particularly iron hoops, fmall bolts, fpikes, car- penters tools, and, in fhort, all fmall pieces of iron- work which they can turn to advantage, either for their own ufe, or for the purpofe of trading with fuch of their countrymen as feldom vifit the Company's Settlement : U u 2 amono- :^r- A JOURNEY TO THE amonf2; themfelves, however, the crmie of theft is fcldom heard of. V/Iien two parties of thofe Indians meet, the ceremonies which pafs between them are quite difierent from thofc made ufe of in Europe on fimilar occafiions ; for when they advance v/ithin twenty or thirty yards of each other, they make a full halt, and in general fit or lie down on the ground, and do not fpcak for fome minutes. At length one of them, generally an elderly man, if any be in company, breaks filence, by acquainting the other party with every misfortune that has befallen him and his companions from the laft time they had feen or heard of each other ; and alfo of all deaths and other calamities that have befallen any other Indians during the fame period, at leaft as many particulars as have come to his knowledge. When the Erft has finifhed his oration, another aged' orator (if there be any) belonging to the other party re- lates, in like manner, all the bad news that has com.e to his knowledge ; and both parties never fail to plead po- verty and famine on all occahons. If thofe orations con- tain any nev/s that in the leaft affect the other party, it is not long before fome of them begin to ligh and fob, and foon after break out into a loud cry, which is generally accom- panied by moft of the grown perfons of both fexes ; and ibmetimes it is common to fee them all, men, women, and children, in one univerfal howl. The young girls, in particular. NORTHERN OCEAN. particular, are often very obliging on thofe occafions ; for I never remember to have feen a crying match (as I called it) but the greateft part of the company afTifted, although fome of them had no other reafon for it, but that of feeing their companions do the fame. When the iirfl: tranfports of grief fubfide, they advance by degrees, and both parties mix with each other, the men always affociatlng with the men, and the women with the women. If they have any tobacco among them, the pipes are paffed round pretty freely, and the converfation foort becomes general. As they are on their iirft meeting acquainted with all the bad news, they have by this time nothing left but good, which in general has fo far the predominance over the former, that in lefs than half an hour nothing but fmiles- and cheerfulnefs are to be feen in every face ; and if they be not really in want, fmall prefents of provifions, am- munition, and other articles, often take place ; fometimes. merely as a gift, but more frequently by way of trying whether they cannot get a greater prefent. They have but few diverfions ; the chief is fliooting at a mark with bow and arrows ; and another out-door game, called HoU, which in fome mcafure refembles playing with, quoits ; only it is done with fhort clubs, fliarp at one end. They alfo amufe themfelves at times with dancing, which is always performed in the night. It is remarkable that thofe people, though a diftincTt nation, have never adopted any mods of dancing of their own, or any fongs to which thcv 333r^ )U A JOURNEY TO THE they can dance; fo that when any thing of this kind is attempted, which is but fcldom, they always endeavour to imitate either the Dog-ribbed or Southern Indians, but more commonly the former, as few of them are fufficiently acquainted either with the Southern Indian language, or their manner of dancing. The Dog-ribbed method is not very difficult to learn, as it only confifts in lifting the feet alternately from the ground in a very quick fucceflion, and as high as poflible, without moving the body, which {hould be kept quite ftill and motionlefs ; the hands at the fame time being clofed, and held clofe to the breaft, and the head inclining forward. This diverfion is always per- formed quite naked, except the breech-cloth, and at times that is alfo thrown off; and the dancers, who feldom ex- ceed three or four at a time, always ftand clofe to the muiic. The mufic may, by ftraining a point, be called both vocal and inftrumental, though both are fufficiently humble. The former is no more than a frequent repeti- tion of the words hee, hee, hee, ho, ho, ho, ^c. which, by a more or lefs frequent repetition, dwelling longer on one word and fliorter on another, and raifing and lowering the voice, produce fomething like a tune, and has the de- lired effe<3:. This is always accompanied by a drum or tabor ; and fometimes a kind of rattle is added, made with a piece of dried buffalo jfkin, in fhape exadly Jike an .oil-flafk, into which they put a few fhot or pebbles, which, when fhook about, produces muiic little inferior to the drum, though not fo loud. This NORTHERN OCEAN. This mode of dancing naked is performed only by the men ; for when the women are ordered to dance, they al- ways exhibit without the tent, to mufic which is played within it ; and though their method of dancing is perfectly decent, yet it has ftill icfs meaning and action than that of the men : for a whole heap of them crowd together in a flraight line, and juft {huffle themfelves a little from right to left, and back again in the fame line, without lifting their feet from the ground ; and when the mufic ftops, they all give a little bend of the body and knee, fomewhat like an awkward curtfey, and pronounce, in a little fhrill tone, h-e-e, h-o-o-o-e, Befide thefe diverlions, they have another fimple in- door game, which is that of taking a bit of wood, a button, or any other fmall thing, and after fhifting it from hand to hand feveral times, aiking their antagonift, which hand it is in ? When playing at this game, which only admits of two perfons, each of them have ten, fif- teen, or twenty fmall chips of wood, like matches ; and when one of the players guefles right, he takes one of his antagonift's fticks, and lays it to his own; and he that firft gets all the flicks from the other in that manner, is faid to win the game, which is generally for a li.igle load of powder and fhot, an arrow, or feme other thing of inconiiderable value. The women never mix in any of their divcriions, not even in dancing ; for when that is required of them, they alwavs 335 ^3<3 AjOtJRNEYTOTHE ^always exlilbit without the tent, as has been already ob« ferved ; nor are they allowed to be prefent at a feaft. In- deed, the whole courfe of their lives is one continued fcene of drudgery, viz. carrying and hauling heavy loads, dreffing {kins for clothing, curing their proviHons, and prac- tiling other necefl'ary domeftic duties which are required in a family, without enjoying the leaft diverfion of any kind, or relaxation, on any occaiion whatever; and except in the execution of thofe homely duties, in which they are al- ways inftruded from their infancy, their fenfes feem al- mofl: as dull and frigid as the zone they inhabit. There are indeed fome exceptions to be met with among them, and I fuppofe it only requires indulgence and precept to make fome of them as lofty and infolent as any women in the world. Though they wear their hair at full length, and never tie it up, like the Southern Indians ; and though not one in fifty of them is ever poiTefTed of a comb, yet .by a wonderful dexterity of the lingers, and a good deal of patience, they make fnift to ftroke it out fo as not to Jeave two hairs entangled ; but when their heads are in- fefted with vermin, from which very few of either fex are free, they mutually aflift each other in keeping thcixj. under. A fcorbutic diforder, rcfcmblinff the worft ftage of the itch, confumptions, and fluxes, are their cliief difordcrs. The firfl: of thefe, though very troublefome, is never known to prove fatal, unlefs it be accompanied with fome inward complaint^ but the two latter, with a fev/ acci- dents, NORTHERN O C E A N. .337 dents, carries off great numbers of both fexes and all ages : indeed few of them live to any great age, probably owing to the great fatigue they undergo from their youth up, in procuring a fublifbence for themfelves and their offspring. Though the fcorbutic diforder above mentioned does ■appear to be infedious, it is rare to fee one have it with- out the whole tent's crew being more or lefs affected with it; but this is by no means a proof of its being contagious ; I rather attribute it to the effedis of fome .bad water, or the unwholefomenefs of fome fifh they may catch in particular places, in the courfe of their wandering manner of life. Were it otherwife, a (ingle family would in a fhort time communicate it to the whole tribe; but, on the contrary, the difeafe is never known to fpread. In the younger fort it always attacks the hands and feet, not even fparing the palms and folcs. Thofe of riper years generally have it about the wrifls, infteps, and pof- teriors ; and in the latter particularly, the blotches, or boils as they may juftly be called, are oiten as large as the top of a man's thumb. This diforder mofl frequently makes its appearance in the Summer, v/hile the Indians are out on the barren ground ; and though it is by no means reckoned dangerous, yet it is fo obftinatc, as not to yield to any medicine that has ever been applied to it while at the Company's Fadory. And as the natives themfelves never make ufe of any medicines of their ov/n preparing. Nature alone v/orks the cure, v/hich is never performed in X X lefs 338 A JOURNEY TOTHE lefs than twelve or eighteen months ; and fome of them are troubled with this difagreeable and loathfome diforder for years before they are perfedly cured, and then a dark livid mark remains on thofe parts of the fkin which have been affe6led, for many years afterwards, and in fome during life. When any of the principal Northern Indians die, it is generally believed that they are conjured to death, either by fome of their own countrymen, by fome of the Southern Indians, or by fome of the Efquimaux : too frequently the fufpicion falls on the latter tribe, which is the grand reafon of their never being at peace with thofe poor and diftreffed people. For fome time paft, however, thofe Efquimaux who trade with our floops at Knapp's Bay,. Navcfs Bay, and Whale Cove, are m perfed; peace and friendfliip with the Northern Indians ; which is entirely owing to the protection they have for feveral years pad re- ceived from the Chiefs at the Company's Fort at Churchill River *. But thofe of that tribe who live fo far to the North,. * In tlie Summer of 1756, a party of Northern Indians lay in v/ait at Knapp's Bay till the Hoop had iliiled out of the harbour, when they fell on the poor Efquimaux, and killed every foul. Mr. John Bean, then Mafter of the. Hoop, and fince Mafter of the Trinity yacht, with all his crew, heard the guns very plain j but did not know the meaning or reafon of it till the Sum- mer following, when he found the fliocking remains of more than forty Efquimaux, who had been murdered in that cowardly man.ner ;. and for no other rcafjn but becaufe two principal Northern Indians had died in the piccedi:!^ Winter. No NORTHERN OCEAN. North, as not to have any intercourfe with our veffels, very often fall a facrifice to the fury and fuperftition of the Northern No Efquimaux were feen at Knapp's Bay for feveral years after; and thofe who trade there at prefent have undoubtedly been drawn from the Northward, Cnce the above unhappy tranfadion; for the convenience of being nearer the woods, as well as being in the way of trading with the floop that calls there annually. It is to be hoped that the meafures taken by the Governors at Prince of Wales's Fort of late years, will effeftually prevent any fuch cala- mities happening in future, and by degrees be the means of bringing about a Lifting, friendly, and reciprocal intereft between the two nations. Notwithftanding the pacific and friendly terms which begin to dawn between thofe two tribes at Knapp's Bay, Navel's Bay, and Whale Cove, farther North hoftilities continue, and moft barbarous murders are perpetrated : and the only prote£tion the Efquimaux have from the fury of their enemies, is their remote fituation in the Winter, and their refiding chiefly on iflands and penin- fulas in Summer, which renders them lefs liable to be furprifed during that feafon. But even this fecluded life does not prevent the Northern Indians from haraffing tiiem gfeatly, and at times they are fo clofely purfued as to be obliged to leave moft of their goods and utenfils to be deftroyed by their enemy; which muft be a great lofs, as thefe cannot be replaced but at the ex- pence of much time and labour ; and the want of them in the mean time muft create much diftrefs both to themfelves and their families, as they can feldom procure any part of their livelihood without the afilftance of a conftderabic apparatus. In 1756, the Efquimaux at Knapp's Bay fent two of their youths to Prince of Wales's Fort in the floop, and the Summer following they v/ere carried back to their friends, loaded with prefents, and much pleafed with the treat- ment they received while at the Fort. In 1767, they again fent one from Knapp's Bay and one from Whale Cove ; and though during their ftay at the Fort they made a confiderable progrefs both in the Southern Indian and the Englifh languages, yet thofe intercourfes have not been any ways advantageous to the Company, by increafing the trade from that quarter. In fadt, the only X X a fatisfaiftion ^39 340 A JOURNEY TO T H E Northern Indians j who are by no means a bold or warlike people; nor can 1 think from e^iperience, that they are par- ticularly guilty of committing afts of wanton cruelty on any other part of the human race befide the Efquimaux. Their hearts, however, are in general fo unfufceptible of tendernefs, that they can view the deepefl; difirefs in thofe who are not immediately related to them, without the leaffc emotion ; not even half fo much as the generality of man- kind feel for the fufferings of the meaneft of the brute creation, I have been prefent when one of tliem, imitating, the groans, diflorted features, and contracted pofition, of a. fatisfliction they have found for the great expence they have from time to time incurred, by introducing thofe Grangers, is, that through the good conduft of their upper fervants at Churchill River, they have at length fo far humanized the hearts of thofe two tribes, that at prefent they can meet e^ch other in a friendly manner; whereas, a few years fince, whenever they mei, each party preme- ditated the deftruftion of the other ; and what made their war more fhocking was, they never gave quarter: fo that the ftrongeft party always killed the v/eakeft, without fparing either man, woman, or child. It is but a few years ago tliat the floop's crew who annually carried them all their wants, durft not venture on fliore among the Efquimaux unarmed, for fear of being murdered ; but latterly they are fo civilized, that the Com-* pany's fervants vifit their tents with the greatell freedom and fafety, are always welcome, and defired to partake of fuch provifions as they have i and knowing now our averfion from train-oil, they take every means in their power to convince our people that the viftuals prepared for them is entirely free from it. But the fmell of their tents, cooking-utenfils, and other furni- ture, is fcarcely lefs ofFenfive than Greenland Dock. However, I have eaten both fiHi and venifon cooked by them in fo cleanly a manner, that I have re- iilhed them very much, and partaken of them with a good appetite. 7 man NORTHERN OCEAN: man who had died in the mofl exxruciating pain, put the whole company, except myfelf, into the mofl: violent fit of laughter. The Northern Indians never bury their dead, but al- ways leave the bodies where they die, To that they are fup- pofed to be devoured by bcafts and birds of prey ; for which reafon they will not eat foxes, wolves, ravens, &'c. unlefs it be through mere neceflity. ' The death of a near relation affeds them fo fenfibly, that they rend all their cloths from their backs, and ga naked, till fome perfons lefs afflidled relieve them. After the death of a father, mother, hufband, wife, fon, or brother, they mourn, as it may be called, for a whole year, vi^hich they meafure by the moons and feafons, Thofe mournful periods are not diftinguifhed by any par- ticular drefs, except that of cutting off the hair ; and the ceremony confiflis in almoft perpetually crying. Even when walking, as v/ell as at all other intervals from fleep, eating, and converlation, they make an odd howling noife, often repeating the relationfliip of the dcceafed. But as this is in a great meafure mere form and cuftom, fome of them have a method" of foftening the harfhnefs of tlie notes, and brino-ing them out in a more mufical tone than that in which they fing their fongs. When they reiicdl: ferioufly on the lofs of a good friend, however, it has fuch an efie6l on them for the prefent, that they gi\'e an uncommon 341 342 A J O U R N E Y T O THE uncommon loofe to their grief. At thofe times they feem to fympathife (through cuftom) with each other's affliAions (o much, that I have often feen feveral fcores of tliem crying in concert, when at the fame time not above half a dozen of them had any more reafon for fo doing than I had, unlefs it was to preferve the old cuftom, and keep the others in countenance. The women arc re- markably obliging on fuch occafions ; and as no reftric- tion is laid on them, they may with truth be faid to cry with all their might and main j but in common converfa- tion they are obliged to be very moderate. They have a tradition among them, that the firft per- fon upon earth was a woman, who, after having been fome time alone, in her refearches for berries, which was then her only food, found an animal like at dog, which followed her to the cave where fhe lived, and foon grew fond and domeftic. This dog, they fay, had the art of transforming itfelf into the fhape of a handfome young man, which it frequently did at night, but as the day approached, always refumed its former fhape ; fo that the woman looked on all that paffed on thofe occa- iions as dreams and delufions. Thefe tranformations were foon productive of the confequences which at prefent generally follow fuch intimate connexions between the two fexes, and the mother of the world began to ad- vance in her pregnancy. Not NORTHERN OCEAN. 343 Not long after this happened, a man of fuch a furprifing height that his head reached up to the clouds, came to level the land, which at that time was a very rude mafs ; and after he had done this, by the help of his walking- Hick he marked out all the lakes, ponds, and rivers, and immediately caufed them, to be filled with water. He then took the dog, and tore it to pieces ; the guts he threw into the lakes and rivers, commanding them to become the different kinds of fifh ; the flefh he difperfed over the land, commanding it to become different kinds of beafls and land-animals ; the Ikin he alfo tore in fmall pieces, and threw it into the air, commanding it to become all kinds of birds ; after which he gave the woman and her offspring full power to kill, eat, and never fpare, for that he had commanded them to multiply for her ufe in abundance. After this injundion, he returned to the place whence he came, and has not been heard ot fince. Religion has not as yet bcgim to dav/n among the Northern Indians ; for though their conjurors do in- deed fing fongs, and make long fpeeches, to fome beads and birds of prey, as alfo to imaginary beings, which they fay afiift them in performing cures on the iick, yet they, as well as their credulous neighbours, are ut- terly deftitute of every idea of pra6lical religion. It is true, fome of them will reprimand their youth for talking difie-- ^44 A JOURNEY TO THE ■dirrefpedfully of particular beafts and birds ; but it is done with (o little energy, as to be often retorted back in deriiion. Neither is this, nor their cufloni of not kill- ing wolv^es and quiquehatches, univerfally obferved, and thofe who do it can only be viewed with more pity and contempt than the others ; for I always found it arofe merely from the greater degree of confidence which they had in the fupernatural power of their conjurors, which induced them to believe, that talking lightly or difrefped:- fully of any thing they feemed to approve, would mate- rially aftecl their health and happinefs in this world : and I never found any of them that had the leaft idea of fu- turity. Matonabbee, without one exception, was a maa of as clear ideas in other matters as any that 1 ever faw : he was not only a perfe6t mafter of the Southern Indian language, and their belief, but could tell a better ftory of our Saviour's birth and life, than one half of thofe who call themfelves Chriftians ; yet he always declared to me, that neither he, nor any of his countrymen, had an idea of a future ftate. Though he had been taught to look on things or tliis kind as uiclefs, his ovv^n good fenfe had taught him to be an advocate for univerfal toleration ; and I have feen him .feveral times alTifl at fome of the moil facred rites performed by the Southern Indians, apparently with as much zeal, as if he had given as much credit to them as they did : and with the fame liberality of lenti- iiient he would, I am perfuiided, have aflifted at the altar of NORTHERN OCEAN. of a Chriftian church, or in a Jewifh fynagogiie; not with a view to reap any advantage himfelf, but merely, as he obferved, to aflift others who believed in fuch ceremonies. Being thus deftitute of all religious control, thefe people have, to ufe Matonabbee's own words, " nothing to do but " confult their ownintereft, inclinations, and paflions; and " to pafs through this world with as much eafe and con- " tentment as pofHble, without any hopes of revi^ard, or ** painful fear of punifhment, in the next." In this ftate of mind they are, when in profperity, the happieft of mortals ; for nothing but perfonal or family calamities can difturb their tranquillity, while misfortunes of the leffer kind fit light on them. Like moft other uncivilized people, they bear bodily pain with great fortitude, though in that refpecS: I cannot think them equal to the Southern Indians. Old age is the greatefl calamity that can befal a North- ern Indian ; for when he is pafl: labour, he is neglected, and treated with great difrefped:, even by his own children. They not only ferve him lall: at meals, but generally give him the coarfeft and worft of the victuals : and fuch of the fkins as they do not chufe to wear, are made up in the clumfieil: manner into clothing for their aged parents ; who, as they had, in all probability, treated their fathers and mothers with the fame negled, in Y y their 345 2^5 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E . their turns, fubmitted patiently to their lot, even with- out a murmur, knowing it to be the comm.on misfor- tune attendant on old age ; fo that they may be faid to. wait patiently for the melancholy hour when, being no longer capable of walking, they are to be left alone, to flarve, and perifh for want. This, however fhocking and unnatural it may appear, is neverthelefs fo common, that, among thofe people, one half at lead of the aged perfons of both fexes abfolutely die in this miferable condition. The Northern Indians call the Aurora Borealis, Ed-thin; that is, Deer * : and when that meteor is very bright, they lay that deer is plentiful in that part of the atmo- fphere j but they have never yet extended their ideas fo. far as to entertain hopes of tafting thofe ccleftial animals. Beiide this filly notion, they are very fuperftitious with refpe£l to the exiflence of feveral kinds of fairies, called by them Nant-e-na, whom they frequently fay they fee, and. who are fuppofed by them to inhabit the different elements * Their ideas in this refpeil are founded on a principle one would not imagine. Experience has fliewn them, that v;hen a hairy deer-H^in is brill-ily firoked with the hand in a dark night, it will emit many fparks of eleftrica! fire, as the back of a cat will. The idea which the Southern Indians have of this meteor is equally romantic, though more pleafing, as they believe it to be the Ipirits of their departed friends dancing in the clouds ; and when \X\t.Aurora- Borealis is remarkably bright, at which time they vary moft in colourj form, ;uid fuuation, they fay, their deceafed friends are very merry. of N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 347^ of earth, fea, and air, according to their feveral qualities. To one or other of thofe fairies they ufually attribute any change in their circumftances, either for the better or vvorfe ; and as they are led into this way of thinking entirely hy the art of the conjurors, there is no fuch thing as any ge- neral mode of belief; for thofe jugglers differ fo much from each other in their accounts of thefe beings, that thofe who believe any thing they fay, have little to do but change their opinions according to the will and caprice of the conjuror, who is almoft daily relating fome new whim, or extraor- dinary event, which, he fays, has been revealed to him in a dream, or by fome of his favourite fairies, when on a hunt- ing excurfion. Yy )01>2<1 348 AJOURNEYTOTHE Sojm Account (?/'Matonabbee, and of the eminent Services, which he rendered to his Coimtry, as ivell as to the HudjoTis Bay Compa?iy. Matonabbee was the fon of a Northern Indian by a flave woman, who was formerly bought from fome Southern In- dians who came to Prince of Wales's Fort with furrs, &'c* This match was made by Mr. Richard Norton, then Go- vernor, who detained them at and near the Fort, for the fame purpofe as he did thofe Indians called Home-guard. As to Matonabbee's real age, it is impoffible to be particular ; for the natives of thofe parts being utterly unacquainted with letters, or the ufe of hieroglyphics, though their memories are not lefs retentive than thofe of other nations, cannot preferve and tranfmit to poflerity the exa£l time when any particular event happens. Indeed, the utmofb extent of their chronology reaches no farther, than to fay, My fon, or my daughter, was born in fuch a Governor's time, and fuch an event happened during fuch a per- fon's life-time (though, perhaps, he or fhe has been dead many years). However, according to appearance, and fome corroborating circumftances, Matonabbee was born about the year one thoufand feven hundred and thirty-fix, or one thoufand feven hundred and thirty-feven ; and his father dying while he was young, the Governor took the boy, NORTHERN OCEAN. boy, and, according to the Indian cuftom, adopted him as his fon. Soon after the death of Matonabbee's father, Mr. Norton went to England, and as the boy did not experience from his fucceflbr the fame regard and attention which he had been accuftomed to receive from Mr. Norton, he was foon taken from the Fadory by fome of his father's relations, and continued with the Northern Indians till Mr. Ferdinand Jacobs fucceeded to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, in the year one thoufand feven hundred and fifty-two; when out of regard to old Mr. Norton, (who was then dead,) Mr. Jacobs took the firft opportunity that offered to detain Matonabbee at the Fadory, where he was for feveral years employed in the hunting-fervice with fome of the Com- pany's fervants, particularly with the late Mr. Mofes Nor- ton *, (fon of the kte Governor,) and Mr. Magnus John^ ftonf. In the courfe of his long flay at and near the Fort, it is no wonder that he fhould have become perfed: mafterof the Southern Indian language, and made fome progrefs in the Engliih. It was. during this period, that he gained a knowledge of the Chriftian faith ; and he always de- clared, that it was too deep and intricate for his compre- henfion. Though he was a perfedl bigot with refpcd to * Afterwards Governor. f Maftcr of the Churchill (loop.. the 34^ ^^o- AJOURNEYTOTHE the arts and tricks of Indian jugglers, yet he could by no means be impreffed with a belief of any part of our reli- gion, nor of the religion of the Southern Indians, who have as firm a belief in a future ftate as any people under the Sun. He had fo much natural good fenfe and libe- rality of fentiment, however, as not to think that he had a right to ridicule any particular fe(£l on account of their religious opinions. On the contrary, he declared, that he held them all equally in efteem, but was determined, as he came into the world, fo he would go out of it, without profeffing any religion at all. Notwithftanding his averfion from religion, I have met with few Chriftians who pof- fefled more good moral qualities, or fewer bad ones. It is impofiible for any man to have been more pundual in the performance of a promife than he was; his fcrupulous adherence to truth and honefty would have done honour to the moft enlightened and devout Chriftian, while his benevolence and univerfal humanity to all the human race *, according to his abilities and manner of liie, could not * I mud: here obferve, that when we went to war with the Efquimaux at the Copper River in July 1771, it was by no means his propofal : on the contrary, he was forced into it by his countrymen. For I have heard him fay, that when he firfl: vifited that river, in company v/ith I-dot-le-aza, ithey met with feveral Efquimaux; and fo far from killing them, were very friendly to them, and made them fm.all prefents of fuch articles as they couid •beft {pare, and that wovild be of moft ufc to them. It is more than probable that the two bits of iron found among the plunder while I was there, were part of thofe prefents. There v/ere alfo a few long beads found among thofe people. NORTHERN OCEAN. ^5^ not be exceeded by the moft illuftrious perfonage now on record j and to add to his other good qualities, he was the only Indian that I ever faw, except one, who was not guilty of backbiting and flandering his neighbours. In ftature, Matonabbee was above the common fize, being nearly fix feet highf ; and, except that his neck was rather (though not much) too fliort, he was one of the lineft and beft proportioned men that I ever faw. In complexion he was dark, like the other Northern Indians, but his face was not disfigured by that ridiculous cuftom of marking the cheeks with three or four black lines. His features were regular and agreeable, and yet fo ftrongly marked and expreflive, that they formed a complete index of his mind ; which, as he never intended to deceive or diflemble, he never wifhed to conceal. In converfation hewaseafy, lively, and agreeable, but exceedingly modefl; and at table, the noblenefs and elegance of his manners might have been admired by the firft perfonages in the world ', for to the vivacity of a Frenchman, and the people, but quite different from any that the Kudibn's Bay Company had ever lent to the Bay: fo that the only probable way they could have come by them, muft have been by an intercourfe with fome of their tribe, who had dealings with the Danes in Davis's Straits. It is very probable, hov/evci, they might have paffed through many hands before they reached this remote place. Had they had an immediate intercourfe with the Efquimaux in DavisV Straits, it is natural to fuppofe that iron would not have been fo fcarce amonr them as it feemed to be; indeed the diftance is too great to admit of it. f I have feen two Northern Indians who meafured fix fett three inches; and one, fix feet four inches.. I fincerity 552 A JOURNEY TO THE fmcerity of an Englifliman, he added the gravity and noblenefs of a Turk ; all fo happily blended, as to render his company and converfation univerfally pleafing to thofe who underftood either the Northern or Southern Indian languages, the only languages in which he could converfe. He was remarkably fond of Spanifh wines, though he never drank to excefs; and as he would not partake of fpirituous liquors, however fine in quality or plainly mixed, he was always mafter of himfelf. As no man is exempt from frailties, it is natural to fuppofe that as a man he had his fliare ; but the greateft with which I can charge him, is jealoufy, and that fometimes carried him beyond the bounds of humanity. In his early youth he difcovered talents equal, to'-^the greateft tafk that could poflibly be expeded from an In- dian. Accordingly Mr. Jacobs, then Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort, engaged him, when but a youth, as an Ambaffador and Mediator between the Northern Indians and the Athapufcow Tribe, who till then had always been at war with each other. In the courfe of this embaffy Matonabbee not only difcovered the moft brilliant and folid parts, but fhewed an extenfive knowledge of every ad- vantage that could arife to both nations from a total fup- preflion of hoftilities ; and at times he difplayed fuch in- ftances of perfonal courage and magnanimity, as are rarely to be found among perfons of fuperior condition and rank. He f# NORTHERN OCEAN. He had not penetrated far into the country of the Atha- pufcow Indians, before he came to fev^ral tents with in- habitants ; and there, to his great furprife, he found Cap- tain Keelfhies, (a perfon frequently mentioned in this Journal *,) who was then a prifoner, with all his family and fome ol his friends, the fate of whom was then imdetermined ; but through the means of Matonabbee, though young enough to have been his fon, Keelfhies and a few others were releafed, with the lofs of his effeds and all his wives, which were fix in number. Matonab- bee not only kept his ground after Keelfhies and his fmall party had been permitted to return, but made his way into the very heart of the Athapufcow country, in order to have a perfonal conference with all or moft of the principal inhabitants. The farther he advanced, the more occafion he had for intrepidity. At one time he came to five tents of thofe favages, which in the whole contained fixteen men, befides their wives, children, and fervants, while he himfelf was entirely alone, except one wife and a fervant boy. The Southern Indians, ever treacherous, and apparently the more kind when they are premedita- ting mifchief, feemed to give him a hearty welcome, ac- cepted the tenders of peace and reconciliation with appa- rent fatisfadion, and, as a mark of their approbation, each tent in rotation made a feaft, or entertainment, the * The fame perfon was at Prince of Wales's Fort when the French arrived on the 3thof A;iguft 1782, and law them demolifh tlie Fort. Z z func 353 354 A JOURNEY TO THE fame night, and invited him to partake ; at the laft of which they had concerted a fcheme to murder him. He was, however, fo perfect a mafter of the Southern Indian language, that he foon difcovered their defign, and told them, he was not come in a hoftile manner, but if they attem.pted any thing of the kind he was determined to fell his life as dear as poflible. On hearing this, fome of them ordered that his krvant, gun, and fnow-fhoes, (for it was Winter,) fhould be brought into the tent and fe- cured ; but he fprung from his feat, feized his gun and fnow-fhoes, and went out of the tent, telling them, if they had an intention to moleft him, that was the proper place where he could fee his enemy, and be under no apprehenfions of being fhot cowardly through the back. " I am fure (faid he) of killing two or three of you, " and if you chufe to purchafe my life at that price, now *' is the time ; but if otherwife, let me depart without *' any farther moleflation." They then told him he was at liberty to go, on condition of leaving his fervant ; but to this he would not confent. He then rufhed into the tent and took his fervant by force from two men ; when find- ing there was no appearance of farther danger, he {et out on his return to the frontiers of his own country, and from thence to the Fadory. The year following he again vifited the Athapufcow country, accompanied by a confiderable number of chofen men NORTHERN OCEAN. men of his own nation, who were fo far fuperior to fuch fmall parties of the Southern Indians as they had met, that they commanded refpe(3: wherever they came ; and having traverfed the whole country, and converfed with all the principal men, peace and friendfhip v/ere apparently re-eftablifhed. Accordingly, when the Spring advanced the Northern Indians began to difperfe, and drav/ out to the Eafhward on the barren ground; but Matonabbee, and a few others, chofe to pafs the Summer in the Athapufcow country. As foon as the Southern Indians were acquainted with this defign, and found the number of the Northern Indians fo reduced, a fuperior number of them dogged and haraffed them the whole Summer, with a view to furprife and kill them' when afleep ; and with that view twice actually approached fo near their tents as fifty yards. But Matonabbee told them, as he had done when alone, that though there were but £tw of them, they were all determined to fell their lives as dear as pofTible : on which the Southern Indians, without making any reply, retired ; for no Indians in this country have the courage to fice their enemies when they find them apprized of their ap- proach, and on their guard to receive them. Notwithftanding all thefe difcouragements and great dangers, Matonabbee perfevered with courage and refo- lution to vifit the Athapufcow Indians for Icveral yciivs fuccellively ; and at length, by an uniform difplay of his pacific difpofition, and by rendering a long train of good Z z 2 offices 35S 356 A JOURNEY TO THE offices to thofe Indians, in return for their treachery and perfidy, he was fo happy as to be the fole inftrument of not only bringing about a lafting peace, but alfo of eftablifliing a trade and reciprocal intereft between the two nations. After having performed this great work, he was pre- vailed upon to vifit the Copper-mine River, in company with a famous leader, called I-dat-le-aza ; and it was from the report of thofe two men, that a journey to that part was propofed to the Hudfon's Bay Company by the late Mr. Mofes Norton, in one thoufand feven hundred and fixty-nine. In one thoufand feven hundred and feventy he was engaged as the principal guide on that expedition ; which he performed with greater pundluality, and more to my fatisfadlion, than perhaps any other Indian in all that country would have done. At his return to the Fort in one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-two, he was made head of all the Northern Indian nation ; and continued to render great fcrvices to the Company during his life, by bringing a greater quantity of furrs to their Fadlory at Churchill River, than any other Indian ever did, or ever will do. His laft vifit to Prince of Wales's Fort was in the Spring of one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-two, and he intended to have repeated it in the Winter following; but when he heard that the French had deftroyed the Fort, and carried off all the Company's fervants, he never afterwards reared his head, but took an opportunity, when no one fufpeded NORTHERN OCEAN. 3^7 fufpeded his intention, to hang himfelf. This is the more to be wondered at, as he is the only Northern In- dian who, that I ever heard, put an end to his own exift- ence. The death of this man was a great lofs to the Hudfon's Bay Company, and was attended with a moft melancholy fcene; no lefs than the death of iix of his wives, and four children, all of whom were flarved to death the fame Winter, in one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-three. CHAP, 358 AJOURNEYTOTHE CHAP. X. An Account of the principal ^adrupeds found in the Northern Parts of Hudfons Bay. The Buffalo^ Moofe, Miifk-ox^ Dcer^ and Beaver. — ^ capital Miflake cleared up rcfpe^ing the We-was-kifJj. Animals -with Canine Teeth. The Wolf—~Foxcs of various co- lours— Lynx., or Wild Cat — Polar, or White Bear — Black Bear — Brown Bear — Wolverene — Otter — Jackafli — Wejack — Skunk — Pine Martin — Ermine., or State. Animals with Cutting Teeth. The Mufk Beaver — Porcupine — Varying Hare — American Hare — Common Squirrel — Ground Squirrel— - Mice of various Kinds., — and the Caflor Beaver. The Pinnated ^ladn/peds with finlike Feet., found in Hudfjii s Bay, are but three in number, viz. the Warlus, or Sca-Horfc, — Seal, — and Sea-Unicorn. The Species of Fi/Jj found in the Salt Water of Hudfons Bay are alfo few in number ; being the Black Whale — White Whale — Salmon — and Kcpling. Shell-ffj, and empty Shells of fever al kinds, found on the Sea Coafl near Churchill River. Frogs AJOURNEYTOTHE quills will not permit them to perform that office in the ufiial mode, like other quadrupeds. To remedy this in- convenience, they fometimes lie on their fides, and meet in that manner; but the ufual mode is for the male to lie on his back, and the female to walk over him, (begin- ning at his head,) till the parts of generation come in contad. They are the moft forlorn animal I know ; for in thofe parts of Hudfon's Bay where they are moft numerous, it is not common to fee more than one in a place. They are fo remarkably flow and ftupid, that our Indians going with packets from Fort to Fort often fee them in the trees, but not having occafion for them at that time, leave them till their return; and fhould their abfence be a week or ten days, they are fure to find them within a mile of the place where they had feen them before. Foxes of Foxes of various colours are not fcarce in thofe parts; -lours. but the natives living fuch a wandering life, feldom kill many. It is rather ftrange that no other fpecies of Fox, except the white, are found at any diftance from the woods on the barren ground ; for fo long as the trade has been cftabliflied with the Efquimaux to the North of Churchill, I do not recoiled: that Foxes of any other co- lour than white were ever received from them. ifwying The Varying Hares are numerous to the North of ''^"' Churchill River, and extend as far as latitude 72", pro- bably farther. They delight moft in rocky and ftony places. N O R T H E R N O C E A N. ^S' places, near the borders of woods ; though many of them brave the coldeft Winters on entire barren ground. In Sum- mer they are nearly the colour of our Englifh wild rabbit ; but in Winter affume a moft delicate white all over, except the tips of the ears, which are black. They are, when full grovrn and in good condition, very large, many of them weighing fourteen or fifteen pounds; and if not too old, are n good eating. In Winter they feed on long rye-grafs and the tops of dwarf willows, but in Summer eat berries, and dif- ferent forts of fmall herbage. They are frequently killed on the South-fide of Churchill River, and feveral have been known to breed near the fettlement at that place. Tkey mufl: multiply very faft, for when we evacuated Prince of Wales's Fort in one thoufand fev^en hundred and eio-hty- two, it was rare to fee one of them within twenty or thirty- miles of that place ; but at our return, in one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-three, we found them in fuch numbers, that it was common for one man to kill two or three in a day within half a mile of the new fettlement. But partly, perhaps, from fo many being killed, and partly from the furvivors being fo frequently difturbed, they have fhitted their fituation, and are at prefent as fcarce near the fettlement as ever. The Northern Indians purfue a fingular method in fhooting thofe Hares ; finding by long experience that thefe animals will not bear a diredt ap- proach, when the Indians fee a hare fitting, they walk round it in circles, always drawing nearer at every revo- lution, till by degrees tiiey get v^^ithin gun-fliot. The 5 middle 384 A T O U R N E Y T O T H E middle of the day, if it be clear weather, is the beft time to kill them in this manner ; for before and after noon, the Sun's altitude being fo fmall, makes a man's fliadow fo long on the fnovv, as to frighten the Hare be- fore he can approach, near enough to kill it. The fame may be faid of deer when on open plains, who are fre- quently more frightened at the long fliadow thaji at the man himfelf. The Amc q-j^g AMERICAN Hares, or, as tlicv are called in Hudfon's ucan Hare. r 1 • 1 n Bay, Rabbits, are not plentiful in the Eaftern parts of the Northern Indian country, not even in thofe parts that are fituated among the woods; but to the Vv^eftward, bordering on the Southern Indian country, they are in fome places pretty numerous, though by no means equal to what has been reported of them at York Fort, and fome other fettlements in the Bay. The furr of thofe animals, when killed in the bef!: part of the feafon, was for many years entirely neglcded by the furriers ; for fome time paft the Company have or- dered as many of their fkins to be fent home as can be procured; they are but of fmall value. The flefh of thofe Hares is generally more eileemed than that of the former. They are in feafon all the Winter ;. and though they generally feed on the bruHi of pine and fir during that feafon, yet many of the Northern Indians eat the contents of the ftomach. They are feldom fought after in Summer, as in that feafon they are not efceemed good NORTHERN OCEAN. 385 good eating ; but as the Fall advances they are, by feed- ing on berries, ^c. moft exxellent. In Spring they fhed their Winter coat, and during the Summer are nearly the colour of the Englifh wild rabbit, but as the Winter ad- • vances they become nearly white. In thick weather they are eafily fhot with the gun ; but the moft ufual method of killing them is by fnares, fet nearly in the manner defcribed by Dragge in the Firft Volume of his North Weft Pafiage. The Common Squirrels are plentiful in the woody parts The Com- of this country, and are caught by the natives in conftder- J.^J'" ^^""^~ able numbers with fnares, while the boys kill many of them with blunt-headed arrows. The method of fnar- ing them is rather curious, though very ftmple, as it con- {Ifts of nothing more than fetting a number of fnares all round the body of the tree in which they are feen, and ar- ranging them in fuch a manner that it is fcarccly poftible for the fquirrels to defcend without being entangled in one of them. This is generally the amufement of the boys. Though fmall, and feldom fat, yet they are good eating. The beauty and delicacy of this animal induced me to attempt taming and domefticating fome of them, but with- out fuccefs ; for though fevcral of them were fo fiimiliar as to take any thing out ot my hand, and fit on the table where I was writing, and play with the pens, &'c. yet they never would bear to be handled, and were very mif- chievous ; gnawing the cliair-bottoms, window- curtains, fafties, &'c, to pieces. They are an article of trade in the 3 D Company's >86 A JOURNEY TO THE Company's flandaid, but the grcatefl part of their ikhis^r' being killed in Summei-j, are of very little value. ThcGround Thc G ROUND Squirrels arc never found in the wood'/ Squirrel. . i t i i parts or North America, but are very plentilul on the barren ground, to the North of Churchill River, as far as the latitude 71°, and probably much farther. In fi-ze they are equal to the American Grey Squirrel, though more beautiful in colour. They generally burrow among the rocks and under great ftones, but fometimes on the lides of fandy ridges ; and are fo provident in laying up a Winter's ftock during the Sumjner, that they are feldom feen on the furface of the fnow in Winter. They gene- rally feed on the tufts of grafs, the tender tops of dwarf willows, &c. and are for the moft part exceedingly fat, and good eating. They are eafily tamed, and foon grow fond;: by degrees they will bear handling as v/ell as a cat; are exceeding cleanly, very playful, and by no means fo reftkfs and im-patient of confinement as the Comraom Squirrel. Mice of va- MicE are in great plenty and variety in all parts of Hudfon's Bay ; the marfhes being inhabited by one fpe- cies, and the dry ridges by another. The Shrew Moufe is- frequently found in Beaver houfes during Winter j, where they not only find a warm habitation, but alfo pick up a. comfortable livelihood from tlie fcraps left by the Beaver>. -Moft. of the other fpecies build or make nefls of dry grafs^,, of NORTHERN OCEAN. 387 of fiicli a fize and thicknefs, that when covered with fnow^ they muft be fufficiently warm. They all feed on grafs in general, but will alfo eat animal food when they can get it. The Hair-tailed Moiife is the largeft in tlic Northern parts of the Bay, being little inferior in fize to a common rat. They always burrow under ftones, on dry ridges ; are very inoffenfive, and fo eafily tamed, that it taken when full-grown, fome of them will in a day or two be perfedlly reconciled, and are fo fond of being handled, that they will creep about your neck, or into your bofom. In Summer they are grey, and in Winter change to white, but are by no means fo beautiful as a white ermine. At that feafon they are infeftcd with multitudes of fmall lice, not a fixth part fo large as the mites in a cheefe ; in fa(ft, they are fo fmall, that at iirft fight they only ap- pear like reddifh-brown duft, but on clofer examination are all perceived in motion. In one large and beautiful ani- mal of this kind, caught in the depth of Winter, I found thofe little vermin fo numerous about it, that almofl: -every hair was covered with them as thick as ropes with onions, and when they approached near the ends of the lair they may be faid to change the moufe from white to a faint brown. At that time I had an excellent micro- fcope, and endeavoured to examine them, and to afcer- tain their form, but the weather was fo exceedingly cold, that the glafTes became damp with the moifture of my breath before I could get a fingle fight. The liind-feet lance in any one part. Their bodies, fins, &'c. are exactly like thofe of an enormous Seal, and the head is not very unlike that animal, except that the nofe is much broader, to give room for the two large titfks that project from the upper jaw. Thofe tufks, and their red fparkling eyes, make them have a very fierce and formidable appearance. They are generally found in confiderable numbers, which indicate their love of fociety ; and their affedtion for each other is very apparent, as they aJways flock round thofe that are wounded, and wheri they fink, accompany them to the bottom, but foon rife to the furface, and make a hideous roaring, and of all amphibious animals, they are at times the leaft fenfible of danger from man that I know. They often attack fmall boats merely through wanton- nefs, and not only put the people in great conhifion, but fiibjedt them to great danger ; for they always aim at ftaving the boat with their tulks, or endeavour to get in, but are never knov/n to hurt the people. In the year one .thoufand. fevcn hundred and fixty-fix fome of the iloop's creWj 39° A JOURNEY TO THE ■crew, who annually fail to the North to trade with the Efqiiimaux, were attacked by a great number of thofe animals ; and notwithftanding their utmoft endeavours to keep them off, one more daring than the reft, though a fmall one, got in over the ftern, and after fitting and look- ing at the people feme time, he again plunged into the water to his companions. At that inftant anotlier, of an enormous fize, was getting in over tlie bow ; and every other means proving ineffedual to prevent fuch an unwel- come vifit, the bowman took up a gun, loaded with goofe-fhot, put the muzzle into the Horfe's mouth, .and fhot him dead ; be immediately funk, and was fol- lowed by all his companions. The people then made the beft of their way to the veffel, and juft arrived before the Sea-Horfes were ready to make their fecond attack, which in all probability might have been worfe than the firft, as they feemed much enraged at the lofs of their companion. Thofe animals are of various fizes, according to age and other circumftances ; fome are not larger than an old Seal, but there are thofe among them that are not lefs than two ton weig;ht. The fkin and teeth are the moft valuable parts to the natives; for the fat is hard and grifly, and the flefli coarfe, black, and tough. Thofe animals are feldom found on the continent which borders on Hudfon's Bay, or far up, in bays, rivers, or inlets, but ufually frequent fmall iflands, and fea-girt fhoals, NORTHERN OCEANS fhcals, at fome diftance from the main land ; but as thofe places are frozen over for many miles during Winter, it is natural to think they keep at the edge, of the water among the driving ice during that ieaion. They are fuppofed to feed chiefly on marine plants, and perhaps on fliell-£{h5 for their excrement is exceedingly offenlive,. Seals of various flzes and colours are common in moft Scd:^ parts of Hudfon's Bay, but moft numerous to the North, Some of thofe animals are beautifully fpeckled, black and white; others are of a dirty grey. The former are ge- nerally fmall, but fome of the latter arrive at an amazing £ze, and their ikins are of great ufe to the Efquimaux ; as it is of them they cover their canoes,, make all their- boot-legs and fhoes, befides' many other parts of their clothing. The Seal-fkins are alfo of great ufe to thofe people as a fubftitute for cafks, to preferve oil, &^c. for Winter ufe ; they are alfo blown full oi wind and dried, and then ufed as buoys on the whale-filhery. The flelk and fat of the Seal is alfo more eftcemed by the Efqui-- maux than thofe of any other marine animal, falmon not: excepted., Befides thelc, the Sea-Unicorn is known to frequent '"^"-^"i- ' ^ corn, Hudfon's Bay and Straits, but I never faw one of them. Their horns are frequently purchafcd from our friendly Efquimaux, v/ho probably get them in tlie vvay of barter from thofe tribes that refide more to the North; but I never. 20i A JOURNEY TO THE never could be informed by the natives vvliether their (kins are like thofe of the Whale, or hairy like thofe of the Seal j I fuppofe the former. Species of Ftp. The Fifli that inhabit the fait water of Hudfon's Bay are but few : — the Black Whale, White Whale, Salmon, and a fmall fifli called Kepling, are the only fpecies of fea-jilh in thofe parts *, Black T\\^ Black Whale is fometimes found as far South as Whale. Churchill River, and I w^as prefent at the killing of three there ; but this was in the courfc of twenty years. To the Northward, particularly near Marble Ifland, they are more plentiful \ but notwithfl:anding the Company carried on a hfbcry in that quarter, from the year one thoufand feven hundred and fixty-five till one thoufand {twzY\. hun- dred and feventy-two, they were fo far from making it anfwer their expedarions, that they funk upwards of twenty thoufmd pounds ; which is the lefs to be wondered at, when we conlider the great inconveniencies and expences '^ In the Fall of the year 1768, a fine rock cod v/as drove on fiiore in a high gale of wind, and was eaten at the Governor's table; Meflrs. William Wales and Jofeph Dyniond, who went out to obfcrve the tranfit of Venus which happened on the 3d of June 1769, partook of it ; but I never heard of one beini!; cauglic with a hook, nor ever law an entire iilh of thatdefcription in thofe piuTs: their jaw-bones arc, however, frtquenrly found on the fliores. rhcj NORTHERN O C E A N. 393 they laboured under in flich an undertaking. For as it was impoflible to profccute it from England, all the people employed on that fervice were obliged to refide at their fettlemcnt all the year at extravagant wa2;es, excluliv^e of their maintenance. The harpooners had no Icfs than fiftv pounds per ait7iU7ii ftanding wages, and none of the crev/ lefs than from fifteen to twenty-five pounds \ which, to- gether with the Captains falarics, v/ear and tear of their vejRTels, and other contingent expcnces, made it aonear on calculation, that if there were a certainty of loading the vefiels every year, the Company could not clear themfelves. On the contrary, during the feven years they perfevered ia that undertaking, only four Black Whales were taken near .Marble Ifland ; and, except one, they were fo fmall, that they would not have been deemed payable fifh in the Greenland fervice *. But the Hudfon's Bay Company, with a liberality that does honour to them, though per- fedly acquainted with the rules obferved in the Greenland fervice, gave the fame premium for a fucking fifh, as for one of the greatcjfl magnitude, White Whales are very plentiful in thofe parts, par- white ticularly from Chefleriield's Inlet to York Fort, or Hay's '' "^ '^* * I have heard that no Whale caught by our Greenland Oiips is called a Pay-fill"! ; that is, that no emolument arifes to the harpooner that flrikes ic; unlefs the longed blade of the bone, ufually called Vv hale-bone, meafurcs fix feet: whereas thole killed in Iludfon's Bay feldom mealured more than four feet and an half. jE River, J94 AJOURNEYTOTHE River, on the Weft fide of the Bay ; and from Cape Smith to Siude River on the Eaft fide. On the Weft coaft they are o-enerally found in the greateft numbers at the mouths of the principal rivers ; fuch as Seal River, Churchill, Port Nelfon, and Hay's Rivers. But the Eaft fide of the Bay not being fo well known, Whale River is the only part they are known to frequent in very confiderable num- bers. Some years ago the Company had a fettlement at this river, called Richmond Fort ; but all their endeavours to eftablifh a profitable filhery here proved ineffe6lual, and the few Indians who reforted to it with furrs proving very inadequate to the expences, the Company determined to evacuate it. Accordingly, after keeping up this fettle- ment for upward of twelve years, and finking many thou- fands of pounds, they ordered it to be burnt, for the more eafily getting the fpikes and other iron-work. This was in the year one thoufand feven hundred and fifty- eight. At the old eftablifhed Fadories on the Weft fide of the Bay, the Company have been more fuccefsful in the White Whale fifliery, particularly at Churchill, where fuch of the Company's fervants as cannot be employed during . that feafon to more benefit for the Company, are fent on that duty, and in fomc fuccefsful years they fend home from eight to thirteen tons of fine oil. To encourage a fpirit of induftry among thofe employed on this fervice, the Company allov/s a gratuity, not only to the harpoon- ers, but to every man that fiils in the boats ; and this 2 gratuity N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 395 gratuity is fo ample as to infpire them with emulation, as they well know that the more they kill, the greater will be their emolument. Salmon are in fome feafons very numerous on the North Saimon. Weft fide of Hudfon's Bay, particularly at Knapp's Bay and Whale Cove. At the latter I once found them fo plentiful, that had we been provided with a fufficient number of nets, cafks, and fait, we might foon have loaded the veiTel with them. But this is feldom the cafe, for in fome years they are fo fcarce, that it is with difE- culty a few meals of them can be procured during our Pcay at thofe harbours. They are in fome years fo plentiful near Churchill River, that I have known upward of two hundred fine fifh taken out of four fmall nets in one tide within a quarter of a mile of the Fort ; but in other years they are fo fcarce, that barely that number have been taken in upward of twenty nets during the whole feafon, which generally begins the latter end of June, and ends about the middle or latter end of Auguft. Befide the filli already mentioned, I know of no other KepUng. that inhabits the fait water except the Kepling, which is a fmall fifti about the fize of a fmelt, but moft excellent eating. In fome years they refort tp the fhores near Church- ill River in fuch multitudes to fpawn, and fuch numbers of them are left dry among the rocks, as at times to be 3 E 2 quite 356 AJOURNEYTOTHE quite ofleniive. In other feafons they are fo fcarce, that hardly a meal can be procured. Hie fame remark may be made on almoft every fpecies of game, which confiitutes the greateft p.irt of the fare of the people refiding in thofe parts. For infiance, in fome years, hundreds of deer may eafily be killed within a mile of York Fort ; and in others, there is not one to be feen v/ithin twenty or thirty miles. One day thoufands and tens of thoufands of geefe are feen, but the next they all raife flight, and go to the North to breed. Salmon, as I have lately obfcrved, is fo plentiful in fome years at Church- ill River, that it might be procured in any quantity ; at others, fo fcarce as to be thought a great delicacy. In fad, after twenty years refidence in this country, I am perfuaded that whoever relies much on the produce of the different feafons, will frequently be deceived, and oc- calionally expofe himfelf and men to great want. To remedy this evil, it is mofi: prudent for thofe in command to avail themfelves of plentiful feafons, and cure a fufficicnt quantity of the leafl pcrifiiable food, parti- cularly geefe. Shell Fijh. Shell Fifli. Shell Fish of a variety of kinds are alio found iii fome parts of Hudfon's Bay. Mufcles in particular are in great abundance on the rocky fliores near Churchill River, and what is vulgarly called the Periv/inkle are very plentiful . on N O R T H E R N () C E A N. 39.7 on the rocks which dry at low-water. Small Crabs and Star-firii are frequently thrown on the fhore by the furf in heavy gales of wind ; and the empty fl^-dls of Wilks, fmall Scallops, Cockles, and many other kinds, are to be found on the beaches in great plenty. The fame may be faid of the interior parts ot the country, where the banks of the lakes and rivers abound with empty fhells of various kinds; but the fifh themfelves have never been difcovered by the natives. Frogs, Grubs, and other InfeBs. Frogs of various colours are numerous in thofe parts Frog^;.. as far North as the latitude 61°. They always frequent the margins of lakes, ponds, rivers, and fwamps : and as the Winter approaches, they burrow under the mofs, at a conliderable diflance from the water, where they remain in a frozen ftate till the Spring. I have frequently ( t> \ • icrent parts or the country round riuaion s Bay durmg Summer, Some of thofe Hawks arc fo large as to weigh three pounds, and others fo fmall as not to exceed five or fix ounces. But the v/eight of thofe, as well as every other fpecies of Birds, is no ftandard for the Naturalifl to go by ; ror at different fcafons, and when in want of food, they arc often fcarcely lialf the weiglit they are when fat and in good order. Notwithftanding the variety of Hawks that refort to thofe parts in Summer, I know but one fpecies that brave the intenfe cold of the long Winters to the North of Churchill River ; and that is what Mr. Pennant calls the Sacre Falcon. They, like the other large fpecies of Hawks, prey much on the white groufe cr partridge, and alfo on tlie American hare, ufually called here Rabbits. They are always found to frequent thofe parts where partridges are plentiful, and are detefted by the fportfmen, as they generally drive all the game off the ground near their tents ; but, in return, they often drive thither iS-efli flocks of fome hundreds. Notwithftandinp; this, they fo frequently baulk thofe who are employed on the hunting fervice, that the Governors generally give a rev/ard of a quart of brandy for each of their heads. Their llcfh is always eaten by the Indians, and fometimes by the Englifh I NORTHERN OCEAN. ^oi Englifh ; but it is always black, hard, and tough, and fometimes has a bitter tafte. The Indians are fond of taming thofe birds, and fre- quently keep them the whole Summer ; but as the Winter approaches they generally take flight, and provide tor them- felves. When at Cumberland Houfe I had one of them, of which my people were remarkably fond ; and as it never wanted for food, would in all probability have re- mained with us all the Winter, had it not been killed by an Indian who did not know it to be tame. The beautiful fpecies of White or Snowy Owl is White or common in all parts of Hudfon's Bay, as far North as the Copper-mine River. Thefe birds, when flying or fltting, appear very large, but when killed, feldom weigh more than three and a half, or four pounds, and fometimes fcarcely half that weight. They generally feed on mice and partridges, and are at times known to kill rabbits. They are, like the hawk, very troublefome to the fportf- men; and, contrary to any other bird that I know, have a great propenfity to follow the report of a gun, and frequently follow the hunters (as they are ufually called in Hudfon's Bay) the whole day. On thofe occa- fions they ufually perch on high trees, and watch till a bird is killed, when they fkim down and carry it off before the hunter can get near it ; but in return, the hunters, when they fee them on the watch, frequently decoy them within gun-fhot, by throwing up a dead bird, which 1 F the 402 A JOURNEY T O T H E the Owl feldom refufes to accept; but the fportfman being fully provided for this vifit, and on his guard, ge- nerally fhoots them before they can carry off the partridge. They are, however, fo great a hindrance to thofe em- ployed on the hunting fervice, that the fame premium is given for one of their heads as for that of a hawk. In Winter they are frequently very fat, their flefh deli- cately white, and generally efteemed good eating, both by Englifli and Indians. Thofe Owls always make their nefts on the ground, generally lay from three to four eggs, but feldom hatch more than two ; and in the extreme North the young ones do not fly till September. They never migrate, but brave the coldeft Winters, even on the bar- ren ground, far remote from any woods ; and in thofe fituations perch on high rocks and ftones, and watch for their prey. Molded' '^^^ fpecies of Grey or Mottled Ov/l are by no means Owl. fo numerous as the former, are fomething inferior in flze, and always frequent the woods. They never go in fearch of their prey in the day-time, but perch on the tops of lofty pines, and are eaflly approached and fhot. Their food is generally known to be mice and fmall birds, yet their flefh is delicately white, and nearly as good as a barn-door fowl ; of courfe it is much efteemed both by the Englifh and Indians. This fpecies of Owl is called by the Southern Indians Ho-ho, and the former Wap-a- kee-thow. Befides NORTHERN OCEAN. 4'53 Befides thofe two fpecies of Owls, there is another that Cob-a-dec- remains in Hudfon's Bay all the year, and is called by the Indians Cob-a-dee-cooch. It is fo far inferior in fize to the two former, that it feldom weighs half a pound ; is of a mottled brown, the feathers long, and of a moft delicate foft and filky quality. In general this fpecies feed on mice, and birds tlijey find dead ; and are fo impudent at times, that they light on a partridge when killed by the hunter, but not being able to carry it off, are often obliged to relinquifh the prize. Like the White Owl, at times, though but feldom, they follow the report of a gun, and by fo frequently fkimming round the fportfmen, frighten the game nearly as much as the hawk. They feldom go far from the woods, build in trees, and lay from two to four eggs. They are never fat, and their flefh is eaten only by the Indians. Ravens of a moft beautiful gloffy black, richly tinged Ravens, with purple and violet colour, are the conftant inhabitants of Hudfon's Bay ; but are fo far inferior in fize to the Englifh Raven, that they are ufually called Crows. They build their nefts in lofty pine-trees, and generally lay four fpeckled eggs ; they bring forth their young fo early as the latter end of May, or the beginning of June. In Summer many of them frequent the barren grounds, feveral hun- dred miles from any woods ; probably invited there by the multitudes of deer and mufk-oxen that are killed by the Northern Indians during that feafon, merely for their 3 F 2 fkins, 404 A JOURNEY TO THE fklns, and who leave their flefh to rot, or be devoured by beafts or birds of prey. At thofe times they are very fat, and the flefb of the young ones is delicately white, and good eating. But in Winter they are, through necefTity, obliged to feed on a black mofs that grows on the pine-trees, alfo on deer's dung, and excrements of other animals. It is true, they kill fome mice, which they find in the furface of the fnow, and catch many wounded partridges and hares ; in fome parts of the country they are a great nui- fance to the hunter, by eating the game that is either caught in fnares or traps. With all this affiftance, they are in general fo poor during the fevere cold in Winter, as to excite wonder how they pollibly can exift. Their faculty of fcent muft be very acute ; for in the coldeft days in Winter, when every kind of effluvia is al- moft inftantaneouHy deftroyed by the froft, I have fre- quently known buffaloes and other beafts killed where not one of thofe birds v/ere feen ; but in a few hours fcores oi them would gather about the fpot to pick up the dung, blood, and other oital. An unarmed man may approach them very near when feeding, but they are fhy of thofe that have a gun ; a great proof that they fmell the gunpowder. They are, however, frequently fliot by guns fet for foxes ; and fometimcs caught in traps built for martins. Though, on the whole, they may be called a fliy bird, yet their necefTitics in Winter are fo great, that, like the White Owl, they frequently follow the report of a gun, keep prudently at a diftance from the fportfman, and frequently carry NORTHERN OCEAN. 405 catry off many wounded birds. Their quills make moft excellent pens for drawing, or for ladies to write with. The Cinereous Crow, or, as it is called by the South- Cinereous ern Indians, Whifk-e-jonifh, by the Englifli V/hifkey- jack, and by the Northern Indians Gee-za, but as fome pronounce it, and that with more propriety, Jee-za, though clafTed among the Crows, is in reality fo fmal], as feldom to weigh three ounces ; the plumage grev, the feathers very long, foft, and filky, and in general en- tirely unwebbed, and in fome parts much refembles hair. This bird is very familiar, and fond ot frequenting habita- tions, either houfes or tents ; and fo much given to pil- fering, that no kind of provifions it can come at, either frefh or fait, is fafe from its depredation. It is fo bold as to come into tents, and lit on the edge of the kettle when hanging over the fire, and ftcal vidluals out of the difhes. It is very troublefome to the hunters, both Englifh and Indian, frequently following them a whole day ; it will perch on a tree while the hunter is baiting his martin-traps, and as foon as his back is turned go and eat the baits. It is a kind of mock-bird, and of courfc has a variety of notes ; it is eafily tamed, but never lives long in confinement. It is well known to be a pro- vident bird, laying up great quantities of berries in Sum- mer for a V/inter ftock ; but its natural prcpenfity to pilfer at all feafons makes it much detefted both by the 8 Enfilifli 4o6 A JOURNEYTOTHE Englilli and Indians. It builds its neft in trees, exadly like that of the blackbird and thrufh ; lays four blue eggs, but fcldom brings more than three young ones. PLCKcr. Wood- I know of only one fort of Wood-pecker that frequents the remote Northern parts of Hudfon's Bay; and this is dif- tinguiilied by Mr. Pennant by the name of the Golden V/ingcd Bird ; but to the South Weft that beautiful fpecies of Wood-pecker with a fcarlet crown is very frequent. The manner of life of this fpecies is nearly alike, always build- ing their nefts in holes in trees, and feeding on worms and infe6ls. They generally have from four to fix young at a time. They are faid to be very deftrudive to fruit- trees that are raifed in gardens in the more Southern parts of America ; but the want of thofe luxuries in Hudfon's Bay renders them very harmlefs and inoffenfive birds. The red feathers of the larger fort, which frequent the interior and Southern parts of the Bay, are much valued by fome of the Indians, who ornament their pipe-ftems with them, and at times ufe them as ornaments to their children's clothing. Neither of the two fpecies here mentioned ever migrate, but are conftant inhabitants of the different cli- mates in which they are found. Groufc. There are feveral fpecies of Grouse in the different parts of Hudfon's Bay ; but two of the largeft, and one of them the moft beautiful, never reach fo far North as NORTHERN OCEAN. 407 as the latitude 59": but as I have feen them in great plenty near Cumberland Houfe, I fhall take the liberty to defcribe them. The Ruffed Grouse. This is the moft beautiful of P^ piifi"e<^ Groulc. all that are clalTed under that name. They are of a deli- cate brown, prettily variegated with black and white : tail large and long, like that of a hawk, which is ufually of an orange-colour, beautifully barred with black, cho- colate, and white ; and the tail is frequently expanded like a fan. To add to their beauty, they have a ruff of glolly black feathers, richly tinged with purple round the neck, which they can ered: at pleafure : this they fre- quently do, but more particularly fo when they fpread their long tail, which gives them a noble appearance. In fize they exceed a partridge, but are inferior to a pheafant. In Winter they are ufually found perched on the branches of the pine-trees ; and in that feafon are fo tame as to be eafily approached, and of courfe readily fhot. They always make their nefts on the ground, generally at the root of a tree, and lay to the number of twelve or fourteen eggs. In fome of the Southern parts of America feveral attempts have been made to tame thofe beautiful birds, by taking their eggs and hatching them under do - meftic hens, but it was never crowned with fuccefs ; for when but a few days old, they always make their efcape into the woods, where they probably pick up a fubfill- ence. Their flefli is delicately white and firm, and thouo;h 4o8 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E though they are feldom fat, they are always good eating, and are generally eftemed heft when larded and roafted, or nicely boiled with a bit of bacon. There is fomething very remarkable in thofe birds, and I believe peculiar to themfelves, which is that of clap- ping their wings with fuch a force, that at half a mile diftance it refemblcs thunder, I have frequently heard them make tliat noife near Cumberland Houfe in the month of May, but it was always before Sun-rife, and a little after Sun-fet. It is faid by Mr. Barton and Le Hontan, that they never clap in this manner but in the Spring and Fall, and I mull: acknowledge that I never ■ heard them in Winter, though I have killed many of them in that feafon. The Indians informed me they never make that noife but when feeding, which is very probable ; for it is notorioufly known that all the fpecies of Groufe feed very early in the mornings, and late in the afternoons. This fpecies is called by fome of the Indians bordering on Hudfon's Bay, Pus-pus-kee, and by others Pus-pus-cue. .shnrp-taikd Spj. ARP-T A iLED Grouse, or, as tliev are called in Hud- fon's Bay, Pheafant. Thoie birds are always found in the Southern parts of the Bay, are very plentiful in the inte- rior parts of the country, and in fome Winters a few of them are fliot at York Fort, but never reach fo far North as Churchill. In colour they are not very unlike that of the Englifh hen pheafant; but the tail is Ihort and pointed, like that of the common duck j and there is no perceiv- able NORTHERN OCEAN. able difference in plumage between the male and female. When full-grown, and in good condition, they frequently weigh two pounds, and though the flefh is dark, yet it is juicy, and always efteemed good eating, particularly when larded and roafted. In Summer they feed on berries, and in Winter on the tops of the dwarf birch and the buds of the poplar. In the Fall they are tolerably tame, but in the fevere cold more fhy ; frequently perch on the tops of the higheft poplars, out of moderate gun-fliot, and will not fuffer a near approach. They fometimes, when difturbed in this iituation, dive into the fnow ; but the fportfman is equally baulked in his expedlations, as they force their way fo faft under it as to raife flight many yards diftant from the place they entered, and very frequently in a different diredtion to that from which the fportfman expedls *. They, like the other fpecies of groufe, make their nefts on the ground, and lay from ten to thirteen eggs. Like the Ruffed Groufe, they are not to be tamed, as many trials have been made at York Fort, but without fuccefs ; for though they never made their efcape, yet they always died, probably for the want of proper food ; for the hens that hatched them were equally fond of them, as they could poffibly have been had they been the produce of their own eggs. This fpecies of Groufe is called by the Southern Indians Av/-kis-cow. * This I affert from my own experience when at Cumberland Houfe. 3 G The 409 410 A J O LJ R N E Y T O T H E Wood Par- 'ppie Wood Partridges have acquired that name in t ridge. . r • Hudfon's Bay from their always frequenting the forefts of pines and fir ; and in Winter feeding on the bru£h o£ thofe trees, though they are fondeft of the latter. This fpecies of Groufe is inferior in fize and beauty to the Ruffed, yet may be called a handfome bird ; the plumage being of a handfome brown, elegantly fpotted with white and black. The tail is long, and tipped with orange ; and the legs are warmly covered with fliort feathers, but the feet are naked. They are generally in the extreme with refpedl to fhynefs ; fometimes not fuffering a man to come within two gun-fliots, and at others fo tame that the fportfman may kill five or fix out of one tree without fhifting his ftation. They are feen in fome years in con- fiderable numbers near York Fort. They are very fcarce at Churchill, though numerous in the interior parts, parti- cularly on the borders of the Athapufcow Lidians country, where I have feen my Indian companions kill many of them with blunt-headed arrows. In Winter their flefh is black, hard, and bitter, probably owing to the refinous quality of their food during that feafon ; but this is not obferved in the rabbits, though they feed exactly in the fame manner in Winter : on the contrary, their flefii is efteemed more delicate than that ot the Englifh rabbit. The Southern Indians call this fpecies of Partridge, Miftick- a-pethow ; and the Northern Indians call it, Day, Tl; :ie N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 411 The Willow Partridges have a ftrong black bill, with Wiiiow fcarlet eye-brows, very large and beautiful in the male, but •''^^''^^' lefs confpicuous in the female. In Summer they are brown, elegantly barred and mottled with orange, white, and black ; and at that feafon the males are very proud and handfome, but the temales are lefs beautiful, being of one univerfal brown. As the Fall advances they change to a delicate white, except fourteen black feathers in the tail, which are alfo tipped with white ; and their legs and feet, quite down to the nails, are warmly covered with feathers. In the latter end of September and beginning of Odober they gather in flocks of fome hundreds, and proceed from the open plains and barren grounds, (where they ufually breed,) to the woods and brufh- willows, where they hord together in a ftate of fociety, till difperfed by their com- mon enemies, the hawks, or hunters. They are by far the moft numerous of any of the Groufe fpecies that are found in Hudfon's Bay; and in fome places, when permitted to remain undifturbed for a conflderable time, their number is frequently fo great, as almoft to exceed credibility. I fhall by no means exceed truth, if I affert that I have feen. upward of four hundred in one flock near Churchill River; but the greateft number I ever faw was on the North flde of Port Nelfon River, when returning with a packet in March one thoufand feven hundred and flxty-eight : at that time I £\w thoufands flying to the North, and the whole furface of the fnow feemed to be in motion by thofe that were feeding on the tops of the fliort willows. Sir 3 G 2 Thomas 412 A JOURNEY TO THE Thomas Button mentions, that when he wintered in Port Nelfon River in one thoufand fix hundred and twelve, his crew killed eighteen hundred dozen of thofe birds, which I have no reafon to doubt ; and Mr. Jeremic, for- merly Governor at York Fort, when that place was in the pofleflion of the French, and then called Fort Bourbon, afferts, that he and feventy-nine others eat no lefs than ninety thoufand partridges and twenty-fivi thoufand hares in the courfe of one Winter ; which, confidering the quantity of venifon, geefe, ducks, &''c, enirmcrated in his account, that were killed that year, makes the number fo great, that it is fcarcely poffible to conceive what eighty men could do with them; for on calculation, ninety thou- fand partridges and twenty -five thoufand hares divided by eighty, amounts to no lefs than one thoufand one hundred and twenty-five partridges, and three hundred and twelve hares per man. This is by far too great a quantity, par- ticularly when it is confidered that neither partridges nor hares are in feafon, or can be procured in any numbers, more than feven months in the year. Forty thoufand par- tridges and five thoufand hares would, I think, be much nearer the truth, and will be found, on calculation, to be ample provifion for eighty men for feven months, exclufive of any change. The common weight of thofe birds is from eighteen to twenty-two ounces when firft killed ; there are fome few that are nearly that weight when fit for the fpit, but they are fo fcarce as by no means to ferve as a ftandard , and as they always hord with the com- mon NORTHERNOCEAN. 413 mon fize, there is no room to fufpe^t them of another fpecies. As all thofe over-grown partridges are notorioufly known to be males, it is more than probable that they are imperfed:, and grow large and fat like capons ; and every one that has had an opportunity ot tafting thofe large partridges, will readily allow that they excel the common fort as much in flavour as they do in flze. It is remarked in thofe birds, as well as the Rock Partridge, that they are provided with additional clothing, as it may be called ; for every feather, from the largefl: to the fmallefl:, except the quills and tail, are all double. The under-feather is foft and downy, fhooting from the fhaft of the larger ; and is wonderfully adapted to their fltuation, as they not only brave the coldeft Winters, but the fpecies now under confideration always burrow under the fnow at nights, and at day-light come forth to feed. In Winter they are al- ways found to frequent the banks of rivers and creeks, the lides of lakes and ponds, and the plains which abound with dwarf willows ; for it is on the buds and tops of that tree they always feed during the Winter. In Summer they eat berries and fmali herbage. Their food in Winter being fo dry and harfh, makes it neceflary for them to fwallow a conflderable quantity of gravel to promote digeftion ; but the great depth of fnow renders it very fcarce during that feafon. The Indians having confldered this point, invented the method now in ufe among the Engliih, of catching them in nets by means of that iimpie allurement, a heap of gravel. The nets for this purpofe are from eight to 414 AJOURNEYTOTHE to twelve feet fquare, and are ftretched in a frame of wood, and ufually fet on the ice of rivers, creeks, ponds, and lakes, about one hundred yards from the willows, but in fome fituations not half that diftance. Under the center of the net a heap of fnow is thrown up to the fize of one or two bufhels, and when well packed is covered with gravel. To fet the nets, when thus prepared, re- quires no other trouble than lifting up one fide of the frame, and fupporting it with two fmall props, about four feet long : a line is faftened to thofe props, and the other end being conveyed to the neighbouring willows, is always fo contrived that a man can get to it without being feen by the birds under the net. When every thing is thus prepared, the hunters have nothing to do but go into the adjacent v/illows and woods, and when they ftart game, endeavour to drive them into the net, which at times is no hard tafk, as they frequently run before them like chickens ; and fometimes require no driving, for as foon as they fee the black heap of gravel on the white fnow they fly ftreight towards it. The hunter then goes to the end of the line to watch their motions, and when he fees there are as many about the gravel as the net can cover, or as many as are likely to go under at that time, with a fudden pull he hawls down the flakes, and the net tails horizontally on the fnow, and enclofes the greateft part of the birds that are under it. The hunter then runs to the net as foon as poiTible, and kills all the birds by biting them at the back of the head. He then fets up the net, takes NORTHERN OCEAN. 415 takes away all the dead game, and repeats the operation as often as he pleafes, or as long as the birds are in good humour. By this fimple contrivance I have known up- wards of three hundred partridges caught in one morning by three perfons ; and a much greater number might have been procured had it been thought neceffary. Early in the morning, juft at break of day, and early in the after- noon, is the beft time for this fport. It is common to get from thirty to feventy at one hawl ; and in the Winter of one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-iix, Mr. Prince, then Mafter of a floop at Churchill River, adually caught two hundred and four at two hawls. They are by no means equally plentiful every year ; for in fome Winters I have known them fo fcarce, that it was impoflible to catch any in nets, and all that could be procured with the gun would hardly afford one day's allowance per week to the men during the feafon ; but in the Winter one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-five, they were fo plen- tiful near Churchill, and fuch numbers were brought to the Faftory, that I gave upward of two thoufand to the hogs. In the latter end of March, or the beginning of April, thofe birds begin to change from white to their beautiful Summer plumage, and the firft brown feathers make their appearance on the neck '*, and by degrees fpread * Mr. Dragge obfcrves, in his North Weft PalTage, that when the par- tridges begin to change colour, the firft brown feathers appear in the rumpi but this is fo far from being a general rule, that an experienced Hudfonian muft fmile at the idea. That Mr. Dragge never faw an inftance of this kind I will not fay, but when Nature deviates fo far from its ulual courle, it is I undoubtedly 4i6 A T O U R N E Y T O T H E I'pread over the whole body ; but their Summer drefs is kldom complete till July. The feathers of thofe birds make excellent beds, and as they are the perquifite of the hunters, are ufually fold to the Captains and Mates of the Company' fhips, at the eafy Jate of three pence per pound. Rock Par- RocK PARTRIDGES. This fpccics of Groufc are in ^ Winter of the fame colour as the former, but inferior in fize ; being in general not more than two-thirds of the weight. They have a black line from the bill to the eye, and differ in nature and manner from the Willow Par- tridge. They never frequent the woods or willows, but brave the fevered cold on the open plains. They always feed on the buds and tops of the dwarf birch, and after this repaft, generally fit on the high ridges of fnow, with their heads to windward. They are never caught in nets, like the Willow Partridge ; for when in want of gravel, their bills are of fuch an amazing ftrength, that they pick a fuf- ficient quantity out of the rocks. Befide, being fo much inferior in (ize to the former fpecies, their flefh is by no means fo good, being black, hard, and bitter. They are in general, like the Wood Partridge, either exceeding wild or very tame ; and when in the latter humour, I have undoubtedly owing to feme accident i and nothing is more likely than that the feathers of the bird Mr. Dragge had examined, had been ftruck off by a hawk ; and as the ul'ual feafon for changing their plumage was near, the Summer feathers fupplied their place; for out of the many hundreds of thoufands that I have fcen killed, I never faw or heard of a fimilar inftancc. known NORTHERN OCEAN. 417 known one man kill one hundred and twenty in a few hours ; for as they ufually keep in large flocks, the fportf- men can frequently kill fix or eight at a (hot. Thefe, like the Willow Partridge, change their plumage in Sum- mer to a beautiful fpeckled brown ; and at that feafon are fo hardy, that, unlcfs fhot in the head or vitals, they will fly away with the greateft quantity of fliot of any bird I know. They difcover great fondnefs for their young; for during the time of incubation, they will frequently fuffer themfelves to be taken by hand off" their eggs *. Pigeons of a fmall fize, not larger than a thrufli, are in fome Summers found as far North as Churchill River. The bill is of a flefh-colour, legs red, and the greateft part of the plumage of a light lilac or blufli. In the interior parts of the country they fly in large flocks, and perch on the poplar trees in fuch numbers that I have feen twelve of them killed at one fhot. They ufually feed on * Befides the birds already mentioned, which form a conftant difh at our tables in Hudfon's Bay, during their refpeftive feafons, Mr. Jerome afTerts, that during the time he was Governor at York Fort, the buftard was common. But fince that Fort was delivered up to the Englifh at the peace of Utrecht in 1713, none of the Company's fervants have ever feen one of thofe birds: nor does it appear by all the Journals now in the pofleffion of the Hudfon's Bay Company, that any fuch bird was ever feen in the moft Southern parts of the Bay, much lefs at York. Fort, which is in the latitude 57° North ; fo that a capital error, or a wilful defign to miflead, mufl have taken place. Indeed, his account of the country immediately where he refided, and the producftions of it, are fo erroneoudy dated as to deferve no notice. His colleague, Dc le Potries, aflerts the exiftcnce of the buftard in tliofe parts, and with an equal regard to truth. 3 H poplar ^i8 A JOURNEY TO THE poplar buds, and are good eating, though feldom fat. They build their nefts in trees, the fame as the Wood Pigeons do ; never lay but two eggs, and are very fcarce near the fea-coaft in the Northern parts of Hudfon's Bay. Red-bread- 'j]^e Red-breasted Thrushes, commonly called in Hudfon's Bay the Red Birds, but by fome the Black Birds, on account of their note, and by others the American Fieldfares ufually make their appearance at Churchill River about the middle of May, build their nefts of mud, like the Englifh Thrulh, and lay four beautiful blue eggs. They have a very loud and plealing note, which they ge- nerally exercife moft in the mornings and evenings, when perched on fome lofty tree near their neft ; but when the young can fly they are filent, and migrate to the South early in the Fall. They are by no means numerous, and are generally feen in pairs ; they are never fought after as an article of food, but when killed by the Indian boys, are efteemed good eating, though they always feed on worms and infedls. Grcibeuk. Grosbeak. Thcfe gay birds vifit Churchill River in fome years fo early as the latter end of March, but are by no means plentiful ; they are always feen in pairs, and generally feed on the buds of the poplar and willow. The male is in moft parts of its plumage of a beautiful crimfon, but the female of a dull dirty green. In form they much refemble the Englifh bullfinch, but are near double 419 NORTHERN OCEAN. double their fize. They build their nefts in trees, fome- times not far from the ground ; lay four white eggs, and always hatch them in June. They are faid to have a pleaiing note in Spring, though I never heard it, and are known to retire to the South early in the Fall. The Englifli refiding in Hudfon's Bay generally call this bird the American Red Bird. Snow Buntings, univerfally known in Hudfon's Bay by Snow the name of the Snow Birds, and in the Ifles of Orkney by ^""""S- the name of Snow Flakes, from their vifiting thofe parts in jfuch numbers as to devour the grain as foon as fown, in fome years are fo deftrudive as to oblige the farmer to fow his fields a fecond, and occafionally a third time. Thefe birds make their appearance at the Northern fettle- ments in the Bay about the latter end of May, or begin- ning of April, when they are very fat, and not infe- rior in flavour to an ortolan. On their firft arrival they generally feed on grafs-feeds, and are fond of frequenting dunghills. At that time they are eafily caught in great numbers under a net baited with groats or oatmeal ; but as the Summer advances, they feed much on worms, and are then not fo much efteemed. They fometimes fly in fuch large flocks, that I have killed upwards of twenty at one fliot, and have known others who have killed double that number. In the Spring their plumage is prettily variegated, black and white ; but their Summer drefs may be called elegant, though not gay. They live 3 H 2 long 420 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E long in confinement, have naturally a pleafing note, and when in company with Canary birds foon imitate therr fong. I have kept many of them in cages in the fame room with Canary birds, and always found they fung in Winter as well as in Summer ; but even in confinement they change their plumage according to the feafon, the fame as in a wild flate. This fpecies of bird feem fond of the coldeft regions, for as the Spring advances they fly fo far North that their breeding-places are not known to the inhabitants of Hudfon's Bay. In Autumn they return to the South in large flocks, and are frequently fhot in con- fiderable numbers merely as a delicacy ; at that feafon, however, they are by no means fo good as when they firii make their appearance in Spring. White- White-crowned Bunting. This fpecies is inferior in Bunting. fize to the former, and feldom make their appearance till June. They breed in moft parts of the Bay, always make their nefts on the ground, at the root of a dwarf willow or a goofeberry-bufh. During the time their young r.re in a callow ftate they have a delightful note, but as foon as they are fledged they become filent, and retire to the South' early in September, Lapland Lapland Finch. This bird is common on Hudfon's ^'""''' Bay, and never migrates Southward in the coldeft Winters. During that feafon it generally frequents the juniper plains, and feeds on the fmall buds of that tree, alfo on: grafs- feeds ; NORTHERN OCEAN. 42* feeds but at the approach of Summer it flies ftill farther North to breed. A variety of this bird is alfo common, and is beautifully marked with a red. forehead and breaft. It is moft common in the Spring, and frequently caught ' in nets fet for the Snow Bunting j and when kept in cages has a pleaflng note, but feldom lives long in confinement, though it generally dies very fat. Larks of a pretty variegated colour frequent rhofe parts Larks, in Summer, and always make their appearance in May ; build their nefts on the ground, ufually by the fide of a ^ ftone at the root of a fmall bufh, lay four fpeckled eggs, and bring forth their young in June. At their firft ar- rival, and till the young can fly, the male is in full fong; and, like the fky-lark, foars to a great height, and gene- rally defcends in a perpendicular diredion near their nefl. Their note is loud and agreeable, but conflfts of little va- riety, and as foon as the young can fly they become fllcnt, and retire to the Southward early in the Fall. They are impatient of confinement, neve? iing in that ftate, and feldom live long. The Titmouse is ufually called in Hudfon's Bay, Black- Titmojfe. cap. This diminutive bird braves the coldefl: Winter, and during that feafon feeds on the feeds of long rye-grafs, but in Summer on infeds and berries. The Southern Indians call this bird Kifs-kifs-hefliis, from a twittering noife they make, whrch much refembles that word in found. . " - Swallows 422 AJOURNEYTOTHE Swallows. Swallows viiit thefe parts in confiderable numbers in Summer, and are very domeftic ; building their nefts in neceffaries, ftables, and other out-offices that are much frequented. They feldom make their appearance at Churchill River till June, and retire South early in Auguft. They, like the European Swallow, gather in large flocks on the day of their departure, make feveral revolutions round the breeding-places, and then take their leave till the next year. I do not recoUedt to have feen any of thofe birds to the North of Seal River. Martins. Martins alfo vifit Hudfon's Bay in great numbers, but feldom fo far North as Churchill River. They ufually make their nefts in holes formed in the fteep banks of rivers ; and, like the Swallow^, lay four or five fpeckled eggs ; and retire Southward in Auguft. At the North- ern fettlements they are by no means fo domeftic as the Swallow. Hooping Hooping Crane. This bird vifits Hudfon's Bay in the Spring, though not in great numbers. They are generally feen only in pairs, and that not very often. It is a bird of confiderable fize, often equal to that of a good turkey, and the great length of the bill, neck, and legs, makes it meafure, from the bill to the toes, near fix feet in common, and fome much more. Its plumage is of a pure white, except the quill-feathers, which are black ; the crown is covered with a red /kin, thinly NORTHERN OCEAN. ^23. thinly befet with black briftles, and the legs are large and black. It ufually frequents open fwamps, the fides of rivers, and the margins of lakes and ponds, feeds on frogs and fniall fifh, and efteemed good eating. The wing-bones of this bird are fo' long and large, that I have known them made into flutes with tolerable fuccefs. It feldom. has more thaa two young, and retires Southward early ia the Fall.. The Brown Crane. This fpecies is far inferior in fize to Brown the former, being feldom three feet and a half in length, and on an average not weighing feven pounds. Their haunts and manner of life are nearly the fame as that of the Hoop- ing Crane, and they never have more than two young, and thofe feldom fly till September. They are found far- ther North than the former, for I have killed feveral of them on Marble Ifland, and have feen them on the Con- tinent as high as the latitude 65°. They are generally eilcemed good eating, and, from the form of the body- when fit for the fpit, they acquire the name of the Nortii Wefl: Turkey. There is a circumftance refpedling this bird that is very peculiar ; which is, that the gizard is larger than that of a fwan, and remarkably fo in the young birds. The Brown Cranes are frequently feen in hot calm days to foar to an amazing height, always flying in circles, till by degrees they are almoft out of fight, yet their note is fo loud, that the fportfman, before he fees their fitua- tion, often fancies they are very near him. They vifit 6 Hudfon's 424 A JOURNEY T O T H E Hudfon's Bay in far greater numbers than the former, and are very good eating. Bictcras. BiT TERNS are conimon at York Fort in Summer, but are feldom found fo far North as Churchill River. I have feen two fpecies of this bird; fome having afh-coloured legs, others with beautiful grafs-green legs, and very gay plumage. They always frequent marfhes and fwamps, alfo the banks ot rivers that abound with reeds and long grafs. They generally feed on infedls that are bred in the water, and probably on fmall frogs; and though feldom fat, they are generally good eating. They are by no means nu- merous even at York Fort, nor in fa6l in the moft Southern parts of the Bay that I have vifited. Curlew. Curlews. There are two fpecies of this bird which frequent the coafts of Hudfon's Bay in great numbers during Summer, and breed in all parts of it as far North as the latitude 7 2° ; the largeft of this fpecies is diftin- guifhed by that great Naturalift Mr. Pennant, by the name of the Efquimaux Curlev/. They always keep near the fea coaft ; attend the ebbing of the tide, and are fre- quently found at low-water-mark in great numbers, where they feed on marine infedls, which they find by the fides of flones in great plenty ; but at high-water they retire to the dry ridges and wait the receding of the tide. They fly as fteady as a woodcock, anfwer to a whiflle that refembles their note ; lay long on their wings, and are a T niofl NORTHERN OCEAN. 425 moft excellent fhot, and at times are delicious eating. The other fpecies of Curlew are in colour and (hape ex- a6lly like the former, though inferior in fize, and differ in their manner of life, as they never frequent the water's- edge, but always keep among the rocks and dry ridges, and feed on berries and fmall iniecls. The flefh of this bird is generally more efteemed than that of the former, but they are by no means fo numerous. This fpecies of Curlew are feldom found farther North than Egg River. Jack Snipes. Thofe birds vifit Hudfon's Bay in Sum- jack Snipes. m^er in conliderable numbers, but are feldom feen to the North of Whale Cove. They do not arrive till the ice of the rivers is broke up, and they retire to the South early in the Fall. During their ftay, they always frequent marfhes near the fea coaft, and the fhores of great rivers. In man- ner and flight they exadly refemble the European Jack Snipe ; and when on the wing, fly at fuch a diftance from each other, that it is but feldom the beft fportfman can get more than one or two at a fliot. Their flefh is by no means fo delicate as that of the Englifh Snipe. Red Godwaits, ufually called at the Northern fettle- RedGod- ments in Hudfon's Bay, Plovers. Thofe birds vifit the ^^"' , fhores of that part in very large flocks, and ufually frequent the marfhes and the margins of ponds. They alfo fre- quently attend the tide, like the Efquimaux Curlews; fly down to low- water-mark, and feed on a fmall fifh, 3 I not 426 ' A J O C R N E Y T O T H E not much unlike a fhrimp ; but as the tide flows, they retire to the marflies. They fly in fuch large flocks, and fo clofe to each other, that I have often killed upwards of twelve at one (hot ; and Mr. Atkinfon, long refldent at York Fort, actually killed feventy-two at one fliot ; but that was when the birds were fitting. Near Churchill River they are feldom fat, though tolerably flefhy, and are generally good eating. They ufually weigh from ten to thirteen ounces ; the female is always larger than the male, and differs in colour, being of a much lighter brown. They retire to the South long before the frofl: com- mences; yet I have {ecu this bird as far North as the latitude 71° 50'. Spotted Spotted Godwait, known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Yellow Legs. This bird alfo viflts that country in confiderable numbers, but more fo in the interior parts ; and ufually frequents the flat muddy banks of rivers. In Summer it is generally very poor, but late in the Fall is, as it may be called, one lump of fat. This bird, with many others of the migratory tribe, I faw in con- {iderable numbers as far North as the latitude 71" 54'; and at York Fort I have known them fhot fo late as the latter end of Oftober : at which time they are in the greateft perfedlion, and moft delicious eating, more particularly fo when put into a bit of parte, and boiled like an apple- dumpling ; for in fad: they are generally too fat at that feafon to be eaten either roafted or boiled. Hebridal NORTHERN OCEAN. 42^ Hebridal Sandpipers, but more commonly known in Hcbrid^i Hudfon's Bay by the Name of Whale Birds, on account '^'^ *' of their feeding on the carcafes of thofe animals which fre- quently lie on the fhores, alfo on maggots that are produced in them by fly-blows. Thefe birds frequent thofe parts in confiderable numbers, and always keep near the margin of the fea. They may, in fad, be called bcautiRd birds, though not gay in their plumage ; they are ufually very fat, but even when firft killed they fmell and tafte fo much like train-oil as to render them by no means pleafmg to the palate, yet they are frequently eaten by the Com- pany's fervants. As the Summer advances they fly fo far North of Churchill River, that their breeding-places are not known, though they remain at that part till the be- ginning of July, and return early in the Fall. They are by no means large birds, as they feldom weigh four ounces. The bill is black, plumage prettily variegated black and white, and the legs and feet are of a beautiful orange colour *. Plovers, commonly called Hawk's Eyes, from their Plover, watchfulnefs to prevent a near approach when fitting. When thefe birds are on the wing, they fly very fwift and irregu- lar, particularly when fingle or in fmall flocks. At Church- ill River they are by no means numerous, but I have {ten them in fuch large flocks at York Fort in the Fall of one * They exaftly correfpond with the bird dcfcribed. by Mr. Pennant, excep- th;\£ they are much longer. 3 I 2 rhouhmd 4i8 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E thoufand feven hundred and feventy-three, that Mr. Ferdi- nand Jacobs then Governor, Mr. Robert Body Surgeon, and myfeir, killed in one afternoon as many as two men could conveniently carry. They generally feed on infed:s, and are at all times good eating, but late in the Fall are moft ex- cellent. They are by no means equally plentiful in all years ; and at the Northern fettlements in the Bay they are not claffed with thofe fpecies of game that add to the general flock of provifions, being only killed as a luxury ; but I am informed that at Albany Fort, feveral barrels of them are annually faked for Winter ufe, and are efteemed good eating. This bird during Summer reforts to the re- moteft Northern parts ; for I have feen them at the Copper River, though hi thofe dreary regions only in pairs. The young of thofe birds always leave their nefls as foon as hatched, and when but a few days old run very faft ; at night, or in rainy weather, the old ones call them to- gether, and cover them with their wings, in the fame man- ner as a hen does her chickens. Black Gui- Black Gullemots, known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Sea Pigeons. Thofe birds frequent the fhores of Hudfon's Bay and Straits in considerable numbers ; but more particularly the Northern parts, where they fly in large flocks ; to the Southward they are only {een in pairs. They are of a fine black, but not glofly, with, fcarlet legs and feet ; and the coverets of the wings are marked with white. They are in weight equal to a Widgeon,, tliough kmots. N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 429 though to appearance not (o large. They ufually make their nefts in the holes of rocks, and lay two white eggs, which are delicate eating, but not proportionably large for the fize of the bird. My friend Mr. Pennant fays, they brav^e the coldefl: Winters in thofe parts, by keeping at the edge of the ice near the open water ; but as the fea at that feafon is frozen over for feveral miles from the fhore, I believe no one's curiofity ever tempted him to confirm the truth of this ; and it is well known they never make their appearance near the land after the frofl becomes fevere. Northern Divers. Thele birds, though common in Northern Hudfon's Bay, are by no means plentiful ; they are •''-*'^"^- feldom found near the fea coaft, but more frequently in frefh water lakes, and ufually in pairs. They build their nefts at the edge of fmall iflands, or the margins of lakes or ponds; they lay. only two eggs, and it is very com- mon to tmd only one pair and their young in one fheet of water ; a great proof of their averfion to fociety. They are known in Hudfon's Bay by the name of Loons. They differ in fpecies Irom the Black and Red throated Divers, having a large black bill near four inches long ; plumage on the back of a gloffy black, elegantly barred with white ; the belly of a filver white ; and they are fo large as at times to weigh fifteen or fixteen pounds. " Their flefh is always black, hard, and fifhy, yet it is generally eaten by the Indians. 10 Black- 43cJ Black- throated Divers. A JOURNEY TO THE Black-throated Divers. This fpecies are more beau- tiful than the former ; having a long white bill, plumage on the back and wings black, elegantly tinged with purple and green, and prettily marked with white Ipots. In fize they are equal to the former ; but are fo watchful as to dive at the flafli of a gun, and of courfe are feldom killed but when on the wing. Their flefti is equally black and fifhy with the former, but it is always eaten by the Indians. The fkins of thofe birds are very thick and ftrong, and they are frequently dreffed with the feathers on, and made into caps for the Indian men. The fkins of the Eagle and Raven, with their plumage complete, are alfo applied to that ufe, and are far from being an unbecoming head-drefs for a favage. Red-throat- f d Divers. Red-throated Divers. This fpecies are alfo called Loons in Hudfon's Bay ; but they are fo far inferior to the two former, that they feldom weigh more than three or four pounds. They, like the other fpecies of Loon, are ex- cellent divers; they always feed on fifh, and when in purfuit of their prey, are frequently entangled in ££hing-nets, fet at the mouths of creeks and fmall rivers. They are more nu- merous than either of the former, as they frequently fly in flocks ; but like them make their nefts at the edge of the water, and only lay two eggs, which, though very rank and fifhy, are always eaten by Indians and Englifb. The legs of thofe three fpecies of Loon are placed fo near the NORTHERN OCEAN. 431 the rump as to be of no fervice to them on the land, as they are perfectly incapable of walking ; and when found in that fituation (which is but feldom) they are eafily taken, though they make a ftrong refiftance with their bill, which is very hard and fharp. White Gulls. Thefe birds vifit Hudfon's Bay in WhiteGuiis. great numbers, both on the fea coafts and in the interior parts, and probably extend quite acrofs the continent of America. They generally make their appearance at Churchill River about the middle of May ; build their nefts on the iflands in lakes and rivers; lay two fpeckled eggs, and bring forth their young in June. Their eggs are generally efteemed good eating, as well as the ilefh of thofe in the interior parts of the country, though they feed on fifli and carrion. They make their ftay on Hud- fon's Bay as long in the Fall as the froft will permit them to procure a livelihood. Grey Gulls. Thefe birds, though common, are by no Grey GuUs. means plentiful ; and I never knew their breeding-places, as they feldom make their appearance at Churchill River till the Fall of the year, and remain there only till the ice be- gins to be formed about the jQiores. They leldom frequent the interior parts of the country. They are not inferior in fize to the former, and in the Fall of the year are generally fat. The flefh is white and very good eating ; and, like moft 432 AJOURNEYTOTHE moft other Gulls, they are a moft excellent fhot when oo the wing. Bhck Gulls. Black Gulls, ufually called in Hudfon's Bay, Men of War, from their purfuing and taking the prey from a lefTer fpecies of Gull, known in that country by the name of Black-head. In fize they are much inferior to the two former fpecies ; but, like them, always make their nefts on iflands, or at the margins of lakes or ponds ; they lay only two eggs, and are found at a confiderable distance from the fea coaft. The length of their wings is very great in proportion to the body ; the tail is uniform, and the two middle feathers are four or five inches longer than the reft. Their ec^gs are always eaten, both by the Indians and Eng- lifh ; but the bird itfelf is generally rejected, except when other provifions are very fcarce. Biick-heads. Black-heads. Thcfe are the fmalleft fpecies of Gull that I know. They vifit the fea coaft of Hudfon's Bay . in fuch vaft numbers, that they are frequently feen in flocks of feveral hundreds ; and I have known buftiels of their eggs taken on an ifland of very fmall circumference. Thefe eggs are very delicate eating, the yolks being equal to that of a young pullet, and the whites of a femi-tranf- parent azure, but the bird itfelf is always fifliy. Their affedion for their young is fo ftrong, that when any perfon attempts to rob their nefts, they fly at him, and fometimes approach NORTHERN OCEAN. approach fo near as to touch him with their pinions ; and when they find their lofs, will frequently follow the plun- derer to a confiderable diftance, and exprefs their grief by making an unufual fcreaming noife. This bird may be ranked with the elegant part of the feathered creation, though it is by no means gay. The bill, legs, and feet are of a rich fcarlet ; crown black, and the remainder of the plumage of a light afh-colour, except the quill-feathers, which are prettily barred, and tipped with black, and the tail much forked. The flight, or extent of wing, in this bird, is very great, in proportion to the body. They are found as far North as has hitherto been viiited, but retire to the South early in the Fail. Pelicans. Thofe birds are numerous in the interior Peiicanj. parts of the country, but never appear near the fea-coaft. They generally frequent large lakes, and always make their nefts on iflands. They are fo provident for their young, that great quantities of fiih lie rotting near their nefts, and emit fuch a horrid flench as to be fmelt at a confiderable diftance. The flelh of the young Pelican is frequently eaten by the Indians ; and as they are always very fat, great quantities of it is melted down, and pre- ferved in bladders for Winter ufe *, to mix with pounded fiefh; * In the Fall of 1774, when I firfl: fettled at Cumberland Houfc, the Indians impofed on me and my people very much, by felling us Pelican fat for the fat of the black bear. Our knowledge of tlie delicacy of the latter i K induced ^33 ^2^ A JOURNEY TO THE fieili; but by keeping, it grows very rank. The Pe- licans in thofe parts are about the lize of a common goofe; their plumage is ot a delicate white, exxept the quill-feathers, which are black. The bill is near a foot long; and the bag, which reaches from the outer-end of the under-mandible to the breaffc, is capable of containing upwards of three quarts. The fkins of thofe birds are thick and tough, and are frequently drefled by the In- dians and converted into bags, but are never made into clothing, though their feathers are as hard, dole, and durable^ as thofe of a Loon. Goofandevs. Goos ANDERS, ufually Called in Hudfon's Bay, Shell- drakes. Thofe birds are very common on the fea-coaft, but in the interior parts fly in very large flocks. The bill is long and narrow, and toothed like a faw ; and they have a tuft of feathers at the back of the head, which they can eredl at pleafure. They are moft excellent divers, and fuch great deftroyers of fifh, that they are frequently obliged to vomit fome of them before they can take flight. Though not much larger than the Mallard Duck, they frequently fwallow fifh of flx or feven inches induced us to rcferve this fat for jxirticular purpofes; but when we came to open the bladders, it was little fuperior to train oil, and was only eatable by a few of my crew, which at that time confifted only of eight Engliflimen and two of the home Indians from York. Fort. Cumberland Houfe was the firft inland fettlement the Company made from Hudfon's Fort; and though begun on fo fmall a fcale, yet upon it and Eludfon's Houfe, which isfituated beyond it^ upwardsoffeventy men were now employed. • . ■ . long NORTHERN OCEAN. long and proportionably thick. Thofe that frequent the interior parts of the country prey much on crawfifh, which are very numerous in fome of the fhallow ftony rivers. In the Fall of the year they are very fat, and though they always feed on fifh, yet their flefli at that feafon is very good ; and they remain in thofe parts as long as the froft will permit them to procure a fub- liftence. Swans. There are two fpecies of this bird that vidt Swan?. Hudfon's Bay in Summer ; and only differ in fize, as the plumage of both are perfectly white, with black bill and legs. The fmaller fort are more frequent near the fea- coaft, but by no means plentiful, and are moll frequently feen in pairs, but fometimes fingle, probably owing to their mates having been killed on their pafrage North. Both fpecies ufually breed on the iflands which are in lakes ; and the eggs of the larger fpecies are fo big, that one of them is a fufficient meal lor a moderate man, without bread, or any other addition. In the interior parts ot the country the larger Swan precedes every other fpecies of water-fowl, and in fome years arrive fo early as the month of March, long before the ice of the rivers are broken up. At thofe times they always frequent the open waters of falls and rapids, where they are frequently fhot by the Indians in confiderable numbers. They ufually weigh upwards of thirty pounds, and the lellcr fpecies from eighteen to twenty-four. The ilefli of both are excellent 3 K 2 eatingy 435 •436 A JOURNEY TO THE eating, and when roafted, is equal in flavour to young htifcr-bcef, and the cygnets are very delicate. Notwithflanding the fize of this bird, they are fo fwift on the wing as to make them the moft diiricvdt to fhoot of any bird I know, it being frequently neceiTary to take iip;ht ten or twelve feet before their bills. This, how- ever, is only vvhen flying before the wind in a brifk gale, at which time they cannot fly at a lefs rate than an hun- dred miles an hour ; but when flying acrofs the wind, or againft it, they make but a flow progrefs, and are then a noble fhot. In their moulting ftate they are not eaflly taken, as their large feet, with the afliftance of their wings, enables them to run on the furface of the water as faft as an Indian canoe can be paddled, and therefore they are always obliged to be fhot ; for by diving and other ma- ncEUvres they render it impoflible to take them by hand. It has been faid that the Swans whiftle or fing before their death, and I have read fome elegant defcriptions of it in fome of the poets; but I have never heard any thing of the kind, though I have been at the deaths of feveral. It is true, in ferene evenings, after Sun-fet, I have heard them make a noife not very unlike that of a French-horn, but entirely divefted of every note that conftituted melody, and have often been forry to find it did not forebode their death. Mr. Lawfon, who, as Mr. Pennant juflly remarks, was no inaccurate obferver, properly enough calls the largeft fpecies Trumpeters, and the lefi'er, Hoopers. Some years ago, when I built Cumberland Houfe, the Indians killed thofe birds NORTHERN OCEAN. 437 birds in fuch numbers, that the down and quills might have been procured in coniiderable quantities at a trifling expence ; but flnce the depopulation of the natives by the fmall-pox, which has alfo driven the few furvivors to fre- quent other parts of the country, no advantage can be made of thofe articles, though of confiderable value in England *. Geese. There are no lefs than ten different fpecies Geefe. of Geefe that frequent the various parts of Hudfon's Bay during Summer, and are as follow : Firft, The Common Grey Goofe. Second, The Canada Goofe. Third, The White, or Snov/ Goofe. Fifth, The Blue Goofe. Sixth,. The Laughing Goofe. Seventh, The Barren Goofe. Eighth, The Brent Goofe. Ninth, The Dunter ; and Tenth, the Bean Goofe. Common Grey Goose. This bird precedes every other Common fpecies of Goofe in thofe parts, and in lome forward "^^^ Springs arrives at Churchill River fo early as the latter * Mr. Pennant, in treating of the Whiftling Swan, takes notice of the formation of the Windpipe ; but on examination, the windpipes of both the fpecies which frequent Hudfon's Bay are found to be exactly ahke, though their note is quite difFtrcnt. The breaft-bone of this bird is different from any other I have feen ; for infteadof being fharp and fohd, Hke that of a goofe, it is broad and hollow. Into this cavity the windpipe paiTes from the valve, and reaching quite down to the abdomen, returns into the cheft, and joins the lungs. Neither of the fpecies of Swan that frequent Hudfon's Bay are mute; but the note of the larger is much louder and harfher than that of the fmaller. end 438 A JOURNEY TO THE end of April, but more commonly from the eleventh to the (ixteenth of May ; and in one year it was the twcnty- fixth of May before any Geefe made their appearance. At their firft arrival they generally come in pairs, and are fo fond of fociety, that they fly ftreight to the call that imitates their note ; by which means they are eafily (hot. They breed in great numbers in the plains and marl}ies near Churchill River ; and in fome years the young ones can be taken in conliderable numbers, and are ealily tamed ; but will never learn to eat corn, unlefs fome of the old ones are taken with them, which is eafily done when in a moulting ftate. On the ninth of Auguft one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-one, when I refided at Prince of Wales's Fort, I fent fome Indians up Churchill River in canoes to procure fome of thofe Geefe, and in the after- noon they were feen coming down the river with a large flock before them ; the young ones not more than halt- grown, and the old ones fo far in a moulting ftate as not to be capable of flying ; fo that, with the afliftance of the Englifh and the Indians then redding on the plantation, the whole flock, to the amount of torry-one, was drove within the fl:ockade which inclofes the Fort, where they were fed and fattened for Winter ufe. Wild Geefe taken and fattened in this manner arc much preferable to any tame Geefe in the world. When this fpecies of Gqc^c are full-grown, and in good condition, they often weigh twelve pounds, but more frequently much lefs. Canada NORTHERN OCEAN. A39 Canada Goose, or Pifk-a-filli, as it is called by the Indians, as well as the Englifli in Hudfon's Bay. This fpecies do not difFer in plumage from the former, but are inferior in fize ; the bill is much fmaller in pro- portion, and the flefh being much whiter, of courfe is more efteemed. They are by no means fo numerous as the former, and generally fly far North to breed ; but fome few of their eggs are found near Churchill River. It is fel- dom that either of thefe fpecies lay more than four eggs ; but if not robbed, they ufually bring them all forth. Canada Goofe, White or Snow Goose. Thefe are the moft numerous of all the fpecies of birds that frequent the Northern parts of the Bay, and generally make their appearance about a week or ten days after the Common Grey Goofe. In the firft part of the feafon they come in fmall parties, but in the middle, and toward the latter end, they fly in fuch amazing flocks, that when they fettle in the marfhes to feed, the ground for a conflderable diftance appears like a field of fnow. When feeding in the fame marfh with the Grey Geefe, they never mix. Like the Grey Geefe, they fly to the call that refembles their note ; and in fome years are killed and falted in great numbers for Winter provifion; they are almoft univerfally thought good eating, and will, if proper care be taken in curing them, continue good for eighteen months or two years. The Indians are flir more expert in killing Geefe, as well as every other fpecies of game, than any European I ever faw in Hudfon's Bay; lo for White or Snow Goofe 440 A JOTTRNEY TOTHE for fome of them frequently kill upward of a hundred Gecfc in a day, whereas the mofh expert of the EngUfh think it a good day's work to kill thirty. Some years back It was common for an Indian to kill from a thoufand to twelve hundred Geefe in one feafon ; but latterly he is reciiOiied a g-ood hunter that kills three hundred. This is by no means owing to the degeneracy of the natives; for the Geefe of late years do not frequent thofe parts in fuch numbers as formerly. The general breeding-place of this bird is not known to any Indian in Hudfon's Bay, not even to the Efquimaux who frequent the remoteft North. The general route they take in their return to the South in the Fall of the year, is equally unknown ; for though fuch multitudes of them are feen at Churchill River in the Spring, and are frequently killed to the amount of five or fix thoufand ; yet in the Fall of the year, feven or eight hundred is confidered a good hunt. At York Fort, though only two degrees South of Churchill River, the Geefe feafons fluftuate fo much, that in fome Springs they have falted forty hogflieads, and in others not more than one or two : and at Albany Fort, the Spring feafon is by no means to be depended on ; but in the Fall they frequently fait fixty hogfheads of Geefe, befides great quantities of Plover. The retreat of thofe birds in Winter is, equally unknown, as that of their breeding-places. I obferve in Mr. Pennant's Ar6lic Zoology, that about Jakutz, and other parts of Siberia, they are caught in great numbers, both in nets and by decoying them into hovels ; but if thefe N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 441 thefe are the lame birds, they miift at times vary as much in manner as they do in fituation ; for in Hudfon's Bay they are the ihyeft and moft watchful of all the fpecies of Geefe, never fufFering an open approach, not even within two or three gun-fhots : yet in fome of the rivers near Cumberland Houfe, and at Bafquiau, the Indians fre- quently kill twenty at one fhot ; but this is only done in moon-light nights, when the Geefe are fitting on the mud, and the fportfmen are perfedly concealed from their view. Though the plumage of thofe Geefe are perfedly white, except the quill- feathers, which are black, the fkin is of a dark lead -colour, and the flefh is excellent eating, either frefli or fait. They are much inferior in fize to the Common Grey Geek, but equal to the Canada Geefe. Elue Geese. This fpecies are of the fame fize as the Blue Geefe. Snow Geefe ; and, like them, the bill and legs are of a deep flefh-colour, but the whole plumage is of a dirty blue, refcmbling old lead. The fkin, when flripped of its feathers, is of the fame colour as the Snow Goofe, and they are equally good eating. This fpecies of Gceih are feldom feen to the North of Churchill River, and not very common at York Fort ; but at Albany Fort they are more plentiful than the White or Snow G^^fe, Their breeding-places are as little known to the mofl accurate obferver as thofe of the Snov/ Geefe ; for I never knew any of their eggs taken, and their Winter haunts have -:; L hitherto "Wivey, 442 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E hitherto been iindifcovered. Thofe birds are frequently feen to lead a flock of the V/hite ones ; and^ as they ge- nerally fly in angles, it is far from unpleafant to fee a bird of a different colour leading the van. The leader is generally the obje(5l ot the firfl: fportfman who flres, which throws the whole flock into fuch confuflon, that fome of the other hunters frequently kill flx or feven at a fhot. Horned HoRNED Wavey. This dclicatc and diminutive fpecies of the Goofe is not much larger than the Mallard Duck. Its plumage is delicately white, except the quill-feathers-, which are black. The bill is not more than an inch long, and at the bafe is fludded round with little knobs about the fize of peas, but more remarkably fo in the males-. Both the bill and feet are of the lame colour with thofe of the Snow Goofc. This fpecies is very fcarce at Churchill River, and I believe are never found at any of the South- ern fettlements ; but about two or three hundred miles to the North Weft of Churchill, I have fecn them in as large flocks as the Common Wavey, or Snow Goofe. The flefli of this bird is exceedingly delicate ; but they are fo fmall, that when I was on my journey to the North I eat two ol them one night for lupper. I do not And this bird de- fcribed by my worthy friend Mr. Pennant in his Arftic Zoo- logy. Probably a fpecimcn of it w^as not fent home, for the perfon tliat commanded at Prince of V/ales's Fort * at * Mr. MofrK Norton. the 443 NORTHERN OCEAN. - the time the colledlion was making, did not pay any at- tention to it. Laughing Goose. Tliis elegant fpecies has a white Laughing bill, and the legs and feet are of a fine yellow colour ; the upper part of the plumage is brown, the breaft and belly white, the former prettily blotched with black. In fize they are equal to the Snow Goofe, ajid their fkins, when ftripped of their feathers, are delicately white, and the flefb excellent. They vifit Churchill River in very fmall numbers ; but about two hundred miles to the North Weft of that river I have feen them fiy in large flocks, like the Common Waveys, or Snow Geefe ; and near Cum- berland Houfe and Bafquiau they are found in fuch num- bers, that the Indians in moon-light nights frequently kill upwards of twenty at a fhot. Like the Horned Wavey, they never fly with the lead of the coaft, but are al- ways fcen to come from the V/eftward. Their general breeding-places are not known, though fome few of their eggs are occafionally found to the North of Churchill ; but I never heard any Indian fay that he had feen any eggs of the Florned Wavey: it is probable they retire to North Greenland to breed ; and their rout in the Fall of the year, as they return Southward, is equally unknown. They are, I believe, feldom feen on the coaft of Hudfon^s Bay to the Southward of latitude 59° North. 3 L 2 Barren 444 A JOURNEY TO THE Banc-.i Barren Geese. Thefe are the largeft of all the fpecies of Geek that frequent Hudfoii's Bay, as they frequently vveio-h fixteen or feventecn pounds. They differ from the Common Grey Goofe in nothing but in Hze, and in the head and bread being tinged with a rufty brown. They never make their appearance in the Spring till the greateft part of the other fpecies of Geefe are flown Northward to breed, and many of them remain near Churchill River the whole Summer. This large fpecies are generally found to be males, and from the exceeding fmalinefs of their tefticles, they are, I fuppofe, incapable of propa- gating their fpecies. I believe I can with truth fay, that I was the firfl European who made that remark, though they had always been diftinguiilied by the name of the Bar- ren Geefe ; for no other reafon than that of their not being known to breed. Their ilefli is by no means unpleafant. though always hard and tough ; and their plumage is fo thick before they begin to moult, that one bird ufually produces a pound of fine feathers and down, of a furprifing elafticity. Brent Brent Geese. This fpccics certainly breed in the re- ooeie. moteft parts of the North, and feldom make their appear- ance at Churchill River till late in Augufl; or September. The rout they take in Spring is unknown, and their breed- ing-places have never been difcovered. by any Indian in Iludfon's Bay. When they make their appearance at 6 Churchill NORTHERN OCEAN. Churchill River, they always come from the North, fly near the margin ol the coaft, and are never feen in the interior parts of the country. In fize they are kroner than a Mallard Duck, but inferior to the Snow Goofe ; and though their flefh appears delicate to the eye, it is not much efteemed. In fome years they pafs the mouth of Churchill River in prodigious numbers, and many of them are killed and ferved to the Company's fervants as provifions ; but, as I have juft obferved, they are not muchrelifhed. When migrating to the South, they generally avail themfelves of a ftrong North or North Wefterly wind, which makes their flight fo fwift, that when I have killed four or Ave at a fl:iot, not one of them fell lefs than from twenty to fifty yards from the perpendicular fpot where they were killed. Like the White, or Snow Geefe, when in laro-e flocks they fly in the fliape of a wedge, and make a great noife. Their flight is very irregular, fometimes being forty or fifty yards above the water, and in an in- fl:ant after they fkim clofe to the furface of it, and then rife again to a confiderable height ; fo that they may juflily be faid to fly in fefl:oons. The DuNTER Goofe, as it is called in Hudfon's Bay, j^anui- but which is certainly the Eider Duck. They are com- ^"°^^' mon at the mouth of Churchill River as foon as the ice breaks up, but generally fly far North to breed ; and the few that do remain near the fettlement are fo fcattered among fmall iflands, and fea-girt rocks and flioals, as to render '\^5 ^ ^6 A JOURNEY TO THE Tender it not worth while to attempt gathering their down. Their eggs, when found, are exceeding good eating ; and in the Fall of the year the flefh is by no means unpleafant, though they are notoriouily known to feed on fifli. BeanCoofc. Bean Goose. This fpccies is feldom found in any part of Hudfon's Bay, as in all my travels I have only feen three that were killed. This bird never came under the infpedion of Mr. Graham, or the late Mr. Hutchins, though they both contributed very largely to the colledion fent home to the Royal Society *. Species of TVater-FowL Ducks. Ducks of various kinds are found in thofe parts during Summer ; fome only frequenting the fea-coaft, while others vifit the interior parts of the country in aftonifhing numbers. The fpecies of this bird which is found moft commonly here are, the King Duck, Black Duck, Mallard * It IS, however, no lefs true, that the late Mr. Humphry Martin, many %Tars Governor of Albany Fort, lent home feveral hundred Ipecimens of animals and plants to complete that colleftion ; but by fome miftake, no- thing of the kind was placed to tht credit of his account. P>en my refpefted fiiend Mr. Pennant, who with a candour that does him honour, has fo gene- roufly acknowledged his obligations to all to whom he thought he was indebted for information when he was writing his Ardic Zoology, (fee the Advertifc- mtnt,) has not mentioned his name; but I am fully perfuaded that it entirely proceeded from a want of knowing the perfon ; and as Mr. Hutchins fuc- cceded him at Albany in the year 1774, every thing that has been fent over from that part has been placed to his account. Duck, 4^7 NORTHERN OCEAN. Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Widgeon, and Teal. The two iirft only vilit the fea-coaft, feed on fiOiand fiOi-fpawn ; ai:d their flefli is by no means efteemed good, though their eggs are not difagreeable. The Mallard and Long-tailed Duck vifit Hudfon's Bay in great numbers, and extend from the fea-coaft to the remoteft Weftern parts, and near Cum- berland Houfe are found in vaft multitudes. At their firil: arrival on the fea-coaft, they are exceeding good eating; but when in a moulting ftate, though very fat, they are in ge- neral fo rank that few Europeans arc fond of them. At thofe feafons the difference in flavour is ealily known by the colour of the fat ; for when that is white, the flefh is moft affuredly good ; but when it is yellow, or of an orange colour, it is very rank and R(hy. This difference is only peculiar to thofe that frequent and breed near the fea-coaft; for in the interior parts I never knew them killed but their flefli was very good ; and the young MaU lard Duck before it can fly is very fat, and moft deli- cate eating. The fime may be faid of the Long-tailed Duck. Neither of thofe fpecies lay more than flx or eight eggs in common, and frequently bring them. all forth. Widgeon. This fpecies of Duck, is very uneommcn widgeon. in Hudfon's Bay ; ufually keeping in pairs, and being fcl- dom feen in flocks. They are by no means fo numerous as the two former, and are moft frequently feen in rivers and marflies near the fea-coaft. Their flefh is generally efteemed ; and the dovv-n of thole I have examined is little inferior in elafticity to that of the Eider, though muck fliorter» 448 AJOURNEYTOTHE fliorter. The fame may be fald of fevcral other fpecles of Ducks that frequent thofe parts ; but the impoffibility of collecting the down in any quantity, prevents it from be- coming an article of trade. Tt?i Teal. Like the Mallard, they are found in confider- able numbers near the fea-coafl: ; but are more plentiful in the interior parts of the country, and fly in fuch large flocks that I have often killed twelve or fourteen at one fliot, and have feen both Englifli and Indians kill a much greater number. At their firfl: arrival they are but poor, though generally efteemed good eating. This diminutive Duck is by far the mofl; prolific of any I know that reforts to Hudfon's Bay ; for I have often feen the old ones fwim- niing at the head of feventeen young, when not much larger than walnuts. This bird remains in thofe parts as long as the feafon will permit ; for in the year one thoufand feven hundred and feventy-five, in my paflage from Cum- berland Houfe to York Fort, I, as well as my Indian com- panions, killed them in the rivers we paflTed through as late as the twentieth of 0<51:ober. At thofe times they are entirely involved in fat, but delicately white, and may truly be called a great luxury. Befldes the birds already defcribed, there is a great variety of others, both of land and water fowl, that fre- quent thofe parts in Summer; but thefe came not fo im- mediately luider my infped:ion as thofe I have already defcribed. 0/ NORTHERN OCEAN. 449 Of the Vegetable ProduSiions. The vegetable produdions of this country by no means engaged my attention fo much as the animal creation ; which is the lefs to be wondered at, as fo few of them are ufeful for the fupport of man. Yet I will endeavour to enumerate as many of them as I think are worth notice. The Gooseberries thrive beft in ftony and rocky ground, Goofe- which lies open and much expofed to the Sun. But in "'''^^* thofe fituations few of the bufhes grow to any height, and fpread along the ground like vines. The fruit is always mofl plentiful and the fineft on the under-Ude of the branches, probably owing to the lefleded heat from the ftones and gravel, and from being fheltered from all cold winds and fog by the leaves. I never faw more than one fpecies of Goofeberry in any part of Hudfon's Bay, which is the red one. When green, they make excellent pies or tarts; and when ripe are very pleafant eating, though by no means fo large as thofe produced in England. Cranberries grow in great abundance near Churchill, Cianbnne and are not confined to any particular fituation, for they 'X M arc 450 A JOURNEY TO THE are as common on open bleak, plains and high rocks as among the woods. When carefully gathered in the Fall, in dry weather, and as carefully packed in cafks with moift fugar, they will keep for years, and are annually fent to England in confiderable quantities as prefents, where they are much efteemed. When the fhips have remained in the Bay fo late that the Cranberries are ripe, fome of the Captains have carried them home in water with great fiiccefs. Heath- berries. The Heathberries are in fome years fo plentiful near Churchill, that it is impoflible to walk in many places without treading on thoufands and millions of them. Thev grow clofe to the ground, and are a favourite repafl: of many birds that migrate to thofe parts in Summer, particularly the Grey Goofe; on which account the In- dians diPiinguifh them by the name of Nifhca-minnick, or the Grey Goofeberry. The juice of this berry makes an exceeding pleafant beverage, and the truit itfelf would be more plealing were it not for the number of fmall feeds it contains. Bethago- tominick. Bethago-tominick, as it is called by the Indians, or the Dewater-berry of Mr. Draggc. I have feen this berry as far North as Marble lHand, and that in great abundance. It flourifhes befl, and is mofl: produ6live, in fwampy boggy ground covered with mofs, and is feidom found N O R T H E R N O G E A N. 451 among grafs. The plant itfelf is not very unlike that of a Strawberry, but the leav^es are larger. Out of the center of the plant fhoots a (ingle ftalk, fometimes to the height of feven or eight inches, and each plant only produces one berry, which at fome diftance refembles a Straw- berry ; but on examination they have not that conical form I and many of them are only compofed of three or four lobes, while others confift of near twenty. The fla- vour of this berry is far from unpleaflng, and it is eaten by our people in conliderable quantities during the feafon, (which is Auguft,) and, like all the other fruits in thofe parts, is fuppofed to be wholefome, and a great antifcorbutic. CuRRANs, both red and black, are common about Currans, Churchill River, but the latter are far more plentiful than the former, and are very large and fine. The bufhes on which thofe currans grow, frequently exceed three feet in height, and generally thrive befl in thofe parts that are moift but not fwampy. Small vallies between the rocks, at fome little diftance from the woods, are \'ery favourable to them ; and I have frequently obferved that the fruit produced in thofe fituations is larger and finer than that which is found in the woods. Thofe berries have a very great efFedt on fome people if eaten in any confiderable quantities, by ading as a very pow- erful purgative, and In fome as an emetic at^ the fame '; M 2 time : 452 A J O U R N E Y T O T H E time ; but if mixed with Cranberries, they never hare that cffed. Juniper- Juniper-berries are frequently found near the new fcttlement at Churchill River, but by no means in fuch plenty as in the more Southern and interior parts of the country. The bufh they grow on is fo fimilar to the creeping pine, that one half of the Company's fervants redding in Hudfon's Bay do not know one from the other. Like the Goofeberry bufhes in thofe parts, the fruit is always mofl plentiful on the under-fide of the branches. They are not much efleemed either by the Indians or Eng- lifh, fo that the few that are made ufe of are generally infufed in brandy, by way of making a cordial, which is far from unpleafant *. . Straw- Strawberries f, and thofe of a confiderable iize and berries. excellent flavour, are found as far North as Churchill River j and what is moft remarkable, they are frequently known to be more plentiful in fuch places as have formerly been fct on fire. This is not peculiar to the Strawberry, but it is well known that in the interior parts of the coun- try, as well as at Albany and Moofe Forts, that after * The Indians call the Juniper-berry Caw-caw-cue-minick, or the Crow- berry. t The Oteagh-minick of the Indians, is fo called, becaufe it in fome meafure refembles a heart, the 453. NORTHERN OCEAN. the ground, or more properly the under-wood and mofs, have been fet on fire, that Rafpherry-bufhes and Hips have ihot up in great numbers on fpots where nothing of the kind had ever been feen before. This is a phgeaomenon that is not eafily accounted for ; but it is more than oro- bable that Nature wanted fome affiftance, and the mofs being all burnt away, not only admits the Sun to aft with more power, but the heat of the fire muft, in fome mea- - fure, loofen the texture of the foil, fo as to admit the plants to fhoot up, after having been deep-rooted for many years without being able to force their way to the fur face. Befides the Berries already mentioned, there are three others found as far North as Churchill ; namely, what the Indians call the Eye-berry, and the other two are termed Blue-berry and Partridge-berry by the Englifii. The Eye-berry grows much in the fame manner as the Eyc-bern Strawberry, and though fmaller, is infinitely fuperior in flavour. This berry is found in various fituations ; but near Churchill River they are moft plentiful in fmall hol- lows among the rocks, which are fituated fome diftance from the woods ; but they are never known to grow in fwampy ground, and I never faw them fo plentiful in any part of Hudfon's Bay as about Churchill River. The 454 A J O U R N E Y . T O THE Blueberry. j^e Blue-berry is about the fize of a Hiirtleberry, and grows on buflies which rife to eighteen inches or two feet, but in general are much lower. They are feldom ripe till September, at which time the leaves turn to a beautiful red; and the fruit, though fmall, have as fine a bloom as any plum, and are much efteemed for the plea- fantnefs of their flavour. - - - " . i Partridge- Tlic Partuidge-berry is nearly as large as the Cranberry imoorted from Newfoundland, and though of a beautiful tranfparentred, yet has a difagreeable tafle. Thefe berries are feldom taken, either by the Indians or Englifli ; and many of the latter call them Poifon-berries, but feveral birds are fond of them. They grow clofe to the ground, like the Cranberry, and the plant that produces them is not very unlike fmall fage, either in fliape or colour, but has none of its virtues. I had nearly forgotten another fpecies of Berry, which is found on the dry ridges at Churchill in confiderable num- bers. In fize and colour they much refemble the Red Curran, and grow on buflies fo much like the Creeping Willow, that people of little obfervation fcarcely know the difference; particularly as all the fruit is on the un- der-fide of the branches, and entirely hid by the leaves. I never knew this Berry eaten but by a frolickfome In- dian girl ; and as it had no ill effed:, it is a proof it is 5 ^o^ NORTHERN OCEAN. ^s5 not unwholefome, though exceedingly unpleafant to the palate, and not much lefs fo to the fmell. Hips of a fmall lize, though but few in number, are Hips. al{b found on the banks of Churchill River, at fome dif- tance from the fea. But in the , interior parts of the country they are frequently found in fuch vaft quantities, that at a diftance they make the fpots they grow on appear perfedly red. In the interior parts of Hudfon's Bay they are as large as any I ever remember to have feen, and when ripe, have a moft delightful bloom ; but at that fea- fon there is fcarcely one in ten which has not a worm ia it J and they frequently a6t as a ftrong purgative. With refpedl to the fmaller produ<5lions of the vege- table world, I am obliged to be in a great meafure lilentj as the nature of my various occupations during my refi- dence in this country gave me little leifure, and being unacquainted with botany, I viewed with inattention things that were not of immediate ufe : the few whicli follow are all that particularly engaged my attention. The WisH-A-CA-Pucc-A, which grows in moft parts ot Wini-a..* this country, is faid by fome Avithors to have great me- dical virtues, applied, either inwardly as an alterative, or outwardly dried and pulverifed, to old fores and gan- grenes. The truth of this I much doubt, and could never ^^S A JOURNEY TOTriE never tkink it had the leaft medical quality. It is, how- ever, much ufed by the lower clafs of the Company's fervants as tea; and by fome is thought very pleafant. But the flower is by far the moft delicate, and if gathered at a proper time, and carefully dried in the fhade, will retain its flavour for many years, and make a far more pleafant beverage than the leaves. There are feveral fpecies of this plant, of which fome of the leaves are nearly as large as that of the Creeping Willow, while others are as fmall and narrow as that of the Rofemary, and much refembles it in colour ; but all the fpecies have the fame fmell and flavour. jaicafhey- J ACK ASHE Y-pucK. Tlils hcrb much rcfembles Creeping ^'"''" Box ; and is only ufed, either by the Indians or Englifh, to mix with tobacco, which makes it fmoke mild and pleafmt ; and would, I am perfuaded, be very acceptable to many fmokers in England. Mofs. Moss of various forts and colours is plentiful enough in moft parts of this country, and is what the deer ufually feed on. Grafs. Grass of feveral kinds is alfo found in thofe parts, and fome of it amazingly rapid of growth, particularly that which is there called Rye-grafs, and which, in our fliort Summer at Churchill, frequently grows to the height of iiij . I . y_/t I'll/. 1 . ■ /// ^/ //■!'//■ -^- ^ ,.:.A/i//t., //Y'rif/^ Sec Paae 3^i . '/.//.//. S..l'a., /,< ■//,/, w. riiHUhci ./,// ,/'. i;/./,//,v /u .V.v/-.rfA«..',K;.. . //„ >,,',;■, Mr . 77,rA.,y ■ /,////./ /;/ .i /„//,,,„ ii„},;, ■ //,r,/-. ^ '. /„MA Vr,r/.- A„m//„,-/: A,,,,.. rA,n /I,.',/ . /ir',,,/.,,////^ A.i,i yri ,A ■ //,/■/ A //'I Ar/y///y /A, -/.Jf/,'//., J,ami?n.ruMu-/i J/Xici .r.;,//:'3-^2J-" ,^-|o J /dim 1 ' Roads ( ( / L /i .IN y^ R I I'/'l R ) iii ii UBS « IV 'S~ B A Lrl/l/li,/r , .7'; 12 . O A'f///i , A Scale of ,6 Miles. . / /i. .//„., ./'/„„ ,., /„„/,/„„„ /y . //,y,„/,;„/ /"■.„„/,„/. -. .7/,, //,,-., /,„,„«„■,■/:, ,./ ii„;.,/„„ ./„„/„■// :■/:,/„,„/,,■„„ /, ..„„ /„ r/,,,-, „.„ ■ //,,;/■ ^'. /„,/,//,-/„,■/.■/„,,„„„.■/,,/,„,'.,,/„, /I,:,/ /,,„„ . '///„,,y .'/l,„„/.,,„,„/,.,„ y,.,.,/. //„,/■/,.; /„y,,y //,, ./L,'y.,. — , J.oiuiL'n.Ptihajl.dJtm'yi^' i-iii.\b\(a.i.// lin,tiu:r,Xmmi ASi-alc ^y 7.5 Mile ;» , *^ ; r**- T-'S # N O R T H E R N O C E A N. 457 of three feet. Another fpecies of Grafs, which Is produced in marfhes, and on the margins of lakes, ponds, and rivers, is particularly adapted for the fupport of the multitudes of the feathered creation which refort to thofe parts in Sum- mer. The Marfh Grafs at Churchill is of that peculiar nature, that where it is mowed one year, no crop can be procured the next Summer ; whereas at York Fort, though the climate is not very different, they can get two crops, or harvefts, from the fame fpot In one Summer. Vetches are plentiful in fome parts as flu- North as Churchill River; and Burrage, Sorrel, and Coltsfoot, may be ranked among the ufeful plants. Dandelion is alfo plentiful at Churchill, and makes an early falad, long before any thing can be pro- duced in the gardens. In fadl, notwithftanding the length of the Winter, the ie verity of the cold, and the great fcarcity of vege- tables at this Northern fettlement, by proper attention to cieanllnefs, and keeping the people at reafonable exercife, I never had one man under me v/ho had the lead fymp- toms of the fcurvy ; whereas at York Fort, Albany, and Moofe River, there were almoft annual complaints that one half of the people wTre rendered Incapable of -duty by that dreadful diforder. I do not v/ifh to lay claim to any mierlt on this occasion, but I cannot help obferving that, during ten years I Jiad 3 N the DIRECTIONS to the BINDER. A PL AN exhibiting Mr. Hearne's Tracks In his two Journles for the Difcovery of the Copper Mine River, in the Years 1770, 1771, and 1772, under the Diredion of the Hudfon's Bay- Company. - - _ _ To face the Title-page. Plate I. A North Weft View of Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudfon's Bay, North America. - - To face Page i Plate II. Indian Implements. ^ ^ To face P. 98 Plate III. Plan of the Copper Mine Rivek. To face P. 164 Plate IV. A Winter View in the Athapuscow Lake. TofaccP.2/^Z Plate V. Indian Implement-^. - _ _ ^/ the E>id. Plate VI. Plan of Albany River in Hudfon's Bay. At the End. Plate VII. Plan of Moose River in Hudfon's Bay. - At the End. Plate VIII. Plan of Slude River. - - At the End. m R) '!>'>( I'j' "'I